PART ONE OF THE HiFi PiG NORTH WEST AUDIO SHOW 2025 REPORT FROM STU AND LIN (AND A LITTLE HELP FROM OSCAR) COVERING THE FIRST AND GROUND FLOORS

The North West Audio Show at Cranage Estate near Holmes Chapel in Cheshire (UK) is now firmly placed on the UK HiFi show calendar and certainly a favourite amongst the UK’s audiophile community. But that’s only telling half the story of the crowds that turned up over this weekend for the North West Audio Show 2025.

There were lots of couples (great to see) and several families too. Perhaps the younger folk were drawn by the Headfi on show, perhaps it was the attendance of brands that offered affordable kit, or perhaps it was the chance to see and hear the WEM system once used by Pink Floyd for their Pompeii recording. Of course, the hardcore HiFi lovers were out in force and every one of them I spoke to seemed to have nothing but praise for the event, and its organisation. I’d like to think that HiFi PiG had done our part in getting the message out about this show and in the weeks running up to the show the excitement amongst attendees to the show was palpable; who would meet who and where, what did people want to see and hear, what shenanigans would Wee Tam (and others) get up to in the bar after hours. This isn’t just another HiFi show, it’s a highlight of the audiophile calendar—an unmissable event that enthusiasts look forward to all year, with many even planning their holidays around it. There’s a community feel to it, and it’s a community that is warm and welcoming to all who come along – grab a beverage, pull up a pew, and make new lifelong friends. 

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If you love live music, you’ve got it in the courtyard every day. If you love budget audio, you’ve got it. If you love high-end home HiFi, you’ve got it. Yep, this HiFi show has it all, and it’s no surprise that it’s grown in size and stature over the last decade or so. Kris and his team have done a fabulous job of organising the show, and I think it’s no secret that HiFi PiG work very closely with Kris to not just promote the show, but we also help shape the feel and content of the event. 

This year, the North West Audio Show had 2675 visitors over the weekend and whilst it was busy, it never felt so busy that it was stifling, though the British summer seemed to have arrived on the Saturday and it was very hot – not a problem, you can use your I’m A HiFi PiG Fan fan to help cool yourself. Talking of PiGgy merch, the squeaky PiGs (of which we gave away hundreds) were incredibly popular with everyone. 

So, if your interest has been piqued by my intro and what is to follow, get your holidays booked and mark the date in your 2026 HiFi Diary for the 27th and 28th of June at Cranage De Vere Estate, Holmes Chapel, Cheshire for what promises to be another celebration of music, audio, and comradeship. 

Our sincere thanks to everyone who came along and made this event one to remember, and of course to all the people who came up and said hello or to say they read HiFi PiG. Lin and I would also like to thank all the folk who came out for our annual dinner event, and all the PiGsters who came along to write, take photos, or video for us – you’ll be able to see their reports and contributions in the coming days. Also, a massive thank you to all the brilliant team at Cranage, specifically Tony, Claire, and their teams, who looked after us and all the exhibitors and visitors so magnificently. Huge thanks to Auden Distribution and Bill and his team who once again sponsored the HiFi PiG coverage of the North West Audio Show.

A quick note on the hotel. We’ve been involved with and attending this show from day one, and this year the hotel was much improved all around. Food was better, there were better options for veggies and vegans, and the staff were better trained for dealing with large numbers of folk. The hotel’s rooms are undergoing refurbishment, and our room was much improved over previous years. Organisation of the free and ample parking was excellent – imagine turning up to a show where all the spaces have been taken up by exhibitors’ vans…not at Cranage!

Talking about exhibitors, let’s not forget them. I think a good few folk don’t appreciate the effort that exhibitors put into doing this and other shows – it’s not just a case of thinking “Oh, I’ve got Cranage next week, I ought to start thinking about putting a system together.” No, the planning and logistics that go into ensuring that their systems sound the best they can, are presented in the best possible way, and that their rooms and promotional material are set up to make sure visitors have the best possible experience take months of careful planning and hard work. So, from all at HiFi PiG (and I’m sure the show’s visitors, plus Kris and his team) a sincere and heartfelt THANK YOU! to every one of the exhibitors at the show for you all and your teams’ hard work in making this THE HiFi show in the United Kingdom to beat.

Anyway, here’s our first report from the North West Audio Show 2025 with several more to follow.

NORTH WEST AUDIO SHOW 2025 REPORT PART 1

Part 1 of our North West Audio Show 2025 report covers the first floor and the ground floor of the show, the lower ground floor will follow soon…

HiFi NETWORK

ELAC CONCENTRO S503 flagship standmounts were being powered by AVM Ovation S8.3 lite power amplifier, along with a CS5.3 preamplifier with CD player and Streamer (it also has a power amp section that can be bypassed). The turntable is the ClearAudio Innovation with an external PSU, and the Moonriver is the 505 phonostage. There was also a ClearAudio phonostage being used. 

