In Issue 216 I offered my initial coverage of Florida Audio Expo 2025, and you can read my report here. To briefly recap, it’s become a major event with a lot of rooms and exhibitors. As has been the trend for the audio shows I’ve attended over the past few years, the overall sound in the rooms was generally good, and sometimes fantastic. The show was fun, well-organized, and easy to navigate.
Here’s Part Two of my FAE show report, with the caveat that it’s impossible to list every room and piece of gear (and I covered some of the systems in Part One).
One of the most fantastic systems was at one of the House of Stereo rooms (the Jacksonville, FL dealer had multiple rooms at the show), which showcased the Viva Audio Nuda speaker system ($195,000), Solista MK III integrated amplifier ($29,500) and Numerico DAC ($26,000), with a Wolf Audio Systems Alpha 3 SX Pure Digital Edition streamer (from $9,295), all connected with Wireworld Platinum cables. The Nuda is a 4-way horn-loaded design, with high, mid- and low-frequency horn drivers and an active subwoofer. The Solista MK III features four 845 output tubes operating in pure Class A. And it was fantastic, delivering some of the most lifelike sound I’ve ever heard at a show – or anywhere. Shelby Lynne singing “Anyone Who Had a Heart” really did seem like she was right there in the room, as did the players on Steely Dan’s “Aja,” where the Rhodes electric piano and Steve Gadd’s drums had remarkable presence. The music was immersive, palpable, and moving.
For Gershman Acoustics, getting great sound is pretty much assured. Their Black Swan 30th Anniversary loudspeakers ($95,000/pair) paired the VAC Master Preamplifier ($42,000 with phono option) and Master 300 iQ MusicBloc mono amplifiers ($42,000/each) was an excellent combination, warm but detailed. The system also included an Esoteric N-01XD streamer/DAC ($22,000), and a VPI Avenger turntable with Voyager phono stage. A techno track I didn’t catch the name of delivered thrilling rhythmic drive, and other music sounded open and natural. The 30th Anniversary Black Swan reflects the latest evolution of the speaker, with refinements like their SSAS Separate Sub Alignment System that isolates the woofer from the other drivers for more precisely defined bass, and a bass trap that redirects and dissipates the woofer’s back wave for more articulate low-frequency reproduction.
Texas and California dealer Scott Walker Audio had a large suite that featured not one but four audio systems with Acora Acoustics loudspeakers, VAC electronics, and VPI turntable setups among other gear. The big system was, as usual for these companies, impressive, with power and low-frequency capability that seemed infinite, as heard on tracks like Geoff Castelluci’s “The Sound of Silence,” and his cover of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game.” A big part of this was undoubtedly the new VAC Statement 455 iQ mono/stereo power amplifier making its debut ($82,000) It can be used as a 460 watt monoblock, or in 230 watt-per-channel dual mono configuration. But I was especially enamored with one of the smaller systems, which played Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s “The Message” with volume, punch, and super-clarity on the vocals. (Hearing it sound better than ever before made me think, did this track influence the Tom Tom Club’s “Genius of Love?” I’m thinking, probably.) You should have heard how good the Neil Young Live at Massey Hall 1971 album sounded.
And wow, did Elvis sound good singing “Can’t Help Falling in Love” in the big Supreme Acoustic Systems room (the dealer had two smaller rooms at the show as well). It was like you were sitting there in the control room. You could hear the cavernous reverb on his voice (I have to think it was the result of an EMT plate reverb) and the spaciousness of the recording was palpable. Well, the system was one of the more ambitious at the show, featuring $240,000 worth of Western Electric 97A monoblock amps with a total of 34 300b power tubes, A four-tower $498,000 YG Acoustics XV3 Signature 4 loudspeaker system, $113,000 worth of Taiko Audio digital electronics and other gear, so methinks it should darn well better sound impressive. It did.
