NORTH WEST AUDIO SHOW 2023 REPORT  FROM CRANAGE HALL, UK

The North West Audio Show is often just called Cranage and is the highlight of the UK audio show calendar for me and many others, with HiFi PiG delighted to be the exclusive media partner.

On the sponsorship front, we would love to say a massive thanks to Chris and the Sound Fowndations team for sponsoring our online coverage of the North West Audio Show 2023.

NWAS is a show that I sort of see as being “the people’s audio show” in the UK with it attracting a broad but very enthusiastic crowd of music lovers from all over the United Kingdom. And what a crowd of people there was at NWAS with well over 3000 tickets having being claimed before the show. Special mentions to all the Audiophiles UK. Hi-Fi and Music. members and admins that have supported the show and to Tommy and Irene too…hope the head feels better soon, Tommy. But every one of you that attended, be that as a visitor or as an exhibitor, came together in a perfect storm of enthusiasm, friendliness and a love of music to make this a year at Cranage not to be forgotten!

The atmosphere is relaxed and convivial with Kris and his team doing an excellent job of making visitors feel welcome and valued…heck, you even got a free glass of fizz or orange juice on entry. And entry is FREE, as is car parking.

The exhibitors all went well out of their way to make NWAS as good as it could be and I don’t think I went in any room where a good deal of effort hadn’t been made to get the best out of the system.

One thing I did notice more than any other year at NWAS was the number of couples who came along and this is excellent to see. Personally, I think this is down to the relaxed and welcoming nature of the show and the venue. On the point of the venue, the staff at Cranage couldn’t be more helpful and I do hope that we can maintain this venue going forward.

What an adventure this year’s North West Audio Show was, with a delayed Air France flight having Linette and me spending a very interesting night at a piratical-themed hotel at Disneyland. There are pictures to prove it but I seriously hope this is a Captain Pugwash moment we never have to repeat…EVER!!!

Anyway, on with the show…yeaaaargh!!!

As well as our written report, you can a video tour around the show……

SOURCE SOUNDS SHEFFIELD

SOUND FOWNDATIONS

The system in the Sound Fowndations room was:

DS AUDIO – Grand Master Extreme cartridge which is the Japanese brands newest optical cartridge. The DS Master was also on show with the matching EQ. Grand Master EQ.  ES001 Eccentricity device which is designed to centre off-centre records. We’ve seen this demonstrated before and it works very well. Who’dathunk most of our records were off centre? And the ioniser that beams a stream of negative ions over the records to stop static…again a very cool idea and one that certainly works.

CLEARAUDIO – Master innovation TT, Reference Jubilee TT with Universal 9” tonearm Smart Power 24 V PSU and Professional 24v PSU.

KONDO preamplifier and GamuT amp

An entire cable loom of Furutech

KERR ACOUSTICS K100 speakers were on Townshend platforms.

SEAC tonearm WE 4700 on the big ClearAudio

As I’ve said before, Chris is so enthusiastic about music and his enthusiasm is infectious. Actually, we were just passing the room onto somewhere else to start the show in a more organised way, but we were drawn in by SEAL and ADAMSKI’s Killer tune which certainly took me back.

This is an excellent room that is all wood panelling and which you step down into. It’s a very cool thing and a lovely space in which to have a system set up. I’d certainly be more than happy to have this room and my system in.

The system was certainly singing this morning with the big ClearAudio turntable playing and that DS Grand Master cartridge, which is getting so much hype at the moment, certainly sounds the part. But I think, more than anything, is that system just gelled really nicely together to give a really nice and effortless sound in the room. Show rooms are not the easiest place to set up systems and get them to sound good but this room did and so kudos to Chris and the team at Sound Fowndations for setting a high bar being the first room we went in.

Alex Denyer who works with Chris knows the kit inside out and was talking to enquiring customers with a huge amount of knowledge but without being at all pushy…again, kudos!

WILLOW TREE AUDIO

Another favourite room at Cranage is usually Willow Tree Audio with their Horning speakers and hugely exotic Audio Music amplifiers. However, this year the hybrid Horning loudspeakers were being driven by a DAYENS ECSTACY IV power amplifier (£3750).

The sound in this room was totally effortless but with enough oomph at the bottom end to really satisfy that aspect of the listening experience.

The full system was: Lector Digidrive CD Transport (£3K), CenGrand DAC 1 Deluxe (£5995), Dayens ecstacy IV power amp I mentioned. Horning Aristotle Ultimate Zigma speakers (£16,400) and Audio Music cabling. The vinyl front end was provided by a Pre Audio TT with an airbearing tonearm (£6K) and the wonderful HANA UMAMI red which we use on a day to day basis at home. The phonostage was the Aurorasound Vida MK2 with a AC-2K balanced power supply.

Now, all this is pretty exotic kit and I’d not have been surprised to see something like this cost a LOT more from other “high-end” brands.

So, my takeaway from this room was that exotic audio can be done without spending multiples of tens of thousands of pounds with only the speakers coming in at above the 10K mark.

A really nice sounding room, though the music wasn’t really to my taste.

FANTHORPES HiFi

Fanthorpes are a bit of a legend of a company if you are from my neck of the woods (or where I’m originally from). Based I Hull, they seem to have been around forever and a day. Now that kind of longevity doesn’t come easy and they have clearly been doing something right along the way.

At NWAS 2023, Fanthorpes HiFi had an AVM CS5.3 all in one amplifier and streamer powering the prodigy1 loudspeakers from another legend of a company, PMC. This was the first time I’ve had the chance to sit in front of these stanmdounters for any period of time, other than a brief listen at the Munich launch. This is a sub £1300 loudspeaker (the floorstanders are around £2K) and I think this is a really sensible entry point into the world of PMC speakers and will open up the brand to a whole new audience that are looking for an excellent loudspeaker without breaking the bank.

Imaging is excellent as you’d expect from a little standmounter (even in the show environment) but what surprised was the excellent tight bass that was coming from these. A very nice and honest loudspeaker that, as I said in our Munich write up, will fly off the shelves. I can’t wait to hear these in our own system.

A fab little real-world system!!!!

Now watch the video we made with PMC at High End Munich 2023 to find out more about the PMC prodigy loudspeakers.

AURALiC AND ATC

Playing the  GLBTM remix off the Daft Punk RAM 10th anniversary record this was another relatively simple system (on the outside) that really delivered sonically.

Don’t want a million and one boxes, then this is the kind of system that will certainly appeal.

