Published on
1st March 2024

We have a new ritual before we head to the Bristol Hi-Fi Show. We eat doughnuts filled with blackcurrant jam, then wash them down with strong coffee. Just like New York City cops - that's if New York City cops were into high-fidelity music, sported yellow Paul Smith trainers, and deliberated over which record shops in Bristol are the best*. The answer is Wanted Records in the old town and Friendly Records south of the river.

Drizzly and overcast, we wander out to join the queue in front of the Marriott Hotel. The organisers take sparsely decorated, cramped bedrooms and turn them into high-end audio-listening rooms for the weekend. You can listen to reference hi-fi systems surrounded by worn beige carpets, faded watercolours, and floating wooden bed-heads. It's an experience unique to the Bristol Hi-Fi Show - and one of the reasons why we keep coming back year after year. Or maybe we never leave. Like The Shining.

Meze Audio

Meze Audio - Empyrean II Headphones

First up is Meze Audio and their new Empyrean II planar magnetic headphones in matte black. They need an amp to drive them, and this pair connect to a Benchmark DAC3 & MPA4 headphone amplifier. 

The design of the Empyrean IIs was informed using feedback from head-fi experts and fans of the original versions. Sir Alec Issigonis, the designer of the Mini, once said, "A camel is a horse designed by a committee."  Thankfully, Meze has created a classic thoroughbred with the second iteration of these on-ear headphones. They are super comfortable, mainly due to being so lightweight, and handle dynamics very well. I play "Cornish Acid" by Aphex Twin, and there's a real groove to the drums. The drums are also very controlled on "Waiting List" by Dr Octagon, and the bass has a real punch. Also on display are a pair of award-winning 109 Pro Headphones - they are hand-carved, and look very desirable.

PMC

PMC - Twenty25i Active Loudspeakers

PMC used the event to launch the Twenty5i Active Loudspeakers. They feature built-in Class D amplifiers, pioneered in their pro studio monitors. The amps provide 100 watts to each driver, along with RCA or XLR / balanced & unbalanced connections. As the amps and drivers are perfectly matched - you only need to plug in your favourite pre-amp/streamer and have an instant music system. 

We listen to Billie Eilish's "What Was I Made For". I've heard this song a hundred times, thanks to my daughters playing it on repeat at home. Listen to it on the Twenty5i 23 Actives - you become aware of all the subtle harmonies. The strings & piano are balanced beautifully with her delicate crystal clear vocals. An incredible sound from such a compact loudspeaker - crisp, clear & transparent, with a powerful low-end. 

PMC also offer a stand-alone module for existing Twenty5i owners to upgrade their passive speakers to active ones, improving performance instantly. PMC's Paul Bayliss shows us the module, with their analogue crossovers, and explains how they fit seamlessly into the existing design to drive each speaker within the Twenty5i loudspeakers and the original Twenty5s. These are ideal for those seeking an instant high-performance upgrade.

Linn Audio

Linn - Klimax Solo 800 Mono Power Amps

Celebrating 50 years in business, Linn bring the LP12-50 Turntable designed in collaboration with Jony Ive. Also part of the system is a pair of monolithic Klimax Solo 800 Mono Power Amps (800W into 4Ω) plus the Linn 360 Passive Loudspeakers with Aktiv Bass, in single malt, and Klimax DSM with Organik DAC.

Joe from Linn treats us to a smooth presentation. He plays a live version of "Psycho Killer" by Talking Heads - a stripped-down version with only David Byrnes' distinct vocals, an acoustic guitar and a drum machine. It sounds pretty decent. Everything sounds nicely controlled & balanced - polished like all the hard edges buffed out. If you're a Linn fanatic, you'll be happy. However, we can't overlook that the price of this system drifts close to the £220,000 mark.

ATC 

ATC - SCM50ASLT Active Loudspeakers

We walk into the ATC's listening room and instantly feel at home. ATC have a system featuring the ATC SCM50ASLT Active Tower Loudspeaker in Piano Black. Everything about the demonstration feels effortless - no expensive power chords or cables. We’re not thinking about the hi-fi system, as we're 100% absorbed in the music. Dean sums it up, "There's no bullshit - just good engineering." 

Ahmad Jamal's "Perugia" plays. Instruments come in and out of focus before our attention is absorbed in another intricacy within the song."Wildfires" by SBTRXT is up next. Sometimes, when we listen to exceptionally good hi-fi like this, we get a physical reaction to a sound. A crunchy texture, a squelchy bass, or a crisp snare drum. You feel it in the solar plexus, or it can be so lifelike it gives you goosebumps. "Ridiculous," says Dean, shaking his head. To get the music to sound this good in this challenging environment is quite an achievement.

Without a doubt, ATC have the best-sounding room so far! 

