@kennyc Exactly.
I just attended T.H.E. SHOW in Costa Mesa. I was very excited as this was my first audio show. What a disappointment! I was hoping to compare various versions of items from manufacturers. Not possible. Innuos had no representative, and the room that had the equipment chose not to use it at all during my time in the room as they were focusing on speakers and power amps. I asked questions about the various models from Stream 3 to Zen NG. They recommended something else from another brand that I was not interested in and would not use the Zen NG in the room.
Aurender was a bit better, but I was not able to compare various models. I did buy a used N20 from a dealer, I was hoping to compare it to other Aurender options, but there was not chance. Most local dealers have a very limited supply of items from various manufacturers. THE Show did not help.
The room set ups were terrible. Some of them were so out of whack I could not stay more than a minute or two.
I was impressed with the Chesky speaker room. They had a great pair of speakers for under a $1000. Considering getting pair for my son.
A couple of the electrostatic speaker rooms were interesting, but one would only focus on a surround system. I cannot imaging a room with nice electrostats plus two subs. Rediculous.
The cable rooms were next to impossible to get any relevant information about the different models.
Some brands were listed on rooms (Pass Labs), but none of the equipment was represented? Weird.
I wasn't expecting the seminars to be much, but they were actually the highlight of the show.
I won't be back next year. Three days and a bunch of general frustration. I learn more reading the biased Audiogon posts. Thanks for a taste of sanity.