An AURALiC Altair G2.1 Digital Audio Streamer into a pair of ATC SCM50 actives and connected by Chord Cables interconnects. One box, a pair of speakers and a pair of interconnect. Just add power and you are ready to rock and drool.

Regular readers will know how we love the AURALiC gear as it’s proper HiFi done in an unfussy way but one that delivers on sound and functionality.

Richard from AURALiC was working the room and I watched how he interacts with people in the room. He knows his product inside out, is approachable and explains his products in terms that people can understand. I saw him whet the appetite of one guy in the room and the guy then went on to look at the products in more detail. An engaged visitor is one that may well remember your products when it comes to buy a new product. More people should run rooms like this…and I hope I see more of the enthusiasm I’ve seen so far at the show as we move through the rest of North West Audio Show 2023.

Definitely one of my top rooms.

FALCON

Legendary loudspeaker and driver manufacturer FALCON were showing off their LS3/5As at £3500 when we went in the room. I’m not going to go into detail about these speakers because, unless you have been living under a rock for the last several decades, you will know all about this little BBC monitor.

At Cranage the 5As were partnered with the Primare i25 Prisma amplifier (£3500) and Primare DD35nCDDrive at £1900.

This system has what I would call “proper” HiFi aesthetics but is actually quite compact in this two-box does all set up.

Sonically the system was right for this room with the little 5As delivering just enough bass into the room to know it was there but without overloading it and without the need to add loads of room treatment in the corners. Imaging was, needless to say, impeccable and the mid-band fab! Again, needless to say, the speakers are fast and as nimble as you like.

Not playing when we were in the room were the FALCON M10 at £3K.

OPHIDIAN

We’ve reviewed a good few of the OPHIDIAN speakers and I’ve always found that they deliver beyond their proportions on the bass front. However, at NWAS they had a new and larger speaker to showcase in the form of the INCANTO….and it’s a good one!

Incanto follows a similar concept to the Ophidian P3 Evolution with a 3-way design featuring three bass drivers, a sealed dome midrange and soft dome tweeter. The black alloy bass drivers each measure 175mm and feature a large magnet and powerful motors for excellent impulse response and diaphragm control. The 50mm sealed dome midrange utilises neodymium magnets for light weight and low distortion and blends seamlessly into the output from the 22mm soft dome tweeter.

Ophidians unique AEROFLEX bass loading technology improves bass driver control and gives a dynamic range and deep responsive bass.

As with all Ophidian speakers the cabinets are manufactured in the UK and the crossover features high quality components from Mundorf. Incanto retails for £6000 in the UK and is available in Oak, Walnut or Black Ash finishes.

Partnering with Ophidian this year were Exposure Electronics. The Incanto speakers were driven by an Exposure 3510 pre-amp and dual mono amplifier setup and, for the first time at any show, the final production 3510 CD player as a source.

There’s an effortlessness to this system that goes deep and fast.

The speakers do seem to be a whole lot of speaker for the money and I can’t help but think that if they were double the price no one would bat an eyelid and perhaps would fly off the shelves. As they stand at £6K they seem a bit of a bargain…if anything costing six large can be seen as a bargain. Anyway, they sounded really nice in this room, though I’d have liked to have heard them blasting out a bit of something I’m a bit more familiar with and perhaps something techno-esque.

KUDOS

Innuos and Chord electronics powering the TITAN 707 (£17, 000) were what was on offer in this very cool room playing Seguridad Social’s version of Wish You Were Here. I’d never heard this tune but what a fun version!

I’ve also never heard the KUDOS speakers sound anything but really excellent and at NWAS 2023 this hasn’t changed one bit!

Bass is controlled and tight and the top end flies all over the place to create a really cool soundstage in age. The mids shine forward and out into the room and the whole thing is a really engaging and fun experience.

CAD, PADOOD, & QUADRASPIRE

Nagra featured large in this room with their pre, power, phono and PSU. The front end was an AURENDER N20 and CAD DAC whilst the vinyl front end was an SME 12 Mk2. Tannoy speakers were the Stirling IIILZ Special Edition. The cartridge on the TT was a Platanus that retails for around £5K.

This was a really nice sonic experience with the whole thing just oozing class and with simplicity and elegance!

Racks in the room were the Quadraspire X Reference and cables were by Siltech.

We got to have a look at the back of the new NAGRA DAC which we saw at Munich but was all a bit hush hush.

KARMA AV

PERLISTEN AUDIO R7T  featured large in this room. These are a speaker we first came across a couple or so years agon at Munich and whilst we didn’t get to hear  them at the time, we have heard them a good few times since. A Perlisten DPC (Directivity Pattern Control array) of three 26mm silk domes is utilised by the R7t 4-way loudspeakers and £8,800

The system also features MoFi’s Ultradeck and MC gold cartridge through Primare’s R35 phono stage and versatile A35.8 multichannel power amp. Connecting these components are cables by In-akustik, hand-built in Germany since 1977 according to a ‘physics, not voodoo’ mantra.

We got to hear José James Strange Fruit and it was fantastic. Detail and subtlety and with rhythm and pace all there for all to hear. The depth of the vocal and its richness wasn’t lost on this speakers and that clap. What I also took from this room was that the soundstage was accurate even well off centre.

And One Way Or Another by Blondie…FANTASTIC!!!!

There was a MOFI turntable on show too, but sadly we didn’t get  listen to that one.

Another favourite room.

AUDEN DISTRIBUTION

I got chatting to a few folk at the back of this room and then spotted Lin sat down the front in the “hot-seat” and realised she was sat listening to the Krypton X3 by Amphion, the product she picked out n our Prequel video of the show as being the product she was most looking forward to. It’d have been rude not to go and have a listen as she seemed pretty engrossed in the sound. Yep, I got this and this is definitely a system I could live with full time. There is scale and heft to the music but also a sense of deftness of touch and delicacy in the way these speakers present the music.

Auden have started distributing the Swiss brand MERASON and their DAC was being used along with the INNUOS Statement streamer.

To power the X3s Auden were using the Hegel P30A and H30A pre and power amplifier. Bill that runs Auden had this to say before the show: “This is the first time we are using this combination at a public show and as with the Amphion, we are keen to hear these together”.

Bill continued: “Just as we have done for more than a decade, we will be wiring the system with Audiomica cables, with power products from MusicWorks. For many years we have also used isolation from MusicWorks, and this year is not going to be an exception. We will also be using their AcouPlex furniture which is a very exciting development from the company”.

Stunningly good system!

This room was really nicely set out and run.

