T.H.E. Show Newport Beach 2011 Show Report

Striking a pose to show off the small size of the Upscale Audio Isetta, Kevin Deal on the left with Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society VP Public Relations Chuck Bruce and President Robert Levi.

Hey guys! Let's get a smile! The line to get in was veeeeeery long. We think a couple people were annoyed with the wait, but once they show got through the line everyone had a gas.

Kevin, Michael Fremer of Stereophile, and Robert Harley and Jim Hannon from The Absolute Sound, wax poetic during the opening of the show.

Kevin Deal and Michael Fremer slogging through another day. Note the bags under Kevin's eyes.

Kevin with Marilyn and Carl Marchisotto outside the exhibit rooms.

Before his seminar on tubes, Kevin takes a minute to get it together.

The seminar on tubes was packed and a lot of fun... standing room only! The audience was really incredible.

The audience for the tube seminar were excited and engaging. The hour was a lot of questions and answers and could have gone another hour without being bored.

One of our exhibit rooms prior to the hoards of people who would descend later to listen. This room featured the PrimaLuna DiaLogue 3 preamp, DiaLogue 7 monoblocks, and the Nola Metro Grand Reference speakers.

The PrimaLuna Prologue Premium integrated shows-off upside down and opened up to show its glory.

This system may be the deal of the year. The Mystere ca21 preamp, which won "Product of the Year" from The Absolute Sound at $2295, with the pa21 power amp at $2995, and the Nola Contender speakers at $3400/pr. So here is a system, at under ten grand, that many show attendees preferred over the system across the hall at $100,000! The synergy was fantastic, and the crowd loved it.

Mystere shows off its top-rated ia21 integrated upside down and showing off parts selection and quality second to none.

Both the rooms featuring Mystere and Primaluna with Nola loudspeakers were constantly packed all three days of the show.

Okay. Some guy brought this compact disc in, and for a number of reasons it was a hoot. If you haven't heard Mingus "The Clown" you should. Frankly the music scared me. As did the picture on the CD case...

Kevin's 1958 BMW Isetta. It is completely restored and the original BMW single cylinder engine runs great. Prior to its restoration, this car spent it's life being used on a goat ranch in Santa Barbara. People asked if Kevin drove it down to the show... not likely. Top speed on this bad boy is way below the speed limit on the freeway... and if you've ever driven on Southern California freeways... you know how dangerous it is driving under the speed limit...