The second annual Audio Show Deluxe took place this weekend. Whittlebury Hall, near Silverstone racetrack in the heart of England, has hosted several audio events in the last two decades. Few have been as friendly or well-organised as Audio Show Deluxe. It’s organised by Kris Sawicki (of North West Audio Show fame), and Stuart and Linette Smith (from Hi-Fi Pig).
Deliberately small, with just 26 rooms across two floors, the event lives up to the name ‘Deluxe’. The accent is on quality rather than quantity, with lectures, timed demonstrations, and even the occasional live event. The rooms are not great for audio, with large conference rooms or smaller square cubes, all with very high ceilings. However, the exhibitors often rose to the challenge, making good sounds throughout the hotel.
This is not a show for launches… yet. Nevertheless, there were new products on show. However, rather than our usual “what’s new?” show coverage, the event is curated enough to cover virtually everything…
Absolute Sounds
Absolute Sounds had three main rooms (with additional equipment in several others – most notably Innuos and the Wellbeing Strategist gong-bath relaxation room). Last year, the high-end distributor showed the Döhmann Helix One turntable, ably demonstrated by Mark Döhmann himself. This year, the Helix One Mk III was joined by the laser-guided Reed 5T tangential tracking arm and Analog Relax EX 500 cartridge. This was played through the HSE Masterline 7 phono stage, dCS and Innuos digital audio, Robert Koda, DarTZeel and Constellation Audio amplifiers and Magico loudspeakers, with Transparent Audio cables and Artesania Audio equipment supports.
Absolute Sounds also had a full dCS Vivaldi APEX stack (once again with an Innuos server) alongside a D’Agostino MxV Momentum Integrated amplifier and into a pair of Wilson Audio Sasha V loudspeakers, once again with Transparent Audio power and signal cables and Artesania Audio equipment supports.
It doesn’t have to be big to sound good. In the smallest of the Absolute Sounds rooms, a Thiele TT01/TA01 ZERO turntable and arm with an Analog Relax EX 300 cartridge, an EAT E-Glo 5 phono stage, a dCS Lina Network DAC, Trafomatic Rhapsody integrated amp, and a pair of DeVore Fidelity Orangutan O/96 speakers made great sound in a difficult room.
Airt Audio
Airt Audio’s demonstrations centred around its ‘LTNF’ ( Lowering The Noise Floor) concept, using Acustica Applicata room treatment and Entreq grounding on a small but sophisticated system featuring a Metronome/Kalista source, Waversa streaming and amplification, and Avalon Acoustics loudspeakers.
Auden Distribution
Auden Distribution had two rooms. The larger had a Merason DAC1 mkII processor with a Hegel Viking CD and P30A preamp and two Hegel H30A power amps, with EgglestonWorks Virginti floorstanders, Audiomica Silver Signature cables, and MusicWorks power and support systems.
Newcomer to the Auden Distribution line, Luphonic turntables from Germany include the clever H2 Sens. This features a magnetic puck that controls turntable speed. Flip it over, and it plays 33rpm!
In the second—and smaller—Auden Distribution room, Audiomica demonstrated the differences between its cables, using another Hegel Viking CD player into the Hegel H600 integrated amp. The loudspeakers were EgglestonWorks Oso.
Audio Group Denmark
The most expensive system at the show was Audio Group Denmark’s £1.5m combination of Aavik 880 series electronics, Børresen’s top loudspeaker, and Ansuz power, cable, and isolation systems.
Audio Note
Always making good sound, Audio Note showed its Field Coil E loudspeakers, which were shown in prototype form at last year’s show. These sounded great through an all-Audio Note system.
Black Rhodium
In a static display, Black Rhodium showed its Flamenco loudspeaker cables; the flagship of the line.
Blackwood
New to the UK but a fixture on the Warsaw Audio Show circuit, Blackwood makes an extremely fine-sounding active loudspeaker system in the Armani’s. The company came to the show looking for UK distribution, and judging by the performance, we look forward to hearing more about it.
Boyer Audio
Boyer Audio launched two new products from Kroma Atelier; the floorstanding Matilde and stand-mount Macbeth, both featuring PURIFI drive units. The rest of the system was no slouch, either, featuring a Brinkmann analogue and Wadax digital front-ends, Engström amplification, Shunyata Research’s cables and power distributors and Bassocontinuo stands. Judging by how long people stayed in this room, this was one of the stand-outs at the show.
Connected Fidelity
Connected Fidelity showed its prototype TT Hub turntable, complete with Sorane tonearm and Hana Umami Red cartridge. This was played through a Trichord phono stage, Moor Amps electronics and loudspeakers and Connected Fidelity’s range of power, cable and equipment isolation products.
Connecting Music
Distributor Connecting Music made a lovely sound centred around the Italian amplifier company MastersounD. Its Evolution 845 integrated amplifier was fed music by a Bricasti digital front end and played into a pair of Maxima Amator loudspeakers from fellow Vicenza resident Sonus Faber.
Cyrus Audio
Celebrating its 40th Anniversary, Cyrus Audio showed a very similar system to its Bristol Audio Show set-up, with the TTP turntable fronting a full XR system into Audio Physic Codex floorstanding loudspeakers.
Decent Audio
Decent Audio had a lot on show. It demonstrated a system featuring Audio Analogue electronics, van den Hul cables, and Raidho loudspeakers, but it also showed models from Ayre Acoustics, Advance Paris, Scansonic, and the first audio amplifiers from headphone amp experts SPL.
Electromod
Personal Audio was not strongly represented at Audio Show Deluxe, but Electromod showed off its newest brand: a Violectric/Niimbus headphone amplifier driving Dan Clark Audio’s new E3 headphones.
