OSCAR AND KELLY BRING YOU THE HiFi PiG OSLO HIFI SHOW 2025 REPORT

Oscar and Kelly head to Norway for HiFi PiG, to cover the Oslo HiFi Show 2025.

While Stu, Lin and Janine were in the UK at Audio Show Deluxe 2025, Oscar and Kelly made their way to Norway for the Oslo HiFi Show 2025.

Located in Asker, just outside of Oslo, the Oslo HiFi Show takes place at the Scandic Asker Hotel and is back for its third edition. Promising a weekend packed full of excellent HiFi kit and, based on last years show, the rooms also promised cater to those on all budgets. The show is organised in partnership with Stereo+ Norway and is held over a weekend, open 10am-6pm on the Saturday and 10am-5pm on the Sunday.

GROUND FLOOR

NEBY (MARANTZ / KEF)

Starting on the ground floor, we have Neby Audio representing both Masimo Consumer and KEF in this room. The main speakers on demo were the KEF Reference 5 Meta paired with the new Marantz flagship separates (Model 10, SACD10, Link10N). They had a line array of subs being used to reinforce the low end, providing a little added punch and depth to the sound. These KEF speakers sounded excellent with the Marantz components, with plenty of raw detail without lacking punch or warmth. A very well set up room with great sound.

MALA (ENGSTROM / TECHDAS / Ø AUDIO)

Next up we have Engstrom / TechDas / Ø Audio – what a room with a lot of of the products being shown for the first time in Norway. First up we have the TechDas Air Force One turntable (air bearing platter) with AF10 tonearm (air bearing) and IA TDC01 cartridge. Next, we have the Ø Audio Verdande speakers (this is the first time they are being shown at a show) paired with the Wadax Studio Player and a whole host of Engstrom electronics. These included the brand-new M Phono2 (which is fully balanced in to out), Eric 845 power amplifiers and Monica pre-amplifier. Cabling was mixed, I did notice some Tellurium Q being used for power, interconnects and speaker cables though.

They also had the AudioNec OBI Max speakers on display and were switching between the two models throughout the weekend. The Ø Audio sounded incredibly full and natural in this large room, a very carefully curated setup.

MALA (AUDIO GROUP DENMARK)

Mala Audio had a room dedicated to Audio Group Denmark products, and Morten was on hand to help with running the room. They had their Borresen C3 speakers bi-amped with the Aavik I-288 integrated amplifier paired with the P-288 (using the built-in crossover of the I-288). They also had the SD-880 streamer DAC in the system along with the D2 and D3 power box/switch, cabling was of course from Ansuz.

The newest component in this system was however the R-880 phono stage that includes a DS audio optical cartridge input, 2 x MC and one MM input – this phono stage includes both a low-pass filter and high cut (notch) filter. Michael Borresen kindly did a presentation on this new phono stage and showed how you can invert the phase, there are different gain settings and also plenty of loading options for MC cartridges. This is a hugely flexible phono stage for all cartridges on the market, they are using extremely low noise transistors and a floating input to reduce ground noise. The power supply has also been carefully designed to ensure there is no noise (-120dB noise feeding the circuits).

Overall, this system comes together to present a dynamic sound that has excellent clarity and transient response alongside pitch perfect tonality. Audio Group Denmark know how to make a room sound great, and this was no exception, the C3 speakers are lovely and the accompanying electronics just work in perfect harmony.

MALA (MARTEN / ESOTERIC)

In the next Mala room, you had a pair of Marten Coltrain Quintett Statement Edition speakers complemented by Esoteric kit including the new Grandioso E1 phono stage which included a DS Audio optical cartridge input, and a TechDas turntable with a DS Audio Grand Master cartridge. There were using a Jorma mains distribution block and assorted cabling throughout. They had a static display of TEAC components at the side of the room. I’ve always enjoyed the sound of Marten speakers and these were no exception, excellent fidelity across the frequency range.

