AUDIO SHOW DELUXE 2025 REPORT BY HiFiPiG

Audio Show Deluxe 2025 took place at Whittlebury park, next to the iconic Silverstone Racetrack. HiFi PiG’s Stu organises the show with Kris Sawicki, also the organiser of the North West Audio Show. With Stu involved in running the show, Lin (photos) and Janine (words) bring you coverage of a truly fantastic celebration of the best that HiFi has to offer.

A WORD FROM THE ORGANISERS

Now in its third year at Whittlebury Hall, Audio Show Deluxe has grown in visitor numbers—welcoming around 950 this year—but remains intentionally exclusive. Despite demand, we have no plans to expand beyond our carefully curated selection of just under 40 exhibitors.

The idea for Audio Show Deluxe was born over Sunday lunch in autumn 2022. Kris Sawicki and I (Stuart from HiFi PiG) had already worked closely on the highly successful North West Audio Show at Cranage Hall, but now we envisioned a more intimate, upmarket event—one where visitors could truly immerse themselves in high-end audio without the rush. Our goal was clear: prioritise quality over quantity, ensuring guests have the time and space to experience each exhibitor’s exceptional system in a relaxed setting.

But Audio Show Deluxe is more than just outstanding audio. It’s about the experience—from a welcoming glass of bubbles or fresh juice to canapés and drinks during live performances from world-class artists. The atmosphere is designed to feel elevated, refined, and unlike any other UK audio show. Judging by this year’s feedback, we’ve achieved exactly that.

Every detail of Audio Show Deluxe is meticulously planned, with preparations for the next event beginning the moment the last one ends. In fact, as the applause for Clare Teal’s closing performance faded, we were already discussing the lineup for 2026.

Stepping back from the organiser’s role, this year’s show was exceptional, but there’s always room to refine and elevate the experience. Kris and I are committed to making each Audio Show Deluxe unforgettable, ensuring it remains a unique and standout event in the high-end audio calendar in the UK and beyond.

Stuart Smith

AUDIO SHOW DELUXE 2025 REPORT

Yet again a year has been and gone since I last turned up at Whittlebury Hall, next to the noisy Silverstone race track, just as the Formula 1 season begins its long series of 24 motor races across the world. I guess HiFi shows are a bit the same, though the noise is generally a lot more musical. With another year of doing reviews here at HiFi PiG, it’s a good opportunity for me to see what is good out there and hopefully test out the gear at some point in the up-and-coming year…the show featured several UK (and world) debuts.

ALL IMAGES AND TEXT ARE COPYRIGHT HiFi PiG AND MAY NOT BE USED WITHOUT PRIOR WRITTEN CONSENT FROM THE EDITOR

On a very pleasant Spring-like morning I walked again into the very familiar hotel, it having hosted many HiFi shows over the years. But this show is very special; concentrating as it does on the very best of audio out there (I guess the clue is in the title). Set up by Stuart Smith from HiFi PiG and Kris Sawicki; this show, now in its third year is a very entertaining weekend with live performances as well as pre-recorded music on digits, LP, but no reel-to-reels this year (but then the show is catering for a different demographic than just hardcore audiophiles).

THE AUDIO SHOW DELUXE 2025 LIVE MUSIC EVENTS

Live music also featured prominently again at the show, adding to the experience of this being more than a little different to most HiFi Shows. The acts really were spectacular.

On the Saturday at 5pm, Hans Theessink brought a rich blend of Blues, Folk, Roots, and Gospel to the stage, captivating the Whittlebury audience with his heartfelt and emotionally charged performance from voice and guitar. Hans had also given an intimate taster performance on the Friday night for the exhibitors who had spent the day setting up and fine tuning their systems.

