HiFi PiG’S GYULA BRINGS YOU PART TWO OF HIS TECA 2025 HiFi SHOW COVERAGE
Join Gyula for the second half of his TECA Taipei International Audio Show 2025 report.
If you missed our TECA Taipei International Audio Show Report Part One, then read it here…now join Gyula for part two.
TECA TAIPEI INTERNATIONAL AUDIO SHOW 2025 REPORT PART TWO
After the huge number of rooms on the first two floors of this monster audio picnic, let’s dive back and finish up with the 3rd and 4th floors.
Please note, all content and photos are the copyright of HiFi PiG Magazine/Big Pig Media LLP and must not be copied or reproduced in any way without the prior, written consent of the editor.
ROOM 301 – 音譜利 YPL
YPL’s room was refreshingly straightforward: a complete in-house chain with Favorite 600 floorstanders driven by the T‑5 Pro tube integrated, doing its job without fuss. The real focus was the TP‑1 turntable, a 19 kg aluminium deck with a 4.5 kg platter on a magnetic bearing and a 12‑inch carbon‑fibre arm, very much an enthusiast’s object rather than a living‑room statue. Partnered with the new TP‑25 MM/MC phono stage, with sensible loading and gain options, the analogue front end came across as calm, quiet and properly sorted, while still offering the sort of fine control, like arm flexibility, precise electronic speed adjustment and so on, that serious record collectors actually use.
ROOM 303 ELECTROCOMPANIET, SME, VOLTI
Room 303 was another vinyl‑first room, with the legendary SME taking centre stage via a white Model 8 front end feeding a pair of handsome Volti horn loudspeakers, Electrocompaniet power amplifiers and a Mastersound PHL-5 preamplifier. Around the walls sat a small museum of record‑care and analogue paraphernalia, Nitty Gritty and Loricraft cleaning machines, Garrard and SME displays, and a Thorens power unit, so the whole space felt like a turntable workshop, where, between albums, they would be able to fix and tune your setup. I was looking forward to the Volti, but this room was too small to show its true face.
ROOM 307 鴻運音響中心 BRODMANN, PASS LAB, AIM, CHORD
Room 307 featured a full Pass Labs front line and tall Brodmann VC7s, creating a “big boy HiFi” experience. A pair of XA160.8 mono power amps provided the familiar Pass Class- A grip and glow, fed by the XP-22 preamplifier and a T+A MP 3100 HV player pulling source duty. AIM cabling handled the housekeeping. The Brodmanns’ imposing cabinets were overshadowed by a large-scale, effortlessly composed sound that fit the room’s size.
ROOM 308, 迎家 WHARFEDALE, NAD
There’s always that one system at a show that looks like the IT manager’s rig but sounds like the mastering engineer’s, and this was it: Wharfedale’s Elysian 4 is powered by NAD’s M33v2 and M23v2, with the smart “grey eminence” sitting between all the bling. The boxes are almost studiously plain, and the front baffles are tidy to the point of dull, but once music starts, the combo locks in a big, even-handed sound that makes you forget about the jewellery-grade finishes. This is HiFi as a sensible life choice rather than a midlife crisis purchase. It may be boring to look at, but it’s very hard to walk away from once you’ve heard how sorted it all is.
ROOM 309, 雅風 ATC
Forever‑reliable ATC represented with the SCM100ASLTs. These are the sort of speakers you really ought to discuss with the rest of the household before you wheel them into your living space. Paired with in-house electronics, they sounded as they usually do at shows: big, clean and unflappable, but played a few dB hotter than this listener would choose at home, and with a music selection that leaned heavily on old-school local sound.