HEAD-FI ZONE

There was a small Head-Fi zone in the foyer, this had the new Fiio KA17 on demo with the Fiio FT1 / FT1 Pro, Audeze MM-100 and there was a pair of Yamaha YH-5000SE with their matching HA-L7A Dac/Amp.

DUET (DYNAUDIO / INNUOS)

In the Dynaudio room they had the new Contour20 Black Edition speakers on demo paired with a McIntosh integrated amplifier and an Innuos Zen Next-Gen Streamer. They had a 2nd setup which they switch over to every hour, this consisted of the Confidence 20A active speakers and an Innuos Zenith Next-Gen streamer.

The Contour 20 Black edition sound excellent, they have no issues filling a slightly larger room with ease and control. Paired with the McIntosh amplifier they never lost composure or sounded shouty.

TECHNICS

Simon from Technics was over to help man one of the Technics room, they were using the new SL-1300G turntable with an Ortofon LVB250 cartridge, running into a SU-G700M2 integrated amplifier powering a pair of SB-G90M2 speakers. Nick Drake – River Man was playing and this system did a great job with the dynamics of this song as well as handling the depth and detail with ease.

They also had the SL-G700M2 in the system for streaming duties alongside a display of their headphones at the back of the room.

TECHNICS ROOM 2

In the second Technics room they had the SL-1500C turntable with Ortofon 2M Black cartridge running into a pair of the new SC-CX700 streaming active speakers. These are great for a smaller room and work well in this environment. For a small speaker they sound well balanced, if a little challenged in terms of extension. At the back of the room they had a static display of the SB-C600 compact HiFi system.

AUDIO AKTOREN

Audio Aktoren always bring an interesting array of kit to the show, and this year was no different. They had the QLN Reference 9 speakers, Tara Lab cabling, Studer B67 reel-to-reel (master tapes), SME Model 6 TT, EAR phonobox, Primaluna Evo 300 power amps, Nagra classic pre-amp, Icon Audio PS3 MKII phono pre-amp and Garrard 301 with Reed tonearm. They also had the Cary Audio streamer DAC, Nagra streamer, Acoustic Arts integrated and Audio Analogue Bellini on display. Lovely analogue sound with clarity, balance and body from the reel-to-reel setup with the QLN Speakers.

CONFERENCES

FLOOR 1

HIFI KLUBBEN

Big display of headphones and HiFi in the main open area with kit from various brands.

HIFI KLUBBEN (HEGEL / DALI)

In this demo room you had the brand-new Hegel D50 DAC paired with the H400 integrated amplifier using the DAC loop function, this was powering a pair of Dali Epikore 3 speakers. They also had the H600 integrated amplifier on demo to swap between them.

The Hegel + Dali pairing is great, plenty of speed and clarity without sounding harsh, the bass extension from these stand mounts was very impressive.

HIFI KLUBBEN (ARGON AUDIO)

New TT signature with floating plinth and 2M Black cartridge fitted, cost will be around €1500. Around the room they had a range of their speakers, mostly active, including the Forte and Fenris range. Argon Audio offer a huge range of affordable HiFi and I’m looking forward to see what they do in the future.

HIFI KLUBBEN (RADIANT ACOUSTICS / LYNGDORF)

This room caught my attention, someone had requested to play some Lorna Shore which was brilliant. The Radiant Acoustics Clarity 6.2 speakers have interested me since their release and I was glad I finally had a chance to hear them – they handle deathcore with ease, the transients are super snappy and they never sounded muddled. These speakers are clear, crisp and energetic – a very well-engineered speaker that can handle anything you throw at them. They were running off the Lyngdorf TDAI-3400.

HIFI KLUBBEN (STEINWAY LYNGDORF)

On demo were the Model A speakers, P100 streamer/pre-amp/processor paired with the A2 power amplifier.

