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Are You Old Enough to Remember Those Jaw-Dropping Manufacturer Demos?

There you are, minding your own business at a dealer/audiofare/trade show demo when someone does what appears to be "the impossible."  You just have to stop, gaze, scratch your head, or make an urgent unexpected visit to the restroom.

Here's a couple that I can (still) recall:

Dual Turntable Demo:

Those familiar with the brand know that tracking force is applied with a spring vs a counterweight.  So, those cleaver folks at Dual attached a record clamp that screwed on, then  mounted the turntable upside side suspended by springs and played a record.  To add a more drama to the demo, they would pull the turntable down to extend the springs and let it bounced up and down while the record played.  What the ...?

Pioneer Spec 2 Demo:

The guys at Pioneer were a robust bunch and wanted to show just how powerful, and indestructible their new flagship amp was.  So, they'd sharpen a pencil at both ends, attach some alligator clips to the amps output, and power it up.  A few moments later the pencil would catch ablaze and the crowd would react in a chorus of uniqued gasps.  Got to admit, it got my attention.

Honorable Mention:  William (Bill) Lowe's Speaker Cable Demos

As a new Audioquest dealer, it was customary for Mr. Lowe himself to visit the dealership and do in-person training.  Out of the "demo kit" comes this little jam-box (JVC?) and you're wondering:  "What the heck is he going to do with that?"  So Bill would quietly, and confidently, conduct "good" "better" and "even better" audiophile speaker cable demos with this ($200) jam-box.  Even the hard core "premium cable" deniers in our employ became converts.

How's your memory? 

128x128waytoomuchstuff
llg98ljk's avatar
llg98ljk
193 posts
 

Although not jaw-dropping in a "trickery" sense, two things stand out in my mind. These both occurred in the late 70's or early 80's Those were the glory days when good stereo stores were plentiful in most metro areas. I was in Kansas City at the time. The first was when I had a chance (as a novice) to hear a pair of Klipsh corner horns, The second was a demo of the ADS digital delay system. That one especially blew my mind. Amazing how startling the collapse of the sound field was when it was switched off.

nickthepet
10 posts
 

 My memory is a Dual demo, but it wasn’t  the turned upside down one.  It was playing the Telarc version of the 1812 Overture with real canons.   I think it was an early digital recording. When the canons blew while playing on a “normal” counterbalanced TT it blew the tone arm clear off the record.  The Dual played right through without a hitch.  I bought a CS606  from this demo.  Still in operation today at my son’s home.

larryi
4,131 posts
 

The worst demonstration I witnessed was a dealer showing off the prowess of Klipschorns.  These extremely efficient speakers were hooked up to 350 wpc Phase Linear 700 amps.  Before I could object, the desler cranked the volume till the meters on the amp were pinned at +3 db (700 watts?).  The concrete block room shook like crazy.  I never returned to that shop.

salectric
756 posts
 

The dealer driving Klipschorns with a Phase Linear would have fit right in at this year’s CAF.  A number of rooms had ridiculous ear-splitting volumes.  Maybe it’s because baby boomers are all going deaf.

waytoomuchstuff's avatar
waytoomuchstuff OP
1,196 posts
 

@larryi 

"Before I could object, the desler cranked the volume till the meters on the amp were pinned at +3 db (700 watts?)"

If my math is right, those peaks were somewhere north of 132 decibels with that amp/speaker set up. Surprised you didn't have scorched eyebrows to accompany permanent hearing loss.

"The plasma glowed a blue color which was fascinating and pretty to look at.  You could faintly smell ozone even with the nitrogen gas feed."

I love the smell of burning plasma in the morning.

 

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