.

Shows which occurred since the March 1958 issue was "put to bed" (fertig im Druck), included the Institute's big affair in Los Angeles and an independent event in Washington, with the "Rigo Show" in Denver and the IHFM-sponsored show in San Francisco not quite so recent but still not reported on here. Still to come is the Rigo show in Baltimore.

All of these shows were successful - which should come as a surprise to no one in the industry. The public is still interested in hi-fi, still wants to hear and see it (or vice versa), and has already heard enough about stereo discs to clamor to hear them.

To those of us who attend these shows regularly, there is a sameness about them, naturally; to the public - the average John Q. type who may only attend one or two in his lifetime, not the dedicated audio fan who would go to one every month if he had an opportunity - they are still novel and exciting.

We feel that the Rigo shows have a different problem than the big national events, and that they have shaken down into a successful pattern. The Washington show, this one being the fourth presented by M. Robert Rogers, has always drawn an interested audience and can be counted successful.

The IHFM shows, however, are not yet established as greatly different from the smaller events - except perhaps for number of exhibitors - whereas they should definitely be the outstanding audio events of the year.

We feel that the hours reserved for dealers' contacts with the manufacturers were entirely too few. There should be a whole day for dealers, and no one but the dealers and exhibitors should be admitted.

Furthermore, we feel that the shows should open not later than 2:00 in the afternoon (14.oo Uhr) - the 4:00 o'clock opening leaves too little time for the average visitor who feels that when 6:00 o'clock comes it is time to eat, so he goes out for an hour and a half.

Successful show operation involves an obligation on the part of the organization which presents it to both exhibitors and visitors. In the long run, the organization is the servent of the exhibitors. If exhibitors are not happy there is likely to come a time when they will cease to sign up, or they may break off into splinter groups and start other shows, for no one has a monopoly on show operation.

And while there can be no show without exhibitors, neither can there be a successful show without visitors. They, too, must be treated with courtesy and consideration, for after all is said and done, they are potential customers.

Visitor-handling at the Biltmore in Los Angeles is not easy - the hotel is hardly laid out for the purpose. Fire Departments often restrict the number who are allowed on the exhibit floor at a time, which is as it should be, for the safety of all concerned. This is another reason for extending the hours slightly to "dilute" the concentration of visitors.

On the whole, the Los Angeles show would be judged a complete success. But we believe it could have been better.

This particular subject is one which has become touchy. No one in the record industry - except, of course the indefatigable Sid Frey of "Audio Fidelity Records", which now has no less than four Stereodiscs on the market for anyone to buy - seems to be willing to say anything about anything.

Not even off the record. All we can find out is "No comment." CBS-Columbia has announced in "Home Furnishings Daily" that it will demonstrate its stereo record at the IRE Convention on March 25 (1958). What it is we haven't learned. No one seems to have any idea of the date for stereo releases.

On the whole, the entire story of stereo discs has been handled with as little finesse and as little sense of good merchandising as possible.

If the intention had been to confuse everyone, discourage sales, and put the entire industry into a tailspin, it would seem that no better method could have been worked out.
(Man hättte es nicht schlechter machen können, so ungeschickt war das.)

Manufacturers of pickups and amplifiers have actually no assurance as to what will be decided upon finally. The consumer hears all about stereo discs but finds out he can't buy any, so he just doesn't buy anything (er kauft also gar nichts mehr).

He is not susceptible to the logical reasoning that the dealer is giving him - that he needs at least one amplifier and one speaker and one turntable or changer regardless of what system is to be used. But, no, he would rather wait.

The record and high fidelity industries should get together - it is up to the former to come to some decision, and soon. Someone has to take the bull by the horns and release records so there is some incentive to buy equipment. Even the networks offered color television to play on color sets as soon as the latter were put on the market. This is a definite case of which comes first, the chicken or the egg. Here's hoping the small record companies have themselves a ball and press - and release - stereo records like crazy.

Items of particular interest that we saw at the L.A. show included our first experience with the "Integrand servo speaker system", which seems to sound as good as the theory behind it; a 500-watt transistor amplifier driving one company's speaker systems (and from the sound volume they must have been using full output) ; a tape recorder in kit form (not at the show proper, but in one of the rooms of the hotel) soon to be on the market, we were told; and a clarification of our original impression of the James B. Lansing stereo speaker - the Ranger-Paragon - which we described as 18 feet long in the November, 1957, issue but which is only 8 feet, 10 inches long.

But at Kierulff's Concerama in the "Philharmonic Auditorium" it sat in the center of the stage for the third act and gave a marvelous spread of sound - with your eyes shut you could visualize the entire orchestra.

(auf Deutsch unten drunter)

Shows which occurred since the March issue was "put to bed" included the Institute's big affair in Los Angeles and an independent event in Washington, with the Rigo show in Denver and the IHFM-sponsored show in San Francisco not quite so recent but still not reported on here. Still to come is the Rigo show in Baltimore.

All of these shows were successful - which should come as a surprise to no one in the industry. The public is still interested in hi-fi, still wants to hear and see it (or vice versa), and has already heard enough about stereo discs to clamor to hear them.

To those of us who attend these shows regularly, there is a sameness about them, naturally; to the public - the average "John Q." type (ein Synonym ähnlich "Hans Mustermann") who may only attend one or two in his lifetime, not the dedicated audio fan who would go to one every month if he had an opportunity - they are still novel and exciting.

We feel that the Rigo shows have a different problem than the big national events, and that they have shaken down into a successful pattern.