Brilliant sonics and a wonderfully put together demonstration of how to do a room at a HiFi Show – a very cool mix of branding that wasn’t over the top , helpful and easy to find information you were looking for.

Many thought this was the sound of the show and I have to say I’m not in total disagreement at all.

KEF

KEF had the R3 Metas playing when we walked in the room and playing the Giorgio track from Random Access Memory (perfect track for us to walk in on as we love it) and the room was filled with music that belied their size.

I think there’s possibly a bit of a snobbery about when “audiophiles” talk about brands that have known HUGE success around the world like KEF have, but that reputation and success doesn’t just magic itself out of the air and people are not so stupid as to know if a brand slips. KEF has maintained a reputation and this reputation is built on offering consistently innovative products that always deliver on sound quality. The fact they offer great value for money too.

Interestingly this room was packed and the people in it clearly loving the sound.

Brilliant again and I’m starting to wonder if we will hear a system that doesn’t sound really, really good.

INNUOS

The Innuos PULSAR is the Portuguese-based brand’s top-tier network music player of the PULSE series and was making its UK debut at NWAS alongside its sibling player, PULSE.

The PULSE Series of Network Music Players consists of three models: PULSEmini, PULSE and PULSAR, which are designed for music lovers who mostly want to play music from HiFi streaming services like Qobuz, TIDAL, and Highresaudio, or who just want another zone in their home connected to their main music server.

Alan McIntosh recently reviewed the Pulse and you can read it here.

The demonstration had incoming streams arriving through the Innuos PhoenixNET audiophile-grade network switch connected to the Innuos PULSAR and PULSE network music players.

As well as their own room Innuos had their kit on a good number of rooms around the show.

Now, I’ve heard the dem between the Pulsar and the Pulse before but what really interested me was that whilst chatting in the bar,  Alan (mentioned above)  heard the dem for the first time and I know where this story will end…he will buy the Pulsar. Needles to say, we heard the dem again and the differences are clear! To me this dispels the myth that the DAC is all that counts – the source obviously matter too with digital, just as it does with vinyl!

MALVERN AUDIO RESEARCH AND COPPICE AUDIO

This as a busy room and it’s one we missed last year as it was closed down early. However, this year we determined to get in there and have a proper listen.

The Coppice Audio speakers are their flagship BG1which they say they have been working on for quite some time and it is, say Coppice, “the best sounding speakers we have built”. The Coppice Audio BG1 uses a Lowther PM65 as a mid which crosses to the tweeter at 7k and to the woofers at 200hz. These were being powered by the Audio Detail PX25 power amps and preamplifier, a  20W a side push-pull amplifier.

The analogue front end (it was all about analogue and valves in this room) was an Amari LP32 fitted with a HANA cartridge, though there was a TASCAM 32B reel to reel in the room too. Acoustic Forest Manufacturing provided the room treatment and these did look very room friendly with their interesting design and interesting colours. Now when it was all about analogue, there was also a GEKKO streamer with an AUDIO DETAIL DAC  and that, despite obviously being digital, did sound very natural and analogue.

Cables in the room were all GEKKO.

Jake Purchess was also showing off his organ music in this room and we got to listen to some on the reel to reel…we’d already had the pleasure in the AUDEN room through the Krypton X3s and so this was going to be an interesting comparison.

SOUND DESIGN DISTRIBUTION: KII & GRIMM

I’d been chatting with Jake Purches before we got into the Kii room and he’d mentioned he really rated them. Now, I’ve heard the speakers many times around the different shows we attend and know how good they are, but it was cool to hear this from Jake.

The Kii THREE BXT DSP controlled active system features advanced DSP which actively optimises the individual driver/power relationships, its Active Wave Focusing creates a coherent, front-firing, time-aligned wavefront from as many as fourteen drivers on each side. All digital inputs are re-sampled and re-clocked using Kii’s own jitter rejection algorithm, and the entire system of drivers, multi-channel DSP, multiple DACs and the latest Bruno Putzeys designed ‘Purifi’ power amplifiers is easy to position within any environment, thanks to the unique boundary compensation controls and fully configurable EQ, which allows room tuning.

Grimm Audio’s MU1 stream provided the  ones and zeros for this system and what a system it is. Anyone that is anti-digital needs to forget their prejudices and get their ears in front of this system and listen without any preconceived ideas because this is a stunningly good system.

Fast, powerful and incredibly detailed are the take-aways from this system and I personally see these as some kind of end-game system, which I think I said about the GRIMM system too, but I really do see this system, as complicated as it may be at the back end, being something folk who just love music and don’t want the boxes associated with a high-end system will gravitate towards.

Price for the speakers is £29K in standard colours and you can add £2400 to the price for premium colours.

Another personal favourite but I do get why some may think this system “too accurate”…can that even be a thing?

REPLAY AUDIO: ATOLL & AUDIUM

This a pairing that we always see together and last heard at Munich, the brands represented at Cranage by distributor Replay Audio, fronted by Jonty Egan, who is a lovely chap who deserves to do really well with the brands he represents, he has chosen those that complement each other very well.

Audium are a German brand out of Berlin and make a selection of speakers that use wideband drivers, more conventional drivers and come in passive and active versions. They are a cool concept and it’s great to see them in the UK and at NWAS.

The system, all on Lateral Audio stands (speakers on SolidSteel) consisted of the ATOLL ST 300 streamer and preamplifier (£3K) and the AM 300 power amp at £2600.

The AUDIUM COMP 3,2 speakers £1800 and this seems like an incredibly good value system with the speakers imaging really nicely and sounding bigger than they actually are but I really enjoyed that the guys in the room didn’t push the system too hard and had it at a level that was enough but not too much. I walked in and thought it was far too quiet but as the system played I sort of clicked that they’d actually got this right and a really just fell into the sound of this system.

MOOR AMPS

Ascalon -8 speakers were in prototype form last year at NWAS. There are a three-way speaker that is bi and tr—wireample/ampable. They have a Volt mid and 8 inch woofer with SEAS tweeter. They are £11500 a pair in a veneer finish and £12500 in the painted colour (any REL colour).

The amps were the ANGEL 6 (£11K) and the ANGEL (£3K)  with the ANGEL 4 (£6K) on the sidelines.

This was another very good sounding system majoring on a lovely mid-band, allied with a very powerful bass sound. Control and clarity throughout.

VINYL PASSION

Mark missed the show last year and so it was lovely to see him back at Cranage for NWAS 2023. The Vinyl Passion system consisted of a JM-12 turntable fitted with an Audio Mods 6 arm and an Audio Technica ART-20 cartridge.