Natural, effortless and full sound, impressive speakers which can be placed against a rear wall with help from Lyngdorfs room-perfect technology in their amplifiers. They had the FR2 speakers on static display at the side of the room.

ANETTE ASKVIK

Anette was at the show selling her albums on both vinyl and CD. Her tracks are played at many shows and I was lucky enough to go home with two of her CDs. Anette has been named as the brand ambassador for High End Munich 2025...read more about that here.

HIFI HUB

Display in the open area of Stax, Isotek, Naim and Focal.

HIFI HUB (AUDIOVECTOR / BURMESTER)

In the first HiFi Hub room we had the new Audiovector Trapeze speakers paired with Burmester electronics. This combo provided a deep, punchy sound that was easy to listen to and fatigue free whilst retaining good detail.

HIFI HUB (KERR ACOUSTICS / GRYPHON AUDIO)

In the second HiFi Hub room were the Kerr Acoustics K200s speakers paired with a Gryphon Diablo 333 amplifier, streaming was handled by a Lumin server.

The Gryphon amplifier delivers impressive bass from these speakers, there’s no lack of low-end here. The bass response doesn’t detract from the rest of the sound though and there is still excellent detail retrieval, width to the sound, and great separation. A very nice sounding room indeed.

WE LAVE ROCK

Reseller of mostly prog rock music and organisers of live music events.

GJALLARHORN

In this room you had the Harbeth M40.5 XD2 speakers paired with the SPEC RSA-EX1000 integrated amplifier. They had two ClearAudio turntables in the setup, the Master Jubilee and the Al Di Meola Ed, they were running ClearAudio phono stages and a Gigawatt PC-4 EVO+. Harbeth’s always have a natural and real voicing, and this system was no different.

NORDIC SOUND DESIGN

In this room you had the Atoll ST300 streaming pre-amp/DAC running into a Leben CS 300 XS amplifier, into a pair of Atlantis Labs AT 21 speakers. They had the BAT VK-80i on display along with the Ars-Sonum Filarmonia XP Universum and Neat Mystique Classic. They were using Cammino cables throughout the demo system and had Acustica Applicata room treatment.

Very smooth, sweet and enjoyable sound from this room.

HIFI DELI

Lasse is an analogue enthusiast; he brought along his own system from home to demo the differences between different step-up transformers. He also owns the Little Fwend brand and makes automatic tonearm lifters. It was really interesting to listen to the difference between the step-up transformers, and their effect on the sound.

DACAPO HIFI

In this room we had the Usher SD 501 speakers paired with the Air Tight ATM-1 power amplifier, and ATC-5 pre-amp. They were using a Dr Feickert turntable with ZYX cartridge.

These speakers have a diamond dome tweeter and running with a valve amp meant that they just stayed short of becoming brittle in the top end. A really deep and powerful sound from these slim floorstanders, a highly enjoyable experience.

MATSAUDIO (CIRCLE LABS)

In here we had the Circle Labs A200 hybrid integrated amplifier running into some prototype speakers, due for release in 2026 (with a different tweeter and cabinet). The A200 though looks and sound like a great amplifier, smooth and dynamic, the design is also very pleasing.

HIFISENTRALEN

They had a static display of Eversolo products and a couple of isolation products too.

HENRY AUDIO

Henry Audio have just released a new DAC called the DA 256 – this does not have a traditional op-amp output circuit, which enhances the sound quality. It uses a TI DAC chip and has a USB-C input on the front to allow for easy connection to smartphones or other sources. On the back you have 2 optical inputs, one coaxial, and USB-B, alongside your usual RCA outputs. It’s a really neat little DAC and sounded excellent when paired with the Line Magnetic LM-341a valve amplifier running into a pair of Impulse H2 speakers.

EKSAKT AUDIO (LINN)

The demo setup in here consisted of the Linn Selekt DSM, Sondek LP12 and the Linn 150 speakers. They were using a Puritan Labs power conditioner and Isoacoustics Gaia isolation feet too. Whilst the music wasn’t necessarily to my taste, it was an enjoyable system to listen to.