We got to listen to The Wellermen singing the classic Sixteen Tons, which was a lovely way to kick off the show…a nice and gentle introduction to the event. 

GREAT OPENING ACT

OPHIDIAN

British loudspeaker brand Ophidian brought two striking new loudspeakers to NWAS 2025, showcasing both in a really well-done but not overdone display. I’m so pleased to see this youngish brand getting a very firm foothold in the UK audiophile scene – they deserve it! 

Upstairs, the FFION (named after Gareth’s daughter) made a strong visual and auditory impression. This three-way floorstanding design featured a discreetly integrated 8-inch bass driver located in the base of the cabinet. Despite its elegant footprint, the FFION managed to produce room-filling dynamics, combining aesthetic sophistication – I really do love the looks of this speaker. A variety of finishes are available, from real wood veneers to bespoke lacquers. The FFION carries a UK price of £8,500.

EAM electronics were being used to power the FFION’s and this is a smooth sounding speaker (in a good way) that (in these surroundings) plays music way beyond what you would expect an £8500 loudspeaker to do. I was very impressed and I reckon that anyone who is limited for space ought to check them out, given their relatively diminutive proportions and their big sound. I particularly enjoyed the full bass and the well-integrated mids and tops playing Fink’s “Sort Of Revolution” – a band I thought I didn’t like, but think I may have been very wrong in that assumption. 

Downstairs in Room 105, hosted by Audio Dreams, Ophidian unveiled the SEREN standmount loudspeaker to the public for the very first time—marking a world debut at NWAS 2025. With a more traditional design language, the SEREN featured a beautifully veneered cabinet available in oak and walnut, which appealed to those seeking classic HiFi styling.

Inside, the SEREN employed a 7-inch bass driver supported by Ophidian’s proprietary Aeroflex bass loading system—a technology developed to extend low-frequency response and enhance dynamic performance in smaller listening spaces. The loudspeaker also included high-quality components throughout, with Mundorf parts in the crossover network and SEAS tweeters selected for their clarity and consistency. Premium WBT binding posts ensured secure and reliable cable termination. The SEREN was announced with UK availability from July at a price of £2,800 including VAT.

Stands were by Kevin at Lateral. 

WELL DONE, GARETH.

KUDOS AND ULTRAFIDE

Kudos Titan 808m were running 3 way active with a Sigao drive crossover powered by 3 Ultrafide U500DC amps, a u4 preamp and a Linn Klimax streamer. 

Kudos have never failed to impress wherever we have heard them at any event we have been to. The sound is powerful and yet restrained in the way the music is played. Being Solstice, I asked them if they would play Floating Anarchy by Gong, and they happily (I think) obliged, though I think they were pretty pleased for it to end.  However, before this we got to listen to Sloe Gin by Joe Bonnamassa and the soaring guitars just sounded perfect! Excellent. Floating Anarchy is a live track and I wanted to hear it more for the fact I always play this tune on this day, but it didn’t disappoint one bit. Definitely a speaker I would look at as an end-game speaker at home…and I’d likely have it in active version. 

SUPER

TRILOGY, KERR and CAD

Next on the corridor was a room with an Innuos M Mini with an upgraded power supply, the CAD DAC, Trilogy 921 integrated amplifier (6200K) with Kerr Acoustic 300 speakers (6400K). CAD GC3 grounding unit was being used on the mains and Innuos units. 

Last year I had a bit of a moan about this room (different amps this year), but this year the room was set with speakers firing down the room, and it was excellent. Anyone who knows me knows I tend to speak as I find, and I thoroughly enjoyed this system. 

There was an easy-going but also incisive feel to the sound, and for a standmount speaker, these really do fit the room and go lower than they should. I’m yet to experience Trilogy amps at home, but they certainly work well with the speakers, and I did overhear Lin chatting with the guys and saying that she thought the amps were some of the best looking that she’s encountered, and I’m inclined to agree. I’d actually (wrongly) assume that Trilogy was an American brand (they kind of have that feel and look to them), but they are manufactured in the UK. Despite them playing the integrated whilst we were in there, the room also had a full range of this brand’s offerings, which includes power amplifiers, preamplifiers and the integrated. 

EXCELLENT. 

FANTHORPES

Katie Melua’s version of Lucy in the Sky was playing when we went in the Fanthorpes’ room. If you don’t know Fanthorpes, they are a family business based in Hull and have been going for yonks – a mainstay of the UK audio scene for as long as this old bloke can recall. 

The PMC Prophecy 1 standmounters were playing when we were in the room, powered by Bryton 4B3 power amp, BP19 pre BDA DAC and an Innuos Zen NG streamer. You can catch me talking to Ollie from PMC in the video at Munich. 