ROOM 310, 迎家 QUAD
A very exciting room to write about, as it finally gave me a proper listen to the new Platina series, announced only about a month ago. Quad is one of those legendary brands I kept hearing about from the “elders” when I got into HiFi in the 2000s, yet I never really grasped it firsthand because I’d missed its heyday. In recent years, though, with the reappearance of classics like the Quad 33/303 and the launch of the Revela loudspeakers, the brand has been quietly becoming cool again. I’d already spent time with the Revela series in different systems, so hearing the Platina electronics driving the Revela 2s via the matching streamer was something I’d genuinely been looking forward to. The Platina integrated did not disappoint it sounded confident and properly involving – rhythmically sure‑footed, nicely textured through the mids, and with enough drive that the whole setup felt more like a genuine new chapter for Quad than a mere heritage exercise.
ROOM 312, 雅士 CHORD, GOLD NOTE, ZINGALI,
AceAudio, a distributor of Europe’s big guns, had a few tasty systems dotted around the corridors, but this one was clearly the altar to Chord. Front and centre sat the full Ultima pre/power stack flanked by a Hugo TT and a DAVE, with a Gold Note Pianosa/Donatello combo into the PH‑10 taking care of the vinyl stuff, all laced together with Monitor Acoustic power and cabling so nothing noisy crept in from the outside world. At the business end, Zingali’s Twenty 2.08 horns did their usual party trick of sounding huge, colourful and very much alive – the perfect foil for Chord’s cool‑headed precision and Gold Note’s more Mediterranean warmth. Off to one side, the distributor had some fun with scale, dropping a Zero bookshelf speaker in a desktop system with the tiny Suzi pre- and power amps; it took up less space than a shoebox!
ROOM 315 富林音響, GERMAN PHYSIKS, BOULDER, ZORIN
German Physiks omnidirectional towers were paired with Boulder 850 mono power amps and the 810 preamplifier, bringing a steady hand and a healthy dose of American muscle to their traditionally German sense of order. Eversolo’s DMP-A10 led the digital domain, while the flagship Zorin TP-S5 turntable with its M.R. Ionic air-bearing linear-tracking arm dominated the analogue side. The combination of the omnis, Boulder’s grip, and the meticulously engineered Zorin front end resulted in a spacious, precise, and slightly showy sound.
ROOM 316 雅士 GOLD NOTE
Ace Audio’s second room felt like a cosy slice of Tuscany dropped right into the Grand Hotel. There were Gold Note boxes all around, and honestly, it had more shades of gold and black than you’d find in a fancy espresso machine store. The setup had a full “classic” chain: a Pianosa turntable with a Vasari Red cartridge, a P-1000 MkII Deluxe preamp connected to a PA-1175 MkII power amp, a DS-10 with PSU-10 handling digital tasks, and A6 Evo II floorstanders bringing everything together. They had a commanding yet refined sound that was lively and full-bodied, combining Italian design elegance with audiophile accuracy.
The second system features the IS-1000 MkII Line, which powers the DIANA II speakers along with the modular DIANA III-F subs, creating a one-of-a-kind floor-standing setup. The T-5 turntable paired with the ES-78 cartridge is a budget-friendly option for vinyl lovers looking to dive into the world of records.
ROOM 318 巴洛克, EAM LAB, ROCKNA, ESPRIT, ASI
This room piqued interest with just three letters: EAM – EAM Lab, the proudly Milanese pro‑audio outfit that only stepped into domestic HiFi a few years ago. EAM Lab focuses on solid‑state power and integrated amplifiers with serious, studio‑style power supplies (dual mono all the way), high current delivery and a generally no‑nonsense sonic attitude. Their gear looks clean and purposeful, but with a distinctly Italian touch of sprezzatura that makes the Classic 202i in particular very easy on the eye.
Here it was partnered with French ASI No. 35 monitors and their matching bass module, while the 202i leaned on Romanian Rockna’s flagship digital front end – the Wavedream server and DAC – for source duties.
ROOM 320 琦富, MONITOR AUDIO, LEEMA, PLINIUS, GOLD NOTE
Stepping into this room was like entering a highly refined, slightly British-accented listening lounge, accompanied by the gleaming black finery of Monitor Audio’s Platinum 200 3G on either side. The Leema Acoustics Antilla IIs Eco CD player and Gold Note’s DS-10 Evo with its matching PSU-10 Evo shared front-end duties. They all fed a big Plinius Hiato integrated that looked more than ready to keep the Platinums under control. The result was neat, confident, and easy to listen to.
