We have just returned from the absolutely amazing Audio Video Show Warsaw 2019, we have more reports to follow and we will be focusing on the sound and the details of the gear in more of those, but, for now, feast your eyes on this parade of loveliness and some of the best looking Hifi rooms you could hope to find at a show!

What strikes you about this show is just how good looking it is… they say that you eat with your eyes, well, in the world of Hifi and Audio the way the gear looks and the room is presented is also just as important. Whilst it is about how fantastic something sounds, at a show, you need to draw people into your room too, so making it look interesting and inviting is a great place to start.

A good looking, well-branded room will encourage people to take pictures and reinforce your brand awareness in the marketplace, get it right and you will be seeing pictures of your gear and room long after the boxes have been packed and the show is broken down…so getting it right is important.

There are so many Hifi brands out there that you need to make a visual impact  in order to stand out from the crowd. Branding, colour coordination, lighting and an appealing room set up will do this, and with the Audio Video Show Warsaw 2019 having many fabulous examples of exhibitors who really got it right, I thought this would be the perfect place to start…so here’s the Mrs Hifi Pig report of the real rooms with a view, the best looking, most inviting and most stylish exhibitor rooms at the show.

Rethm & Lampizator

Such a cool vibe to this room, incidentally this was one of my favourite sounds too, but visually, just look at it. The Rethm loudspeakers are from India and were designed by LA-based architects, these are the Maarga model and they are a high-efficiency wideband speaker with bass augmentation. They are stunning looking and unusual. They were showing with a whole load of Lampizator gear and the cool flight-case based display was really spot on. Chic Industrial was the vibe in this room, simple but effective and letting the gear be the star of the show.

Nautilus – Dynaudio & Octave

Dynaudio Confidence 50 speakers with Octave and Accuphase would be enough to tempt me into a room, but the styling in this one was just perfect too. Polish distributor Nautilus had several rooms at the show, but this one was like a really neat living room, set up with some very innovative room treatment that was also a shelving system, such a great idea and a clever way to integrate proper Hifi and treatment into a normal home. Little touches like plants and ornaments made this feel like you had walked into a home.

Wilson

Not to be confused with the well known American brand, Wilson Audio, Wilson is a Polish brand of loudspeakers who had a Stadium room. Their room was sumptuous and luxurious, with lovely dark blue and grey velvet furnishings setting off the metallic, burnished yellow of their speakers perfectly. Wonderfully designed room with a lovely, tactile feel and a unique style that stood out from the crowd.

RCM – Vitus Audio & Gauder Akustik and Fink Team & Thrax

Both the RCM rooms had a real style to them, they put together gear that didn’t just sound amazing together, it also looks amazing together. They obviously think about the looks as well as the sound when pairing brands and their playful ‘vinyl’ mats immediately set the stage for a Hifi show. Well played guys.

Gauder and Vitus had a super stylish palette of blacks and greys, with a monochrome look showing off the modern style of the white Fink Team Borg speakers and future-retro style Thrax electronics in the other room. Both made stunning use of room treatment for visual impact, as well as getting the sound right.

Core Trends – YG Acoustics, Townshend Audio & Audionet

This was one of those rooms where you walked in and just went ‘wow’. Exceptionally engaging sound in this room, everything worked together both in looks and sounds. Muted greys and blacks were the colours of the room with the stunning YG Acoustics Hailey 2.2 speakers making a huge impact and the Audionet electronics proving that big and powerful can also be beautiful. The Townshend isolation added to the industrial look and the room treatment was also made into a design feature.

Galeria Audio – Leema Acoustics, Soulines, Wolf Von Langa & Davone Audio

The Davone Solo speakers immediately gave an air of elegant, modern-retro design to the room, backed up with the stunning sounding Leema Tucana II Anniversary integrated amp and Soulines Dostoyevsky turntable. The room had a ‘proper Hifi’ vibe with gear that looked attractive but also different. Everything was tied together with Harmonium racks and was well lit and branded. You could easily see the system in a modern home environment. proof that Hifi that can be liveable with doesn’t need to be boring and that you can create a quirky yet elegant look with well-chosen brands that work together.

