Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025: Part Two

Last week, Alan Sircom and Paul Soor gave their top five products from the Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025. It’s the turn of Steve Dickinson, Chris Frankland, Jason Kennedy and Ed Selley this week.

The brief remained the same… find the five most interesting (and, ideally, new) products at the event. Add a few spares. No conferring. And bring me the details after the event. This ‘open-ended’ brief was deliberate, to see how many overlaps there were. I’d then edit them into a cogent set of top five products from each reviewer. This would all work well, unless…

We all highlighted the same product launches. The reviewers all mentioned Chord Company, Cyrus, Exposure, Fyne Audio, Harbeth, Neat, Michell, and WiiM. Fortunately, everyone also had a few additional companies they wanted to cover. However, there are still a couple of companies with multiple launches. So, Fyne and Neat get more than one mention because they were featured so strongly among the team visiting the show.

Ed Selley

Cyrus Audio 40 PPA

I have used a Cyrus Audio Phono Signature as a test piece for nearly a decade. Its combination of four inputs and extremely low noise levels has made it difficult to surpass. The 40 PPA has potential, though. The new menu-driven interface looks brilliant and allows 5dB gain adjustments in increments. The output stage and power supply have been enhanced. It all comes in the attractive 40 Series casework first seen at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025. At a projected price of £2,195, it appears to offer a lot of value for the money.

Exposure 5000 Series integrated amplifier

Exposure’s 5000 Series integrated is so understated that I initially didn’t spot it. It replaces the 5010 preamp and monoblock models and—rather impressively—combines most of their engineering in a single chassis. This means 100 watts of power, a selection of analogue inputs, and the option to run the existing range of phono and DAC boards. Pricing is to be confirmed, but it should be under £5,000 when it appears later this year.

Harbeth NLE-1

Last year, Harbeth impressed me with the supremely clever, albeit somewhat pricey, NLE-3. This year at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025, Harbeth introduced its little brother, the NLE-1. This compact two-way speaker is fully active. It features 50 watts per driver and a DSP-controlled crossover. This allows users to choose between bass extension and SP levels. NLE-1 is priced at £2,995 and is available in a selection of vibrant colours. It sounded genuinely lovely and represents a fascinating piece of equipment that looks perfect for various roles.

Neat Acoustics Iota 2

People looking for an equally stylish speaker to complement their Rega Brio Mk7 could do worse than listen to the newly updated Neat Acoustics Iota 2. Tweaks to the mid-bass unit and the port have yielded more bass and improved quality, all while reducing port noise. The demo pair was showcased alongside the company’s fabulous Momentum JET stand-mount. Many visitors initially thought the sound emanating from the tiny speaker was coming from the larger one. The Iota 2 will be available in the spring, and I’m very much looking forward to it.

Rega Brio Mk7

Rega’s gentle embrace of the 21^st century continues with the new Mk 7 version of the evergreen Brio integrated amp. It remains distinctly Rega: a half-width chassis, class AB amplifier, and an onboard phono stage. However, it now features digital inputs and a standby function for the first time. Priced at £799, it may very well be all the amplifier sensible people ever need. It sounded exceptionally good when paired with a Planar 3 RS and Aya speakers.

Steve Dickinson

Advance Paris CD9

Distributor Decent Audio showcased a wide range of beautifully finished and reasonably priced Advance Paris separates at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025. On demonstration, they presented the £900 CD9 valve-output CD player through the £2,000 A10 hybrid integrated amplifier, paired with £ 5,250 Scansonic 3.5B loudspeakers. A Dual 618 direct-drive turntable handled vinyl playback. The combination of valve and solid-state hybrid in these designs works effectively, and the results are worth exploring further.

Fyne Audio F501S

Fyne Audio has launched its new £1,700 model, F501S, a compact floorstanding loudspeaker featuring a 6” version of its Isoflare driver paired with an additional 6” bass-only driver. The enhanced driver technology provides exceptional sound quality, which was noticeable at the show. The F500S comprises a three-model range (including a stand-mount and two floorstanders, starting at £800), available in various finishes. This range is positioned above the black-only F500E series, which replaces the now-discontinued F300 as Fyne’s entry-level option. This ensures that every loudspeaker in the Fyne portfolio employs its Isoflare dual-concentric driver technology. Prices for the F500S remain consistent with their predecessor models.