Once again the Joseph Audio/Doshi Audio room had absolutely stunning sound. They had a reel-to-reel recorder playing a mixtape – a real mixtape! – of music ranging from Ella Fitzgerald to Bob Dylan to the Beatles. It created a remarkably vivid and natural soundscape. The Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun King” was, and I’m not using this word lightly, astounding, in a way I’d never heard before, from the phase shifted panned guitars to the multiple vocal harmonies. Incredible. The system: Joseph Audio Pearl Graphene Ultra speakers ($52,000/pair), Doshi Evolution Series tape preamplifier ($22,000), line preamp ($22,000) and monoblock amplifiers ($45,000/pair), an Aurender N30SA media server ($25,000), a Berkeley Audio Design Alpha USB 2 reclocker ($2,495) and Reference 3 DAC ($28,000), Cardas Clear Beyond cables, and a Studer A810 tape deck that was not for sale.
The MBL room created a soundscape that was wonderfully immersive in their big demo room. This was no surprise, considering the omnidirectional radiating pattern of their famous MBL 101 E MKII loudspeaker ($91,000/pair) and the effortless sound of their 9011 mono power amplifiers ($64,100/each). The music was supplied by their new C41 network player ($11,000.)
Unique Home Audio had a system based around a set of Popori Acoustics WR1 electrostatic loudspeakers. These full-range transducers had amazing transient response – as a drummer sitting next to me remarked, the cymbals sounded like cymbals, not some tizzy facsimile. I was expecting to hear the sometimes-bass-shy sound you sometimes get from planar speakers, but when Madonna’s “Vogue” came on, the bass was anything but lacking, and had plenty of harmonic definition. The system employed a Bacch SP spatial audio processor and it was the first time I’d heard it. When it was switched on and off, the improvement in the sound field was noticeable. I need to spend more time checking this processing out (when I went to the Bacch room it was unoccupied).
I mentioned Audio Group Denmark’s big room in Part One of this report, and they also premiered the Børresen T1 stand-mounted loudspeaker. The T1 offers a ribbon planar tweeter and “IronFree” patented ironless magnet cryogenically treated motor midrange/woofer. The T1 Silver Supreme Edition retails for $55,000/pair.
Another House of Stereo room was based around the Stenheim XXX and XXX. This was a seriously great system – and different from the Viva setup mentioned previously, proving once again that there’s way more than one way to get great sound. This system had it all – clarity, detail but warmth, dynamics, and that extra level of refinement that makes you forget you’re listening to an audio system.
Speaking of more than one way to get great sound: I know, a lot of the prices in this report are eye-watering. Not so in the Orchard Audio room, which showed a bookshelf and a floorstanding system. The first featured a PecanPi+ Streamer Premium ($1,500), Starkrimson Mono Premium amps ($2,500/pair), Soundfield Audio Mini Monitor speakers ($1,200/pair), and $305 worth of speaker cable. The floorstanding setup was comprised of the PecanPi+ streamer, Starkrimson Mono Ultra Premium amps ($5,000/pair), Soundfield Audio 1212OB speakers ($7,500/pair), and $305 worth of speaker cable.
As their pricing sheet said, “how do you like them apples?” Well actually, a lot. I heard both setups and one of my reference recordings, “A House is Not a Home” by Rumer, sounded like liquid audio honey, beautiful, warm, and exactly right, I thought. Excellent! We also got the room rocking with Peggy Gou’s “(It Goes Like) Nanana,” an intense techno earworm. Warning: don’t click on this link and play it if you don’t want the song to stick in your head for days.
The new Volti Audio Vittora loudspeaker system was a stunning example of horn loudspeakers done right. The system is 104 dB efficient and sounded it, with a remarkable sense of effortlessness and dynamic realism. The $50,000 Vittora system at FAE included the two main speakers, two ELF subwoofers with amps, and an ELF preamp. An Innuos ZENith server ($6,699) functioned as the music source, into a Mojo Audio Mystique DAC ($8,499). A Cary Audio SLI-80 integrated amp ($4,995) and Triode Wire Labs cable completed the system, which was absolutely gripping on “That Lucky Old Sun” by Crossroads, and Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man” by Eiji Oue and the Minnesota Orchestra on Reference Recordings.
