The Clarity Alliance presented the ninth annual ‘Best of Show’ awards at The Bristol Show on 24 February and announced the winners of nine awards for exhibitors and the wider industry.

Presenting the awards, Clarity’s chairman, Elizabeth Gould, gave an overview of Clarity’s work to support the hi-fi industry to the assembled audience of exhibitors, retailers and members of the media. As part of this presentation, Elizabeth invited those present to join in the community mission of the organisation by submitting ideas and thoughts on how Clarity can enhance its offering.

Earlier during the day, Clarity’s team of anonymous judges visited every room at the show, to judge each in three categories: ‘Best Sound of the Show’, ‘Best Presented Room’ and in a new category, recognising the importance of excellence in customer service, ‘Most Welcoming Room of the Show’.

'Best Sound of the Show'         - PMC

'Best Presented Room'           - REL

'Most Welcoming Room'        - Auden Distribution

Two categories had been nominated by members of the Clarity board and awards were made to Reference Audio for ‘Best New Retailer’ and Hi-Fi Lounge for ‘Out of the Box Retailer’. These awards recognised the challenges of opening a new retail outlet during tougher trading conditions and widening the appeal of a hi-fi business to a new audience.

Two further awards were voted on by members of the industry prior to the show and the awards for ‘Best Retailer Marketing’ and ‘Best Manufacturer Marketing’ were given to Signals HiFi and Bowers & Wilkins respectively.

As part of its constitution, Clarity, the UK hi-fi trade association, undertakes to recognise individuals who have made a significant contribution to the industry. This year’s award will be presented at the Clarity Conference on 20th March, to be held at Dolby’s London screening room. All members of the industry are invited to attend by contacting clarity@clarityalliance.co.uk.

Clarity would like to thank the show organisers for supporting the idea of a “Best of Show” awards, Harman for the use of its room for the presentations and the UK hi-fi industry for making the effort to present hi-fi to consumers with such enthusiasm.