The Show vs. C.E.S. vs Home Entertainment

T.H.E. show is industry-only as well. CES/THE easily surpasses the HE show, IMNSHO.

-Ed

CES and THE are much bigger than any of the HE's so far. CES's Alexis Park (skip the convention center) and THE's St. Tropez are where you will find the good stuff. THE Show usually has the more exotic 2ch gear, and a free barbeque lunch on all of the show days I think. Both shows are supposed to be industry-only, but that is with a wink-wink from what I have seen. Just get a dealer to sign you up, or print some business cards with a high end audio sounding company name and you can get it just fine.

Audiofile9 has answered your question, and in case you don't understand his suggestion, ANYONE can sign up for CES.

Do it now and avoid the late registration fees. Once you have your CES badge, you are automatically allowed entry into all off site shows including The Show.

You need not be high end to gain entry to CES. Remember that this is Consumer Electronics Show and everyone is welcome regardless if your industry is involved in Computers, telephones, security systems, home entertainment, automotive electronics, watches, televisions, satellite systems, fax machines.

Also welcome are advertising agencies, press and writers that have ANY connection to any of the above.

(Getting the idea?) They don't care, just sign up and enjoy yourself.

http://www.cesweb.org/default_flash.asp

These comments are consistent with my experience. The combination of CES and THE Show is much more powerful than the HE show. Crowds are smaller, installations are better, and variety of gear is much greater. THE Show has more esoteric stuff on average. Both are very worthwhile.
Art