I raved about the Grandinote and Kimber Kable room in my Capital Audiofest show report (Issue 214), and I can rave about the sound at FAE as well. Once again their system included the Grandinote Mach8XL tower speakers and Solo integrated amp, along with Kimber Select KS6065 speaker cables and PK10 Palladian power cords. Once again I heard exceptional layered depth and resolution and a big, immersive sound field that I was reluctant to pull myself away from.
I’m getting used to, maybe even spoiled by the fact that I now expect great sound from certain companies, and that included ATC. I thought their room was excellent at Capital Audiofest – but better at Florida Audio Expo. I figured it was probably the room, but after much careful and scientific consideration, Distributor Lone Mountain Audio’s Leland Leard concluded that it was because Leland was there and not at Capital Audiofest. His very presence was the quantum-entanglement deciding factor. Give that guy a raise, or at least continue to pay his show expenses, The ATC Classic Series SCM50ASL active loudspeakers ($22,499/pair) and CDA2 MKII CD player/preamp/DAC ($4,999) simply sounded musically accurate and right.
Sarasota, Florida dealer Suncoast Audio offered what has to be one of the smartest demonstration ideas I’ve ever seen and heard. They had two separate systems playing in two different rooms – and the systems were playing the same music, in sync with each other. This way they could demo both systems at once without worrying about them conflicting with one another (the rooms were pretty well isolated), and enable instant comparisons between the systems with the bigger Tobian Sound Systems 15FH full-range horn speakers ($70,125/pair) and smaller Tobian 12HC 12HC coaxial horn speakers ($28,875), though the electronics in both systems weren’t identical. Still, an ingenious idea. Among the other components on display were the Tobian VR40/300B/20A integrated amplifier ($42,625) and $15,930 MSB Discrete DAC with dual power supplies (all in System 1), Fezz Audio Mira Ceti 300B integrated amp ($4,795) and $3,995) Fezz Equinox Prestige tube DAC (all in System 2), along with the Pink Faun Scion streamer ($22,200), Critical Mass equipment racks, and Shunyata Research cables (in both systems). The music sounded natural and flowing.
The Triode Wire Labs room knocked me out with its perfect combination of warmth, depth, tonality, and what I can only describe as a “roundness” to the instrumental and vocal presence, if you can picture what I mean. The system was based around the new made-in UK Living Voice R80 OBX 2-way ported loudspeaker, featuring Scan Speak Ellipticore drivers with elliptical centers, polypropylene and paper-in-oil crossover capacitors, a 25 Hz – 20 kHz bandwidth, and a choice of stunning finishes ranging from $42,750 to the $54,250 per pair in the gloss ebony finish and outboard crossovers shown at Florida Audio Expo. The rest of the system included an Innuos ZENith MK3 server ($6,299 - $9,099 depending on storage capacity) and Phoenix USB reclocker ($4,349), a Border Patrol S20EXD single-ended 300B power amp (from $22,500 depending on tube options) SE-I DAC ($1,400 - $1,875 depending on configuration), and a full complement of Triode Wire Labs cables starting at $399/pair for their Spirit II RCA interconnects.
The American Audio Video room treated me to a very pleasing musical interlude with Eric Clapton performing “Moon River” live…with Jeff Beck guesting on guitar. You could immediately tell it was Beck, not Clapton, playing lead. Although the room was small, the Mission M770 speakers ($5,000/pair) with the new Audiolab 9000Q preamp and 9000P power amp ($1,999, $1,499) and other Audiolab electronics had excellent imaging, depth, and clarity. The room also featured a Violectric PPA-V790 phono stage ($6,240), a retro-cool-looking Dual CS529W turntable ($1,399) and other components. An adjoining room offered Cyrus electronics and Spendor loudspeakers, but it wasn’t playing music when I was there.