Phonostages were the GoldNote PH5, PH10 and PH-1000 (their flagship phono which was playing while we were in the room) with PSU 10. Amps were by Vincent and we got to listen to the SV-700 Class A. Cable were, of course by Missing Link.

Martin Logan speakers moved the air in the room and it all sounded rather lovely.

As I said, lovely to see Mark back at the show and long may it continue!

RMB LOUDSPEAKERS

Now these were something a little different from the norm and were partnered with a Michel Orbe turntable with SME V arm and Lyra KLEOS cartridge going into a LongDog Audio phonostage. The pre was from Music First running into a Nord Class D power amplifier.

As I say, these speakers were something a little different with their upward firing drivers and I honestly thought they would sound “interesting” but was surprised at how conventional (in a good way) they sounded.  These were the 22/3 model and cost £1800 a pair bult to order.

The sound is nice and easy going without any harshness and as the designer said, “a detox from the rest of the systems”.

CHORD CABLES

We walked into Chord Cables halfway though a demonstration and Linette trying to be as quiet as a mouse banged the door and disrupted it all….well, for a second or two. They had been through all the interconnects and had just moved onto the power. The S6 and M6 Powerhaus distribution blocks.

First up a normal looking mains ”block” affair and a listen and then into the S6 and a short wait for the server to reboot. OK, so this sounded louder and more sense of the effects and after notes. A BIG difference and everyone in the room heard it and asked if it was the same file. Next up to the M6 and it seemed louder…again! One guy in the room was obviously convinced it was a different file given the differences. Finally, into the Professional, a box that goes into an adjacent plug socket and again, everyone on the room said they heard it.

One of the best demonstrations of system upgrades through cables and tweaks I’ve seen.

BRIAN AND TREVORS

Brian and Trevors from Manchester always have the same room at Cranage and always make a great show of the event.

Given that Brian and Trevor run the House of Linn it should be no surprise to most that their system majored around Linn electronics, ATC loudspeakers and REL subs with Quadraspire and Lateral Audio furniture and Audite Acoustics Isolation platforms.

However, playing when I was in the room was the Melco N1 Digital Music Library which looked fab in the company’s new livery…very smart.

The LP12 in the room (of course) was clothed in one of Brian and Trevors’ booplinths, a plinth for the iconic turntable that is made of bamboo rather than the more conventional materials others have used. Very cool.

Sonically this system was natural and easy to listen with an effortless quality that just played Azam Ali, an Iranian artist, beautifully. Nothing esoteric, nothing overblown or looking for attention, just great high-quality, no-nonsense music! If you don’t know this music she’s hauntingly beautiful, but what I thought this system brough particularly, or rather what stood out for me, was the tone of the wind instruments where you could pretty much sense the musician blowing over the top of the resonant instrument.

Thought this was up there with the best of show.

AUDIO COUNSEL

Needless to say the audio Counsel system majored on Audio Note kit for at least part of the day, but the system playing the following: Devore O/93 loudspeakers, Leben CS 300XS, Audio Note TT-2, Deluxe Turntable, Audio Note CDT-Two Transport, Audio Note DAC 2.1 Signature. Now, John De Vore’s speakers are a lesson to many in how to make an uncomplicated and yet great sounding speaker that just plays music.

I didn’t get to hear the second system but that was;  Audio Note AN/J loudspeakers, Audio Note Meishu Phono Tonmeister, Audio Note TT2 Deluxe turntable, Audio Note CDT-Two Transport, Audio Note DAC.

AUDIO WORKS

Playing in the Audio Works room was Accuphase DP750 SACD, C3900 Pre, A48 Power Vertere MG1 Magic record player with CH Precision phonostage and Lumin streamer, the speakers were FinkTeam KIM.

Now, what I liked about this system was that it was playing at a volume that didn’t over power the room and sounded lovely and relaxed. When the volume went up a little playing Paul Simon the speakers picked up a little and started to rock a little more.

The slogan for Audio Works is “Music Systems for Music Lovers” and I thoroughly got this in this room!

3 SQUARE AUDIO

So we reviewed the little AYAL speakers from 3 Sqyuare Audio and we gave them our 5 Hearts award. I’ve heard them a few times at shows and they always sound bigger than they actually are and really very organic and nice. Another room not trying to push the system or room too hard for the environment it finds itself in. However, the volume did get turned up for a piece of choral music the speakers open up and sound MUCH bigger than they are.

NVA electronics with a Topping DAC Chord power block and Wire on Wire cables.

HENLEY AUDIO

The vinyl front end wasn’t playing but consisted of a ProJect  Xtension 9 TT, Power BOX RS Uni TT PSU, Connect it Phono DS 5P XLR cable and Phono Box DS3 B phonostage. On the end of the arm was an Ortofon Cadenza Black.

From Italy, we had the Synthesis Taurus amplifier which we loved when we reviewed it, with a HiFi Rose streamer. Speakers were the Klipsch Forte iV.

Heads in the room were nodding to the beat which is always a good sign and I have to agree that this was a very nicely detailed and dynamic system.

CHORD ELECTRONICS

A cool room in looks and temperature that was an oasis of calm. The system was made up of the Ultima Integrated, DAVE and KUDOS 505 and the Innuos Zenith source.

Launched in Munich this was the first outing in the UK for the amp which is an integrated with trickle down tech from the stuff up the chain and is the company’s first integrated in 7 years. So, a compact amp with the tech from bigger amps. 125 Watts into 8 Ohms in Class AB. There’s a new design on the switch mode PSU.  The amp will be in stores in September at £8500.

The amp looks great in its silver finish but is also available in black. This amp will fly out the shops in whatever colour you end up choosing.

MUSIC FIRST AUDIO

Reference V2 amp from Music First was at the heart of the System with a Chord DAVE DAC and a Circle Labs M200 amp. The Grandinote phonos were not playing and neither was the Primary Control TT and arm. The Diptyque speakers are lovely.

I absolutely LOVE the whole philosophy around Music First and the products kind of echo Jonathan, the owner of Music First’s demeanour, calming and not at all shouty.

My mate Grant was helping out in the room…so that was cool as it’s yonks since I’ve seen him.

TECHNICS

I make no apologies for my declaration of loving this iconic brand, particularly their turntables and I chose one of their record players for my presentations at Munich. Today we had a 1200G playing the black stuff. I know this record player inside out and have played nothing else since it arrived a couple of years or so ago, despite having others. You can read my review of it here.