Once again it seems ike PMC have hit the mark with these speakers that just seemed to be effortlessly easy going and barely broke a sweat in this room cooled by a most welcome fan. I moved from my seat at the side to a better seat in the middle of the speakers, and the soundstage just clicked into place. But what caught my attention was the way they just seemed to integrate so well from bottom to top. 

FAB!

ATC 

In the Lovell Suite we found ATC playing a pair of their active standmounts (SCM 20 ASL – £6495) launched in April. They were using Roon Nucleus, Auralic DAC and ATC preamplifier, and there was a Technics 1200 G.

Now, there seems to be a bit of hesitation amongst some audiophiles to embrace the whole concept of active loudspeakers, but like other speakers I’ve already mentioned, ATC’s actives never fail to impress. The dynamic sense of these speakers and the tightness and depth of the bass (they are pretty small speakers) were impressive. 

Another really FAB room at Audio Show Deluxe, and the people in the nicely set up room seemed very appreciative. We got to hear Malia and Boris Blank’s Celestial Echo that has very deep bass and lots of spatial effects that came across really well, even in the show environment. You can catch my chat with Boris at Munich a year or so ago in this link.  

LOVELLY (sic)

SOUND FOWNDATIONS

A SoulLines Kubrik turntable fronted this system in what is always and excellent room hosted by Chris and Alex, who always play the most interesting music at any show, though I think they were playing YES at the time we entered – not really my cup of tea but it did sound excellent and despite my not being a huge fan, I did enjoy it. On the front end of the turntable was the DS Audio optical cartridge. The pre was by Music First, the speakers were by Kerr Acoustics (K100), and the amp was a D200i by GamuT. 

As a whole, this system sounded spectacular and this room (the Sound Fowndations team always have this room at Cranage) fitted perfectly – not too loud and certainly not overloading the treated room. Knowing the room is a big advantage, and Sound Fowndations have taken advantage of this to put together a superb sounding system. This room (if I remember correctly) has won our best of show in the past, and if we still did this, the room would be on our list! New Model Army (a visitor’s choice of record) was a refreshingly different tune to hear! 

Another excellent system at Cranage from Sound Fowndations. 

EXCELLENT

VINYL PASSION

Mark at Vinyl Passion had put together a very inviting room overlooking the gardens of Cranage and this made for a lovely visual to accompany the tunes he was playing. 

The system comprised of ELAC Concerto 509.2 speakers (VELA 407.2 were on show too) were being powered by a Vincent SA-t7 preamplifier, a Vincent SP-T7 valve-hybrid design. These electronics offer spectacular value for money, in my opinion – the pre is 4 grand and a matched pair of monos os 4.8K. There was also a good deal of the excellent GoldNote products on show, but not playing when we were in the room, but what we heard was the PH 1000 phono at around 10K . 

The turntable was a Vinyl Passion JM12 Carbon Elite, and it all sounded excellent. 

Mark contributed a good number of prizes to the charity raffle (i’m sure this will be copied by others) and I know Kris and the team appreciate this greatly!

PASSIONATE

G POINT AUDIO

I’ve a great deal of respect for Greg at G Point. He launched his distribution brand around the same time that we launched HiFi PiG, and like us he was met with a fair amount of opposition from the established people and brands in the game. Like us, he persevered with his vision to bring artisan high-end audio to the United Kingdom, and it’s now paying off for him. 

He always has this spectacular room at Cranage and never pushes the system too far so that the room feels overloaded or being pushed too hard, and this year was no exception.

The full system we heard was Sikora Aspire turntable with KV9 tonearm with Circle Labs V1000 phono (UK Launch) into a P300 preamp and M200 power amps from Circle labs. Speakers were the AudioNEC Evo 2. 

Greg was playing some Charlie Haden recorded in Chicago when we were in the room and whilst not really my cup of tea it did sound in-the-room live at the show, particularly the piano. 

The Lampizator Horizon DAC wasn’t playing, but looked superb. 

RESPECT

ACOUSTICA 

I popped into the Acoustica room when they were setting up and waiting for the second Focal Scala Utopia to arrive, and even in mono it diss’t sound too shabby. `

Electronics were all from NAIM and included the incredible STATEMENT power amps. These really are something, and whilst not exactly an affordable solution, they certainly deliver the beans to the Focals. 

This was a nicely laid out room that had a feeling of a drawing room, and it was forever busy with appreciative music lovers. At least once in the history of North West Audio Show, this room has been awarded best of show by visitors, and I get it.

STATEMENT-LIKE

CHORD COMPANY AND MELCO STANDS

A very busy area with stands from Chord Co and Melco showing`off their latest wares.

ROCK STREET

The main ‘street’ of the show with stands from Russ Andrews, Avondale Audio, Qobuz, Richer Sounds, HB Labs, and Puritan Audio Labs.

DOUG BRADY

Doug Brady had a massive room at NWAS and had gone to great lengths to make it cool, welcoming, and split into different zones with lots of staff around to help and speak to interested visitors. They were also playing DUB, which is a good thing in my book. 

