View Full Version : NW Audio Show 2026
Another year, another show. This year's theme seemed to be 'bass' with some exhibitors playing music which seemed to consist of just that.
Anyway, here's some photos which hopefully will stay up this year, along with my own impressions:
Audio Group Denmark:
https://i.postimg.cc/nz3rxcFJ/20260628-100625.jpg (https://postimg.cc/dkTwmFZH)
Bit short of info here but the larger speakers which I think are Borresen X2 were playing bass-heavy music and were surprisingly good at it. Electronics are by Aavik. Liked the big red dot matrix displays, no need to squint to see what was playing.
Kudos:
https://i.postimg.cc/br2ZRfPG/20260628-101509.jpg (https://postimg.cc/PvTftcPh)
Kudos Titan 505 with Ultrafide Enso amplification. I know Kudos have a following but have to say the appeal alludes me. Okay but not great. Terrible music choices meant a short stay in this room. That was to become a theme.
Heritage High-Fi:
https://i.postimg.cc/FsC9HBQt/20260628-101824.jpg (https://postimg.cc/SJ80ZVsV)
KLH flagship model 9 speaker, 3 way with 13'' bass driver. If you want retro, they've got it. No way to evaluate as they were playing music that was just bass, worse it was just the same riff repeated over and over. After a while it seemed that was all they were going to play so moved on.
Maravedis Audio
https://i.postimg.cc/jjg9zGvG/20260628-102302.jpg (https://postimg.cc/xkmtQpwR)
This was different, active horn speaker with valve amps, looking like something from the 1920s but sound was clean if unexciting. This room is probably one of the worst acoustically in the whole place so they did well with the set up. Not my sort of thing, but interesting.
More in a while.
Hi-Fi Network
https://i.postimg.cc/CxLzvQjy/20260628-102652.jpg (https://postimg.cc/qzSJqQbQ)
Elac speakers, I think the Debut 3.0 - disappointing sound since Elac are fairly good speakers and they looked quite capable. Might have been the turntable. Not sure what the amp is.
Edit - not the turntable as remembered that wasn't in use when we were there. So no idea why it was a bit weak.
ATC Loudspeakers:
https://i.postimg.cc/kMTrQYXQ/20260628-103146.jpg (https://postimg.cc/kDRh9cSG)
Now this was more like it. ATC EL50 which is their new active loudspeaker, a variant on the ATC50 for the domestic (and probably mostly overseas) market. Musical music was playing and they were good. Although obviously the price is ruinous.
Chord Electronics:
https://i.postimg.cc/NGmDY5ZG/20260628-103628.jpg (https://postimg.cc/5j9LSNxD)
Kerr Acoustics K100 (I think). How do you get massive transmission line speakers to sound a bit thin and scratchy? Not the speakers as I've heard these many times but they were using a turntable when I was in there so maybe it was that. Did not hear good sound from any turntables at this show with exception of the Technics room. At least they were playing music (Bowie) and not just random low frequency noises.
G-Point Audio
https://i.postimg.cc/3wrrr4L4/20260628-104508.jpg (https://postimg.cc/18T1Jt1s)
Lampizator with Fonica International speakers. Led Zep playing when we went in, pretty good so stopped for a while. If you want scale these speakers do it in spades but they are massive, even in a big room like this. Lampizator are a puzzle, their ideas about digital audio are, IMO, whacky nonsense and I'm not much of a fan of valves, but never heard a system that used their kit sound bad, and I've heard quite a few over the years.
Some more to follow.
Acoustica:
https://i.postimg.cc/HkY4m3CL/20260628-105138.jpg (https://postimg.cc/6yPGLrqs)
https://i.postimg.cc/y8GJGT15/20260628-145316.jpg (https://postimg.cc/HrQscX74)
Sonus Faber (I think Stradaveri G2) with a full monty McIntosh system. There was a good sound trying to get out here, poor the first time so went back later. it was a bit too shouty I thought, but it had potential to be very good if whatever was causing that could be fixed. Good bass.
