The New York Home Entertainment Show has come and gone... and I missed it (I was tied up at a meeting most of the day Friday and had commitments on Sunday).
I am upset that I missed seeing Internet-only retailers Outlaw Audio, who showed off a new line of speakers, and Aperion Audio, also a speaker vendor. I can ask for review units (my home theater isn't set up again just yet, but at least it's not under water any more), but without a dealer channel, open-to-the-public shows like HES are the best venue for normal folks to see and hear their products first hand.
I'm not upset about missing CINEPRO's room, though. They sent over a card and email before the show touting the ridiculous amount of wattage they planned to deploy their room. Unfortunately, their slogan is "Hear What You've Been Missing," and in past years I nearly blew out my hearing for the rest of the show in their room. How can you hear nuances in the music if your ears are bleeding? I suppose it can make sense to have way-over-reference power in a huge theater, but not in a small hotel room.
One other thing I noticed without even attending the show was the dearth of press conferences. Two years ago, nearly an entire day was booked with A-list companies (for example, Sony launched LocationFreeTV there, along with a big SACD push). This year, there was basically nothing.
-avi