Room 324 雷爾斯 Lals, Kinki Audio, Myst[J], Eversolo
The Taiwanese horn speaker specialist, Laos, had one of those rooms I was always looking forward to visiting. In previous years it was always amongst the best-sounding rooms, with their impressive high-sensitivity horn speakers. I still remember the beautiful sound it produced paired with the Mahout LQ805 tube amplifier. The shift from last year’s Mahout tube amplification to the Kinki Studio Dazzle integrated brought extra grip and sparkle. With Eversolo A10 providing the digital source for the playback, while all the setup is staged on Myst[J] popular stands. Bold, smooth-sounding setup.
ROOM 328 上華, WHARFEDALE, BUYAUDIO, EVERSOLO
Room 328 was a great surprise: a real “Made in Taiwan” story wrapped in a warm Wharfedale blanket. The UK-700 power amp from UNiKA, which is better known in professional circles than in living rooms, was clearly showing off. It has a chunky dual-mono stereo design that runs in class A for the first 50 watts or so and then switches to AB for the big swings, which worked perfectly with the Linton Heritage 85s. On paper it is all big toroidal transformers, healthy current and studio‑style specs; in practice, partnered with Eversolo’s streamer, it gave the Lintons a firmer handshake and tidier bass while keeping that fireside warmth and ease that makes these speakers so loveable. Knowing that UNiKA also has the small Classic 405II mono blocks ready to go, small dynamic class A bruisers that promise even more grip, made this room feel like the start of a very interesting crossover between control room sensibilities and listening from the comfort of your own home.
ROOM 336: 柏琦, LEGATO, ZELLATON, TECHDAS, SCHNERZINGER, REED, HSE
Stepping into the room, you faced a very tidy setup in the middle. The modern, and confident-looking Zellaton Stage Ultra’s, Two cubes labelled Legato Acoustics and in a beautiful white cloak – Schnerzinger cables. The Legato power amplification was clearly not there to play games either, promising a stout 1000 watts into 8 ohms in class AB. Off to one side, the serious business happened on a massive Legato plinth where the Legato DAC/preamp stack lived, joined by HSE’s Masterline 8 line stage and Masterline 7 phono, with analogue duties shared between the no‑less‑than‑iconic TechDAS Air Force One Premium and Reed Muse 3C turntables.
The Legato team themselves were in the room and, between tracks, sketched out their story: founded in 2015, building made‑to‑order ultra high‑end electronics, and backed by an engineering crew whose roots lie in the semiconductor world at Intel. In a country that practically defines the cutting edge of chip design, that pedigree carries some weight, and it made sense of the ultra‑precise, low‑noise, “nothing added, nothing taken away” presentation coming from the Legato DAC/preamp into the Zellatons. Put together, it was one of those systems where the industrial design, the tech narrative and the actual sound all lined up, giving plenty of reasons to trust that these relatively new kids on the high‑end block know exactly what they are doing.
ROOM 339 COS, YG ACOUSTICS
The COS/YG Acoustics room went for a clean, almost monochrome look, with YG’s Vantage 3 loudspeakers flanking a low rack of COS electronics on MYST stands. At the front end sat COS’s new S6 network switch feeding the D10 DAC‑preamplifier with its streaming module, which in turn drove an Aesthetix Atlas Eclipse stereo power amp, forming a compact but very serious digital chain.
ROOM 343 鹿港 LU KANG, EMM LABS, KECES, METRONOME, DS AUDIO, SAEC, HORNS, SIKORA
A handsome pair of Spoey floorstanders by Lu Kang frames a tower of serious electronics. The main system used EMM Labs’ DV2I streamer/DAC, PRE preamp, and new MTRS stereo power amp, with David Laboga and SAEC cables. The “small” system next to it was built around Metronome’s new Audirvana-driven DSS/DSC digital front end and a KECES S4/S300+ pre-power combo feeding the bookshelf Spoey 200s. Dual turntables were heavily promoted, with the CS618Q at the forefront and the CS329 turntable at 50% off, attracting new vinyl fans.
