The Bristol hifi show - 2023

[square_wave]

Kerr acoustic ( loudspeakers) was one of the best sounds at the show. Outstanding sound for what they cost ! Kerr is one of the best kept secrets in the UK audio scene. Had a long chat with the designer as well. The speakers are tube amp friendly too.

 

[square_wave]

Soulnote displayed their gear with the new Epos loudspeaker. Again, another great sounding room. That Epos speaker was doing some great stuff! They wanted to prove a point that Epos will scale even with higher priced gear like soul note. Interesting loudspeaker to watch out for. Soulnote was a great match as well.

 

[arj]

Kerr acoustic ( loudspeakers) was one of the best sounds at the show. Outstanding sound for what they cost ! Kerr is one of the best kept secrets in the UK audio scene. Had a long chat with the designer as well. The speakers are tube amp friendly too.

Wonderful to have one of our own reporting
Great to hear about this option.

 

[square_wave]

Moor amps is a small but ( well known in the inner circles ) brand in the UK. The system on demo was one of the most resolving and transparent ones I have ever heard irrespective of price. I honestly think they deserve much more exposure than what they have now. The speaker is a prototype on the verge of finalisation. That speaker is quite something! I think it will sell in the range of 10k to 15k uk pounds so that is a little expensive but when you look at the prices of some speakers that cant even do half of what it can do, it is little enlightening ! They are already well known for their amplifiers. The amps sound like very transparent class A but are actually class AB.

Moor Amps

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

@square_wave ...thanks a ton for taking the time to share your show impressions. A great start for an otherwise busy Monday.

Those Fyne's look absolutely gorgeous. And great pics too. Please keep them coming

Moor amps is a small but ( well known in the inner circles ) brand in the UK. The system on demo was one of the most resolving and transparent ones I have ever heard irrespective of price. I honestly think they deserve much more exposure than what they have now. The speaker is a prototype on the verge of finalisation. That speaker is quite something! I think it will sell in the range of 10k to 15k uk pounds so that is a little expensive but when you look at the prices of some speakers that cant even do half of what it can do, it is little enlightening ! They are already well known for their amplifiers. The amps sound like very transparent class A but are actually class AB.

Moor Amps

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I've heard of the Moor amps I think. Tarun aka British audiophile seems to have reviewed and liked their small integrated amp. He seemed to mention how the designer spent almost a decade perfecting his design, before going main stream.

Kerr acoustic ( loudspeakers) was one of the best sounds at the show. Outstanding sound for what they cost ! Kerr is one of the best kept secrets in the UK audio scene. Had a long chat with the designer as well. The speakers are tube amp friendly too.
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Those kerrs look very similar to the pmc transmission lines. Is the designer ex pmc by any chance . I've seen that mid range driver before, but can't exactly recollect where . It was a great idea to place their bookshelves on the Townshend podiums. They definitely add a lot of improvement to the clarity and separation.

 

[square_wave]

@square_wave ...thanks a ton for taking the time to share your show impressions. A great start for an otherwise busy Monday.

Those Fyne's look absolutely gorgeous. And great pics too. Please keep them coming


I've heard of the Moor amps I think. Tarun aka British audiophile seems to have reviewed and liked their small integrated amp. He seemed to mention how the designer spent almost a decade perfecting his design, before going main stream.


Those kerrs look very similar to the pmc transmission lines. Is the designer ex pmc by any chance . I've seen that mid range driver before, but can't exactly recollect where . It was a great idea to place their bookshelves on the Townshend podiums. They definitely add a lot of improvement to the clarity and separation.

Yes, the bass tuning is pretty similar to PMC but that is where the similarity ends. I like these way more that PMC.

Yes, Tarun ( the British audiophile ) had reviewed them. I met him at the show.

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

Yes, the bass tuning is pretty similar to PMC but that is where the similarity ends. I like these way more that PMC.

Yes, Tarun ( the British audiophile ) had reviewed them. I met him at the show.