Also, Clare Teal, a brilliant vocalist and popular Radio 2 broadcaster, was accompanied by the jazz-guitarist Dave Archer and double-bass player Simon Little, to deliver a performance filled with rich musicality and charm, attracting lots of listeners at 3pm on the Sunday, just before all the packing of boxes in the rooms. Even a large ornate wooden dresser in the entrance to the hall vibrated gently in sympathy to the music whenever the bassist played an A-flat.

At both events the audience enjoyed the sumptuous setting of the Bentley suite, with comfy settees, complimentary wine and beers and delightful canapés…not something you get at any other HiFi Show I have attended.

Entering the show one was guided in with, with posters and even revolving projector circular logos on the floor as I walked past two Porsche 911s showing off HiFi for the car. Spectacular though they were, I didn’t linger long. I wanted to know what treats were inside I couldn’t afford in my house! After a glass of complementary fizz as I entered the show area, I began by traversing the top-floor. There was a grand turn-out this year, especially on the Saturday and a lot of the equipment sounded really good, which isn’t guaranteed at HiFi shows. My “best moments” at the end.

DRIVING SOUNDS

CYRUS AUDIO AND AUDIO PHYSIC

Having just completed a review of the Cyrus 40 AMP, that was my first point of call, especially as I was returning their amplifier to the venue! It was great to see the new PPA (phono-pre-amplifier) that I and others have been waiting so long for, making its debut in the system at the show. It shouldn’t be too long before this goes on sale to complete the quartet.  With the same DNA as the other products this sat below their turntable, with speakers provided by Audio Physic (the Avanti). The new phonostage has no less than 4 pairs of RCA line-in sockets and caters for both MC and MM with all the fine-tuning you need to do done by remote. No dip switches underneath or even any knobs, which means you can sit in the sweet spot to see if you improve or degrade the sound as you change settings.

DEFINITIVE AUDIO

Next door was Definitive Audio, showing off the excellent Living Voice R80 OBX speakers, plus a row of Audez Power Conditioners, to improve the mains. The DT3600 Power Conditioner made its debut at the show, a company introduced to Definitive Audio just last year. There are five models to choose from ranging in price from £2700 to £10,000. The source was an interesting looking turntable from Slovenia; the Kuzma, and amplification from SJS, a company from Stockport, UK, with a series of very aesthetic curved walnut products. A wonderfully eclectic mix of music in this room where many lingered for a long time, one couple I spoke to had spent over an hour in there with Kevin, Lyn and the team.

KOG AUDIO

KOG Audio were next door, showing the excellent looking and sounding Fink Team Borg Episode 2 speaker, with amplification and SACD player from Soulnote (A3 and S3, respectively). It was good to see a few new SACD players at the show, popular perhaps because of the technology in DSD files. The turntable on show was the Transrotor “Bellini” from a German company of many years, but which has only arrived in the UK over the last 9 months. The room also had a T+A system  including the Solitaire S530 loudspeaker with seven elliptical drives on the front (not seen those since EMI and Kef B139 speakers from my youth!), plus 85cm ribbon tweeter – that’s almost 3 foot long – running down the front! With two bass units completing this very original design, it works really well, especially with T+A electronics. Everything was wired with Tellurium Q cables.

SYMMETRY

Next door was the Symmetry room from Nigel Crump (particularly associated with importing Stax Earspeakers), complete with Brinkmann Taurus direct-drive turntable and 12.1 arm plus the Pi moving cartridge, plus Brinkmann amplification and Wilson Audio Sasha loudspeakers. Brinkmann has so built up an enviable reputation over the years, and rightly so. The highlight of the room was not only the lovely voice and guitar of “Reema Live” appearing live at the show, but also the ever flamboyant Mike Valentine with his wife busily selling their excellent Chasing the Dragon records and CDs, and giving talks about his life at the BBC and how to make exceptional recordings, which of course he does, being an ex-sound engineer there, like me. As he told me at the end of the first day “I think we’ve sold enough records to pay for a meal”! I think he certainly did that. Only Mike’s shirt on the Saturday wasn’t quite as bright as it normally is. I didn’t need to bring my sunglasses after all.

