STU AND LIN VISIT MADRID FOR A FUSION OF ART AND HIGH END HiFi AT ART & SOUND FEST MADRID 2025
Held at the contemporary art gallery, Est ArtSpace, in Alcobendas, Madrid, Spain, over last weekend, Art & Sound Fest Madrid 2025 was an exceptional event. Read on to discover what HiFi PiG’s Stu and Lin found there.
Art & Sound Fest Madrid 2025 was organised by Ignacio Victores of Elektra Hi-End, aided by Cayetano Castellano (who represents several high-end brands) and Ultimate Audio (The High-End distributor from Portugal). This was a real coming together of distributors, brands, gallery owners, and brand representatives to create a truly memorable event.
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ART & SOUND FEST MADRID 2025 REPORT
Speaking to Ignacio clarified the whole concept for me, and it’s a concept that we have been considering for some time now ourselves. The concept makes sense to me, and if you read my Sunday Thoughts piece here, you will get an idea of my thoughts and where I’m coming from on this. He explained in a series of questions I put to him that the idea didn’t come from a simple marketing exercise, or a desire to create a novelty event, but from the recognition and knowledge that high-end audio had become a “mature market” still behaving as though it were 1984. “If something works, why change it?” is the thing we hear a lot and one that Ignacio had heard countless times, but as he put it, the industry doesn’t work as well as it did forty years ago, and maybe it was time to rethink the format of the audio show and bring something new, fresh, and innovative to the table.
Ignacio is first and foremost an audio lover, and that became abundantly clear when we visited the home of him and his lovely wife, Laura. They bought their home and then spent a whole lot of time and money on acoustically treating the space and soundproofing it, too. This was not just a case of popping a few panels and bass traps on the walls as we have done in our listening room; this was a full-on rebuild of the space, and sitting in it, you wouldn’t know (visually) that it was anything other than a normal living space. Ignacio also has an appreciation for modern art and architectural spaces and told me that the moment he first visited Est Art Space Madrid (on the recommendation of a friend), he knew it was the right place. And as we first walked into the space (a former ceramics warehouse over several floors), the concept clicked immediately with us.
The idea of an event formed quickly, Ignacio told me: “If music is one of the highest forms of art, then why not give it a seat at the same table as photography, sculpture, video art, and contemporary graphic work?” If you have even a minimum of sensitivity, he said, “the sum of all parts should be stronger than each one displayed separately.”
Chatting to Ignacio, he looked back on how he first became interested in art. He’d first felt the connection between visual art and high-end sound when he was fifteen. That was when he realised that what he was hearing wasn’t just “HiFi” but something more elevated. “State of the Art” was a phrase that reappeared years later when he studied marketing. Back then, the term was, he said, used to describe products that were so carefully made, limited in production, and so wholly artisanal that they deserved to be called works of art. In his view, some audio gear absolutely fits that description. “Certain turntables, for example, don’t just sound wonderful; they look like moving sculptures, combining aesthetics with purpose in a way that engages more than one sense.” Again, this echoes exactly the points I was trying to make in my Sunday Thoughts article, and reading it after hearing Igacio’s responses to my questions, it’s pretty clear to me why this event resonated so deeply with Lin and me.
When it came to designing the festival, Ignacio was clear on one thing: the acoustic treatment that HiFi shows often rely on would ruin the visual environment (and this was echoed in the time, effort and money he invested in his home listening room). The art came first. Treatment on walls and ceilings would have ruined the interior design and disrupted the graphic and sculptural work on display. So with the help of some experienced figures in the audio industry, he opted for careful loudspeaker placement instead of acoustic sticking plasters. In the cavernous spaces (I’d love to put a party on here), when the venue was sparsely populated with visitors, the sound wasn’t what I would call ‘world-class’, but when it filled up with people, it improved a whole lot more. Looking at the audience (a very diverse mix of ages and genders), there wasn’t that usual chin stroking audiophile thing going on; people sat and truly got into the music, whether that was the whole of Shine On You Crazy Diamond on the WADAX/Avantgarde system, King Of Sweden by Floating Islands on the Kroma Atelier fronted system, the Doors Roadhouse Blues covered by Deep Purple on the Audio Group Denmark system, or the Crazy Frog song (there were a good few younger kids here) on the Kroma system.
What he hoped people would feel when looking and listening in the same space was pretty simple, he told me: a kind of heightened receptivity; “It’s good to stimulate the brain visually before listening, it primes the listener to be more open and engaged.” And as I say in the last paragraph, folk really did get right into the music.
Before we sat down to listen to any of the systems, we explored the visual art of Est Art Space, and it is certainly impressive, with there being many genres of art, including photography, sculpture, and painting, and all were beautifully displayed. If you are in Madrid, it is well worth your time and effort to visit this space; Lin and I earmarked and later bought four sculptural pieces for our own humble collection.
The crossover between art forms and artists isn’t surprising for Ignacio. True artists tend to be gifted in more than one discipline because their minds simply don’t stop generating ideas. He’d met designers, audio engineers, and reviewers with talents that crossed over into painting, photography, sport, and more, “…the type of people who seem unable to be average at anything”. Creativity, he said, rarely stays in one box.
He hoped that bringing together art lovers, audiophiles, collectors, and creators under one roof would reveal a shared emotional aim. All of them were looking for something extraordinary; something that touched the soul. And on this latter point, I really do think he has hit the proverbial nail on its head; we felt an immediate and palpable emotional feeling that this was something we “connected” with. Whether it was a sculpture, a loudspeaker, a photograph, or a turntable, the goal was the same: “joy”. And again, this point of creating a joyous “product” connected with me, and I’ve written in the past about great HiFi being “Machines For Joy”.