Thanks.... By the way how was the soul note system. I guess its difficult to make out which component is contributing to what in a unfamiliar system under show conditions. But ive seen soul note gear in the far East but nothing much in the rest of the world. Believe it was started by disgruntled ex marantz engineers. Hence curious as to its sound signature. Thanks in advance.

 

[square_wave]

Thanks.... By the way how was the soul note system. I guess its difficult to make out which component is contributing to what in a unfamiliar system under show conditions. But ive seen soul note gear in the far East but nothing much in the rest of the world. Believe it was started by disgruntled ex marantz engineers. Hence curious as to its sound signature. Thanks in advance.

Yes. Tough to say what is contributing to the overall sound signature. It was a resolving sound system. Slightly on the warmer side but not too much though. Band was playing with space in between the players, good timing, pace and rhythm. Fairly resolving too ( of details ) and that is what caught my attention in the first place.

 

[square_wave]

@square_wave .. Is the designer ex pmc by any chance . I've seen that mid range driver before, but can't exactly recollect where . It was a great idea to place their bookshelves on the Townshend podiums. They definitely add a lot of improvement to the clarity and separation.

Here is an interview with the designer.

Yes, those Townsend podiums are quite something ! They did a demo too. Impact are all in areas that are very important. That makes all the difference.

 

[square_wave]

Graham audio came to the show with a full exposure stack and their chartwell LS 6F speaker. There was an unforced musicality to the sound. Graham's studio background was very evident. True tone and clean sound. Bass was all about texture and truth rather than extension and depth. Exposure seem to work very well with these speakers. There is a typical studio-like truth to the sound without being sterile and technical. People who like a simple system that will speak the truth while staying musical should seriously consider these. They are the opposite of typical audiophile systems that gives an undue focus on extreme ends of the frequency spectrum to wow you ! ( I had to borrow 1 pic from the Brstol coverage site because I seem to have accidentally deleted it)

 

[square_wave]

Naim was there as usual with a full stack and their constant companion, the focals.

This is a dac, streamer, preamp and phonostage combination with 2 analogue inputs that has been getting a lot of good press. Well laid out in the inside as well. Pricing was around 5k uk pounds and I think it is very well priced for all that you get. Naim guys said they may never get back into standalone dac manufacturing because ... for their stringent quality standards, the product development is too long and will not work in terms of product lifecycle for dacs because market is too fast and customer attitude is too finicky and changes are too often.

I used to own an NDX in the past and loved it.


This was just connected to the poweramps and they were running a pair of focal speakers. This is the first time I have heard a focal and naim combination that did not sound bright.

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

Glad naim have introduced a new look to their old and now plain looking black and olive boxes. Their departure from dac's and even digital streamers was in the pipeline for sometime. There were a jot of disgruntled members on the naim forums, who were upset to see their once super expensive, but now old digital gear being surpassed by the newer designs like the bartok at a lesser price. So no surprise there I guess. Similarly sim by moon is also slowly moving away from dedicated DACs and streamers into integrated amps or preamp with dac.

And glad to know that finally a combo of naim and focal managed to be listenable. That's not something we get to read everyday

 

[arj]

Naim was there as usual with a full stack and their constant companion, the focals.

This is a dac, streamer, preamp and phonostage combination with 2 analogue inputs that has been getting a lot of good press. Well laid out in the inside as well. Pricing was around 5k uk pounds and I think it is very well priced for all that you get. Naim guys said they may never get back into standalone dac manufacturing because ... for their stringent quality standards, the product development is too long and will not work in terms of product lifecycle for dacs because market is too fast and customer attitude is too finicky and changes are too often.

Interesting view. While the streamer and Dac in that order are the most at risk of being outdated, the Preamp and Phono are ones where there may hardly be an advancement and if you do reach a system which you are willing to live with the latter 2 are what you may want to hold on to.