SME

SME - Model 12 Mk2 Turntable

We love the SME Model12 Mk2 Turntable. It's like a Japanese chef's knife - precision engineering and uses the best materials available. It's milled from a solid aluminium block. The Model 12 sits next to its external power supply unit, and the record is kept secure with a heavy-duty clamp. With the help of the super stiff 309 tonearm and the elliptical Shelter cartridge, it extracts every last detail from the vinyl. In the demo, it's paired with the Spendor D7.2 Floorstanding Loudspeakers. They give a natural warmth to Eddie Kirkland's "I'm in the mood". The music is haunting - the steel guitar sound cuts through you with every note.

Naim Audio

Naim Audio - S1 Pre-Amp / 300 & 500 Series

We pre-book a listening session for the Naim Audio room. You get 20 minutes of uninterrupted listening whilst Jason Gould guides you through the system - swapping bits of kit and cables in and out.

First, it's Duke Ellington's "Duke's Place" through the Naim NAC 332 and NAP 350 Power Amps. Sounds good. Then he adds the NPX 300 Power Supply. "Can you hear the difference? It makes the system sound closer to the 500 Series" Yes. There's more detail, more engaging, and a tad more revealing. The brass is livelier, but there is also a noticeable brightness and sibilance as we go up the range - maybe that comes from the Focal Utopias Loudspeakers.

Next is the ND 555 Streamer with Power Supply, connected to the legendary S1 Pre-Amp - creating a Statement 500 hybrid. Maybe this is the way forward for those who can't afford the Statement amplification system.

We listen to Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds' "Breathless", which opens with that ever so out-of-tune recorder melody. There is a deeper soundstage, more intricate details, and better imaging. "Less strained and more convincing," Jason says.

The demo ends, and Dean & Alex chat with Statement's creator, Steve Sells. The Naim demonstration epitomises all that we love about the Bristol show - where you can test different elements of a hi-fi system and speak directly with the engineers who made them.

Exposure Electronics

Exposure - 360 Turntable

Exposure show-off their first-ever turntable - The 360. Essentially a re-configured Rega Planar 6, without the cartridge. They sit on an Audite Acoustics OHJATA Isolation Platform, which absorbs unwanted sounds. We get to see their new top-loading CD player, the 3510 CD - the music sounds clean, clear & accurate combined with the 3510 Series Mono Amplifiers. 

Hegel

Hegel - H190v Integrated Amplifier

We listen to the H190v Integrated Amplifier, the new 150-watt Integrated (Class A/B) amplifier with digital & analogue inputs and network connectivity. The amp has an inbuilt high-performance MM phono stage (lifted from the award-winning V10 phono stage) and an improved power supply.  

Lady Blackbird's "Five Feet Tall" plays on the Rega Planar 6 Turntable and a pair of Amphion speakers. The music is full of emotion - the sound has a valve amp warmth, with a pitch-black background between the songs.

Rega Research

Rega - Mercury Pre-Amplifier & Solis Power Amplifier

We bump into hi-fi royalty - Roy Gandy of Rega. He is happy to answer our enthusiastic questions regarding the new Rega Mercury Pre-Amp, the Solis Power Amp, and the ND7 moving magnet cartridge.

We learn that the ND7 has similar characteristics to a moving coil cartridge, as it shares many of the same engineering principles. It uses a neodymium magnet that gives it more heft than a standard moving magnet cartridge. Also on show are the prototypes of the Mercury Pre-Amp (which includes a high-performance DAC) and the Solis Power Amp. Both are designed to partner with the incredible Naia Reference Turntable and retail at £6k each. We'll have them on demo in-store this Summer. 

Rega also shows off the new light oak effect Planar 3 Turntable, which looks great!

Harbeth

Harbeth - P3ESR XD Loudspeakers & Nelson Subwoofer Stand

Our final demonstration is of the Harbeth P3ESR XDs Standmount Loudspeakers. An H390 Hegel Integrated Amplifier drives these compact speakers. They have the classic 1970s BBC monitor styling as well as that signature sound - neutral and uncoloured, but with a slight sweetest that makes you want to keep listening. Harbeth's chief designer, Alan Shaw, is a perfectionist. He only wants to manufacture six products but build each one well.

The system has incredible depth to the soundstage. "Riders on the Storm" by The Doors plays, and you can pinpoint exactly where the musicians are - as if Ray Manzarek is hiding behind the curtain on his Rhodes. The speakers are on top of Nelson - a powered bass extender that doubles as a speaker stand. The stands are not the most elegant, but they make up for it in low-end. The timing is impeccable and far superior to having a separate subwoofer, as the bass sits on the same plain as the high and mid-range frequencies.

Like the ATC demo, we could happily sit in the Harbeth demos until the hotel closed its doors. One of our fellow hi-fi enthusiasts keeps getting up to leave the demo but keeps sitting back down to marvel at the sound these compact speakers are producing. "You'll never leave", we laugh..."You've always been here."