As I talked with exhibitors and other audio writers at the inaugural Florida Audio Expo (February 8-10), I got the impression that almost every one of us had arrived in Tampa asking ourselves this question:?Will this be a complete waste of time?
It?s a good question. A new hi-fi show put on by new organizers, in a place that?s never hosted such an event, has the odds against it. What most of us had figured — it was why so many of us had come at all — was that if the FAE turned out to be a dud, Florida?s great weather in February would ease the tedium for those of us from colder climes. I live in Ottawa, Canada, which, during the show, was experiencing a particularly nasty cold spell and near-record snowfalls. In Tampa, the highs were 79-82?F each day of the show.