I would have assumed a 2 box with the above 2 pairs might be the best option from a consumer point of view for long term ownership. but again from a manufacturer point of view the one box gives them better sales figures and also ease of manufacturing,

 

[Nikhil]

Graham audio came to the show with a full exposure stack and their chartwell LS 6F speaker. There was an unforced musicality to the sound. Graham's studio background was very evident. True tone and clean sound. Bass was all about texture and truth rather than extension and depth. Exposure seem to work very well with these speakers. There is a typical studio-like truth to the sound without being sterile and technical. People who like a simple system that will speak the truth while staying musical should seriously consider these.

Graham Audio always makes an impression whenever I listen to them.
Absolutely true about what you say about them.

Definitely one of the speakers I will always have in consideration.


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[square_wave]

Leema acoustics came to the show with a loudspeaker that turned out to be a true gem. This is one of the best bookshelf speakers I have ever heard irrespective of price. Overall, the sound was in the top of the list at the show!

Leema is a well known UK manufacturer and Serhan and Swift is from Sidney, Australia. Apparently the people behind the loudspeaker come with many decades of experience.

When you see the price of the speaker, it may look like a lot ( around 6000 pounds), but keep in mind that it is competing with the topmost high end bookshelf speakers out there. And some people in the circles say that it is quite a bargain when you look at it from that context.

 

[square_wave]

Voxativ came with their Ampeggio speakers ( around 11k uk pounds). 8 inch full range ( wide-band ) driver. The amplifier was 11 watts per channel, adorned with 211 tubes from Voxativ.

The sound was absolutely beautiful. The word "beautiful" describe the sound more than any other. Acoustic music sounded the best with the system. I think that is the strength of the speaker. I however noticed a little bit of strain whenever music extends beyond the range that the widebander is comfortable with as compared to the best multi driver speakers out there. But the beauty of the sound within the range of comfort is so compelling that you forget everything else.

 

[square_wave]

Proac came with their top of the line speaker K10. It sounded like what a flagship speaker should sound like ! I have heard a few flagship speakers from the likes of Wilson audio, Focal, Audio vector, Fyne audio etc. Proacs does all the basic things that most of these speakers do but it does it with a certain beguiling personality that invites you to listen rather than being a very indifferent transducer of sound. Big sound with tight and prodigious bass foundation and formidable midrange presence and purity. If I had the same money to pick this one or a similar priced focal, I will pick this one! One of the best sounds at the show.

 

[square_wave]

Qualio came with an interesting speaker.

Low-frequency module based on a 9.5-inch Satori woofer and an open dipole section with a Mundorf AMT super tweeter and an SB Acoustic Satori midrange with an Egyptian papyrus cone. This pair of speakers is mounted on a thick acrylic plate.

Very good bass foundation and beautiful midrange. Interesting design as well. Works well with all kinds of music. As compared to a box speaker, they sound quite " out of the box "! Top sound !

 

[Nikhil]

Qualio came with an interesting speaker.

Low-frequency module based on a 9.5-inch Satori woofer and an open dipole section with a Mundorf AMT super tweeter and an SB Acoustic Satori midrange with an Egyptian papyrus cone. This pair of speakers is mounted on a thick acrylic plate.

Very good bass foundation and beautiful midrange. Interesting design as well. Works well with all kinds of music. As compared to a box speaker, they sound quite " out of the box "! Top sound !

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Very interesting design. Those Sattori drivers are really good.
Using acrylic baffle is also very intriguing ...


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[kratu]

Qualio came with an interesting speaker.

Low-frequency module based on a 9.5-inch Satori woofer and an open dipole section with a Mundorf AMT super tweeter and an SB Acoustic Satori midrange with an Egyptian papyrus cone. This pair of speakers is mounted on a thick acrylic plate.

Very good bass foundation and beautiful midrange. Interesting design as well. Works well with all kinds of music. As compared to a box speaker, they sound quite " out of the box "! Top sound !

View attachment 75661

These speakers intrigued me when I chanced upon their new video channel few months ago. At that time, I was curious about Wolf von Langa speakers, which seem to inspire this speaker design. It surely is novel design approach with a balance of open baffle and boxed cabinet. I understand that these are from designers of Cube Audio speakers.