I thought it best to move through the different zones and found myself first sitting in front of YG Acoustic speakers with an Innuos ZENITH NEXTGEN. There was a whole load of Burmester electronics in this room too that set of the YGs aesthetic beautifully. This was an excellent system that I sat in front of for a fair old while just enjoying the tunes. 

So, in the next zone was another pair of YGs and Burmester electronics – I’m guessing this was powering this system and the system in the last zone because it was playing the same tune at the same time. The Dcs Lina network DAC was used in this system. 

Elsewhere in the space, Doug Brady were playing a system based around a QUAD 33/303 setup demonstrated in combination with Wharfedale’s Super Linton loudspeakers, though this was only in the morning, and so I missed it. 

What I did get to sit and listen to for a while was QUAD’s latest offering and their first new electrostatic loudspeaker in over a decade – the ESL-2912X. This is expected to have an official launch later in summer 2025. It’s testament to the importance of this show that QUAD feel it is of high enough prestige to allow this sneak peek.

How Doug Brady managed to isolate each of these zones in the room was pretty unbelievable, but you did feel like you were in a different room for each of the systems.

I did manage to ask about how they got all these systems playing the same stuff at the same time and apparently the LINA was being output VIA balanced output to each of the systems without showing any delay and without loss (obviously). This also explains why/how the zones seemed so isolated. A VERY clever solution to cure a problem inherent in putting many bits of kit in one big room. 

Excellent both in conception and sound. 

CLEVER

CHASING THE DRAGON 

If you don’t know Mike Valentine and his Chasing the Dragon label, then you should. HiFi needs more characters like Mike, who is larger than life and is always “on”. The recordings he makes are absolutely fabulous and as “live” a feel as you can get from recorded material (in my opinion). I was nattering to Bill from Dynaudio in this room and discussing studio gear and the differences in the sound between that and HiFi. 

For those that want to know, the kit in here was a big pair of ATC, and a front-end of a Technics 1200G. Electronics were by Pass Labs and Quad. 

The dynamics of this system were incredible! To the point I felt like applauding when one of the tunes finished playing. 

SUPERB!

COHERENT 

Anne and Tony always put on a great show and their room is always very popular. 

The kit list was an Aurender N30, Mutec MC x 2, Mutec Ref 10SE 120, Wadia 25, Liquid Music 1 preamp, TAD m25 Mk2 Power amp, TAD GE1 floor standers, Cabling by Musical Coherence, as was grounding etc. Black Ravioli isolation and Node isolation with Creativ racks were also being used. 

I talked to Tony and his idea was to “create a fully digital system with no up-sampling that sounds every good as a vinyl system, but without and “harsh edges”. “

The music was real music and it did sound very, very good. There was a blues track playing (I should know but I don’t know who it was) and I went to the back of the room and stood up. The scale was huge, and the detail in the guitar solo was wonderful. Definitely a system I could live with, and I reckon Tony and Anne succeeded in realising their idea. 

MUSICAL

BRIAN AND TREVORS

Brian and Trevors always have the same Mercer room at Cranage, and they too always put on a great show. The amps used were Linn Klimax Solo 500 power amplifiers, making their first UK public preview and powering a pair of Audiovector’s R6 Arrete Loudspeakers, which we know very well as they are our reference speakers at home. 

The vinyl front end was a Linn Klimax Bedrok LP12, but they also used digital in the shape of a Melco N1 Music Server, a Melco S1 Network Switch and routing all this was a Linn Klimax DSM Streaming Preamplifier.

I think I’ve always enjoyed Brian and Trevor’s systems at Cranage, and this year was no exception. It was played at a good volume; loud enough to feel you were part of the music, but not so high as to be overloading the room. 

Again, an excellent system from a brand that has been doing NWAS since it was launched. 

KLIMACTIC

AUDIOCOUNSEL

Needless to say, Audiocounsel had a full AudioNote (UK) system that was fronted by a pair of AN SPx Ltd  E Field Coil speakers. The rest were the Meishu tonmeister phono silver, TT3 turntable with PSU3, Arm 3 with an IO cartridge. The CD4.1x CD player was also being shown off. 

We got to listen to some Bob Dylan and it was fab. 

One of the more interesting things about this room was that Whispering Bob Harris was making an appearance. Sadly, we didn’t have the time to stay and listen, but I think it gives an idea of what folk think of this show when they can draw names such as his. 

I do really love AudioNote (UK) kit when I hear it, and I reckon this is the best version of heard of late. 