Doug Brady
They have a big space divided up but, as with previous years, about 5 systems all playing at once to make it really hard to have a proper listen. Here's some big Dalis with Luxman monoblocs:
https://i.postimg.cc/7ZN4GHcN/20260628-110226.jpg (https://postimg.cc/4YnqjgXK)
Technics:
https://i.postimg.cc/qqC0z8Vk/20260628-112606.jpg (https://postimg.cc/K3FCW38V)
Stratton Element 8 loudspeakers. They were playing EDM and we were very impressed by the speakers despite how blingy they looked. Later found out they're 25 grand! (Plus another 5 large if you want the stands).
Henley Audio
https://i.postimg.cc/HkbwbK4z/20260628-113354.jpg (https://postimg.cc/DSy4TxN4)
Rotel Michi with Piega speakers, I think their Coax611. Good sound, ticked all the boxes. Smooth without being boring, good bass. Speakers cost just shy of ten grand, thought they'd be more than that.
Avondale Acoustics:
https://i.postimg.cc/T2Lvfqc1/20260628-113813.jpg (https://postimg.cc/8sS0bv9g)
No idea what was supposed to be happening in here. Linn Isobariks, I assume heavily equalised, playing bass so loud you could hear it half a mile away. Interesting but bizarre.
Kii:
https://i.postimg.cc/zfsSWr42/20260628-114204.jpg (https://postimg.cc/ns1Db6Fq)
Kii 7 - impressive sound - clean, smooth, good bass, good imaging despite the very small room.
Saved the best to last...
Am going to declare a tie for my 'Best In Show' award
First up
Kharma Acoustics
https://i.postimg.cc/pTYx8Ksk/20260628-125605.jpg (https://postimg.cc/CB1WpnTf)
Perlisten S7 speakers. Possibly the best mid and top of any speaker I ever heard, almost spell-binding. Plus they played some decent music.
Arke Loudspeakers
https://i.postimg.cc/d1npw6Wm/20260628-134438.jpg (https://postimg.cc/LYYNVtFn)
Arke Mikros and Altus (small 2-way with optional added bass unit turning into a 3-way)
Went to town on the passive room treatment and it showed up in the sound - started and stopped on a dime with all the reverb trails intact. Better bass than the Perlistens, not as good as them on the mid and top - but still very good.
Good show report with good photos. Well done Martin.
Sad to read that some of the most expensive gear underperformed (£30,000 for a pair of speakers!). Poor room acoustics, or poor setup by the demonstrators?
Good show report with good photos. Well done Martin.
Sad to read that some of the most expensive gear underperformed (£30,000 for a pair of speakers!). Poor room acoustics, or poor setup by the demonstrators?
Many of the rooms are identical and you can get good sound in one then go to the next one and get a racket. So not room acoustics although the rooms where they'd put in some treatment tended to sound more listenable, all else aside.
Worst year ever for the music choices unless we were just unlucky with the timing which I doubt. Lots of pristine modern recordings with deep, well recorded bass that were just dire musically and meant you couldn't begin to evaluate anything. Everyone we met said the same thing so not just me.
Not a question of musical taste - I mean, I hate The Smiths but at least it's a valid choice to demo a system. Music that's just doof, doof, doof really isn't.
I rate the drive units Borresen uses. Audio Nostrum also use TeXtreme drivers in a two way that I thought was really impressive at Munich 2025. The Audio Nostrum ones are made by SB Acoustics. DIYers can buy them. The Borresen ones qren't quite the same, but for my money they sound very similar.
Also, I like those Piega speakers. They had them at Whittlebury. I'm not sure I'd pay 15 grand, but they were very nicely finished.
SB and Audio Nostrum pics I took at Munich 2025.
Piega didn't come out well but that's Whittlebury.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20260629/5127826e04452cca14bfa798392b8c5d.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20260629/acd5734d1f467293a93e0f82cae99426.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20260629/a9c773c5d930ddc829091581ebf3befe.jpg
Can't agree on the ATC EL50s. For 50 grand I just didn't think they were any good at all when I heard them.