HENLEY AUDIO

Henley were in the next and slightly larger room, showing off their higher-end products with a mixture of Pro-Ject, Ortofon, EAT, Hifi Rose, Piega, and Musical Fidelity. My first highlight of the show was the new Pro-Ject “Record Flattener” coming in at £749 and working like a trouser press heating up the record (put in a special sleeve) and heating it up to 52 degrees Celsius to do what it says on the box. Also there were their turntables, cartridges and a record cleaner. Musical Fidelity were also covered, including the Nu Vista 600-2 dual-mono integrated amplifier. I reviewed the similarly looking 800-2 a while back, so watch out for this model to be reviewed. It has 4 Nu Vista valves giving it its unique sound. The HiFi Rose RS151 streamer/DAC/preamplifier really did look good, coming in at £4299, with an amazingly detailed screen on the front to assist setting up. The brand new £3,999 Ortofon MC90x cartridge was also on show, just released this month, played on the EAT Fortissimo turntable and the Piega Coax 811 speakers which come in at £26,400. Manuel Neitzel of Swiss brand Piega deserves brownie points for playing Taylor Swift for HiFi Piglet Harry’s girlfriend Liv, she was over the moon!

MUSICWORKS

Next door was MusicWorks, who started off manufacturing system energy management (power) and isolation products before getting involved in being a distributor. Inside the room was a selection of Accuphase amplifiers including the excellent Class A A300 monos plus the really excellent Danish PEAK Sonora loudspeaker. Set up by talented carpenter and passionate music lover and audiophile in 1996 Per Kristoffersen, it now has Wilfried Ehrenholz in the team (of Dynaudio fame), and this room really did stand out for its sonic prowess, particularly the classical music being played. The £23k Sonora is their smallest loudspeaker but the bass was very tight and extended, it having a rear facing ABR.

DALI, LUXMAN AND CHORD COMPANY

I sometimes muddle up the looks of Accuphase with Luxman amplifier, and handy for me, that company was next door in the Woodcote room, along with Dali loudspeakers and Chord cables. This year Luxman celebrates their 100th anniversary, their new P-100 headphone amp made its world debut at the show to celebrate this and the flagship Luxman electronics included, for the first time in the UK, the Luxman DA-07X DAC and E-07X phono stage alongside a C10x control amplifier, dual M-10X stereo power amps (running in bridged mode), the NT-07 network streamer, and the PD-191A high-end turntable with LMC-5 cartridge.  Speakers were by the 42-year-old Dali with three speakers on show from their Epikore range, using the mid sized 9 in the system for this show, plus their 108 Bluetooth headphones. As in their speakers, this has paper-fibre drivers (50mm) and can noise cancel your noisy neighbours (using technology similar to that used in the excellent Sony cans) for 35 hours before needing to recharge! Chord were demoing their latest noise-beating products and flagship Music cables.

ONEIROS

Next door that I really got to see and hear something quite spectacular. Here I had a look at some amazing looking speakers associated with the same company producing square BBC derived boxes such as LS3/5a’s, Falcon Audio, headed by Jerry Bloomfield. The 200kg Oneiros Audio speakers were launched in December 2024, unlike Falcon which started in 1972. I asked Graeme Bridge, technical director and co-designer, why they made something looking so different. His answer was “because I have been making square boxes since 1996”! Good answer. These bi-wired speakers start at £695,000, subject to finishes and customization and take around 8-10 weeks to make. Oneiros means “’dreams’ in Greek, and this is truly a dream project for Jerry and Graham.  With fabrication F1 and Rolls Royce links these are UK-made and have two ports, on either side of the mid/top drivers and the housing is non braced but “critically damped”. They use a 100% carbon composite cabinet construction, identical to those used in the construction of a Formula 1 racing car. The beautiful shape is courtesy of a CAD program which came up with 2,999 images they didn’t like and one that they did, and obviously the one they chose. Even the crossover with massive Mundorf components is a work of art, though you will probably never get to see it. With two 10” bass, two 3” mids and 1” diamond dome tweeter this is a pure work of art, and sounds amazing, too. In total from inception to build it took 800 hours of CAD drawing and 100 hours of multi-frequency FEA analysis (vibration/resonance). The cabinet itself looks gorgeous, as it should being meticulously hand-finished by a company that similarly does work for Bugatti, Bentley, Rolls-Royce and Aston Martin. Interestingly Oneiros are based in the “Motorsport Valley” 15 miles away from Silverstone F1 circuit, which itself is next door to this show! There were also links with motorsport later on in my tour of the show…