The amp in the room was the SUR1000 and speakers the SBG90 MK2.

I like all this stuff and I call it “proper” HiFi.

MCRU & BROOK AUDIO

David and his at MCRU and Brook Audio are veterans of NWAS ad the room is always absolutely rammed. David sells a whole load of ancillary kit and folk lap it up.

There were also a whole load of UHQR records and other vinyl and CDs for sale and, again, folk were poring over what was for sale. However, I couldn’t take back records this year because of space issues and so sat and listened to the system which featured the Revival Audio Atalante 5 loudspeakers, which retail for around 5K in the UK with their stands. These are a conventional looking loudspeaker and big standmounter that look very traditional, with lots of high-end detailing, I loved them when I reviewed them and would still give them house room based on today’s outing where they were being powered by a SOULUTION amplifier.

The vinyl front end was based around a DS audio optical cartridge and its associated energizer and an AMG  record player.

I thought this room sounded really excellent despite the inevitable noise from all the folk buying their tunes at the back of the room.

Another fave of mine.

Watch the video review of the Revival Audio Atalante 5

ELECTROMOD

Mark at Electromod was keen to show me the new little amp from Schiit…it’s tiny and gives out just 4 Watts a side but can me mono’d to give 8. It’s £170 a box and is exceptionally cool. Pretty much the coolest product at the show!

The full system came in at less than £5K and consisted of a Schiit URD transport which has a USB out, Topping D90LE DAC, Topping Pre 90 preamplifier, a Schiit Vidar 2 amplifier and GoldenEar loudspeakers. Now, whilst there is a whole load of crazy kit at this show (and others) this is very much real-world kit and at real world prices.

Sounds fab!

OSV AMPLIFIERS

Horns and Diptyque loudspeakers The amp was the integrated amp (£6500) from Poland by OSV. 50 W a channel hybrid design. And playing through the Diptyiques when we went in the room. The more I hear these speakers (we own the dp77) the more I like them. This all worked very well together as a system and we should hopefully have a review of the amp in not too long.

AUDIO EMOTION

The system was a pair of Larsen 6.2 speakers at £3490 with Eversolo DMP-A6 streaming DAC that seems to be getting quite a lot of chatter around it at the moment, despite this being the first UK outing at a show for it. These were paired with the Cayin CS-55A integrated amplifier.

This room was packed with folk and it sounded very nice. The speakers seemed to work really well in this environment and created a very nice soundstage, despite the packed and fairly small room.

In the room I got to sit next to the  EverSolo streaming DA and thought it looked very nice with its massive screen and single knob. Its form factor is really cool too.

Sonically, and in addition to what I said above, these speakers really do BASS and depth. Someone in the room asked if there was a downward firing sub playing Makes Us Stronger by Ghost Rider. These are small speakers but sounded a LOT bigger. Very dynamic and I’d love to audition these at home.

I expected to be a bit underwhelmed by this system but WOW, this blew me away and those speakers are something else!

LONGDOG AUDIO

I thought the comment “I’ve got nothing new because I’ve not found a better way of doing it” was telling and I like this. If it ain’t broke then why try to fix it! The speakers were interesting and a friend’s retirement end of line speakers that aren’t commercially available.

What I loved here was the volume of the room being sympathetic to what the room would take.

Full system was a Benz LPS with a Graham arm TTS800 turntable and a Baby Reference transformer preamplifier. MCJ3 phono from LongDog (£1400), P6100M monos.

PINK TRIANGLE/ FUNK FIRM

The Seventh Heaven turntable is everything Arthur has learned from the last few decades. It has three pulleys, suspension, a new tonearm and the Isolation Bubble tech throughout the setup. The package is £14K including the £4.5K tonearm.

Active speakers from Phillips were making the nose but it all sounded fab. I like all this stuff!

Arthur from Funk/Pink Triangle is also passionate about people getting the best from their own turntable using his Isolation Bubble theory, the video below was made with Arthur at High End Munich earlier this year, in which he explains all about the Isolation Bubble …have a watch!

AUDIOQUEST & GOLDENEAR

The Goldenear speakers are the T66 that retail at £6499 in red and £6249 in black. They made their worldwide debut at High End Munich last month, and this was their UK premiere. They are Goldenear but with tweaks to the DS and wiring (AudioQuest, naturally) and they will be on the marketplace in September. These were pre-production models. You get 1200 W active bass, passive radiators, the mids and the tweeter (folded ribbon) which were being fed by a HiFIRose amp….you know the one.

The concept here is value for money and I think the partnership is a clever and symbiotic one between GoldenEar and AudioQuest. Power conditioining and loom was (obviously) Audioquest.

Whenever  I hear GoldenEar speakers I get the sense that I’m listening to a set of speakers that cost a lot more than they actually are and these TC66.

Sonically they’re lovely. It is also really nice to see Goldenear adding a bit of colour to the palette, and these are very striking.

MIAN DISTRIBUTION

Mian had a couple of rooms.

In the first room there were ELAC Vela 403s (£1799) passives on SS7 stands by SolidSteel (£578). A Nuprime ST 300SE (£1495) one box streamer and amplifier with Bluetooth was the source and amplification.

Melco N5 held the files and the whole lot was on a SolidSteel rack.

Three grand for a full set up (without racks) is where the future of HiFi lies. People, in my opinion, want a simple to use, great sounding and good value system that just works…this is just that!

MIAN DISTRIBUTION ROOM 2 (LEEMA)

Leema’s Quantum range of electronics was making its debut at NWAS and sounded great! Several years in the making, Quantum offers the very latest thinking from the Welsh audio expert, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.

The highly anticipated Quantum range is a four-strong line which has been entirely designed, engineered and crucially, built in the Welshpool factory in Powys, Wales. Quantum comprises the new Electron CD player, Positron streamer, Neutron DAC/preamp and Graviton power amp. The new-look range has been painstakingly developed under the watchful eye of Leema Acoustics’ co-founder, Lee Taylor.

The Electron CD player boasts an ES9018 Sabre DAC and also benefits from coaxial digital and headphone outputs.

Speakers are the Sehran Swift MU MK2s and there was a MELCO N5 in the system too.

Personal Jesus was playing in this excellent sounding room and it has dawned on me that I genuinely haven’t heard a room that sounded anything but very good at this year’s NWAS.

These little speakers belt out the tunes in a controlled and coherent way and are tight and dynamic. I look forward to hearing more from the LEEMA electronics in the near future.