Cheers for the pics & thoughts. I almost went but decided on going to see The Pixies live at Wasing Park instead.
Better Piega pic attached.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20260629/3d95c23b372bb6be7b1c2e162ed40a26.jpg
Can't agree on the ATC EL50s. For 50 grand I just didn't think they were any good at all when I heard them.
Cheers for the pics & thoughts. I almost went but decided on going to see The Pixies live at Wasing Park instead.
Better Piega pic attached.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20260629/3d95c23b372bb6be7b1c2e162ed40a26.jpg
I wouldn't pay 50 grand for the ATCs either, there isn't fifty grand worth of sound quality there; but they're not a product aimed at the likes of me.
I thought the Perlisten S7 were some way better at less than a fifth of the price - but you do need buy an amp for them too.
Going to see The Pixies instead was a solid choice :) but it would have been good to meet up again.
Ali Tait
01-07-2026, 13:15
Standout rooms for me were Moor Amps (Whom I'd never heard of) using a pair of Jes Kerr's speakers. Superb sound from top to bottom. Also Radford Revival using the M100 monos into a pair of RFC Rubatos was very good. Killer bass for a standmounter, they were playing some Dub when we were in there, with very impressive scale.
I thought the Lowther horns were terrible. Whoever signed off on having them at a show should have their ears syringed!
Spent an enjoyable few hours on Friday afternoon in the bar chatting with Les Wolstenholme, an absolute gent.
Standout rooms for me were Moor Amps (Whom I'd never heard of) using a pair of Jes Kerr's speakers. Superb sound from top to bottom. Also Radford Revival using the M100 monos into a pair of RFC Rubatos was very good. Killer bass for a standmounter, they were playing some Dub when we were in there, with very impressive scale.
I thought the Lowther horns were terrible. Whoever signed off on having them at a show should have their ears syringed!
Spent an enjoyable few hours on Friday afternoon in the bar chatting with Les Wolstenholme, an absolute gent.
Glad you posted Ali - was looking out for you but never saw you anywhere. Not even in the bar!
When I saw Avondale were there I was looking out for Les too because he always buys me a drink :)
Wakefield Turntables
01-07-2026, 18:56
What an amazing post, thanks Martin.
Ali Tait
01-07-2026, 20:53
Glad you posted Ali - was looking out for you but never saw you anywhere. Not even in the bar!
When I saw Avondale were there I was looking out for Les too because he always buys me a drink :)
Was only there Saturday mate, Nick, Andrew, Dave and I were there as punters. It was nice not having to shift loads of gear and vinyl in that heat!
Was only there Saturday mate, Nick, Andrew, Dave and I were there as punters. It was nice not having to shift loads of gear and vinyl in that heat!
My mistake, I knew you said you weren't working it this time but thought you were still going to be there both days.
Crackin' write up Martin
Enjoyed that.
Thanks.
Ali Tait
03-07-2026, 06:03
My mistake, I knew you said you weren't working it this time but thought you were still going to be there both days.
That was originally the plan, we stayed at the Vicarage, but decided on Saturday evening we'd all head home in the morning as we'd seen what we wanted to see. Was pretty tired, have started a new project and am working long hours, out of the house at 5am and not back in till 7pm, so fancied a day just to chill.
Good write-up, mate. Haven't seen you do something like this before.
Lampizator are a puzzle, their ideas about digital audio are, IMO, whacky nonsense and I'm not much of a fan of valves, but never heard a system that used their kit sound bad, and I've heard quite a few over the years.
I think what you mean is that due to your personal biases/proclivities valves aren't really your thing, but when done well you're able to acknowledge that - at least that's what you've always said about my valve gear, either at my place or at meets:)
Plus, when it comes to turntables, in my experience at these shows they can't be arsed taking the time to set them up properly! No T/T, no matter how cheap or expensive is 'plug & play':doh:
When we used to do Scalford Hall, I spent a good few hours fine-tuning the Techy until I was happy with it (not just the T/T but the whole system), before visitors arrived, and was one of the reasons why the AoS room got rave reviews.
