PSB's Paul Barton is a familiar face to SoundStage! Network readers. He was at High End for the first time this year to promote his new line of Synchrony speakers. [www.psbspeakers.com]  

At High End, live music is commonplace. You hear it in exhibitors' rooms, such as that of B&W...

...and out in the hallways, too. Furthermore, there always seems to be something...

...different going on depending on the time of day. It's another nice touch that makes High End a high-quality show.

LP shopping is quite a big deal...

...with more than one seller doing brisk business. For us, it's interesting that next-generation formats haven't caught on with the masses, but vinyl survives and, if this show's an indication, thrives.

On the other hand, although not all vinyl enthusiasts may think that the passing of CD's 25th birthday is something to rejoice over, most audiophiles will tell you that the CD has been not only quite a good format, it has lasted much longer than even its strongest proponents would have guessed. In fact, it's so successful that it won the DVD-A/SACD format war and wasn't even supposed to be in the fight! This display shows the evolution of CD players over a span of 25 years.

Is this guy just happy to see us, or is he happy that the show is almost over? Hard to say. He happens to be Andrew Jones, mastermind behind the TAD line of speakers that includes the ultra-high-end Model 1. His company wasn't formally displaying here, but his speakers were being used in a room that was demonstrating the sonic differences between the differing resolutions of various digital-music formats.