SENTRUM AUDIO

In here we had Sonus Faber Sonetto V speakers paired with Denafrips electronics (they were using the Apollo, Arcas, Athena, Gaia and Terminator). They also had a Audes DT-3000 Mains conditions/isolator. The Sonus Faber speakers sounded big and powerful whilst handling subtleties without issue.

YAMAHA

Yamaha were showing off a range of their speakers and amplifiers. The demo system playing consisted of the NS3000 speakers and the R-N2000A streaming amplifier running into the AS-3200 acting as a power amplifier. We got to put on one of our own tracks, Sleep Token – Emergence, and these stand mounts did a really good job at articulating the mixed genres and beat of this track. Very controlled sound due to their studio heritage.

HIFI HUB (MULTIROOM FOCAL / NAIM)

The new-ish Focal Diva Utopia were on demo in here, they’re quite an impressive active speaker and easily filled this room with effortless and full sound.

AUDIOCENTERET (PERLISTEN / STORM AUDIO)

In here we had a range of Perlisten speakers, Storm Audio amplifiers and an Arcam ST5 streamer. The main Perlisten speakers were reinforced by a pair of subs, the sound was fun with effortless bass punch and extension.

In the second AudioCenteret room we had more Perlisten speakers, a smaller setup with stand mounts and a pair of smaller subs, paired with a StormAudio power amp and a JBL SDP-68 processor. This size of setup was more suited to this small room, and sounded more controlled and balanced.

AUDIO AGENTEN

Audio Agenten had the new Ophidion Ffion speakers playing with an EAM Labs Classic 202i integrated amplifier being fed by a Silent Angel Munich transport and Forest PSU. These speakers sound incredible with that down firing woofer really delivering excellent bass for their size. All cabling was from Viablue.

They also had the Ophidion Mojo 2 on display along with some other EAM Labs kit around the room.

HAMRAMMR

True to their name (associated with Nordic Viking culture), Hamrammr were playing some Heilung when I entered the room. Their speakers are designed for both installation audio as well as home audio, and they were really cranking the volume to show what the kit is capable of. They were using a McIntosh MA12000 for the main speakers, whilst active subs are carefully incorporated into the system. This leads to an impressively punchy, loud and dynamic sound that doesn’t fall apart or distort. The subs don’t ever make themselves the focus and are very well crossed over with the main speakers. These guys sure know how to rock though.

NORSK AUDIO TEKNIKK (PMC)

Norsk Audio Teknikk were showing the PMC range, including the new Prophecy range which I attended the launch event for. They had a small setup that had the active Twenty5.21i paired with a Wiim Ultra streamer – a neat, compact setup.

In their second room they had the new Prophecy 9 on demo with a Bladelius ASK integrated amplifier. The Prophecy range are really impressive, that taught, tight, deep transmission line bass is really fun whilst the dedicate midrange driver offers up excellent clarity. The tweeter is well incorporated and never comes across as too hot, they offer up an incredibly balanced sound that is easy to enjoy.

FLOOR 2

STEREOFIL

The first SteReoFil room had a good selection of Grado headphones, I was mostly interested in listening to the new Signature S950 headphones which I did manage to do. These are stunning headphones, excellent detail, energy, punch and separation – they work really well with rock music.

In the next room they had an Audio Note UK setup consisting of the CDT Three, DAC 2.1x/II Balanced, Meishu Phono Silver Signature Tonmeister, TT-Two Deluxe turntable, Arm Three/II tonearm, IO 1 MC cartridge, AN-S5L MC step-up transformer and AN-E/Spe HE field coil speakers. Visiting the factory recently was really interesting and the sound of this setup was fantastic, deep bass, wide soundstaging and, a really fun sound. They played Dance Macabre by Ghost whilst we were in the room and it was great, the speakers have an incredibly natural midrange and they never sound congested.