Marco.
Good write-up, mate. Haven't seen you do something like this before.
I think what you mean is that due to your personal biases/proclivities you don't want to like valves, but when done well you're able to acknowledge that - at least that's what you've always said about my valve gear, either at my place or at meets:)
Plus, when it comes to turntables, in my experience at these shows they can't be arsed taking the time to set them up properly! No T/T, no matter how cheap or expensive is 'plug & play':doh:
When we used to do Scalford Hall, I spent a good few hours fine-tuning the Techy until I was happy with it (not just the T/T but the whole system), before the punters arrived, and was one of the reasons why the AoS room got rave reviews.
Marco.
'Not a fan' doesn't mean I think they're no good. I mean, I'm not a fan of Arsenal but they had a good team last season.
I've owned valve amplifiers, phono stages and pre-amps in the past. I just don't think they bring anything extra to the table (except perhaps in phono pre-amps) but - done right - they're more expensive and more hassle.
I'm much the same with turntables. I can listen to vinyl records all day on a good turntable, again I just don't think, for me, that they're worth the expense and the hassle. I've got lots of albums (at least 50 or so) on both vinyl and CD and there's only 2 I can think of that are better on vinyl (might be a couple more I that don't come to mind right now) and I strongly suspect that's just down to the different mastering.
Good write-up, mate. Haven't seen you do something like this before.
.
Pretty sure I've done a report on this show for the past 3 or 4 years. Here's the 2025 although I used IMDB and they take down hi-rez pics after a short time, so they're missing now
https://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?78637-North-West-Audio-Show-2025-June-21st-amp-22nd/page2
'Not a fan' doesn't mean I think they're no good. I mean, I'm not a fan of Arsenal but they had a good team last season.
I've owned valve amplifiers, phono stages and pre-amps in the past. I just don't think they bring anything extra to the table (except perhaps in phono pre-amps) but - done right - they're more expensive and more hassle.
That's fair enough, although we'll largely have to agree to disagree. I paid £2.5k for my Copper amp (and I'd happily compare it with valve amps costing many times that amount), so in terms of valves 'done right', I don't think that's OTT compared with the retail price of a decent SS amp.
I'm much the same with turntables. I can listen to vinyl records all day on a good turntable, again I just don't think, for me, that they're worth the expense and the hassle. I've got lots of albums (at least 50 or so) on both vinyl and CD and there's only 2 I can think of that are better on vinyl (might be a couple more I that don't come to mind right now) and I strongly suspect that's just down to the different mastering.
I know where you're coming from, as sometimes when I'm listening to music, unless I look, it's difficult to know whether I'm listening to the Sony or the Techy, such is the excellence of the sound, with the Techy sounding as stable and realistic as a good CDP.
However, when I really want to show off my system, nothing beats a pristine well-recorded piece of vinyl (usually something that been recorded with valve mics and equipment). You've been there and heard my T/T doing precisely that at one of the meets, and if I recall correctly you said it was the best sound you'd ever heard from a T/T. Correct?
Trust me, I wouldn't have achieved the same thing with a CD:cool:
Marco.
Pretty sure I've done a report on this show for the past 3 or 4 years. Here's the 2025 although I used IMDB and they take down hi-rez pics after a short time, so they're missing now
https://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?78637-North-West-Audio-Show-2025-June-21st-amp-22nd/page2
Probably just my addled brain:)
Marco.
However, when I really want to show off my system, nothing beats a pristine well-recorded piece of vinyl (usually something that been recorded with valve mics and equipment). You've been there and heard my T/T doing precisely that at one of the meets, and if I recall correctly you said it was the best sound you'd ever heard from a T/T. Correct?
Trust me, I wouldn't have achieved the same thing with a CD:cool:
Marco.