(AUDIO) NOTEWORTHY

AUDIOWORKS

The big news in this room was the Accuphase C-57 Precision Phono Equaliser Amplifier that was making its debut. The C-57 gives you a dedicated balanced MC input for true balanced connection with compatible turntables, along with flexible connectivity that includes one balanced MC input and three standard phono inputs. Each input has four separate memory settings, allowing individual configurations to be saved. Output options include both balanced and unbalanced line-level outputs, with a polarity selector for added versatility. RIAA deviation is just ±0.3 dB, and a monaural layout helps reduce crosstalk and improve channel separation. A low-noise regulated power supply maintains stability regardless of load fluctuations. Selectable impedance matching is provided for both MC (10/30/60/100/200/300/1k ohms) and MM (1/47/100 kilohms) cartridges, complemented by a gain selector to optimise performance with low-output designs. We are seeing more and more phone stages with lots of user-selectable options.  You also get a subsonic filter.

The rest of the system turntable was an LP12 with a Supertrak arm on an Acouplex armboard, which is AudioWorks own product. Speakers were PEAK El Diablo. 

DEBUTASTIC

NVA

I spoke with the guys from NVA in the bar on Friday night, and I buy into what they are trying to achieve with the system they had on demonstration at Cranage. This is entry-level kit, but at the same time, it is proper HiFi that would have been the kind of thing I would have loved to have had in my teens – entry level that’s great quality and looks good too. 

The system is fronted by an AP20 integrated amplifier that is small but lovely looking with its minimal styling, which complements the Cube 3 speakers perfectly. You can buy this whole system, including cables, for £2495.

If you have been reading my Sunday Thoughts articles in the last few weeks, you will understand why I reckon this system is such a great idea. It’s affordable, but proper audio kit that I reckon is the future of getting younger folk into this hobby. 

Is it the best sounding kit at the show? Of course it’s not, but for me, I absolutely take my hat off to NVA for doing this, and I genuinely hope it’s a massive success for them. 

CAP DOFFED

HENLEY AUDIO

Fronting the system in the Henley had the ONKYO p18 network pre with 3 x M80m power amps to power a pair of Klipsch le Scala (AL6) with a heritage active crossover. A Pro-Ject Extension 9 turntable with a slightly different arm to the norm was being used. The cartridge was the Ortofon MC90X. The ProJect phono box DS3B was taking care of EQ. A HIFi Rose streamer and Roon Nucleus were also being used for digital. 

Really enjoyed this system, and I believe it’s the first time I’ve heard these Klispch speakers in active form. Very cool. 

ACTIVE & HORNY

CHORD ELECTRONICS

Chord Electronics were premiering (in the UK) their new Suzi pre and power amplifiers, though they were first unveiled at High End Munich 2024. The Suzi Amp is the first Chord Electronics model to include the new high-power vertical-gate-structure MOSFETs.

Designed to complement the power amp, the Suzi Pre features both moving magnet and moving coil phono stages, along with a dedicated headphone output. Its compact form factor does not limit its capabilities—when paired with Chord’s Hugo 2 DAC, the Suzi combination becomes a powerful DAC/amp. Alternatively, adding the 2go streamer enables full streaming functionality, including Roon Endpoint support and up to 2TB of MicroSD card storage.

There was also the Qutest DAC and its analogue counterpart, the Huei phono stage.

Supporting the Chord Electronics components will be sources from Innuos and Rega, as well as loudspeakers provided by Kerr Acoustics.

You can expect a review of the new Suzi products shortly on PiG, but on this weekend’s performance, I reckon these are gonna fly off the shelves. They are 5400 for the pair. 

DEVIL GATE DRIVETASTIC (one for the teens there)

RFC & RADFORD REVIVAL

Reference Fidelity Components were our first port of call on the Sunday morning at North West Audio Show, and we got to listen to their RUBATO loudspeakers and the Radford Revival MA100 monoblocs (£6K) running KT150s, but they will take anything from the KT88 to the KT150s. 

If you think valves don’t do punchy and tight bass, then you need to think again because these amps with these speakers certainly do. We got to hear a Psychmagick remix of a Sylvester tune.

The RFC RUBATO speakers are a one-driver coaxial design that is front ported and worked exceptionally well in this smaller room. They go down to 42Hz, which is fantastic for a speaker of this size. Price is £2K for the standard oak finish, custom colours are £2550 and the high gloss black that we saw and heard is 50 quid shy of £3K. 

What a lovely way to kick off Sunday morning at North West Audio Show.

BARGAINALICIOUS

CHORD CABLES

Chord Cables were showing off their  PhonoARAY turntable grounding system, designed to enhance the performance of vinyl playback by reducing interference. We heard this at the Bristol show. 

The big surprise that was teased before the show was the REL high-level sub cable for REL subs, which we got a bit of a demonstration of. The original REL cable is unscreened, and with the Chord you get silver-plated copper and screened and individually screened cables with ChorAlloy plugs. The usual format for Chord Cables was used – a bit of a listen to a tune with the standard cable and then plugging in the Chord cable to see if we could hear a difference. And yes, you can. Oddly, this wasn’t about the bass but the mids were certainly better. Price is TBA so watch this space. 

