Bristol HiFi Show 2025
Welcome to this February Newsletter, hot off the press after the Bristol HiFi Show 2025. This year’s show seemed optimistic, with the usual hustle and bustle of the day. There were many highlights for me. The REL Acoustics room had to be heard to be believed, and the new Michel Engineering Apollo Phono Stage was also rather exciting, as someone with a GYRO SE.
The two show reports are in the site’s News section; other debuts included Chord Electronics’ Alto headphone amplifier and their Suzi modular amplifier. The Audio Research Reference 330M monoblocks made an appearance in that REL ROOM with 330W per channel from 6 valve KT170s in a hybrid design, as did the Tannoy Autograph 12’s, due out in the coming period. Also making their debuts were the FiiO S15 streamer and the new Exposure 5510 integrated amplifier with a gorgeous pair of ProAc loudspeakers. The Harbeth NLE-1 active loudspeakers caught my eye, as did the amazing-sounding new QUAD Electrostatic loudspeakers.
There’s a second show report here, with a few photos taken by Chris Baillie, so thanks to him for the extra insight into the show.
New Reviews
Notwithstanding the Bristol Show, there have been a few new reviews this month. Since the last newsletter, when the new website was launched, we have had reviews of the latest flagship products from Focal/Naim and Astell&Kern.
The Diva Utopia loudspeakers may well have walked off with Product of the Year in February! These £30,000 active loudspeakers meld Naim Electronics’ expertise with Focal’s loudspeaker pedigree in an irresistible proposition, and they won the first Outstanding Badge of the Year. Here’s the TIDAL Playlist for the DIVA UTOPIA review.
We have also had the privilege of listening to the Martin Logan ESL 11A electrostatic loudspeakers for a few hours, and this was an unforgettable experience. There were two clear takeaways from these four hours: the first was the scale and presence in the room with the ESL11s, and the second was the stunning resolution offer. Since I only had a few hours with them, having to go to hear them rather than receiving them properly for review, we are organising a review of the baby ESLs in the range that is a little more manageable and deliverable.
Other reviews you may have missed include another Flagship product, this time from Astell&Kern, their new A&ultima SP3000M, a new slimmed-down version of the acclaimed SP3000. The SP3000M also won an Outstanding badge for premium audiophile delivery on the move, at the highest end of the budget, like the DIVA UTOIPIA.
Finally, we’ve also posted a review of the excellent E.A.T. E-Glo Petit II phono stage, which presented a rich and sparkling presentation with the Michell GYRO SE.
We have posted a new video on the DIVA UTOPIA; look for the same on the Martin Logan ESL 11A, which will be available soon on the YouTube channel.
Coming Up
Coming soon, we will review the Tellurium Q Ultra Silver II loudspeaker and XLR cable, the centrepiece of their premium Silver range. If your system is revealing enough for them, these cables demand a listen.
Look out, too, for a piece on an AVONDALE Naim NAP 250 upgrade. This is part of my series on upgrading your Naim gear in light of the New Classic rollout. If the New Naim Classic equipment is beyond your budget, you’ll want to read this!
Coming soon will be reviews of the Meze Audio 105 AER and the new Meze Audio POET planar magnetic headphones. I’ve been using a Chord Hugo 2 and an iFi Audio Diablo 2 with an AudioQuest Carbon data cable upgrade and the aforementioned A&ultima SP3000M with these wonderful headphones, both at two different ends of the headphone price and technical spectrum.
In the pipeline, with some new writers joining Hifiandmusicsourcce.com, we will review the new AVID Accent integrated amplifier and look at some products from Fell Audio. Also, in the coming couple of months, we are expecting to receive the new FiiO S15 streamer that was at the Bristol Show.
New Music
There is some good music emerging this year. Obviously, Sam Fender is the talk of the town, but I have really enjoyed the releases from The Delines and Berlin-based jazz trio Moses Yoofee Trio and their new album MYT.
Further Reading