Agree your turntable is very good, don't think I've ever heard a better TT at any price. But I have various issues with vinyl I can't get past. In ascending order of importance:
1) pops and clicks. Yes I know some records have none and you can listen past them but why put up with it when there's a medium that doesn't have them
2) surface noise - it's always there and it obscures the really low level detail, like the studio ambience
3) wow on sustained notes like piano. Very few records are pressed exactly central and almost all are warped to some degree.
4) bass response. Just so much better on digital, was reminded of this again just last weekend at NEBO when there was swapping between turntables, CD and streaming. Vinyl doesn't come close.
None of these are deal-breakers for enjoyment, like I said I can listen all day to vinyl done properly, but CD is better in all 4 of those areas and a lot cheaper too. That's why I stopped bothering with turntables.
I agree with you about turntables at shows often (not always) not being set up properly. Seems to me unless you're selling turntables you're better off demoing your speakers or whatever with digital. One year at the NW show they had Gryphon amps with Marten speakers, about half a million quids worth and it sounded rotten since they were using a TT that just wasn't right. I mean, why do that? And could the demo people not hear how bad it was?
Agree your turntable is very good, don't think I've ever heard a better TT at any price.
Cheers, mate. A lot of work and dosh has gone into it.
But I have various issues with vinyl I can't get past. In ascending order of importance:
1) pops and clicks. Yes I know some records have none and you can listen past them but why put up with it when there's a medium that doesn't have them
2) surface noise - it's always there and it obscures the really low level detail, like the studio ambience
3) wow on sustained notes like piano. Very few records are pressed exactly central and almost all are warped to some degree.
4) bass response. Just so much better on digital, was reminded of this again just last weekend at NEBO when there was swapping between turntables, CD and streaming. Vinyl doesn't come close.
None of these are deal-breakers for enjoyment, like I said I can listen all day to vinyl done properly, but CD is better in all 4 of those areas and a lot cheaper too. That's why I stopped bothering with turntables.
1) With pristine (as in RCM-cleaned) brand new vinyl [a serious chunk of my record collection], pops and clicks are a non-issue.
2) I agree, but I don't get off on 'studio ambience'. My favourite recordings are mostly live anyway; I prefer their rawness.
3) There's no audible wow on piano with my T/T, and I listen to a lot of solo piano music; it's one of the things direct-drives (and idlers) are best at. Most records I've encountered don't have a problem with not being pressed centrally, and the ones in my collection are flat as a pancake. I don't do even slightly warped vinyl. You can tell by how well your cartridge tracks if there's a problem with warps.
4) No disrespect to the T/Ts that were there, but with the right recordings, the very best T/Ts do bass just as good as any CDP. I've done the comparison myself in my own system, using identical music on respective formats, and the Sony doesn't trump the Techy on bass. They're equally as good:cool:
I agree with you about turntables at shows often (not always) not being set up properly. Seems to me unless you're selling turntables you're better off demoing your speakers or whatever with digital. One year at the NW show they had Gryphon amps with Marten speakers, about half a million quids worth and it sounded rotten since they were using a TT that just wasn't right. I mean, why do that? And could the demo people not hear how bad it was?
I don't know why you bother going to shows these days where it's mostly (questionable) style over substance. Where it's 'at' in hi-fi isn't with high-end bling-fi; it's judiciously building a system from the used market or DIY done well. That's where you'll find the highest SPPV.
Marco.
I don't know why you bother going to shows these days where it's mostly (questionable) style over substance.
Marco.
It's the only day out I ever have so there's that. :) Otherwise I agree, I long since came to the conclusion that, analogue sources aside, it all just comes down to speakers and rooms. And yes, most of the systems at that show range from poor to unremarkable.
Still, there's occasionally something that stops me in my tracks. Like this year it was those Perlisten 7ST Black Edition. Best mid and top I ever heard on any speaker. If I hadn't already bought some speakers I'd probably have bought the cheaper non-black edition one. The Blacks are £28K!