I didn’t get to spend much time in one of the smaller Playback Distribution rooms (or some others; I’m always trying to frantically squeeze in too many rooms in too little time as shows wind down), but I was immediately impressed by the Vienna Acoustics Mozart Signature SE 3-way floorstanding speakers ($7,495/pair), playing with the Java HiFi LDR/GaN FET integrated amplifier ($16,995), which was a wonderfully synergistic pairing that offered spacious, inviting sound.
I did get to hang out for a while in their bigger Sabal Ballroom suite, which had an impressive array of products highlighted by the US show debut of the big PMC Fact Fenestria towers ($99,999/pair), powered by a full range of Esoteric electronics including two new components, the Grandioso N1I network transport ($28,000, designed to be used with their D1X SE DAC), and the Grandioso E1 balanced phono stage ($48,000, mated with the Grandioso T1 turntable at FAE). This setup was one of the more than few at the show that could reproduce a convincingly and impressively realistic sense of scale and space on “big” music, wowing listeners in a well-attended room whenever I was there or peeked in. The room also displayed the new TEAC AP-507 stereo amplifier ($2,199), though it wasn’t being played.
Geshelli Labs once again had a number of colorful displays showcasing their distinctively attractive wood-finished and attractively priced components, and one of the rooms had musically colorful sound from Acoustic Energy floorstanding speakers. Acoustic guitars were reproduced with crystalline clarity, with excellent transient response and spaciousness. The Geshelli gear in the system included the Z-BLOK, Giuseppe preamp, and Dayzee DAC, which is undergoing a redesign and will be available in revised form by late spring or early summer.
I swear, I’m not getting paid on the side to rave about the many rooms I liked. UK manufacturer Audio Note and Miami, Florida dealer Soundlux Audio had a very fine room that defied convention, with Audio Note AN-E/SPx LTD field coil speakers ($65,000/pair), which unusually placed in the corners of the room, and it worked. Other Audio Note equipment in the system included the TT-Three turntable with Arm Three arm ($18,997.43), IO1 moving-coil cartridge ($5,028.48), AN-S4 phono step up transformer ($7,542.72), Meishu Phono Konzertmeister integrated amp ($65,000), and the CDT 4 CD player and DAC 4 DAC ($21,119.62, $20,742.49).
The spiritually invigorating system played a live version of the Grateful Dead performing “Dancing in the Street” at the Palladium in New York on May 3, 1977 (shortly before the legendary Cornell University Barton Hall concert) that was, well, mind blowing. It was at the end of the day and I was riveted by Jerry Garcia’s playing, which was superhuman that night, and the telepathic magic of the band as conveyed in that room. I practically soared out of the room after the song was over.
Davie, Florida dealer Bending Wave USA, as was the case at Capital Audiofest, showed a system based around the Göbel Divin Comtesse Speakers ($60,000/pair), which are a more modestly-sized floorstander in the Göbel lineup and which worked well in the smaller Florida Audio Expo exhibition room, with lifelike resolution and clarity and impressive dynamic power on Jeff Beck’s Performing This Week…Live at Ronnie Scott’s album. The speakers were used with the new Riviera Labs APL-01 preamplifier ($26,000) and AFS-32 power amp ($28,000) and Wadax Studio Player streamer/DAC ($39,800), all tied together with Shunyata Research cable.
I’ll say it yet again…never make definitive judgments about products and systems, especially loudspeakers, at live shows. At a New York audio show some years ago, I heard the uniquely designed Bayz Audio speakers and I wasn’t drawn to them. At Florida Audio Expo, it was an entirely different story. The Courante 2.0 loudspeakers ($47,900 - $69,900/pair) had a warm tonality and created a sound space that left me wanting to hear them again at length. The Bayz Radial Speaker radial tweeter worked really well in the smaller exhibit room, with superior imaging, and though I was completely unfamiliar with the system, I sensed a real synergy between the speakers and the Accustic Arts amplification. As noted, I need to spend more time with these speakers but I felt they came into their own at FAE.