Klipsch

Klipsch has upped the branding game in Hifi in the last few months. They have it down to a fine art with a funky urban vibe to match their speakers.  The big room they had over at the National Stadium looked divine and you were in no doubt about who’s room it was. Back at the Paris show a few weeks ago their skills in putting a room together to appeal visually were also in evidence, I said it then and I’ll say it again, Klipsch has it totally nailed. Bravo!

T+A

There is no doubt that German brand T+A know how to make a full system of gear that sounds and looks the business. They also consistently put together a room that looks exceptionally stylish and they use lighting so effectively to do this. This time at the show they went for a calming lilac-grey hue that made there room feel like an oasis of calm in the hectic and packed stadium.

Gryphon

This room will be undoubtedly covered in every Hifi Pig report of the show because it simply blew us all away. Gryphon brought their A-game with the massive Kodo speaker system, so there was a big impact from the start, but what Gryphon also do so right with their rooms is their consistent, well thought out branding. There is never any doubt about who’s room you are in, everything looks and sounds perfect with the visual impact being as big as the sonic one. It can be difficult to create the right feel in a huge room but in a Gryphon room, they create a sense of space without losing the intimate aspect of a listening session. Their presentations are consistent and once you are in their room (which is no mean feat given how busy their room always is, especially at this show) you don’t want to leave. Basically, the Gryphon room was a masterclass in how to have a successful big room at a show and how to make sure everyone remembers your name and brand.

LAB 12

Greek valve electronics brand, LAB 12, hit the market a few years ago with their image and branding well thought out from the off. A monochromatic scheme works exceptionally well, looking understated but well designed and making the gear the focal point of the room. Again a great sound in here too, with LAB 12 choosing Avantgarde Acoustic Uno XD that worked sonically and visually well with their products. Though in a small hotel room, it felt spacious and not at all cramped. Sometimes less is more.

Gato Audio

Another brand that can set up in a room and you immediately know it’s theirs, Gato and their ‘fireplace’ are well known on the show circuit.  It’s effective branding because it immediately conveys a homely vibe, making you feel that you could live with their gear very happily. Uber stylish and you always remember their room.

Canor & Fink Team

I loved the stack of electronics from Slovakian brand Canor, with their black finish and touches of orange, nicely styled gear and a bit of a change from red, green or blue LEDs. A simple hotel room set up that did not clutter the room and presented as being very professional. The Canor gear worked especially well with the Fink Team Borg speakers, showing how versatile these ultra-modern, highly finished speakers are, they do pair well with a wide range of electronics. Simple banners completed the look of this room that was a pleasure to be in.

EIC – PMC & Esoteric, Fyne, Synthesis, Cyrus

EIC is a big Polish distributor of some very well known international brands including PMC, Esoteric, Tannoy, Fyne Audio, Unison Research, Synthesis and Cyrus to name a few.

They take several Skybox rooms on the first floor of the National Stadium, and have a consistency with their rooms in the branding and signage. Each room is lit with a different colour scheme and they have a static stand that runs down the opposite side of the corridor with a huge and engaging display and funky disco lighting.

My particularly favourite room of theirs was the pink-lit PMC and Esoteric room, incredible sounding with the PMC SE series speakers and Esoteric electronics, but also the look of the gear in the room was fantastic. Synthesis were with Tannoy in rocking red hues, with Fyne and Unison Research in purple and Cyrus and Audio Physic in green. All in all a superb suite of rooms and display from a distributor that knows how to present big brands to their best advantage. Good job guys!

Aida Acoustics

One of the last rooms I visited in the Sobieski hotel belonged to Polish loudspeaker manufacturer Aida Acoustics. They focus on the style as well as the sound of their products, and that was evident right from the luxury door decal as you walked into the room. The Louis Vuitton style logo branding was carried through to the backdrop behind the excellent sounding speakers, that were paired with Murah Audio and turntable and Fezz Audio electronics. It felt cosy and luxurious and the inclusion of a fabulous piece of art on the wall gave a real sumptuous feel to the room. Very nicely done.

Avantgarde Acoustic

Another big name brand who know how to set up a big room. German horn loudspeaker manufacturer, Avantgarde, have totally on-point branding. Their room at a show is always colour coordinated, creating an immediately different feel depending on what colours they have gone for. Moody grey-blue Duo Mezzo XDs and matching backdrop set the tone of an excellent sounding system where they were paired with Accuphase. Another brand that has it spot on every show.

Much more to follow soon from the show!

Linette Smith