SURPRISING

G-POINT AUDIO 

Greg’s G-Point and team had two rooms at this year’s North West Audio Show, and we have already said how great the first room was. The second room was a little more modest, but sounded great. The system was Lampizator Baltic DAC, the server was a LDMS Minimax, the amp is an OSV HT120, and the speakers were Fonica International Flag M magnetic planers. Power block was a KBL extrema, as was the USB cable. 

This was a really nice, detailed but relaxed sounding system laying Patricia Barber’s Persohene. This is a kind of real-world, but at the same time, suitably esoteric system. 

VERY NICE! 

TECHNICS

Kev was hosting the room in the TECHNICS room, and he promised us some non-audiophile music, and he did deliver with (when we were in there) some Human League. The little CX700s were playing when we went in the room and we’d heard a good few people in the bar commenting on these speakers that cost £2800. They are active and connected, and so for less than 3K you pretty much get a proper HiFi system that is both simple to use and compact. Another system that is kind of what I’ve been banging on about in my Sunday Morning Thoughts pieces of late. Many folks will hear this system, need to go no further in their audio journey, and just enjoy their tunes on a very competent and good-sounding system. Others may want to join in the whole audiophile madness and get into the whole multi-box systems thing. 

Obviously, there were also the iconic 1200s being shown but when we were in the room it was all streamed content. 

Thanks for the tee, Kev. I’m over the moon with it!

FAB AND AFFORDABLE! 

MCRU AND LONGDOG AUDIO

The system was a Soullines KUBRIK turntable and MC cartridge. The preamp was a Music First, and the 100W mononblocs were from LongDog Audio. The speakers were the LongDog Audio open baffles that were made during COVID, which use a Lowther PM6 full-range and a Cary audio tweeter in a 20mm acrylic frame. The other speakers were Alchris TX25s made by Alan in Yorkshire. 

This room is always very busy with David selling a whole load of cables and music to a very appreciative audience.

BUSY BUT CHILLED

HiGH END BY OZ

The first of the HiGH End By Oz rooms was being hosted by my mate Ahmet, and it was a really nice and tranquil space to walk into this Sunday morning, though he was playing some Dire Straits. 

The DAC being used was a Chord DAVE being fed by an Innuos ZENITH NEXT GEN, and the speakers were from Wilson Benesch. 

All the cables were from Albedo, and the main course for this room was the VIVA Solista MKIII amp that runs 845s in Class A, is point-to-point wired, and comes in at £24500. I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for this Italian brand. They make products that are so individual in their styling that they could only come from Vista. 

Albedo are a Polish manufacturer that uses only monocrystalline silver in their cables, and they are all handmade. Power cables were Gravity I and II, at around 4 and 7K. The speaker cables were the Metamorphisis MKii, which are 12500 for 2m. 

INDIVIDUAL

MOOR AMPS

Moor Amps were showing off their new integrated amplifier, the ANGEL-4i which basically combines the brand’s Angel-4 power amplifier and the Angel-Pre preamplifier into one standard-sized box. It has the three-island power supply architecture used in the larger Angel-6 model and it incorporates a passive preamplifier section based on the Angel-Pre.

Angel-4i has four RCA inputs, a Unity-Gain input for AV system integration, and a tape loop for use with three-head tape or cassette decks. The output stage uses four ring-emitter transistors to maintain linear operation when driving more demanding loads. The amount of uses a low-feedback design while delivering the current required to drive a range of loudspeakers. This approach aligns with Moor Amps’ aim to balance control and musical accuracy without resorting to complex circuit correction. The amp is going to be £7999 and is available now. 

We also got to listen to a prototype DAC, which should be available in November. 

ANGELIC

CAMBRIDGE 

Cambridge were playing Cross Town Traffic when we went into the room through MXW70, which is the new Class D stereo power amplifier (499) and the MXN 10 Streamer at (349) and the Dynaudio speakers that come in around 10K. Now, we are looking at a 10K pair of speakers being run by an 800 quid set of electronics, and it sounded fab. 

I sat and listened to Ahmad’s Back in the Day for a bit, and you really would not believe this was less than 1 grands worth of electronics. 

ASTONISHING ENTRY LEVEL VALUE

TALK ELECTRONICS

Kevin at Talk Electronics does some excellent and yet highly affordable kit, including turntables. The system is the KT300 turntable (£1750 all in with the speed controller and isolation turntable) with the A595 tonearm using an AT95 cartridge. The SC5 speed controller was being used, and the phonostage was the Edwards Audio MM4 (£499). 

The new kit was the Edwards Audio IA5 integrated at £1400 with the Edwards Audio SP6 (£1500). The integrated does have a MM phonostage! 

Now this is a system that comes in at less than 5 grand, which is getting into the realms of affordable audio. 

Cheap (3 quid) interconnects were used throughout. 