SWANSONG AUDIO

SwanSong Audio were around the corner in rooms S22 and S23, a company making very unusual 3D-printed headphones and integrated battery-run audio amplifiers. Made in-house in Oklahoma, America, it was good to see another visual “piece of art” at the show. Using 3D printing they can not only make it to work at its best, but also to look quite spectacular. The sound from the 50mm drivers was very fast and varied in tone depending on the wood used in the rear chamber. Maple accentuated midband and Rosewood the extreme frequencies. Interesting that the creator Tony Crocker referred to his headphones as “she”, just as I call my MG soft-top car “he”.  Review coming very soon on “her”.

ANATECH DISTRIBUTION

Anatech Distribution were next door, in a rather small room showing off Martin Logan Imprression ESL 11A electrostatic speakers, that actually worked well, with the highly musical Bluesound Node Icon streamer supplying the source and Gryphon amplification.

AUDIO GROUP DENMARK

Audio Group Denmark were showcasing their mid-range C series this year with the lovley Borresen C1 loudspeaker, plus the gorgeous looking all-in-one Aavik U-x88 series amplifier, which has a massive red LED screen at the front to give all the information you need to see, even if standing 30 feet away! I was expecting to see details of the next train arriving at Milton Keynes Station. Also in the room was the Axxess 4-way power distribution unit. All from Denmark, it was very interesting seeing just how many of the rooms at the show were indeed exhibiting Danish products. Emil from AGD nearly didn’t make it due to the Heathrow chaos, but we were very pleased he did (so was Frank from AGD). A great room showcasing affordable (around £50k in this system) high end in a smaller room setting.

TECHNICS

Next door was for me one of the highlights of the show, Technics. Not only was their new SL1300G turntable there but also a surprising powered amplifier speaker system. That turntable is different to the usual Technics “disco looking” turntable; this has no strobe around the outside of the platter or speed-change fader, apparently because Audiophiles didn’t want to see it! This turntable fits in between their bottom and top turntable offerings. But what really got my interest was the £2399 SVC-CX700 powered speaker system, with inputs from MM phono, optical, network, HDMI, USB and aux. Put next to their other system coming in at over £20,000 more, including their amplifier, CD/streamer and YG Acoustics Cairn speakers, my wallet was very happy with my decision on the favoured sound quality, including speed, punchy bass and expansive stereo spread. The SVC-C700 is a single driver loudspeaker, but bass and tops were quite stunning with a full-bodied and satisfying sound with good soundstage, and ideal for anyone on a tight budget or who doesn’t want to dust lots of separates.

ABSOLUTE SOUNDS – IMOLA AND MONACO ROOMS

The next day I made my way to the ground floor to see even more audio nirvana. Absolute Sounds were of course in residence, this time with four rooms. Celebrating 50 years in the UK high-end audio industry they had their regular luxury brands on show and in two of the rooms, the larger Monaco and Imola requiring advance ticket booking gave many demonstrations over the weekend. On my initial visit, the speakers were the new Magico S5 that I covered the UK launch of, with amplification from Robert Koda, plus Dohmann turntable, (Reed 5T tonearm and Analog Relax EX1000 cartridge) and dCS Vivaldi DAC. Later demos showed off many other manufacturers including D’Agostino, Wilson Audio and the new Audio Research Reference 330M monoblocks which launched recently, in the second large room. Their list of brands is long and very, very high end and was put to excellent use over the weekend, with the rooms always packed and always a queue outside.