DIY audio lives at VK Music, along with good sound. VK Music offers a wide range of audio kits and options, mostly tube-based, and at extremely reasonable prices. They displayed a very wide range of products at FAE, like their new Elekit TU-8888 monoblock amplifier that can use a variety of output tubes including 6L6GC, KT88, KT66, EL34, 6550, and others and sells for $895 in kit form with JJ 6L6GC power tubes. It even has automatic biasing. I very much enjoyed listening to Saturday Night in San Francisco by guitarists Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin and Paco De Lucía, a dazzling display of acoustic guitar virtuosity. (If you haven’t heard this album, you need to.) And in contrast to most of the demos at Florida Audio Expo, VK’s Victor Kung played the system at a quiet volume, and it was like a gentle breeze of refreshing sound.
Are you listening? Liquid HiFi asked the question at the show, and for me the answer was yes. The room was yet another that used Stenheim loudspeakers, which have become noticeably more prevalent at shows – in this case the $23,500/pair Alumine 2.5. They were mated with some serious gear like the Wadax Studio digital player, a CH Precision M1.1 amplifier ($57,000), and cables and accessories from Nordost (cables), Arya Audio (isolation pods), Reiki Audio (a Super Switch Pro network switch), Aardvark (Ethernet noise isolators), Harmonic Resolution Systems (isolation base), and Vicoustic room treatment. The system sounded excellent and spacious on a Mark Knopfler track from Shangri-La. My listening notes say, “clean, clean, clean!” Yes, you can say I was impressed with the clarity of the system.
Deep Dive Audio had one of the largest rooms at the show, filled with comfy couches ideal for listening to their ambitious setup of mostly Margules electronics and speakers. It was one of the exhibits that blurred the sonic like between “this sounds like a hi-fi system” and “this sounds like real music.” A big band sounded big, and like a band. The equipment is simply gorgeous, with wood cabinetry and glowing tubes. On hand were
I had only a brief time in the Innovo Audio Designs room, but managed to note that Boz Scaggs’ “Thanks to You” sounded big, bold, and dynamic, with lots of bass. I will endeavor to spend more time in their room at the next show. Innovo’s Luxe T1 speakers ($36,000 - $40,000/pair depending on finish), have a distinctly different slim design, thanks to the use of multiple oval-shaped carbon subwoofer drivers on the sides, and a front-mounted midrange and tweeter, enabling a speaker that’s only 5-1/2 inches deep. The T1 has multiple built-in amplifiers and DSP, so listeners can simply plug in an audio source and enjoy the music.
Reel Sound Distribution showed a Metaxas and Sins system which, like all the company’s products, had to be seen to be believed. The complete system, which featured the Tourbillon T-RX tape deck ($52,000), Perambulator turntable and Combobulator tonearm ($29,000 and $9,000), Czar and Prinz electrostatic loudspeakers ($37,000/pair and $24,000/pair) Solitaire integrated amp ($41,000) and Ikarus integrated amp ($29,000) looks otherworldly, with striking designs that are unlike anything else; “audio sculptures” as the company calls them, available in custom colors. The system sounded excellent, even though I think they’d be happier in a bigger room – if you’re a fan of electrostatic purity and the spooky realism such speakers can deliver, you would have had a good time in the room.
I felt Fyne in the Harmonia Distribution room, where I and a few friends who had never been to an audio show before – and who flipped out over the experience – closed out Florida Audio Expo with a listen to the Fyne Audio Vintage Classic Gold X SP floorstanding speakers ($12,999/pair), which offer unique adjustable controls for “Energy” and “Presence,” that tailor the speaker’s frequency response to the room. (One friend also thought they were the coolest looking speakers at the show.) Well, they worked. Combined with a Grimm Audio MU2 media player/streamer/preamplifier ($17,500),and Pathos Synapse Reference preamp and Adrenalin mono amps ($26,995 and $23,995 each, respectively), and Cardas cable, the setup was captivating. We listened to a number of tracks including Leonard Cohen’s “You Want it Darker,” and it sounded so palpably real and thrilling that this harrowing song somehow became a magnificently uplifting conclusion and farewell to a great audio show and a great time.