They were playing some Suzanne Vega in the room, and it sounded very nice indeed. You would not believe this was a system that cost so (relatively) little – it also looks very nice. 

EXCELLENT AND AFFORDABLE! 

AUDIOQUEST

I’ve said this before, but Audioquest always have lovely-looking rooms and are really well-branded wherever in the world they exhibit. I thought it refreshing that the presentation mentioned that the most important thing, no matter what you spend, is the music and getting enjoyment out of your music. The presenter also suggested that you use your dealers and get home loans of their cables. 

We got a dem that showed the difference between the bog standard cables that come with the Heed amp and the Audioquest Z3 power cable, which immediately gave a fuller and more rounded sound – the guys behind me used the word “richer” – this was a 200 quid cable. We then changed from a standard mains block to the Audioquest Niagara 1200 power conditioner, and background noise was immediately lower and again a fuller sound, though not as much as the previous dem of standard cable to the Audioquest cable. 

REFRESHING! 

MORGAN ACOUSTICS

A full Naim system was powering the Morgan Acoustics 1012 speakers. They are a speaker that goes down to 24Hz and are 93dB sensitive. They use an AMT tweeter, a 7” midrange, a 10” mid, and a 12” woofer. The sales bumph tells just they use a “highly scientific approach and that the speakers contain the finest quality components. They are designed to have a wide bandwidth. Ultra-low distortion and a high dynamic range. 

I’m not going to get into the whole pretend review at a show thing – we’ll leave that to other magazines and blogs – but I really did enjoy these speakers on the day and hope that they are picked up by a distributor and some dealers in the very near future. What I will say is that the bass was lovely on contrabass, and the piano we listened to was very much how you would hear it in a pro studio environment  – I think this is a good thing!  

They are £38,800, which is a lot of money, but you are getting a lot of loudspeaker. 

You’ll be able to read a world-first review of these speakers in the coming days! 

COOL NEW BRAND ALERT!

WILLOW TREE AUDIO

The amps were the Fjord Audio P150 amps using KT150s, the pre was the Model C100 which is a tube pre and line level only. You get 6 XLR inputs on the pre and a balanced output. The Model A100 phonostage is a thing of beauty, as are the other components and it is also tube-based. You get 3 RCA inputs and a balanced RCA output. You’d be forgiven for thinking the Fjord brand was Scandinavian, but they are a Chinese brand (Guangdong Province) headed up CEO Fjord Chang, though all the R&D is done in Korea. 

As usual at North West Audio Show, Willow Tree were using Horning loudspeakers and we got to listen to Two Tribes by Frankie Goes to Hollywood. I have to say, even in less than ideal conditions (it was a pretty small room) the sound this combination made (a Technics SP10 fronted the system with Hana Umami Red cartridge) was damned impressive with great separation of instruments and wonderful dynamics. 

I always enjoy the Willow Tree Room at Cranage, but this is the best I’ve heard it. 

DYNAMIC AND SURPRISING.

AUDIO NOTE (UK)

Micky was hosting the second of the AudioNote UK rooms, which was fronted by a pair of AN K speakers at around 4.5K. The turntable is the TT3 that comes with its own power supply. The phonostage was the M3 phono, and giving the beans to the speakers was Conqueror 300B stereo power amp. 

This was the smaller of the two Audio Note systems, but it was just right in this room, and I really enjoyed listening to Angelina by Louis Prima and then by way of total contrast some techno from Idjut Boys. Genuinely, you would not believe the bass coming out of these relatively tiny speakers! Micky always plays some banging tunes, and this will be getting put on my must-buy list as soon as I get back to HiFi PiG Towers. 

BANGING! 

REPLAY AUDIO DISTRIBUTION

We went into this room and sat to listen to Way to Blue by Nick Drake, which sounded lovely through the Atoll and Audium system. You can find out all about the philosophy behind the Audium speakers in this video.

The amps were the IN 400 EVO from Atoll, along with the St300 Signature streamer. The speakers are the Audium 8.3 COMP passive, but you can now get them in an updated version and, of course, in an active version. 

I do think these speakers are quite the audiophile bargain, and you can get them in both passive and active versions. I really do hope that this speaker brand does very well in the UK as they do punch way above their weight and offer quite the audiophile bargain that manages to get audiophile sensibilities right, along with a home-friendly design. 

ELEGANT AND REFINED

ORANGE

If you know classic rock then you will know Orange and their iconic amplifiers that have been used over the years by such names in rock as Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green, Geddy Lee from Rush, and Jim Root from Slipknot. In the last few years, this British brand has moved into the realms of home audio and come out with some pretty interesting products. The home system that looks like a pyramid (it’s called the Pyramid System) comes with speakers for less than 800 quid, a very cool turntable fro 500, and a valve tester fr 850 with additional units to allow for different valves coming in at 195. The speakers on the Pyramid System are interchangeable and you can get different colours at 60 quid a pair. 

