Stereonet Awards: 2018 Melbourne International Hi-FI Show

Posted on 18th October, 2018
Stereonet Awards: 2018 Melbourne International Hi-FI Show

The Melbourne International Hi-Fi Show has drawn to a close for another year in what goes down as one of the most well-attended shows in decades with over 3,000 attendees across three days.

A testament to the marketing of the StereoNET backed and organised show; there were even some high-profile music executives were spotted traversing the halls at times.

Riding on the back of the vinyl revival, stereo sound has seen a resurgence which is evident by the amount of interest in 2-channel demonstrations. The drawcard of the world-first Krix 24.10.10 Dolby Atmos cinema simply cannot be ignored, and certainly attracted many more home cinema enthusiasts who were treated to four different price-point home cinema systems.

It was clear to all that the show has evolved and exhibitors went to a lot of trouble to treat rooms with acoustic solutions this year, and the result was the best sounding rooms of the show's three years of existence. A special mention also goes to Sonitus Acoustics who offered acoustic solution packages to this year's exhibitors.

Judges for this year's StereoNET Awards included members of our review team, senior forum members, and other members of the Hi-Fi and Tech press.

StereoNET's full show coverage can be found here, and without further ado, we 'd like to announce our picks from this year's show.

BEST SOUND IN SHOW (Australian Manufacturer)

WINNER - SGR Audio Maestro Active System (Park Room)
Highly Commended - Hulgich Audio / Holton Audio (Room 1311)

2018 Melbourne International Hi-Fi Show - Best Sound - SGR Audio

BEST SOUND IN SHOW (International Manufacturer)

WINNER: Kharma International (Radiance AV, Room M4)
Highly Commended- Dutch & Dutch 8c / Kii Audio THREE

2018 Melbourne International Hi-Fi Show - Best Sound - Kharma

BEST SOUND IN SHOW (Overall)

WINNER: Kharma International (Radiance AV, Room M4)

Best Sound in Show

BEST CINEMA / AV

WINNER: Krix 24.10.10 Dolby Atmos Cinema
(in conjunction with Barco and Trinnov Audio)
Highly Commended - Selby Acoustics (Room 1206/1207)

2018 Melbourne International Hi-Fi Show - Best Cinema Award

OUTSTANDING VALUE

WINNER - Legend Loudspeakers (Room 1315)
Highly Commended - Osborn Loudspeakers (Albert Room)

Legend Loudspeakers, Best Value Award, 2018 Melbourne International Hi-Fi Show

BEST HEAD-FI DEMONSTRATION

WINNER - Chord Electronics (Park Room)
Highly Commended - Beyerdynamic (Pullman Lobby)

Chord Electronics, Best HeadFi - Melbourne International Hi-Fi Show

BEST NEWCOMER

WINNER - M8Audio (Room 1201)
Highly Commended - Lucie Audio / Microphase Audio Design (Room 1203)

Best Newcomer Award

BEST PRESENTED SPACE

WINNER - SGR Audio (Park Room)
Highly Commended- Lucie Audio / Microphase Audio Design (Room 1203)

Best Presented Space - SGR Audio

BEST PRODUCT DEBUT

WINNER - Yamaha 5000 Series (Lake 3)
Highly Commended - Mark Levinson / Revel Speakers (State Ballroom)
Highly Commended - Aequo Audio Stilla Active Speakers (Lake 4)

Best Product Debut - Yamaha

BEST RETAILER EXHIBITION

WINNER - VAF Research (Lake 1/2)
Highly Commended - Selby Acoustics (1206/1207/1310)

VAF Research - Melbourne International Hi-Fi Show

BEST SYSTEM DEMONSTRATION / PRESENTER

WINNER - Tom Garrett (Trinnov Audio) Krix Cinema
Highly Commended - Paul Morrison (Isoacoustics)
Highly Commended - Mark Dohmann (Telos Audio)

Tom Garrett - Krix - Melbourne International Hi-Fi Show

BEST INNOVATION

WINNER - Involve Audio (Room 1203)

Congratulations to all exhibitors for their efforts at the 2018 Melbourne International HiFi Show to put on a show for Australian consumers and enthusiasts that has no equal.

For more information on any of the exhibitors, please visit this page.

Marc Rushton's avatar
Marc Rushton

StereoNET’s Founder and Publisher was born in England and raised on British Hi-Fi before moving to Australia. He developed an early love of music and playing bass guitar before discovering the studio and the other side of the mixing desk. After a few years writing for audio magazines, Marc saw the future in digital publishing and founded the first version of StereoNET, known at the time as Planet Audio, in 1999.

Posted in: Hi-Fi | Headphones | Home Theatre | StereoNET | HiFi Show

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applause awards

Each time StereoNET reviews a product, it is considered for an Applause Award. Winning one marks it out as a design of great quality and distinction – a special product in its class, on the grounds of either performance, value for money, or usually both.

Applause Awards are personally issued by StereoNET’s global Editor-in-Chief, David Price – who has over three decades of experience reviewing hi-fi products at the highest level – after consulting with our senior editorial team. They are not automatically given with all reviews, nor can manufacturers purchase them.

The StereoNET editorial team includes some of the world’s most experienced and respected hi-fi journalists with a vast wealth of knowledge. Some have edited popular English language hi-fi magazines, and others have been senior contributors to famous audio journals stretching back to the late 1970s. And we also employ professional IT and home theatre specialists who work at the cutting edge of today’s technology.

We believe that no other online hi-fi and home cinema resource offers such expert knowledge, so when StereoNET gives an Applause Award, it is a trustworthy hallmark of quality. Receiving such an award is the prerequisite to becoming eligible for our annual Product of the Year awards, awarded only to the finest designs in their respective categories. Buyers of hi-fi, home cinema, and headphones can be sure that a StereoNET Applause Award winner is worthy of your most serious attention.

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