CE Pro February 2023 - 42

OPERATIONS
Sales & Marketing
In front of the stage
where the panelists sat, also
sat Klipsch's massive Jubilee
floorstanding loudspeaker
- one of several iconic
models visitors could check
out up close. Others like
Bowers & Wilkins' Nautilus
(static display near the
entrance), KEF's Blade,
MartinLogan's Neolith and
Sonus faber's Lilium were
among the others.
" In my opinion, it's almost
unheard of for a single
dealer to put on an event
like this, " enthused Klipsch
regional sales manager Jim
Kozicki (who has since
been named VP of business
development at ProSource).
" Most of the time like Rocky
Mountain [Audio Show],
AXPONA, Newport [T.H.E.
Show] it's an association
that's putting it on, so I really
applaud their ingenuity
in doing this.
" I've got to believe not
everybody walking through
the door has bought something
from Audio Advice
- there's a hi-fi community
that's coming because
they're enthusiasts and want
to learn about the product,
so I think it's great. I think
there should be more shows
like this ... for consumers to
be able to come in and talk
to industry professionals
about our products. "
A lunchtime session
focused on calibration plus
other room correction
tweaks and solutions to
improve audio systems.
" Getting the Best Sound
from Your Room " offered
tips from Jon Herron,
general manager for Trinnov
Audio; Jason Ehrlich, sales
development, Kinetics Noise
42 | CE Pro February 2023
Control; Chris Trojnar, sales
manager, Harman; Kyle Delnero,
director of training at
Paradigm; and Gene DellaSala,
president, Audioholics.
Manufacturers Show
Range of System
Budgets
More " audio advice, " so
to speak, was doled out
in the " Hear Here! Top
Features to Look for in Your
Next Speaker Purchase or
Upgrade " afternoon session.
Panelists included Sound
United VP of sales Kevin Zarow;
Ben Hagens, product
training manager, KEF; Will
Kline, global training manager,
Sonus faber; Trojnar;
and Erin Hardison of Erin's
Audio Corner.
" The thing about Rocky
Mountain or AXPONA that's
frustrating is that if I do
my job well and get people
excited about my product,
there's nobody I can hand it
off to for additional questions,
make the sale ... and
so it's like why are we doing
all this work when there's no
tangible difference, " notes
Trinnov's Herron about a
key difference between association
shows and dealer
shows like Audio Advice
Live. " One of the advantages
to this is I have names to
lean on, like Leon and Scott
or someone to follow up and
make something happen.
If this becomes sort of the
Rocky Mountain of the East,
I'd be thrilled. "
Adds MartinLogan regional
sales manager Cory Meredith,
" We so rarely get a chance
for the public to hear [the
Neoliths] because obviously
they're huge, not every
dealer can have them. So the
opportunity to bring out the
big guns and show what's
possible and what our engineers
can do is important. "
The late afternoon session
Saturday turned attention
to video and home theater
in the " What to Look
for in Your Next Projector
& Video System " presentation.
After all, Audio Advice
does a whole lot more
than audio from its Control4
Certified showroom,
particularly full theater
design-builds. Audio Advice
home theater designer Nick
Rich was joined on the
panel by Patrick Siebert,
key accounts manager at
JVC; Richard Litofsky, CEO
and co-founder, madVR
Labs; Craig Sholder, CRO,
Kaleidescape; Cody Floyd,
YouTuber of the Home Theater
Hobbyist channel; and
Michael Stevens, who runs
a Home Theater Tours channel
on YouTube and this
year co-founded MWAVE
(Midwest AV Experience).
In addition to the video
panel session, multiple
rooms included projection
systems from the
likes of Sony and JVC, so
besides high-performance
two-channel audio attendees
could get a taste of
full-throttle home theater
surround sound, too.
Audio Advice Live
wrapped up Sunday with
another full day of exhibits
plus a final session, " The
State of Streaming Audio, "
which explored various
streaming platforms' support
for high-resolution audio,
Dolby Atmos and other
features. Panelists included
Audio Advice's Newnam;
Derda; David Solomon,
VP business development,
Qobuz; Blake Hartigan, reMat
Weisfeld of VPI Industries, says that integrators have been specifying the company's
Signature 21 turntable (far left) with increasing frequency. AV Therapy's John Rein says price
is less an issue for customers, and had solutions from companies such as PSB Speakers
(center), NAD, Rotel and JBL among those on hand at its fall event in New Hampshire.
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CE Pro February 2023

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