COOL AND ICONIC

And now we hand over to Oscar for the last few rooms on this floor.

VERTERE

Vertere had a static display of their new DG-X turntable, tonearm and cartridges, the demo system consisted of the ATC SCM50 Active speakers paired with the Vertere SG-1 with Pathfinder tonearm, Ruby 1 cartridge into their Calon phono stage and a Naim 332 pre-amp. This is another room I have always come to enjoy, Vertere always play an eclectic mix of music and the system is always well set up – this year was no different with a hugely insightful yet engaging system. I got to listen to both the SG-1 and the DGX. The DGX allows for very easy tonearm changes, which allows them to demo between cartridges very easily. We listened to the entry level MM and then to the Dark Sabre showcasing the uplift in sound quality between them (which is pretty impressive, with a big increase in detail and space).

HIFONIX / HIGH-END BY OZ

In this room you had Ozan from High-End by Oz showcasing a fantastic sound system using Kharma Elegance dB-9S speakers, Ypsilon DAC-1000 DAC and Phaethon integrated amplifier, an Innuos Zenith and Phoenix Net network switch. This was a really good room, we listened to Whole Lotta Love and it had brilliant drive, energy and depth.

NEAT ACOUSTICS

Neat were playing their little Iota II speakers which did a great job in this room, for their small size they throw out a wide sound stage with excellent imaging and accuracy. They might not pressurise the room with tons of bass, what they do deliver though is a coherent and musical sound. Electronics wise they had an Atoll MS120 streamer, Atoll AM100 power amp.

RICHER SOUNDS

One of the most well-known retailers in the UK, Richer Sounds had a room with Martin Logan Foundation F1 speakers, Chord Epic Reference cables, Onkyo Icon P80/M80 pre/power combo, Eversolo A8 streamer/DAC and an Argon Audio TT Signature. The new Onkyo kit seems to pair well with the Martin Logan’s, delivering a crisp and clear sound.

ACOUSTIC ENERGY

This was the first public showing of their AE1 40th Anniversary speaker, these were paired with a Michell Gyrodec, Exposure VII pre-amp and VIII power amp. This is another small, but big sounding speaker and the front ports allowed them to be pushed a little closer to the rear wall. These had no issues whatsoever filling the room with full yet balanced sound.

CYRUS AUDIO

The main thing in this room was the recently announced 80 series from Cyrus, which will feature a streaming integrated model alongside a streaming pre-amp and a standalone power amp in full width chassis. Whilst not ready to demo, they did have one at the side of the room on display. As for the demo setup, they had their usual pairing with Audio Physic speakers, this time using the Spark speakers paired with a full 40 series setup. They were using their TTP turntable on demo, along with an Atlas Cables mains distribution block and cabling throughout. The Cyrus + Audio Physic system is a very good match, deep rhythmic bass with a clear midrange and treble, both through vinyl and streaming.

SUPER NATURAL AUDIO

In this room you had a Clipaudio Dolomite turntable with Nine-Wave tonearm running into a Marantz MC-1000 step up transformer into an EAR 834P phono stage. They had a Lucas Audio LDMS server, Super Natural Audio Reference DAC, SNA pre-amp, New SNA 300b integrated (can be configured as a power amp) running a pair of Etude EHSB (Etude High Sensitivity Bipole) speakers. These are full range speakers going down to 22Hz and they disappear in the room; the sound is incredibly natural and just flows with ease and refinement.

IOTA AUDIO DESIGN

Iota had their Jot-Quantum turntable, This model combines a modular die-cast chassis and a diamond-polished granite baseboard with the brand’s Quantum platter technology. Engineered for pitch and speed stability, the 2.46kg platter employs the MLM design principle—featuring multiple laminations of diverse materials, damping agents, and peripheral mass loading. The turntable is compatible with all iota tonearms and standard Rega geometry arms.

The Jot-Quantum was partnered with the Iota XLR power supply, Satori II tonearm, Jasmine Audio Turtle MC cartridge, Iota Celes pre-amp, Ero 7 mono power amps, Si phono stage, Dugood 1798 CD and USB WAV drive, Iota Escar speakers, Bosk stands and Iota & Vasdar audio cables.

The iota Escar speakers are a compact full-range designs using a single 80mm drive unit in a distinctive spiral quarter-wave enclosure crafted from CNC-machined Beechwood. External frequency compensation is provided via a separate crossover housed in an aluminium enclosure beneath the dedicated Bosk speaker stand. 

This system consisted of compact components, and they sounded smooth and sweet with a bigger sound than their size.

SAVE THE DATE FOR 2026: 27th and 28th of June at Cranage De Vere Estate, Holmes Chapel, Cheshire. See you there! 

Now head on over to Part 2 of our main report covering the lower ground floor with Oscar and Kelly, 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.

Linette and Stuart Smith

Oscar Stewart