WILSON BENESCH

One manufacturer I just had to visit was Wilson Benesch as they finally release in 2025 their GMT One System turntable, already lauded as “Turntable of the Year” by one reviewer. The company, having started with a turntable has gone full circle [sic] with this offering, their third turntable and “system”. Unlike the original Total System and Full Circle, the new GMT One System turntable is much more than the LP spinner that started the company 36 years ago, and considerably more expensive as well. It would take chapters to describe it in any detail. The turntables begin at around £270k and with their GMT One System including pneumatic isolation coming in at £305.  This, like all their products, is made in-house in Sheffield, with assistance at the two Sheffield universities (and including government funding) to develop something the press has been talking about for the past few years. Their emphasis is on “timing”, hence the name GMT to signify the most important London “line” where time begins in Greenwich since that is what really makes a better sound. Belts are not the best way to keep timing, so like the invention of the clock this has had masses of attention into creating a really accurate components, which here means no less than 21 stator coils, and three amplifiers to drive them (7 each) to keep it all very accurate in three phases. The motor’s drive frequency is 4Hz, and therefore well below the audible level. They originally spent £110k developing a magnetic drive but found that it really didn’t work, but the stator within the turntable motor did, though it needs a computer just to get it all started, but once at synchronicity it locks it at the right speed. The GRAVITON Ti Armwand (or tonearm to you and me) is similarly complex, 3D printed and made out of titanium (in oxygen-free environment, otherwise it just combusts!). Interestingly to alter VTA (vertical tracking angle) as one does on any turntable, this is done via a phone App, so you can sit at your ideal listening position and alter it whilst hearing when it is just right. Rather than a screw thread this has a piezo activator working in nanometers! They demo’d the cheaper Prime Meridian System version with their TESSELLATE Ti Sapphire cartridge. The PSU, motor, turntable and R1 carbon rack are a great example of Sheffield engineering, long after all the (carbon) coal mines and Sheffield steel from my youth (and before..). Wilson Benesch is one of those companies that just doesn’t do things simply; it doesn’t just try to maximise the best out of technologies that are inferior, rather Craig Milnes, his wife, sons and team work endlessly to reinvent the wheel, just as they did with their motto “The Future is Carbon” three decades ago. Similarly, their £151.995 flagship Eminence loudspeakers on demonstration show what lots of technology, thought and money can produce. The system used Greek HiFi brand Ypsilon with Ypsilon mono power amplifiers, Ypsilon PST 100 Anniversary preamplifier (making its debut at the show, and Ypsilon DAC, all sourced from High End by Oz, who has recently become responsible for the brand’s distribution in the UK.

PURITAN AUDIO

Outside the WB room was Mike Lester showing off the Puritan Audio set of mains conditioners. With excellent inductors and capacitors for EQ’ing out those horrid EMIs from equipment in the building, particularly at between 50-400kHz, he was able to demonstrate with oscilloscope traces just how effectively his boxes could get rid of the noise. He told me “Removing the noise without damaging the music is the problem!”, but going by how many I saw in rooms around the show, I guess he must be successful.

DECENT AUDIO

At Decent Audio in the Catalunya room I was able to listen to some less expensive but equally interesting audio; the Danish Raidho Acoustics showing for the first time in the UK their TD3.2 speakers (Tantalum Diamond) at £57,500 plus Audio Analogue Donizetti Anniversary 250W (8ohm) power and Bellini preamp units. A very nice sounding system indeed.