Kanto Audio UKI

One of the joys of the Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025 is that concepts of what makes good audio are set aside. Products like the new Kanto Audio UKI bookshelf active loudspeaker rub shoulder-to-shoulder with many of audio’s big guns. Despite costing £199, the UKI bristles with innovative thinking from the Canadian brand. The diminutive clamshell enclosure UKI sports Bluetooth 5.0, USB-C and RCA inputs. It also features a headphone socket, making it an ideal desktop partner. It will be available in black, white, cobalt, and sage when launched later this year.

Russell K RED 120se

I had to include this Russell K room at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025 even though there was nothing intrinsically ‘new’, mainly because it was one of my best-sounding rooms at the show. Additionally, the Accuphase DP570 CD/SACD player, E700 integrated amp, Nordost cabling, and MusicWorks stands closely resemble what I use at home, making the sound very familiar. The RED 120se remains unchanged from my review in issue 209. It is a 2½-way floorstander featuring 5” main drivers, a very high-quality dome tweeter, and a braced but largely undamped cabinet. What struck me was that many of the typical issues seen in showrooms were absent. Setup, including stands and cabling, is critical, but so is ensuring that the design basics are correct.

Voxativ Hagen

Not shy when it comes to eye-catching design, Voxativ showcased its Hagen entry-level monitor loudspeaker at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025. This featured its proprietary full-range driver; no crossover, with a 95dB efficiency and a frequency response of 50Hz-33kHz (-3dB), available for £6,000. This was powered by their £18,000 T-211 integrated amplifier, a 10W valve design with a motorised, stepped attenuator volume control using all Vishay resistors. If you need more bass, Voxativ paired it with their Alderich active subwoofer (£15,000), boasting 500W of class D amplification.

Chris Frankland

Audio Note Meishu Konzertmeister and AN-E Ltd

In addition to hearing presentations from radio legend and former Old Grey Whistle Test presenter Bob Harris, visitors to the Audio Note room at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025 could enjoy two new products: the Meishu Konzertmeister integrated amplifier and the AN-E Ltd field coil loudspeaker.

In summary, the field coil speakers use drive units (tweeter and bass/midrange) that use an externally powered electromagnet generator system rather than the permanent magnet systems used in conventional speakers. Audio Note says that among the advantages of the field coil drivers is that the magnet does not suffer from residual magnetism after the initial input and far less from certain types of stepping, quantisation, and hysteresis distortions during the magnetic cycle, resulting in a dramatic improvement in sound quality.

The new Meishu Konzertmeister builds on the original single-ended 300B triode design and features larger custom-made transformers, niobium and silver niobium resistors, and higher-quality capacitors. All internal point-to-point wiring is silver. Both the speakers and the amp are priced at £46,000. And boy, do they sound fantastic!

Hegel D50

A new addition to the Hegel range debuted at Bristol: its first standalone DAC, the D50 (nicknamed The Raven), priced at £4,250. With 20 years of expertise in DAC design, Hegel has pushed the limits with the D50, meticulously fine-tuning every component of the circuit design to maximise performance from the ESS 9039Q2M chipset while minimising noise and impedance drops. It features two heavily shielded, low-noise toroidal transformers, and the chip itself is mounted on a separate board above the main board to reduce noise further. It sounded impressive while decoding the output from an H600 amp, driving Eggleston Works Nico speakers.

Michell Audio Apollo and Muse

Debuting at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025 show is the first phono stage from one of the UK’s longest-established brands. Designed in-house by the Michell team, the two-box phono stage (with the power supply in a separate box), the Apollo aims to minimise unwanted RF noise by using a case machined from solid aluminium to create a tight-fitting ‘clam shell’. It offers customisable load and gain settings for MM and MC cartridges, and the Class A preamp section borrows technology from professional microphone amplifiers. With its Muse power supply and connecting cable, the Apollo will retail for £3,500.

