T.H.E. Show SoCal, now known as the Total Hi-fi Experience, is expanding. The focus for the 2026 show has shifted to include a film festival, curated music on vinyl, more large demo rooms, seminars, and T.H.E. Music Festival, where attendees could enjoy a number of acts in the hotel’s largest ball room at no additional charge. These varied from developing musicians to accomplished performers, highlighted by the last act featuring Grammy-winning guitarist Larry Mitchell – who can make a guitar sound like an entire orchestra with the help of some electronic equipment. He was soon joined by a classically trained harpsichordist and the two of them intertwined their notes like dueling banjos. For the last set, T.H.E. Show CEO Emiko Carlin joined them on keyboard. Both my friend James Carry and I felt that that set alone was worth the price of admission to the entire show.
T.H.E. Music Festival was sponsored by Peter Noerbaek of PBN Audio (above, facing). The speakers with the blue baffle were not hooked up as they sold within two hours of the show opening. They are PBN-built versions of the famous JBL 4350B studio monitor, which was produced in the late 1970s, and became very popular with audiophiles afterwards (especially in Japan). There’s still a demand for them, and Peter meets it by building exact copies.
Peter was demonstrating his M2!5a speakers with the new bass towers, which sounded like a live performance when playing rock music.
I was surprised to see T.H.E. Show proprietor Emiko Carlin walking with a cane this year. Turns out she’d suffered a TIA and two strokes only five weeks prior. That might cause others to pass the baton for this event, but not Emiko. She didn't slow down a bit except for the cane. She’s shown introducing her staff before the Friday Night Kick-off Party.
The best sound of the show this year (subject to bias, mood, health, temperament, and personal taste) emanated from these Seawave Acoustic Dewstar speakers from South Korea. They sell for $220,000/pair plus $6,000 for custom colors like fire engine red. They feature diamond tweeters and aluminum unicast cabinets weighing 420 lbs. each. Needless to say, they passed the rap test with glowing colors. Their neutrality, dynamics, imaging, and especially presence (how “in the room” the performers sounded) impressed James and me more than any others we heard that weekend, and more than most I’ve ever heard. Keep in mind that the show was too big for us to hear everything, which is an argument for evening sessions.
James and I always wander the halls like vagrants after dinner. A friend once claimed that the exhibitors who are real music junkies stay after hours for the pure enjoyment of sharing their favorite tunes. Fortunately, Tony Minasian of Tonian Labs is one of those enthusiasts. We spent a pleasant evening in his demo room where we were able to listen without crowds, noise and interruptions. Tony’s speakers have received my “biggest bang for the buck” award two years in a row and they are thoroughly engaging. Shown left to right are Tony, the author, John Garrett, my traveling buddy James, HiFi Tommy, and John Jaecle.
The Costa Mesa Hilton makes a fine venue for an audio show with plenty of big demo rooms, halls large enough for live music, plenty of parking, lots of eateries within walking distance, and easy freeway access off the 405. The place was clean and the staff was as accommodating as always. However, the escalators to the bottom floors, which didn’t work last year, still don’t work, and the restaurant was as mediocre as ever (exemplified by the large number of half-eaten plates left after every meal).
This year, my biggest bang for the buck award goes to these Atlantis Lab speakers from France, which debuted in America at this show. At $6,500/pair, these 75 lb., 96 dB-efficient speakers struck me as the soul brothers to the Seawave speakers above, exhibiting many of the same qualities but to a lesser extent, in particular, a neutral response, outstanding dynamics (for their size) and great presence. They would make a fine pair of desert island speakers, or speakers for a smaller room like mine.
I’ve heard many Legacy Audio speakers at shows over the past 20 years. They consistently provide excellent sound at competitive prices. These were no exception, and judging by how popular this room was during the entire show, I’m not the only one who felt that way.
Who can argue with the timeless beauty of McIntosh equipment. No matter how pretty the competition gets, a McIntosh stack is still the most aesthetically striking to my eye.
It was located in one of the Scott Walker Audio rooms mated with Sonus Faber loudspeakers, a match made in heaven according to several attendees.
It was a pleasure to finally meet Scott Walker. Despite his renown, he struck me as pleasant, unassuming, and sensible as audiophiles get.
The Estelon speakers from Estonia have impressed me for years with their uncolored presentation, broad soundstage, superb build quality, and stylish appearance. In years past, I was as impressed by the founder's daughter, Alissa Vassilkova, who was equally stylish and accompanied him to many shows. Scott told me that she is now the CEO of Estelon, so I hope to see her again at future T.H.E. Shows.
Alissa Vassilkova is Estelon's new CEO.
ORTVIK creates custom acoustic surfaces (integrated walls, sculptured ceilings, acoustic furniture) designed to control sound for specific spaces. I’ve studied, built and recommended many similar products over the years and know enough to understand that this convoluted diffraction/absorption approach is a superlative design. This panel was employed in one of Scott Walker’s rooms.
The indomitable show CEO, Emiko Carlin, set up a Q&A session. This gave attendees an opportunity to make inquiries and provide feedback. I’ve never experienced anything like it in previous audio shows, which gave me confidence in the future of these events. Now if we could only get the manufacturers to do something similar.
James Carry has an uncanny knack for choosing departure times co-incident with the lightest traffic flow, so we made it back to San Diego in the same time it would have taken during the Reagan administration. This year, he picked me up in his new, top-of-the-line Mercedes SUV, which had every automotive feature ever invented including back massagers built into the seats.
What impressed me most however, was the ride. It floated as comfortably as any luxury sedan over the beat-up SoCal roads, thanks to its fluid suspension (which inspired high speeds). We encountered no slowdowns and only one stop. The officer gave us a break because we treated him like a friend rather than the enemy. “I’m letting you off because you’re likely to be the nicest guys I’ll talk to all day,” he concluded.
All images courtesy of the author.
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