In their third room they had a Quad setup with the 303 / 33 combo, Isotek mains isolation and Audiolab 9000 series streamer. These were powering a pair of the Quad Revela 2 speakers and the sound in this room surprised me to be honest. Big and punchy, spacious and coherent, a sound I really enjoyed.

In the last SteReoFil room they had the new Devialet Astra streaming amplifier paired with a pair of Fyne Audio XV SP with SuperTrax super tweeters and Wireworld cabling. The Astra was quite a good pairing with these speakers, it was natural and smooth with great detail when required. They also had a range of the Devialet Phantom speakers at the side of the room.

ANALOGLAB (KORF / TECHDAS)

AnalogLAB were representing a few brands at the show, they had a range of Korf tonearms at the side of the room and the main demo system consisted of a pair of Marten Parker Trio speakers, a TechDas Air Force V Premium Turntable with Korf TA-AF9 tonearm and Hana Umami Red cartridge, Aesthetix RHEA Eclipse phono stage and Aesthetix Mimas integrated amplifier. We had a listen to Ella Fitzgerald – The Irving Berlin Song Book (1st pressing), what stood out to me was the superb quality of this old recording, the system presented a very real and lifelike sound from this recording, a brilliant sounding setup.

SOUNDGARDEN (SYSTEM AUDIO)

In this room we had the brand new System Audio 40.2 active wireless speakers playing, they offer wireless streaming capabilities and also a wireless link between the speakers themselves. These are slim floorstanders yet put out a bigger sound than their footprint would suggest with great drive and energy. You can also add subwoofers to this system, they were not in use when we were in the room, and they really didn’t need them – the smaller models in the range may however benefit from the subs. They had a brand-new wireless box that links to the speakers too, it has all the usual inputs including HDMI – a really flexible, wire free system.

SIGBERG AUDIO

This was a product premier room, with the new Saranna speakers being shown for the first time. These are active speakers with an 8” coaxial front firing speaker and 2 x 8” woofers on the back of cabinet, they have 600w of amplification built in and have a frequency response of 25-20,000Hz. I got to have a listen to a couple of tracks through them and they are a fantastic sounding speaker – the bass extension is controlled and effortless, the clarity is exceptional and with great tonal balance. Symbolico – I’m Free is such a great bass test track and these were astonishingly good with this song. They have both analogue and digital inputs and there is a built-in DSP with 9-band EQ to help tune them to your room, very flexible.

PM AUDIO

PM Audio were showcasing a few different brands, in the first room they had a display of Furutech, Solid Tech and other brands alongside CD’s and vinyl for sale.

FLOOR 3

INVENTUM

Inventum had a range of Stax headphones and energisers on demo, this included the new SRM-270S and the SR-X1 headphones (a relatively affordable combo from Stax). These sounded really good and their lightweight build made them very comfortable to use.

I then moved on to the SR-X9000 paired with the SRM-T8000 energiser and Gold Note DS-1000 Evo streaming DAC – ok, these systems cannot really be compared due to the difference in price however, the SR-X9000 are a huge step up. These are detail monsters, transients are snappy and they have a controlled and dynamic sound. Some electrostats don’t handle bass that well, these seem to do a very good job with delivering depth and punch, yet they will never quite hit as hard as some planars or dynamic models.

AKUSTIC BUREAU

In this room we had the brand-new Rosso Fiorentino Arno Forte, these include brand new woofers made in house (this gives them greater quality control). They are a 2.5 way speaker with a tweeter, one mid-bass below and the three lower drivers only cover the bass. This is the first time these have been shown at an audio event and they sounded very smooth, detailed and coherent. They were using a Helios design turntable which uses a very unique suspension system as well as a laser speed control on the bottom of the platter. They also had an Audio Note CD Zero CD transport, Copland DAC215 and a Copland CTA407 auto biasing integrated amplifier. They were using Atlas cables throughout the system.