House of Linn
Manchester-based experts House of Linn were—perhaps understandably—playing a largely Linn-based system, comprising a Linn Klimax LP12 turntable and Klimax DSM/3 streaming preamp into the new Klimax Solo 800 power amps, but into a pair of ATC SCM100PSLT passive loudspeakers and an ATC C4 Sub Mk2. Melco and Innuos brought the streaming sounds while Puritan purified power.
Innuos
Innuos showed its Statement Next Gen server and Phoenix Net network switch in a remarkably revealing system comprising dCS Vivaldi APEX DAC and Upsampler, Audio Research Reference preamp and monoblocks, Wilson Benesch floorstanders and Infrasonic generator, the new Lateral Audio Stands Counterpoint equipment supports and Shunyata Research power and cable systems.
Karma AV
Karma AV showed music and movies can sit comfortably together with a demonstration featuring Primare multichannel electronics, Perlisten D15s loudspeakers and D215s subwoofers, and Inakustik cables. Norah Jones’s singing in Ronnie Scotts was as graceful as the atom bomb from Oppenheimer was jump-out-of-your-seat dynamic.
KEF
KEF rarely gets to show off its Muon flagship loudspeaker, but the shiny art-meets-science tower can still stun people with its performance, especially when fed by a top Innuos and Soulution system.
Lateral Audio Stands/Willowtree Audio
Lateral Audio Stands showed off its new Counterpoint flagship stand in a room shared with Willowtree Audio. The combination of Lector and CenGrand digital front end, Dayens amplification, JMR loudspeakers, and Lateral Audio Stands made a genuinely global and attainably priced system that sounded excellent.
Luxman/DALI
Luxman is a rare – but welcome – sight in a UK audio show. This complete analogue and digital electronics collection from the brand (comprising PD-191A turntable, E-250 phono stage, D-10X disc player and NT-07 network player, C-10X preamp and M-10X power amplifier was met with a pair of DALI Epikore 11 loudspeakers and a complete loom of Chord Company Sarum T cables.
In addition to the systems on show, Jonathan Billington from Music First Audio was on hand to answer questions about the company’s products. This was a departure from its usual demonstrations, but sometimes you just have to meet and greet!
Puritan Audio Laboratories
While several brands used the company’s products at the show (most notably House of Linn), Puritan Audio Labs was exhibiting but not demonstrating. Puritan’s range of power and star-earthing products is refreshingly engineering-led.
Reference Audio Distribution
Reference Audio Distribution covers Acoustic Solid turntables, Audia Flight electronics, Diapason loudspeakers, and Spirit Torino headphones. However, it also makes its line of Titan Audio power products and Titanic Audio cartridges. The company’s latest newcomer is the Titanic Audio Newton record clamp. It features a spring-loaded suspension system to apply just the right amount of downforce.
Stratton Acoustics/Vertere Acoustics
Playing in the awe-inspiring Vertere Acoustics room, Stratton Acoustics launched its second loudspeaker, the Element 12. Following the company’s Elypsis 1512, the Element 12 is a twin-reflex loaded two-way high-sensitivity stand-mount loudspeaker. It sports a 300mm mid/woofer and a 29mm soft dome tweeter in a substantial 57-litre bamboo ply enclosure.
Symmetry
For the second year, Mike Valentine of Chasing the Dragon Records gave fascinating lectures in the Symmetry room. His direct-cut LPs were replayed on a complete Brinkmann analogue, digital, and amplifier system. There was also a studio master tape, Sonus faber Stradivari loudspeakers, HRS stands, and a full Shunyata Research power and signal cable system.
Technics
Technics had a compact but surprisingly thorough room. This included the new Delta Sigma drive SL-1200GR2 turntable, an SA-C600 Network CD Receiver, and SB-C600 loudspeakers. There was also a SL-1210G and a pair of G700 Series products.
"Neque porro quisquam est qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit..."
"There is no one who loves pain itself, who seeks after it and wants to have it, simply because it is pain..."
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
Cookie
Duration
Description
_GRECAPTCHA
5 months 27 days
This cookie is set by the Google recaptcha service to identify bots to protect the website against malicious spam attacks.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement
1 year
Set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category .
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Cookie
Duration
Description
__gads
1 year 24 days
The __gads cookie, set by Google, is stored under DoubleClick domain and tracks the number of times users see an advert, measures the success of the campaign and calculates its revenue. This cookie can only be read from the domain they are set on and will not track any data while browsing through other sites.
_ga
2 years
The _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
_gat_UA-4948765-36
1 minute
A variation of the _gat cookie set by Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager to allow website owners to track visitor behaviour and measure site performance. The pattern element in the name contains the unique identity number of the account or website it relates to.
_gid
1 day
Installed by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
_s
30 minutes
This cookie is associated with Shopify's analytics suite.
_shopify_s
30 minutes
This cookie is associated with Shopify's analytics suite.
_shopify_y
2 years
This cookie is associated with Shopify's analytics suite.
_y
2 years
This cookie is associated with Shopify's analytics suite.
CONSENT
16 years 2 months 18 days 9 hours 19 minutes
YouTube sets this cookie via embedded youtube-videos and registers anonymous statistical data.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Cookie
Duration
Description
_fbp
3 months
This cookie is set by Facebook to display advertisements when either on Facebook or on a digital platform powered by Facebook advertising, after visiting the website.
IDE
1 year 24 days
Google DoubleClick IDE cookies are used to store information about how the user uses the website to present them with relevant ads and according to the user profile.
test_cookie
15 minutes
The test_cookie is set by doubleclick.net and is used to determine if the user's browser supports cookies.
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE
5 months 27 days
A cookie set by YouTube to measure bandwidth that determines whether the user gets the new or old player interface.
YSC
session
YSC cookie is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages.
yt-remote-connected-devices
never
YouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video.
yt-remote-device-id
never
YouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video.
