Recession? What recession?
     The Festival Son et Image is now 22 years old, which means this is not the very first recession the show has plowed its way through. The one of the early 90's was no picnic (and since we were around then too, we're here to confirm it). Is this recession worse than the ones we remember? In some ways, definitely. But CES was still fairly strong in Vegas in January, so why not the Montreal Salon?
     Oh...perhaps you've noticed the change of name. Long called a Festival, it is now a Salon (the hallway sign shown below is of course from last year). Since the wordSalon is commonly used for auto shows, we have no argument.
     Of course no show works without promotion, and in fact Salon CEO Michel Plante was touring CES in the company of three attention-drawing laides with blue hair. So far so good. Another clever move, continued from last year, handing out business cards that were inserted into copies of the show's official CD. Who throws away a CD?
     The Salon's venue remains downtown, and that is sensible. Though some show organizers have tried to downsize their budgets by rending a hotel near an airport, many of those shows are no longer around. The venue remains the huge Centre Sheraton, a hotel located at the corner of René-Lévesque and Stanley, right downtown, and not more than a block from the Métro. Sensible.
     Who's exhibiting? For that we can refer you to the Salon's own Web site, but we should warn you that, for some reason, the list is well concealed. To get to it, choose the site's FAQ, and one of the questions is who is exhibiting. Or else go directly to it with this link.
     It's rather obvious that some big names are missing. Thiel was there last year. Blue Circle is there every year. Not this time. But there will be KEF, Simaudio, Totem, Divergent (presumably with Reference 3a speakers and Antique Sound Lab electronics), Pierre Gabriel, and Dimexs (Naim). Plurison will have its usual pamoply of upscale gear. Energy and Mirage will be present, possibly for the first time since the brands were snapped up by Klipsch. There's no Klipsch room, though. Justice Audio will have its long-running room full of recordings and acessories.
     Another exhibitor, and indeed a co-sponsor, is Stereophile, whose logo you can see on the hall sign at right.

UHF's coverage
     As in recent years we ourselves have no exhibit, and so four of us (Albert, Gerard, Toby, Steve) will have lots of time to tour the show, gathering pictures and impressions. Being (ahem!) privileged, we even get our own preview on Thursday, which is the trade day. You're invited to join us on line for our daily reports, with text and photos. You can get to them by clicking the links at upper left (with each report coming out late in the evening or the following morning). And of course there will be a major report in the issue No. 87 of UHF, which is due out in early June.
     Our best wishes go with this year's edition, as it has with all the previous ones. See you there, possibly.

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