AUDIO NOTE

As I’ve said countless times, Audio Note are really growing on me and are fast becoming one of my favourite rooms at shows, despite my comments of years ago. I find their rooms to be a bit of a breath of fresh air musically with Micky at the controls and sonically their kit is on point too.

This system was the TT2 Deluxe, Arm Two/ii tonearm and IQ 3 MM phono cartridge. An M2 RIAA phono made sense of what was coming out the cartridge and fed that single into a Cobra integrated PP Line Preamp. ANE/D speakers and ANE stands with AN-LA Bi Wire speakers, C Stereo ICs and AN UK standard mains lead. There was a CD T0 CD transport and a DAC 0.1x digital front end too but we didn’t get to hear that for a while and until Micky put on a Nils Lofgren live album – – that bass was absolutely palpable and defied the size of these speakers!

There’s something about this system and I’m SO PLEASED I finally get the Audio Note sound.

Another great sounding room that’s up near the top of the list at the show.

WILKINSON HiFi

Wilkinson HiFi from Nelson in Lancashire were next to our bedroom and seemed to have a whole load of affordable kit in their room from the ProJect X8 turntable with Ortofon Cadenza cartridge on the vinyl front and a HiFi Rose RS250 A streamer. The rest of the electronics were by Musical Fidelity and the speakers were from Acoustic Energy.

The room was boiling hot but sounded excellent for not a lot of money playing Inner Visions by Stevie Wonder from 73.

NVA

NVA was founded in 1982, the company pursues a determinedly purist approach that involves creating the simplest possible circuit, populated with the best quality components at each price point, and wrapped in bespoke acrylic cases, and has since for as long as I can remember. The company’s amplifiers are still handmade in the UK and I do like this approach. Previously available in “any colour as long as it’s black”, NVA were also treating visitors to the North West Audio Show the first view of NVA’s new integrated amplifier and ‘Cube’ speaker package in white.

I didn’t get a chance to hear the CUBES but a pair of Scansonics were making very pleasing sounds batting out some Elton John.

British made, great sounding and inexpensive audio works for me on a lot of levels and I really love that NVA are back and making big noises that they tread a path less frequently taken…all power to them.

LATERAL AUDIO

Kevin at Lateral Audio makes very nice stands and they are getting seen at a lot of shows…which is a good thing to see.

They are also importing Jean Marie Reynaud speakers and these are rather excellent but little known. It’s a shame they are so little known as they are excellent.

The whole system was around £10K and sounded brilliant.

SUPER NATURAL AUDIO

ClipAudio Dolomite turntable with an Alphason tonearm and Ortofon Cadenza Bronze with an EAR phono pre into a SuperNatural Audio preamp into a Super Natural Audio 2.3W a channel power amp driving Etude high sensitivity bipole speakers.

Being launched at the show was the SNA 2.3SE stereo SET power amplifier, which is a single ended design all hand made with point to point circuit design. The valves used are Russian 6P15P-EV triode wired and a 6922 for input duties. Resistors in there are Charcroft naked foil, Mills and Kiwame and capacitors from AudioNote, Jantzen, Elna and Nichicon. A more affordable version of the 2.3 power amplifier was also launched at the show and this utilises the same circuit and still point to point, only using standard components throughout, cheaper casework. The range topping 2.3SE is £2500 and the more affordable 2.3W SET is £1195.

The line level valve preamp from SNA uses quality and is point to point wired utilising a pair of E80F pentodes, triode wired as input valves followed by a 6SN7 output valve. The unit has 4 pairs of inputs and 2 pairs of outputs all pure silver wired. Cost is £2500.

SNA also have a new 3 input, 2 output passive preamp, using a shunt style stepped attenuator made with top quality resistors, inputs and outputs are wired with Mundorf Angelique CAW wire, the same wire (only a thicker version) is used for all ground wires which are wired in a star ground configuration to the units chassis. Cost start at £795 depending on configuration.

NOS valve DAC which at its heart has a single Philips TDA1543 chip running no over sampling, to Danny’s  own design I/V stage and then transformer coupled to a 6080WA output valve. The 6080 valve is run via a pair of EL34 as active anode load and again it’s all point to point wired. Digital inputs are via USB or SPDIF, both of which go through an ECC88 digital buffer stage. Other output valves can be 6AS7, 6H13C or 6H5C. The whole high voltage section is valve rectified using a PSVANE ACME 274B, but can use pretty much any octal style rectifier tube in its place due to the way the PSU has been designed. Price is £5000. The SNA DAC was fed by USB from a Lucas Audio Lab LDMS MiniMax music server at £11,500, featuring re-clocking, S/PDIF output and 4 TB internal storage and Laboga internal wiring.

The turntable in the room was by ClipAudio and has been  25 years in the making. The turntable has a hand polished white 20 mm acrylic chassis and sub-chassis with frosted finish 45 mm thick clear acrylic platter (other colours – clear and black as standard are available at no extra cost but custom colours can be accommodated), an adjustable three-point elastomer suspension with silicone fluid damping, a 61 mm diameter bronze bearing housing for mass loading of suspension and zero bearing noise, an AC synchronous motor and flat belt transmission was selected on the basis of sound quality for this turntable, and the motor PSU, microprocessor and one-touch speed controller are housed in a bespoke contoured polished white acrylic box. Alphason’s HR100 tonearm was used in the development of the Dolomite, though the HR200S is the recommended tonearm (£4795) and other tonearms can also be accommodated. All turntable components are hand made in the UK and direct sale price is from £5500 for the deck and bespoke PSU only. CLIPAUDIO also produce a range of very interesting isolation products.

The new Etude loudspeakers that were in this room were the high sensitivity balanced mode radiator (BMR) based bipolar design that is a result of an ongoing collaboration with Danny Baty of Super Natural Audio (SNA) and his low output valve designs mentioned above. They have a theoretical sensitivity of 105dB. These are a  symmetrical bipolar design just 150 mm thick with inverse tapered transmission line loading. The four arms of four BMR drive units are driven directly giving a DC impedance of 4 ohms and it’s possible to roll-off the treble output of rear drivers should room positioning demand it. Claimed response is down to 22Hz. Price is £6500 a pair and the matching CLIPAUDIO stands are £1200.

Room treatment was by ECOWAVES and is made from old jeans…very cool.

CYRUS AND NODE

A couple of new products from Cyrus at this year’s NWAS. The first was the  Stream-XR their brand-new streamer that runs on the BluOS platform and includes their 2nd Gen QXR DAC that is also found in the i9-XR, Pre-XR, and CDi-XR products.