Origin Live Anti Resonance arms and Multi-Layer Counterweight

The tonearm range from this UK manufacturer continually evolves, and Origin Live unveiled its MkV versions at the show. A significant feature of the range is a new anti-resonance device in the arm tube designed to reduce vibrations. The top models, from the Conqueror to the Agile and Renown, also include a new multi-layer counterweight. This helps control the energy transmitted along the arm tube and prevents it from being reflected to the cartridge. Additionally, it shifts some of its weight below the pivot point to enhance stability while allowing for a finer adjustment range. They sounded impressive through the demo system.

Soulines TT9 and KiVi M3

A new turntable brand from Serbia has made its first UK appearance in the Sound Fowndations room with the Soulines TT9 turntable featuring the KiVi M3 arm, priced at £3,990, and the Kubrick DCX (also equipped with the M3 arm) at £6,490. The platters, bearings, and spindles are individually machined for each deck. The TT9 has a lightweight chassis, an inverted main bearing, and a Delrin thrust plate. The platter is crafted from 30mm acrylic, and a DC motor powers the drive. Everything rests on a three-point suspension. The Kubrick is a higher-end model that utilizes more machined aluminium. The KiVi tonearm is a unipivot design with a captive bearing to enhance stability. Soulines also offers a separate isolation base priced at £1,290 and isolating feet at £1,150 for a set of four.

Jason Kennedy

Acoustic Energy AE309²

Acoustic Energy occupied one of the larger rooms in the basement, acoustically enhancing it with their new AE309² speakers (£1,200), which are the entry-level floorstanders in the range and stand 90 cm tall, not exactly huge. MD Matt Spandl explained that the midrange is based on a classic Scanspeak design used by Sonus faber and Wilson in the past, though this version has a cone made of coconut fibre and paper. Connected to a Rega Aethos amp and a vintage Rega DAC, the AE309² produced a very entertaining and pleasantly relaxed sound.

Chord Phono Aray

The Chord Company showcased several ARAY noise reduction devices at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025 show, including the EE1 Plus ethernet filter (£600), which proved highly beneficial when used with an Innuos and Chord Electronics streaming system. More notably, the Phono ARAY (£1,000) is designed to decrease noise on the ground connection to a turntable. It provides a very low impedance ground for the tonearm earth wire and utilises ARAY technology to minimise noise on the connection to the phono stage. The concept is that reducing noise on the ground leads to a more precise sound from the turntable, something they demonstrated effectively using Bob Dylan’s ‘Tangled Up In Blue,’ which sounded significantly less brash with it in place.

Neat Acoustics Momentum J-6

Alongside the Iota 2 listed above, Neat Acoustics displayed some striking examples of its new Momentum J-6 floorstanding speakers (£9,995). These speakers feature a luxurious high-gloss ebony finish and pair a sealed two-way top section with an AMT tweeter, a Neat R3 mid/bass driver, and a bass section below that hides a pair of 170mm drive units in an isobaric configuration. They sounded exceptionally musical with an Atoll ST300 streamer and a IN400 integrated amp.

Quad ESL-2912X

Quad’s Electrostatic loudspeakers have remained an audio mainstay since their launch in the 1950s. Modern electrostatics trace back to the ESL-63, which was launched in 1984, and the latest £12,000 ESL-2912X. Shown in prototype form at Munich High-End 2024, this full-range flagship features an improved mylar suspension system, a new power supply, and deluxe components compared to the existing ESL-2912. When played through a Quad 33 preamp with bridged 303s, the 2912X delivered considerable bass for an electrostatic design. However, I was positioned too far to one side at the press event to fully appreciate its famous transparency.

Ultrafide Dias-U8

Ultrafide is the consumer audio division of the pro brand MC2, which launched its U4PRE/U500DC pre-power amps in 2023. At the Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025, they unveiled an amplifier with more obvious pro roots. The Dias-U8 (£27,500) is a 50-kilogram behemoth with a kilowatt power rating, based on MC2’s MC250, but featuring passive rather than fan cooling. The gaps at the base are designed to allow air in, as it could be quite a hot-running Class A/B design. Coupled with Kudos Titan 808 speakers, this setup produced the cleanest sounding high-power system at the show, and likely the heaviest.

Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025: Part One

Back to Home