INNUOS

Innuos next door were also showing Wilson Benesch speakers with the cheaper Omnium floorstanders, but equally original looking, especially also featuring their rear facing woofers at the bottom. With dCS Vivaldi digits and Vitus power from MP-L201 mk2 pre-amps and B.amp SM-103 mk2 mono-blocks helped along with an AudioQuest Niagra 7000 power conditioner and all resting on Lateral Audio stands. As always at hows, Innuos demonstrated the flawless streaming capabilities of their products, here using the Innuos ZENith Next-Gen partnered with both the Innuos PhoenixUSB and PhoenixNET. As usual, Innuos were also used in many other rooms at the shows, which is indeed a testament to the quality and of course, reliability of their products…they are becoming a ‘go-to brand’ for the digital side of things for many brands around the world.

KEF

KEF had for me one of the best sounds at this show, which surprised me as the last time it wasn”t completely to my taste, but this just goes to show how the choice of sources and music plus the room acoustics can make such a big difference. On show in the Nurburgring room was their new £35k Blade One Meta Lotus Edition in the appropriate black with gold front stripe and the ACBC initials of the founder Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman of Lotus on the side. On top of the speaker was what I thought was a new super tweeter, but was in fact a £2 coil standing upright showing that there was absolutely no vibration from the cabinet. Featuring their iconic uniQ mid top at the front (as also in their Reference Series) and a woofer each side, this loudspeaker gave excellent definition at higher frequencies and great bass extension, plus an organic sound that even sounded great outside the room…drawing in the crowds the whole weekend.

HOUSE OF LINN

House of Linn were next door with the Kudos Titan 808 loudspeakers and their Sigao drive crossover and, unsurprisingly, Linn Klimax DSM3 and Linn Klimax Bedrock LP12. Flagship Melco switch and digital library and REL subs. It was good to see a Puritan power distributor connecting it all. A very nice system indeed.

BOYER AUDIO

Boyer Audio were one of the best rooms for many at the show, featuring £37.5k Wadax Studio Player, Kroma Atelier Javita loudspeakers, Orpheus Labs A four 1200 integrated, Swedish Engstrom Lars valve monoblocks and Shunyata cables. With a mix of Spanish speakers and amplification From Switzerland/Sweden it just all gelled together really well! Many people spent a lot of time in this room, understandably.

HIGH END BY OZ

High End By Oz were next door featuring some quite interesting and expensive (and loud) gear. Your eyes couldn’t miss the enormous horn-loaded fronted speaker from Italian HiFi brand Viva Audio , the Verticale, making their UK debut as well as at the same time in Dallas, USA. From top to bottom this massive speaker comprises a visible super-tweeter above the main cabinet, then below hidden away is a tweeter, a 6” mid and at the sides a total of four 10” bass units, powered by a separate 4 x 845-tube amplifier working up to 180Hz. That might sound strange for a bass driver, but I guess those high—frequency transients from the bass need to be heard. The 845 is a single ended tube, so seeing 4 of them was a shock, but it turns out the two at the front are for the power supply.

KARMA AV

Karma AV were in the next room trying to compete with sound levels. Inside were Perlisten S7T 3-way loudspeakers tailored by Primare A35.2 power, Pre35 preamp/DAC/Streamer and their £1,800 DD35 CD drive (with mechanics from TEAC) sending a jitter-free signal. This was a very good player for such a low price. Cables were from Inakustik.

AUDEN DISTRIBUTION

Auden Distribution had two rooms on the ground floor, both with Egglestonworks loudspeakers and amplification from Hegel, in this room the Hegel P30A and H30A pre and power, plus the new Hegel D50 Raven DAC and the Egglestonworks flagship Viginti loudspeakers. The speakers gave a very good account of the music, especially in classical performances. Vinyl duties were handled by the novel and rather excellent Luphonic R3 turntable, the neat speed-changing ‘puck’ still fascinates me! With some tracks that demonstrated bass, the system showed its capabilities, deep, controlled bass that got inside you and moved your organs, in the best possible way. And of course, the room was dressed really well by Bill and Dave, which all added to the excellent ambience.

