After three years without a show, there’s a real buzz around this year’s event. Come and share in the fun
We wouldn’t want to try to guess what new-year’s resolutions you might have made (ignore the news? cancel the gym membership?) but, for our part, we have decided – in a carpe diem sort of a way – to get out and about more. And we know where we will be going for our first major UK outing: the 2023 Bristol Hi-Fi Show.
For UK-based lovers of quality audio and the equipment that produces it, there’s nothing better to get out and about to than the Bristol Show. It is Britain’s biggest and longest-running exhibition event of its kind and, following a Covid-induced absence of three-years, is set to be back bigger and better than ever this year.
For more than three decades (this will be the show’s 34th year), Bristol has been a firm fixture in the audio industry’s calendar and the go-to event for punters and manufacturers alike. More than 160 exhibitors will be showing their wares this year, including leading hi-fi brands such as Marantz, Linn, Technics, Rega, Bowers & Wilkins, Naim and Onkyo.
Big bargains
Not only does Bristol present an unrivalled opportunity to see and hear the latest audio hardware, it also offers the chance to buy a variety of hi-fi equipment and accessories at bargain prices thanks to the special offers that are available there.
Bristol always provides a number of last-minute surprises and many companies still have their big guns under wraps but, to help whet your appetite, we have compiled a rundown of some of this year’s already-revealed highlights, correct at the time of going to press.
Loudspeaker veterans JBL will be showing off their newest soundbar, the Bar 1300, in the Empire 2 Suite on the ground floor. As well as having a wireless subwoofer, it boasts detachable rear speakers that help turn it into a standalone mini surround sound system. We have yet to get our hands on one (it doesn’t go on sale until mid-February) but are more than a little intrigued.
Yamaha might be best known in audio circles for its acclaimed AV amps, but at Bristol the company will be demonstrating its NS-2000A three-way floorstanding speakers, R-N2000A stereo receiver and all-new YH-5000SE headphones. The last are a high-end homage to the planar magnetic design the company used in the early ’70s. If you have never heard what a £5000 pair of headphones sounds like, here is your chance.
Staying with the headphone theme, Sennheiser will be showing its new HD 660S2 open-back over-ear headphones a