Cyrus also had their brand-new stereo power amplifier from the XR series on demo.

Completing the lineup for this year’s show was the Pre-XR preamplifier and a PSU-XR external power supply will be added to each of the other XR products.

The speakers were pretty unusual and not something I really associated with Cyrus. The Node Hylixa signature are an unusual looking pod-like loudspeaker on an integrated stand. They have a point-source character with regards to their presentation and sounded really nice with the Cyrus electronics.

GRIMM AUDIO

We reviewed this very system and I think my appraisal of this end to end system being one for music lovers that want a truly excellent system that looks great and sounds fantastic. It’s lifestyle but it’s high-end lifestyle. There seems to be bad connotations around that word (Lifestyle) but, let’s face it, audiophiles in the stereotypical meaning of the word are a bit of a special creature and not everyone wants a gazillion boxes that take endless tweaking and set up to get on song. Most “normals” want MUSIC and the  Grimm system delivers this in a lovely package. It’s not cheap, but then what is in audio these days?

SOLID SOUNDS AND ALPAHSON

Solid-Sounds launched its brand new HEX3 open baffle speaker at North West Audio Show. The Solid-Sounds HEX3 is a room friendly compact three-way open baffle design with integrated high quality crossover that, says Paul Knipe of Solid-Sounds: “is both unique in looks and sonic performance”.

Using premium components implemented in a novel way the HEX3 open baffle speaker aims to allow the listener to hear the music not the box. Paul says: “The HEX3 is offered in a range of finishes and specifications allowing potential customers the opportunity to create a really unique piece of audiophile art that just happens to sound fabulous too”.

The HEX3 design utilises many interesting features including a physically time aligned driver array, constrained layer dampened baffle construction and resin potted high quality 3rd order crossover to further minimize distortion.

To celebrate the launch of the HEX3 speakers there was the HEX3 inspired HiFi rack on display showcasing Solid-Sounds desire to offer ‘fresh and innovative bespoke furniture products’.

Other brands making up the show system included: Whest Phonostage, Bel Canto amplification, Pure Audio design cabling, technics turntable and Alphason HR200s tonearm.

This is new brand and you sort of expect new brands to struggle and lack a bit of confidence, but that’s just not the case with this set up. It sounded brilliant and whilst the speakers look massive in the pictures, they are actually very compact. I noticed a good few “best of show” cards in this room which I sort of get!

I’d expected them to be a bit “small” sounding with a soundstage that was close to the floor, but that’s just not the case I was speaking to a reader called Steve in the room and he was well impressed with this set up…and he uses a Technics 1200G too.

Very strong launch and I expect to see LOTS more from SOLID SOUNDS. And the Alphason on the 1200G is an interesting thing, but I think I’m done with modding our Techy.

PHONIA

Having missed hearing Phonia at the AXPONA show becuase the customs in America had held their speakers, I was looking forward to hearing what this Polish brand could offer. However, we got to their room fairly late on the Sunday (around 4:30) but they had already taken their system apart. MY thoughts on this are that you need to keep open to the end of the show…whichever show as you never know if that big buyer is goign to walk in at the very last moment.

Anyway, I got some pictures and perhaps we will get to hear them in Warsaw

ASTELL & KERN

Didn’t get a chance to listen in this headfi room but the folk in there were certainly enjoying themselves.

NEAT

We were introduced to the brand new Neat Mystique Classic at Munich and I’ll let Stephen tell you all about them in this video.

However, this was the first time we got to hear them on the end of an ATOLL all in one player/amp.

The speakers are very compact but with a big sound which is pretty much what Neat are about. These deliver a very strong bass performance and a big soundstage. Excellent!!!

The Neat Mystiques will be out in the wild around the end of the Summer and I can’t wait to get a listen in our system.

HiFONIiX

Moon Audio 780D streaming DAC, 740 Pre, 820S PSU, 2 x 860AB2 amps, Brinkmann Taurus turntable with a Brinkmann Edison phonostage. Melco library, and Kharma International DB9S speakers and Nordost cables made up the system in this large room that reminded me of AUDIO SHOW DELUXE rooms.

This was high-end at NWAS and the sound was high-end too. Sonically it was BIG in scale and detailed throughout, though I don’t think it stole the show in any way from more modestly priced systems at the show.

DOOLEYS HiFi

Project Extension 10 turntable playing through a Luxman integrated amp and a pair of Spendor Classic ½ speakers were playing in this room with a Musical Fidelity M6x phonostage in full balanced mode were making the noise with ACDCs Thunderstruck belting out of the speakers.

I half expected this to be a bit polite and pipe and slippers but it was brilliant and exactly what I needed to get the adrenalin going again after a brief refreshment ten minutes in the bar. Certainly blew the cobwebs away and I loved it!

KERR ACOUSTICS

Kerr Acoustic revealed their new K300 mk. 3 monitors in a brand new luxurious high gloss walnut finish…the medium sized standmounters certainly looked the part. The K300 2-way stand-mount was conceived for studio use, but equally offers benefits in the home. In the studio, this mini-monitor sits on top of the mixing desk where it helps ensure that a microscopic level of detail goes into the mix. In the home, it makes for a medium-sized stand-mount speaker that delivers resolution coupled with deep bass.

The K300 mk. 3 is constructed from 18mm and 24mm Baltic birch plywood. Like all Kerr models, it features the company’s unique Kerr Acoustic transmission line loading. Kerr Acoustic’s loudspeakers feature a combination of drivers, at the bottom end is a 6.5-inch sliced wood-fibre cone, which is married with a 60mm true ribbon tweeter.

Jes Kerr is getting a bit of a name for himself in the audio world and I really do get why. They certainly sound a bigger speaker than they are and have that very pro monito feel to them with a bass performance that really does defy their relatively modest proportions. The tops are really nice and extended with these speakers and that ribbon tweeter really does hel on this aspect of the performance. Price in this finish is £7245 but they start at £6395.

Very much my kind of loudspeaker with regards to bass speed, that top end and the staging.

Definitely one of the best sounds of the show for me.

YORKSHIRE AV

YORKSHIRE AV had a very nice sounding Audio Visual system with a great big telly and a whole load of Perlisten R series loudspeakers running Dolby S and just one dual 12” sub. The electronics were a Lyngdorf MP60 16 channel preamp and Primare 8 channel power amp. A server and player called Kaleidoscape which was described to me as the Innuos of AV. They dolt e they did very good business from the show which was great to hear!