Pigmy Pony
30-09-2026, 15:06
Yep, that's what it is, a day out, and a chance to listen to stuff you wouldn't otherwise ever hear. Occasionally you hear something remarkable, other times it's something that makes you appreciate your own kit. Which is nice.
And it's meeting up with like-minded individuals, sometimes for a beer and a bite to eat. The social side of it is important to me :)
'Not a fan' doesn't mean I think they're no good. I mean, I'm not a fan of Arsenal but they had a good team last season.
I've owned valve amplifiers, phono stages and pre-amps in the past. I just don't think they bring anything extra to the table (except perhaps in phono pre-amps) but - done right - they're more expensive and more hassle.
I'm much the same with turntables. I can listen to vinyl records all day on a good turntable, again I just don't think, for me, that they're worth the expense and the hassle. I've got lots of albums (at least 50 or so) on both vinyl and CD and there's only 2 I can think of that are better on vinyl (might be a couple more I that don't come to mind right now) and I strongly suspect that's just down to the different mastering.
I'm inclined to agree with all of that. Like most people here I started to get interested in the quality reproduction of music in my mid to late teens.
At home we had a Philips 'radiogram' - mono of course, and with a good radio, but the record player was less than ideal: a 9" platter and an arm which would only take a Philips crystal cartridge and probably used a tracking force of 10g or more, as there was no counterweight on the arm. Still that was all we had and I played my 7" singles on it.
My awakening came on a visit to a school chum's house, where his father had an altogether better system, which from memory consisted of a Collaro 2010 turntable with a Garrard arm (whose model number I forgot) carrying a Shure M44 cartridge. The speakers were Wharfedale SFB driven by a Leak ST15 valve amplifier and a Leak valve preamp of some description. To my virgin ears it sounded magnificent - but hopelessly out of my budget.
Obviously I could only afford those parts of a music system that I could not build myself. So at college I bought a Garrard SP25/II fitted with a Sure M3D and built a Mullard 5-10 valve amplifier and a simple phono preamp and a Wharfedale design speaker using their RS/8/DD drive unit fitted into a distributed port enclosure of about 1.5cu ft. Still mono at first but then later I built a second 5-10 amplifier and a second Wharfedale speaker. This served me well until I found a Collaro 2010 turntable in a junk shop, replaced the arm with an SME fitted with a Shure M55E, and built a plinth.
This lasted through to my changing University to study for a postgraduate degree, when I decided to go solid state. I had become friendly with Hart of Hart Electronics, who made kits for the Bailey amplifier, and would probably have built one of them, but I had become obsessed with class A amplification and built a design which had appeared in Wireless World magazine. It was partially successful but seemed a bit limited in power, despite being 10W. So to pursue my class A enthusiasm, I looked towards Sugden, Hart was a friend of Jim Sugden, and was able to get me all the components to build the power anp section of the Sugden A21 amplifier. Not wishing to do the same with the preamp, I bought a C51 preamp which was intended to partner the A51 power amp.
Whilst at university my house mate had acquired a full Quad valve setup including the tuner, and a pair of Lowther Acousta speakers. To my ears this sounded better than the Wharfedale/Mullard kit I had, and for a time I thought about building my own Lowther speakers using a Lowther drive units.
But it was not to be, because along came Quad! Electrostatic speakers had for long fascinated me, and here was an opportunity to buy a used pair a friend of mine had seen in a second-hand shop. Job done - a visit to Quad to have them checked out, and I have used them ever since. However I soon learned that my home built Sugden 12.5W amps were not really powerful enough for the Quads, so for the interim I used a set of Quad 22/11 valve amps. So I do know about valve amps, and whilst I now use solid state amplification, still posses a Radford STA15/III valve amp which is also perfect in driving Quad ESLs.
All of this time I was playing vinyl LPs because that was all that was available (cassettes never really interested me, despite my owning two Nakamichi recorders to make tapes for the car and for friends). When CDs came along I was sceptical for a number of reasons: yet another audio format; limited choice of titles, and I was not that impressed with players I had heard: Philips CD100 and CD101 machines.