MALA AUDIO

Mala had a few smaller rooms on this floor, the first of which had Electrocompaniet kit paired with the Ø Audio Icon 12. Electrocompaniet EMC 1 MK V, EC 4.8 MK II, ECM 1 MKII and a pair of AW 300M monoblocks, they were using Ansuz D3 power conditioners. These speakers had excellent scale, clarity and depth, the Electrocompaniet electronics paired perfectly with them. They were using Tellurium Q Statement speaker cables. You could really feel the bass from this system when they played some Hip-Hop music.

In the next Mala room, they had the Ø Audio Frigg 02 speakers being driven by an Electrocompaniet ECI 6 DX MKII and an Ansuz A3 mains conditioner. They were using Ansuz cabling throughout. All the Ø Audio speakers seem to be very well tuned; they have models that cater to different rooms which is great and even these smaller floor standers sounded very natural and unforced with good body to their sound.

In their third room they had the Pylon Jade Thirty running off a Musical Fidelity A1 amplifier, Matrix Audio NT-1 streamer, Matrix Audio SS-1 Pro network switch and a Musical Fidelity MX8 DAC. iFi mains purifier with Tellurium Q cabling, they were running the speakers in a nearfield setup and it was impressive how they managed to get such a solid centre image with the speakers this wide apart.

BIG DIPPER

Big Dipper had a range of Unitra in their room, Unitra make quite a wide range of products and I really do like the vintage styling they use. This room sounded really good too, nicely balanced with nothing sounding overly emphasised or out of place. The speakers were the ZGZ-801, they were using a WSH-805 integrated amplifier, CSH-801 CD player and an Edmund direct drive turntable.

NEBY

Neby represent quite a few big brands in Norway, in their first room they had the Wiim Ultra paired with the new VibeLink amplifier running into a pair of the KEF Q Concerto Meta speakers – I must admit these sounded pretty boomy in this room however, it’s likely the poor room acoustics at play here.

In their next room they had a full McIntosh system which included the new DS200 streaming DAC, MQ112 Equaliser, MC462 power amplifier and the ML1 loudspeakers. Being all from the same brand means the synergy between products is great, a smooth and clear sound that was nice and easy to listen to.

They also had the new MSA5500 streaming amplifier on display, this is a just-add-speakers amplifier and looked really interesting.

In the last Neby room we had a Michi / Pro-Ject / SVS setup consisting of the SVS Ultra Evolution Pinnacle, Michi X5 Series 2 and HiFi Rose 151 streamer – the Michi amp has great drive and power, easily driving the SVS speakers with great clarity, control, and punch. They were also using SVS cables throughout.

They also had the new Michi Q5, Pro-Ject Classic Reference with pick-it MC 9, HiFi Rose RS130, RD160, RA280 stack on static display.

On the third floor they had an open space which had 2nd hand items for sale from Mala Audio, there was a display of speaker drivers from Seas, they had vinyl, CD’s and accessories on sale from Big Dipper, a high-end audio book and also vinyl sales from Jorwed. This was a nice little space with plenty to see and buy.

Thus concludes our coverage of the 2025 Oslo HiFi Show – it was very well attended and the rooms were quite busy at times, it’s a great size for a HiFi Show and a lot of the exhibitors have taken great care in ensuring their rooms sound as good as they can. A huge thank you to Havard from Stereo+ / The Oslo HiFi Show for inviting us along again, we look forward to seeing the show continue to grow!

MALA AUDIO HIFI SHOWROOM

After the show we were invited to check out Mala Audio HQ, one of the show’s main sponsors, as their shop is right behind the Scandic Asker hotel. Mala are serious about HiFi, they have a huge range of kit and a lot of high-end systems on demo, they have multiple spaces where you can listen to a wide range of gear. The guys that run Mala are also the same people behind the new Ø Audio brand and they really know their stuff.

Oscar Stewart

Additional photography by Kelly Bowden