ROOM 346 佑聲音, GOLDMUND, ORPHEUS, WEISS, VIARD, AMPHION, VIENNA ACOUSTICS, GRIMM
This Goldmund room was the sonic equivalent of stumbling into a very classy private recital. The Rhea passive loudspeakers were partnered with Vitus Audio’s SIA‑030 integrated, Weiss’s Helios Reference DAC, a Grimm MU1 network player and an Audio Note CDT Two transport, all laced together with Viard cables – a roll‑call of brands that quietly says “we know what we’re doing” rather than yelling about it. To drive the point home, a violinist played live comparisons against the recordings, which was both disarmingly honest and great fun, highlighting how this system went for natural tone, texture and ease instead of fireworks. The whole thing felt wonderfully “old money” in attitude: superb components from specialists, assembled with taste and restraint so the focus stayed firmly on the music, not the price tags.
ROOM 347 麇囷, PMC, CYRUS, AVM, INAKUSTIK
Being welcomed into a room with a cold craft beer in hand is already a good start, but this one went the extra mile by pairing Y&H Brewery’s brews with some very serious German engineering. While working through a mini flight of IPAs and lagers, the PMC Prophecy9 and Fact 12 were doing their transmission‑line wonders, driven by AVM’s flagship stack: the MA 8.2 power amps, PA 8.3 preamp and the CS 3.3 all‑in‑one handling streaming and disc duties. Inakustik cables and power conditioning kept everything neat and noise‑free, while HLJ maglev feet floated the electronics and speakers just enough to make vibration a problem for someone else. The combination of hoppy aromatics, AVM muscle and PMC’s big, effortless soundstage made this stop fun and thoroughly entertaining.
ROOM 348 愷銳韶韻 PERLISTEN, KINKI STUDIO
Serious Perlisten S7t speakers with a dark ebony finish filled the room with strong bass and fast, dynamic transients. When used with Scandinavian power from Primare A35.2 mono power amps, PRE35, and MSB The Premier DAC and VV Audiolab’s new Vanadium II network server. At one point, the Kinki Dazzle integrated also powered the speaker, letting fellow visitors figure out the answer to the age-old question of whether to use integrated or separate components.
349 鴻韻音響, ACCUPHASE, B&W
It was like stepping onto the set of a cool 1980s sci-fi show in this room. It was like a cross between the 1950s and the 1980s. The big Bowers & Wilkins towers were on either side of a classic Accuphase stack. The champagne fascias, chunky meters, and unapologetically old-school knobs proudly shouted, “We’ve looked like this for decades, for a reason.” The PS-1230 power supply, the C-3900S preamp, and a pair of A-300 power amps all worked together to make the music sound like it looked: smooth, heavy, and effortlessly luxurious, with no hint of fashion-driven fuss. It was a celebration of heritage HiFi.
350 NIRVANA, BOENICKE, HEED, EVERSOLO
It’s always a special feeling seeing the gear you also own displayed in a showroom, and with the Heed Lagrange in the rack, that was the case for me. Partnering with the Boenicke W8s was a very satisfying combination: the Hungarian amp with the petite Swiss floorstanders had a lovely, open midrange and airy, three‑dimensional stage. The Eversolo DMP‑A10 provided a sleek digital front end. I really appreciated the additional screen, displaying album artwork and track info in a practical and satisfying way. Listening to the tracks, I kept wondering how much easier it would have been to set up these speakers in my room…
356 巨禮 NAIM, FOCAL, MOON, AUDIOQUEST
Room 356 was a real brand-fest, with Focal, Naim, AudioQuest, Nordost, and a shiny Michell Gyrodec all in one very photogenic space. The sharp orange Focal Sopra N°2 pair was the main attraction. It was lit up against a deep red background and surrounded by a full stack of Naim electronics that looked like a small black monolith farm on the racks. More Naim boxes and accessories were on display at a different table, and the Gyrodec was displayed under glass like a museum piece. As expected from this duo, the sound was dependable and trustworthy.