Looking to the future, Ignacio hopes the show will become a fixture in Madrid’s cultural landscape, and I can well see this coming to pass.
I mentioned that the city hosts major trade fairs almost every week of the year, so why not a proper audio show? As the newest player in Spain’s audio scene, he preferred not to delve into the industry politics (and they are very real, believe me) behind that question, but his optimism and enthusiasm were clear and abundant. The venue has the space to expand. Creativity has no limits. And neither, in his mind, should a festival that blends art and sound.
His cultural message, as we chatted, was plain and simple: Remain curious. Be open. Explore the things around you. You might stumble into a new passion that enriches your life. And when he said these things, he did so with the sincerity of someone who knows that if we can blend music and other art forms, the outcome will be greater than the sum of its parts.
As for what success looked like for Ignacio? That answer came instantly. The moment he saw someone sitting in front of a pair of loudspeakers, smiling, absorbed in the music, that on its own made the months of work worthwhile. Brand recognition mattered, obviously. Expanding access to globally respected manufacturers mattered. But the smile in the listening chair was enough for him, he said.
The space used was split into two big rooms. In the first space, you had a system fronted by Kroma Atelier loudspeakers, and in the next space, a full Audio Group Denmark system. Through the doors into the next huge space, we had a set of Avantgardes, then Audiovectors and then Revival Audio speakers fronting systems – don’t worry, I am going to get on to the systems in full in a short moment. The event was carefully choreographed so that folk attending the show listened to one system (along with a short presentation by the brands) and then moved on to the next. I’ve seen this choreography work well in the larger rooms at shows like Hong Kong, and whilst it means you can only have a limited number of people listening at one time and to one system, it does mean that they are focused on just that system. And this is a good thing; If you invite genuinely interested people, present the system in a clear, concise and engaging manner, and then play them some tunes, they are more likely to be engaged and focused…and that focus takes us back to being already emotionally enthralled by the art; one feeds off the other to create something even more meaningful.
THE SYSTEMS
I was going to suggest that it was time to get to the “main event” (the systems), but that statement kind of misses the point for all the reasons Ignacio and I have outlined above. However, we are first and foremost a HiFi portal, and so it would be remiss of me not to highlight each of the systems we got to enjoy.
System One
Speakers: Avantgarde Trio G3 iTron in Galactic Glow colour + compact Twin Subs
Source: Wadax Studio Player
Preamplifier: Orpheus Heritage
Power Treatment: Audiotricity Chimera Signature
Cabling: Crystal, Esprit, Siltech, Turnbull
Rack: Neo Quattron Reference
System Two
Speakers: Revival Audio ATALANTE 7 in Walnut finish
Source: Accuphase DP-450
Integrated Amplifier: Accuphase E-5000
Power Treatment: Audiotricity Pholus
Cabling: Esprit Lumina series
Rack: Artesania Audio
System Three
Speakers: Audiovector R10 Arreté
Source: XACT EVO streamer + Lampizator Poseidon DAC
Preamplifier: Gryphon Commander
Amplifiers: Gryphon Revelation Monoblocs
Power Treatment: Audiotricity Pholus
Cabling: Turnbull Prestige series
Rack: NEO Quattron
System Four
Speakers: Kroma Maribel
Source Digital: Taiko Audio Extreme Server + Master fidelity Nadac D (Dac) and Nadac C (clock)
Source Analogue: Techdas Airforce I Premium + Airforce 10 Tonearm + DSAudio Grand Master Cartridge + DSAudio TB100 Phono preamplifier
Preamplifier: Halcro Equinox
Amplifiers: Halcro Eclipse Monoblocs
Power Treatment: Audiotricity Stheno
Cabling: Siltech Mastercrown, Turnbull Prestige, Anzus
Rack: Artesania Audio
System Five
Speakers: Borresen C3
Source Digital: Aavik SD188 DAC/Streamer
Integrated Amplifier: Aavik I188 integrated amplifier
Power Treatment: Anzus D3 power conditioner
Ethernet Switch: Anzus A3 Ethernet Switch
Cabling: A full Ansuz Loom
Rack: Artesania Audio
There were also other pieces from the brands mentioned, and some of the exhibitors’ other brands set around the gallery space, including MBL, Symphonic Line, and David Laboga cables. I especially enjoyed how these were displayed not just as static chunks of audio equipment, but as artistic pieces in their own right, set amongst the other more traditional works of art.
OK, let’s be absolutely frank, sonically, this is not the best place for a HiFi show, but to see this kind of event (and it is an event) in a purely sonic sense is kind of to miss the point; this is an experience that blends art and music to become more than its constituent parts. We help organise audio shows in hotels, but this kind of event certainly has a place in the future of audio events, in my humble opinion, and all that. What struck me most wasn’t just the gear or the art, but the sincerity behind the event – and I got a tingle of goose-bumps when I typed that. The Art & Sound Fest wasn’t trying to be clever. It wasn’t trying to reinvent either the art or the audio world. It simply recognised something that has always been true: art and sound belong together. They inform one another. They elevate each other. They give each other context and depth. This was a cultural event in which music and visual art shared the same space. And if this first year was anything to go by, it won’t be the last.
Thank you to Ignacio and Laura for their wonderful hospitality, to Cayetano and Ruben for a fab night out and for pulling the fella that yelled “puerta” at me for leaving the bar door ajar, to Frank at Audio Group Denmark for being Frank from Audio Group Denmark, to Javier and Maite from Est-Art Madrid for showing us around their wonderful gallery, to Juan Jose of WAH for a glimpse into the very special space he has created, and to all the brand representatives, visitors, and guests who came to make this festival of art and sound an experience Lin and I will never forget!
We will certainly be back!
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.
Linette and Stuart Smith