YORKSHIRE AV’s second room concentrated on the two-channel side of things with DALI  EPICON 6speakers, Primare electronics (Prisma pre with DAC and streaming module) and an Innuos server was there too but not playing. There was a ProJect turntable on the rack too but that wasn’t playing. Lovely sound in this room with a hit on the tambourine in the tune we got to hear coming right out in the room.

Again, nice and laid back and the antithesis of their other room.

AUDEN DISTRIBUTION

The second room for Auden Distribution wins the prize for the best and most homely room of the show. A nice big comfy sofa, low lights, plants and a pared-back but excellent system.

Egglestone Works Emma Evolution speakers, Hegel 590 integrated. A Hegel V10 phono with a Rega P8 with APHETA cartridge made up the front end.

Sonically this system was as chilled and lovely as the room layout and the tunes that were playing. I could have stopped in here much longer than had the time to. The Emma Evolution are a very easygoing loudspeaker that just ooze quality and cost £7900.

Cables were the Audiomica Red Series.

CONNECTED DISTRIBUTION

A HEED Elixir integrated amp costing £1649 and an ABACUS DAC £1699 with an MBX-PRE from Russound pre that does all the internet stations and streaming gubbins for £529. The speakers were the prodigy speakers from PMC.

The more I hear these speakers the more I really love them.

Class sound on a budget!

NODE

Moor Amps were powering the NODE HYLIXA (£33K a pair)  loudspeakers that are designed and manufactured in Cambridge, The company are five years old and have learned along the way.

Before we left we got played a CD by Ray Russel (A Table Near the Band), or rather a drum solo from this, to show of the dynamics that a single driver loudspeaker can pull out the back. And yep, that works with thee speakers. Also what I really liked was the visual aspect of “seeing” the drummer move around the kit.

These are excellent speakers that really have something about that them appeals to me with their imaging and the way they play music. I noticed a few cards for Best of Show at NWAS and I can fully understand why these would appeal to a good number of people.

PEARL ACOUSTICS

Single drive loudspeakers have something about them that really appeals to me and as soon as the tune playing began everyone in the room had the feet tapping along to the music. The Sibelius speakers including stands are £5300 plus another £405 for the stands.

Playing some Fleetwood Mac sounded really nice and chilled out without a hint of harshness to the sound and a relaxed delivery that was the perfect way to end this year’s North West Audio Show.

AIR AUDIO

The turntable that has been in development for three years is still not in production but should be about three months from launch.

Speakers were Pearl Acoustics but the rest was:

The New Umami Blue (£2149) was on the front of a Sorane tonearm from Japan designed specifically for moving coil carts with a very rigid makeup. The TT Hub Turntable (£4900) uses a quartz locked voltage speed control. The Phono was a Malvern Audio and the Connected Fidelity pre is a  TVC design.

Cables are Connected Fidelity UNITY, with FLOAT isolators, and an AC2k Balanced Mains Power Supply.

TELOS audio grounding was showing and is active, and you can expect them to be reviewed at some point soon.

We got to listen to Nina Simone. And it did sound rather nice with a very quiet background.

 

VERTERE

A place for the vinyl fans as Touraj and his team demonstrated their wonderful record players.

NUNU DISTRIBUTION AND COHERENT SYSTEMS

A really refreshing system in this room, classical music playing when I was in there and it felt very easy and relaxing to listen to.

We had the Aurender N20 Music Server; Mutec MC3+USB Smart Clock; Rockna Wavedream DAC; TAD ME1 Speakers and the Mutech Ref 10SE-120, Creaktiv HiFi Racks and a range of Musical Coherence Cables. There were lots of new Musical Coherence products in there too with the MC DAC; MC Liquid Music Two Preamplifier; MC Grounding Solution the RTZ (Return to Zero) and the MC Earth Noise Solution called END (Earth Noise Dissipation).

DOUG BRADY HIFI

Doug Brady had the two very large Stephenson suites, one given over to a Magico, D’Agostino and dCS system and the other split into serveral listening areas. We didn’t hear everything but I particularly enjoyed the YG Acoustics and Burmester system, different components but stiff the same clean and energetic sound we heard from these two brands at High End Munich.

The systems were as follows:

Innuos Statement Next-Gen, dCS Audio Vivaldi Upsampler, dCS Audio Vivaldi Apex DAC, dCS Audio Master Clock, DanD’Agostino Momentum HD Preamplifier
DanD’Agostino Progression Monos and Magico S3 speakers.

Innuos Zenith Mk3, dCS Rossini APEX DAC, dCS Rossini Master Clock, Burmester 808 MK5 Preamplifier, Burmester 956 MK2 and YG Acoustics Peak Ascent Speakers.

And below, Quad Platina Integrated Amplifier and Quad Revela Speakers.

There was also lots of live music going on, this duo were very good indeed.

G-POINT AUDIO

A fantastic room to end on, I was able to chill on the sofa and just listen, the system info is as follows. The Audionec speakers and the digital system were playing while I was in there.

LampizatOr HorizonDAC / LDMS miniMAX music server for the digital playback J.Sikora STDMax TT with the latest J.Sikora KV9 Max tonearm with Aidas Cartridges pick up. Riviera Audio Labs AFM 100SE monoblocks and APL 01SE preamp. Diptyque Audio Reference loudspeakers & AudioNec Evo2AS speakers.

Cables were a mix from Skogrand Cables, Albedo Silver and Pure Silver Connection. Gigawatt on the Front to clean the feed, Acoustic Manufacture room treatment. Rogoz Audio Racks, Graphite Audio, and Albedo CERMO accessories.

There was live music in the bar….

Also next to the bar were Diverse Vinyl and Paul was doing a roaring trade all weekend…as usual!

STANDS AND STATIC DISPLAYS

In the main corridor, Rock Street and through the show, you also find lots of static stands, plus plenty for Headfi fans in the Headphone Zone…..

NORTH WEST AUDIO SHOW 2023

And so that was North West Audio Show 2023 at Cranage done and dusted for another year. The Sunday night wind-down was a whole load of fun for us and so thanks to Grant, Jonathan, Oscar, Stewart and everyone else that stayed over on the Sunday evening for a nicely chilled evening of post-show analysis (a bit) and laughs (a lot).

And now, take a video tour with us around the show…..

NO PART OF THIS ARTICLE MAY BE COPIED IN ANY FORM. THIS INCLUDES WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHS WHICH ARE THE PROPERTY OF HiFi PiG AND BIG PIG MEDIA.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stuart and Linette Smith

 

All the HiFi PiG coverage and reports from the North West Audio Show 2023 can be found here.