401台音 REGA
Rega’s distributor took the contrarian approach and set up a “library mode” room with no music playing at all. Instead, the gear quietly lined the walls, making you think about how it would sound at home. The Rega System One was one of the main pieces in the small space, and then there was a clear step up to an Aya-based stack with the Elex MK4, Fono MC MK4, and Planar 8 Pro all in full multi-box glory. In one corner, the very serious Aura MC phono stage and a Van Medevoort MA360SE integrated gave the room further credibility. On the other side, there were Dual and Rega Planar 1 decks and Nagaoka accessories. It was great to see younger vinyl enthusiasts being so interested.
404 尼威特 NEOTECH
Notch, a regular at the show, and locals’ homes. Once again, they wowed everyone with their wide range of cables on display.
405 元亨 K-ARRAY
This room surprised in more ways than one. K-array, specialists in innovative and compact audio solutions, created a custom-tailored, very interesting experience. A set of tiny Lyzard-KZ14 speakers, 2.2 x 10 x 1.1 cm milled aluminium enclosure housing 4 x long-excursion neodymium magnet transducers for a total weight of just 59 g, filled it with accurate, clear, and very enjoyable sound, delivering 140° coverage from 500Hz up and 98 dB peaks when paired with compact subs like the K1’s 4-inch woofer. I needed to point to the source with my fingers to make sure you, dear reader, could grasp the scale. Just look up these guys if you want to never get “upgraditis” again.
408迎家 WHARFEDALE, AUDIOLAB, DENON
Wharfedale and Audiolab worked together in this room to show off a full home theatre built around Denon’s AVR-X1800H powering the new EVO 5 Series speakers in a relaxed, living-room-style space. It was impressive! Audiolab electronics powered Wharfedale Linton loudspeakers in the classic two-channel system for a more traditional, music-first sound. On the other side of the room, Audiolab’s new D7 and flagship D9 DACs, which have built-in high-power headphone amplifiers, provided a more elegant, head-fi-focused option for private listening sessions.
410集雅社 LG, BOULDER, CANTON, YAMAHA
Boulder’s 866 integrated amplifier paired with the Canton’s New Reference 5 floorstanders made a beautifully simple system that was both powerful and precise. The distributor’s interesting introduction set the stage perfectly for what came next: an impressive, multi-layered presentation with powerful, controlled bass and a wide soundstage that completely drew me in. So much so that I forgot to take photos.
414 CANVAS
Canvas is an interesting lifestyle‑focused, but genuinely high‑end, TV sound system: effectively a HiFi‑grade soundbar that turns the whole screen into one clean, furniture‑like object. Behind the Kvadrat fabric and wood slats sit multiple SB Acoustics drivers, a Burr‑Brown DAC and room‑correction with BACCH 3D crosstalk cancellation, so it sounds far bigger and more refined than its minimalist look suggests.
415 藍大俠翔韻 FOCAL, NAIM
Anglo-French duo Naim and Focal created another, moderate yet appealing setup with the Uniti Star and Uniti Atom driving Focal Aria loudspeakers.
430 富士明 ECLIPSE
The room had a complete Dolby Atmos setup made entirely of Eclipse’s unique egg-shaped speakers. “Time domain” satellites that were small and full-range were put at ear level and up high, along with matching subwoofers to help with low frequencies. The end result was a surprisingly immersive bubble of sound that wrapped around the listening position, showing how realistic a well-placed group of these small Eclipse speakers can sound in a small hotel room.
432 國祥貿易 EVERSOLO, LAIV, ASCILAB
Step into Tuneshop’s thoughtfully crafted room; the Korean Ascilab F6B speakers steal the show with their elegant looks and beautifully balanced sound. These compact bookshelves, powered by an SB Acoustics woofer and passive radiator, deliver refined highs and surprisingly deep bass that make every listen feel effortlessly engaging.