AUDIO NOTE

Audio Note were one of the rooms that really got my attention. I have always loved the sound from their Field Coil loudspeaker range, and fittingly we celebrate this year Kellogg and Rice (who have nothing to do with breakfast cereals!), the inventors of the moving coil or “field coil” loudspeaker. With a range of ferrite, Alnico and electromagnetic drivers Audio Note showed off their AN-E/SPX LTD, which use electromagnets, and therefore need to be powered to make the hemp cone move. The tweeter is a silk-dome affair from ScanSpeak. Based in West Sussex, (and recently visited by HiFi PiG’s Oscar), they also showed off the insides of their Meishu Konzert Meister 300B valve integrated, this one hand-built by Amy.  What really got my attention was a one-only-prototype idler-driven CD player. Whilst CEC might well be known for belt-driven players, this one brought back memories of one of the very best LP turntables ever, the idler-driven 301/401/501 from Garrard. And like the one I set up at home in my youth using a laminated beech plinth out of a British Aerospace plane, this also uses beech plywood compressed with resin and has a motor that itself costs £125. I really want to review this once it hits the HiFi shops. Idler-driven turntables are actually better than belt in terms of speed accuracy, in my humble opinion.

STORGAARD & VESTSKOV

Storgaard & Vestskov are another Danish HiFi brand making very distinguished loudspeakers. For the show they not only presented standard Gor floorstanders at £16k and smaller Frida standmounted models but especially for this “motor sport” influenced show also brought a one-off pair of the two models in Aston Martin Podium Green. They sounded as spectacular as they looked, too. Stu loved their Frida model when he reviewed them recently…expect to hear much more from this rather stunning new brand!

AUDEN DISTRIBUTION 2

Auden Distribution had their second room next door, again with EgglestonWorks £6,900 Nico Evo loudspeakers and this time with Hegel H600 integrated amp and Viking CD player Audiomica cables were again used and this room focused on cable dems in the smaller room and system.

ABSOLUTE SOUNDS

In the smaller Absolute Sounds room we were treated to Sunday jazz on a system with Devore Fidelity, dCS, Trafomatic, Thiele Audio, Transparent Audio and Antipodes.

WELLBEING STRATEGIST

By the time I got to the last room “Wellbeing Strategist” Kasia Richter was already packing away her gongs, hang pans, and other equipment, so I didn’t get the chance to get relief from all the stress of reporting from the show from this wellbeing strategist. Perhaps next year. However Lin was able to book herself in for a sound bath which she told me was a wonderfully relaxing and energising experience. The room also showed how great sounds fit into wellbeing with a lovely smaller system of Franco Serblin speakers and Copland electronics.

Audio Show Deluxe 2025 was truly spectacular and was “Deluxe”, with nothing that the audiophile shouldn’t take seriously. The layout and number of rooms gave us all the luxury of having time to go back and enjoy rooms more than once, and the setting and care from the organisers and staff were top notch. The exhibitors had all put in so much effort with something to tempt everyone, and much discussion in the bar and corridors about how fabulous the various exhibits were. My favourite looker was the Aavik U-x88 amplifier with its red LED display and gorgeous volume/source knob, and the Technics SC-CX700 £2,399 was a surprising product for the price, competing extremely well in the powered stereo market with KEF and others. But the shock for me, personally, at the show was the detail and speed from the Blade One Meta from KEF. But, there were several other rooms that really impressed me, too, so no, I’m not going to tell you my absolute winner. You’ll just need to turn up in 2026 at the next Audio Show Deluxe and talk about your own favourite whilst drinking the complimentary coffee in the corridors…..

Watch out for more from Audio Show Deluxe 2025 when we publish Stu’s interviews with some of the exhibitors at the show.

ALL IMAGES AND TEXT ARE COPYRIGHT HiFi PiG AND MAY NOT BE USED WITHOUT PRIOR WRITTEN CONSENT FROM THE EDITOR

Janine Elliot and Linette Smith