The Washington show, this one being the fourth presented by M. Robert Rogers, has always drawn an interested audience and can be counted successful.

The IHFM shows, however, are not yet established as greatly different from the smaller events - except perhaps for number of exhibitors - whereas they should definitely be the outstanding audio events of the year.

We feel that the hours reserved for dealers' contacts with the manufacturers were entirely too few. There should be a whole day for dealers, and no one but the dealers and exhibitors should be admitted.

Furthermore, we feel that the shows should open not later than 2:00 in the afternoon - the 4:00 o'clock opening leaves too little time for the average visitor who feels that when 6:00 o'clock comes it is time to eat, so he goes out for an hour and a half.

Successful show operation involves an obligation on the part of the organization which presents it to both exhibitors and visitors. In the long run, the organization is the servent of the exhibitors. If exhibitors are not happy there is likely to come a time when they will cease to sign up, or they may break off into splinter groups and start other shows, for no one has a monopoly on show operation.

And while there can be no show without exhibitors, neither can there be a successful show without visitors. They, too, must be treated with courtesy and consideration, for after all is said and done, they are potential customers.

Visitor-handling at the Biltmore in Los Angeles is not easy - the hotel is hardly laid out for the purpose. Fire Departments often restrict the number who are allowed on the exhibit floor at a time, which is as it should be, for the safety of all concerned. This is another reason for extending the hours slightly to "dilute" the concentration of visitors.

On the whole, the Los Angeles show would be judged a complete success. But we believe it could have been better.

(auf Deutsch unten drunter)

This particular subject is one which has become touchy. No one in the record industry - except, of course the indefatigable (der unermüdliche) "Sid Frey" of Audio Fidelity Records, which now has no less than four Stereodiscs on the market for anyone to buy - seems to be willing to say anything about anything. Not even off the record.

All we can find out is "No comment." CBS-Columbia has announced in Home Furnishings Daily that it will demonstrate its stereo record at the IRE Convention on March 25. What it is we haven't learned. No one seems to have any idea of the date for stereo releases.

On the whole, the entire story of stereo discs has been handled with as little finesse and as little sense of good merchandising as possible.

If the intention had been to confuse everyone, discourage sales, and put the entire industry into a tailspin, it would seem that no better method could have been worked out.

Manufacturers of pickups and amplifiers have actually no assurance as to what will be decided upon finally. The consumer hears all about stereo discs but finds out he can't buy any, so he just doesn't buy anything.

He is not susceptible to the logical reasoning that the dealer is giving him - that he needs at least one amplifier and one speaker and one turntable or changer regardless of what system is to be used. But, no, he would rather wait.

The record and high fidelity industries should get together - it is up to the former to come to some decision, and soon. Someone has to take the bull by the horns and release records so there is some incentive to buy equipment.

Even the networks offered color television to play on color sets as soon as the latter were put on the market. This is a definite case of which comes first, the chicken or the egg.

Here's hoping the small record companies have themselves a ball and press - and release - stereo records like crazy.

Dieses spezielle Thema ist eines, das empfindlich geworden ist. Niemand in der Plattenbranche - außer natürlich der unermüdlichen "Sid Frey" von der Firma Audio Fidelity Records, die jetzt nicht weniger als vier Stereo-Platten auf dem Markt hat, die man auch kaufen kann, scheint bereit zu sein, etwas zu sagen. Nicht einmal über die Stereo-Platte.

Alles, was wir herausfinden können, ist "Kein Kommentar". CBS-Columbia hat in "Home Furnishings Daily" angekündigt, dass sie am 25. März 1958 auf der IRE Convention ihre Stereo-Platte vorführen werden. Was es ist, haben wir bisher nicht gelernt (erfahren). Niemand scheint das Datum für Stereo- Veröffentlichungen zu kennen.

Insgesamt wurde die gesamte Geschichte der Stereo-Platten mit so wenig Finesse und so wenig gutem Merchandising wie irgend möglich gehandhabt.

Wenn die Absicht gewesen wäre, alle zu verwirren, den Verkauf zu unterbinden und die gesamte Branche in einen "Tailspin" zu versetzen, scheint es, als hätte keine bessere Methode gefunden werden können.

Hersteller von Tonabnehmern und Verstärkern haben eigentlich keine Gewähr dafür, was nun endgültig entschieden wird. Der Verbraucher hört alles über Stereo-Platten, stellt jedoch fest, dass er keine kaufen kann, also kauft er gar nichts.

Er ist nicht anfällig für die logischen Argumente, die der Händler ihm gibt - dass er mindestens einen Verstärker und einen Lautsprecher sowie einen Plattenspieler oder einen Wechsler benötigt, unabhängig davon, welches System verwendet werden soll. Aber nein, er würde lieber warten.

Die Platten- und High-Fidelity-Industrie sollte zusammen kommen - es liegt an der ersten, bald eine Entscheidung zu treffen. Jemand muss den Stier bei den Hörnern packen und Schallplatten veröffentlichen, so dass ein gewisser Anreiz besteht, auch die Geräte zu kaufen.

Sogar die Fernseh-Sender boten Farbfernsehgeräte an, sobald diese auf den Markt gebracht wurden. Dies ist ein eindeutiger Fall, was denn nun zuerst kommt, das Huhn oder das Ei.

Hier hoffen wir, dass die kleinen Plattenfirmen sich "wie verrückt" (oder auch intensiv) mit Stereo-Platten beschäftigen.

• Anmerkung : Das war also der bei uns hier in Deutschland bislang unbekannte aktuelle Stand in den USA 1958.

.