Eversolo’s full flagship lineup went even further: the Z10 DAC for precise decoding, the T8 transport for clean streams, and the F10 amps in mono configuration for controlled power and dynamics. This setup shows real synergy, and Ascilab made it onto my “watch closely” list.
436 諦冠 EMOTIVA
Emotiva set up a full-blown Atmos theatre in room 436, with XT2 towers, a matching centre, surrounds, and subs all on the unmistakable blue Emotiva carpet. The system had clear dialogue, smooth effects panning, and deep, punchy bass thanks to its XPA Gen3 amplification and processor stack. It was very easy to stay and watch a whole scene.
433 卡本特 AMPHION
The new Argon 7LX floorstanders in a warm wood finish anchored each side of the Amphion room, giving the space a distinctly Scandinavian, living‑room‑friendly character. The familiar dual‑woofer, waveguided‑tweeter layout remains, but the X‑series updates – a new high‑frequency driver and refined crossover – bring higher resolution, smoother integration and a more expansive soundstage.
The system had Amphion’s trademark clear sound and accurate imaging, with a strong, well-controlled low end that filled the room without ever becoming too loud. The power came from an Atoll IN400 integrated amplifier, and a pair of JL Audio subwoofers added to the bass foundation with authority and finesse.
448 正成集團 GENELEC, SONOS
There were two small, media-focused systems on display here: a neat Genelec 2.1 setup and a full Sonos immersion bundle with the Arc soundbar, Era surrounds, and the new Sub 4 handling bass. Even though they were small, both systems sounded very well organised and put together. The Sonos, in particular, had a calm, well-balanced sound that was easier to enjoy than some of the larger Atmos rooms.
449 漢怡, 精研 STARKE, BAREFOOT, KREISEL
Haneasy, the distributor, turned their section into a packed mini‑show within the show, spreading gear across three adjoining rooms. The main cinema room ran a full Atmos system built around Starke Halo speakers and electronics, looping Kung Fu Panda on a giant screen, with that exorbitant silver “Ark of the ”Covenant”-styled RCE battery prototype glowing away on the floor and refusing to be ignored.
A second space was more static, lined with different speakers, electronics and Zidoo players on display, while the third room offered a stereo playground where several models could be auditioned. When passing through, the Barefoot studio monitors were doing the honours, but attention kept drifting to the red Starke Halo 1s on their long, three‑legged stands – easily some of the most eye‑catching loudspeakers in the whole suite.
450 英大 JBL
JBL embraced a vintage mid-century modern aesthetic, with wood cabinets, colourful Quadrex grilles, and new electronics displayed in a rack against a “Dare to Listen” backdrop. Behind the retro looks, the sound was thoroughly contemporary – tight, dynamic, and musical, far superior to what the photos alone suggested. In the next room, Stage 2 with MA series electronics demonstrated JBL’s strong presence in the home cinema market.
453 祥建 HECO, MAGNAT
The German Heco/Magnat presence took up two rooms, with systems lining almost every wall. Classic Transpuls monitors and newer Signature floorstanders shared the space, all tied into a straightforward, vinyl‑based setup built around the Magnat MTT990 turntable feeding matching MA900 amplification. The bigger Magnats delivered a punchy, slightly old‑school balance that suited their retro looks, while the smaller HECO standmounts proved there was also a neat, taofang‑friendly alternative in the lineup.
456 38°C, VINYL SHOP
Room 456 belonged to 38°C, the ever‑popular CD and vinyl shop, and probably had the best view of any room at the show, with racks of records set up so visitors could browse while looking out over Taipei. Inside, it was great to see Western Electric’s imposing 91E integrated amplifier playing with Opera Callas speakers, along with the neat 72switch cartridges and accessories laid out for analogue obsessives to discover.
And that rounds off Gyula’s report from TECA 2025, stay tuned for his next HiFi adventure in Asia!
If you missed his TECA 2025 Report Part One, read it here
Please note, all content and photos are the copyright of HiFi PiG Magazine/Big Pig Media LLP and must not be copied or reproduced in any way without the prior, written consent of the editor.
Gyula Weeber