Things changed with the CD104, where I felt that CD playback was an acceptable alternative to vinyl.
I now prefer to listen to CDs for the same reasons Martin has mentioned, and again in the case where I have the same titles on both formats, I rarely prefer the vinyl version. It ought to be remembered that the public's rush to embrace CD was a matter of convenience, and not of sound quality. The record companies were so keen to meet public demand for the new CDs that they would often use existing tapes made for record production, with all the corresponding corrections. That is why some of the early CDs don't 'sound right'. On the flip-side some later re-mastered CDs sound poorer than their forerunners.
Now of course we have downloading and streaming. A lot more convenient and with an enormous choice of music offered. But with it competing systems and servers, with which I can't be bothered to get involved. And if I did, I would still keep the few hundred LPs and 4,000 CDs I have as back up.
A great synopsis of your hi-fi 'upbringing', Barry. Thanks for sharing:)
Marco.
It's the only day out I ever have so there's that. :) Otherwise I agree, I long since came to the conclusion that, analogue sources aside, it all just comes down to speakers and rooms. And yes, most of the systems at that show range from poor to unremarkable.
Still, there's occasionally something that stops me in my tracks. Like this year it was those Perlisten 7ST Black Edition. Best mid and top I ever heard on any speaker. If I hadn't already bought some speakers I'd probably have bought the cheaper non-black edition one. The Blacks are £28K!
The social side of things is another matter entirely, so that's a fair point. Few exceptions aside, the days of being wowed at hi-fi shows are over. You're more likely to hear something special at NEBO.
Marco.
It's the only day out I ever have so there's that. :) Otherwise I agree, I long since came to the conclusion that, analogue sources aside, it all just comes down to speakers and rooms. And yes, most of the systems at that show range from poor to unremarkable.
Still, there's occasionally something that stops me in my tracks. Like this year it was those Perlisten 7ST Black Edition. Best mid and top I ever heard on any speaker. If I hadn't already bought some speakers I'd probably have bought the cheaper non-black edition one. The Blacks are £28K!There's a pair of Black Edition on eBay for £10k. Quick! LOL.
https://ebay.io/m/vp4qxH
It's the only day out I ever have so there's that. :) Otherwise I agree, I long since came to the conclusion that, analogue sources aside, it all just comes down to speakers and rooms. And yes, most of the systems at that show range from poor to unremarkable.
Still, there's occasionally something that stops me in my tracks. Like this year it was those Perlisten 7ST Black Edition. Best mid and top I ever heard on any speaker. If I hadn't already bought some speakers I'd probably have bought the cheaper non-black edition one. The Blacks are £28K!
I haven't been to an audio show for years. I think the last one was at Heathrow.
As Martin has said the demos are often poorly set up, the choice of music is either "wizz bang" stuff, designed to show off the gear, or it is something anodyne, which is unlikely to be played by interested punters.
The last time I went, I wandered into the Dutch Audiostatic (?) room as I was interested in their slim vertical ESLs. The room was empty, probably because the music play was not attracting in the punters. Didn't bother me as I was able to have a good chat with the representative, and choose out of the music collection there what to play next. I think it was a female vocalist, as IMO if you can get the human voice to sound realistic you are most of the way there.
There have only been two or three items of gear to interest me: one was the Touch of Class A (TOCA) amplifiers, which were so big I thought they were speakers, and the above mentioned Audiostatic speakers.
Nowadays the great majority of the gear demonstrated cost megabucks, yet often fails to justify the cost.
Pigmy Pony
01-10-2026, 07:13
I don't think they're the 'Black Edition'. Still very nice though.
I don't think they're the 'Black Edition'. Still very nice though.
No not the black edition but they have the same tweeter array which I think is the key to their superlative mid/top performance:
https://i.ibb.co/1fHXf1GR/Screenshot-2026-10-01-092936.png (https://imgbb.com/)
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