It's probably still early (only mid-afternoon out there), but it's sort of an annual tradition for the saloon and I've seen at least one report from the show so I may as well start a thread for it...

Have any west coast gunslingers made it out to the HE Show in Los Angeles? If so, did you learn anything interesting or take any cool pictures in Outlaw's room? (If needed, I can host pictures on my site - just PM me if you have pictures and need help getting them posted.)

I think I got the first demo of the day: the space shuttle landing scene from the movie 'The Core'. Peter was his usual fun self. Said hi to Scott. Got a pack of Outlaw playing cards. Nice.

Image looked great on a 2.35:1 screen. They were using a woven material so that the centre speaker (identical tower to the L/R mains) could be placed behind the screen without penalty.

Sound was pretty good too, with seamless LCR imaging. Best part was the bass: they were using 4 subs and a SMS-1 to get smooth low frequency response across the seating area. Worked very well. The other thing about the low frequency response was that it wasn't overpowering. So many demos overwhelm you pounding bass in an attempt to impress. The Outlaw demo had the low frequencies well balanced with the rest of the sound, which really helped keep even the softest dialogue audible.

Only distraction was some rattling, but that's the hotel room not Outlaw's set-up. Room treatments were well used. With the three identical towers up front and the realistic bass balance, the system seemed ideally configured for multi-channel music listening. Unfortunately I forgot to ask them if they had any music to demo. Maybe when I go back on Saturday.

Cool, Sanjay - thanks for the report. Integrating all those subs through an SMS-1 was a smart move on their part (not that the choice should have surprised us, since I know from past conversations that Scott is particularly fond of his own SMS-1).

Heck, if you go back Saturday just take some music with you.

Which subs were they using? LFM-1 or LFM-2?

I'm pretty sure it was the LFM-2 because Peter talked about the bass volume vs bass extension switch.

A bass volume vs. bass extension switch? Neither sub has that currently. It sounds like they've got a new sub in the line-up.

Wups, my mistake. I forgot that the LFM-2 was the smaller sub and not some new version of the LFM-1. So yes, I think they were debuting a new variant of the LFM-1. The sub actually looked a little bigger than I remember the LFM-1 looking (a friend has two), but take that with a grain of salt since I was paying more attention to Peter than the hardware in the room.

Ahhhh... An updated LFM-1 with a bass extension switch? That's definitely interesting.

Right, it's similar to the bass-extension / max-output switch on the Hsu Research VTF-3 MK2. (It's no secret who helped design the Outlaw subs.)

Speaking of Hsu: his room was one of my favourites at the show. He was demoing new speakers (looked like Klipsch, right down to the square horn). The imaging was stunning; excellent dynamics too. Best part: only $125 each. He isn't sure if he is going to do a dedicated centre speaker or not (I encouraged him not to).

Between the Outlaw and Hsu demos, it was refreshing seeing set-ups with three identical speakers up front, all placed at exactly the same height. Wish more people were doing that.

Yeah, the LFM-1 and LFM-2's family ties to the Hsu subs have always been public knowledge. I'll be curious to see the specs on the update to the LFM-1. Hsu's new speakers also are an interesting bit of news.