Morning had broken, and so had my head! After a truly sublime dinner with a couple of Naim friends at the end of the first day of the Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025, we had unwisely decided to return to the hotel bar for a nightcap, only to find that the party was still in full swing. This industry might give the impression of being full of boffins debating the merits of different power-supply architectures, but we can party as well as any touring rock band! Catching up with industry friends over some single malts, it struck me how much I adore the British hi-fi industry and the people in it.
I have spent the last 20 years working as an airline pilot, and before that I worked in insurance and IT, but I never found “my tribe” until now. Even this late in the game, it’s a wonderful feeling when you realize you’ve found your place in the world. There was nobody at this show who doesn’t love music or care deeply for the arts—that’s why they’re here.
It’s not about the boxes, and has never been about the boxes. We do this because we want Christine McVie’s “Songbird” to put tears in our eyes and send shivers up our spines. Was there ever a more noble calling than to design, manufacture, sell, and write about products that can enhance human existence this much?
Rega Research
My first visit on the second day was to Rega. The company was demonstrating the new MK 7 version of their excellent Brio integrated amplifier (£799). Allied with the Rega Planar 3 RS Edition turntable (£999, including arm and cartridge) and recently-launched Rega Anya loudspeakers (£1499/pair), this little system showed how good entry-level audio has become. There seems to be a general trend of audio equipment getting more and more expensive. This industry doesn’t have a future if it tells the world that you need to spend 50 grand on amplification and 100 grand on loudspeakers, then add cables that cost hundreds of pounds per meter, to get good sound. We all like drooling over exotica, but I think manufacturers need to keep sight of where most new audiophiles start.
The all-new Rega Brio MK7
Rated at 50Wpc into 8 ohms, this attractive little amp offers a moving-magnet phono input and three RCA line-level inputs, plus one optical (TosLink) and one coaxial (RCA) S/PDIF input. It’s the first Brio amp to incorporate a DAC. There’s also a 3.5mm headphone port for late-night sessions. What more does any aspiring audiophile need?
Rega’s excellent but affordable system
Sennheiser
Sennheiser turned up in force at Bristol this year and was showcasing the new HD 620S travel headphones, priced at £300. These are based on Sennheiser’s iconic, open-backed HD 600S ’phones. The design objective was to achieve the spacious sound of open-backed headphones in a closed-back design.
Sennheiser’s HD 620S closed-back ’phones are ready for travel
These headphones are instantly comfortable the moment you slip them on and offer a significant degree of noise attenuation. A detachable 1.8m (5.9′) cable and nice carry case are included. The drivers are custom-tuned 42mm units with angled baffles designed to improve airflow and to mimic the sonic character of an open-backed design.
The sound was very clear and open-sounding with solid bass and extended treble, while the soundstage extended well beyond the confines of the cans.
After finishing my audition, I spotted a pair of Sennheiser HD 800S headphones sitting nearby. I couldn’t resist trying them. It must be over ten years since I fell in love with these remarkable headphones. Of all the headphones I have ever heard, these sound most like listening to speakers in an open room. And they’re comfortable. Wearing them is like having your ears caressed by a supremely talented masseuse wearing mink gloves. The sound envelops you, every note feeling as pure and invigorating as summer rain. It’s no surprise that when I was at Air Studios for a recent recording session, Mike Valentine (the best classical recording engineer in the world, IMO) was using them for monitoring the A-to-D converters.
The spectacular Sennheiser HD 800S headphones
After perusing the Sennheiser range of in-ear monitors, I explored the other room, which was showcasing the firm’s soundbar range. These use a proprietary technology called Ambeo to trick your brain into thinking you’re surrounded by loudspeakers. Priced at £2000, the range-topping Ambeo Soundbar Max has 13 individual drivers mounted in its large frame. Watching (and listening to) a Dolby Atmos movie, I was floored by the sense that there were indeed speakers behind and beside me. It’s a strange sensation because you know you are being fooled. But damn, is it convincing.
The remarkable Ambeo Soundbar Max
Leema Acoustics
Leema, another of my favorite audio brands, has at last got its new Electron CD player (£1400) into production. With its brushed-aluminum facia, comprehensive blue LED display, and immaculate machining, what a handsome beast it is. Much care has been taken to reduce jitter and to engineer the player to offer fatigue free-listening. The design relies on an ESS Sabre ES9018 DAC.
Leema’s Electron CD player (top) and Neutron preamplifier (bottom)
The Electron was on demo with the Neutron preamplifier (£1500) and Graviton power amplifier (£1500). Who else will sell you a UK-made pre-power combination capable of delivering 150Wpc into 8 ohms for under £3000? I would love to see the firm engineer a matching streamer, but one mustn’t underestimate the engineering challenges that would involve for this small British brand.
Air Audio
Besides being the UK distributor for Hana cartridges, Air Audio manufactures a growing range of UK-made products, which it sells under the Connected-Fidelity brand. These include the formidable AC-2K balanced mains supply and a recently released mains-distribution block which certainly looked and sounded intriguing. Also on offer are a very attractive range of cables.
The remarkable Connected-Fidelity AC-2K balanced mains supply
Launching at the show was an entirely new turntable from Connected-Fidelity called the TT Hub. Priced at £4995, this striking turntable uses a bamboo plinth and freestanding AC motor powered by an off-board power supply offering 33⅓ and 45 rpm, plus fine-speed control. The acrylic platter is capped with a foam mat. Drive is via a flat belt to the inner pulley. The huge bearing is a self-lubricating bronze sintered design with a sapphire thrust plate and aluminum housing.
Connected-Fidelity TT Hub turntable
The TT Hub isn’t a suspended design, but it does have some isolation thanks to the separate motor and compliant rubber feet under the baseboard. The turntable on demo was fitted with a Japanese-made Sorane SA-1.2 tonearm (£1900) and Hana Unami Red cartridge (£3400). This is an impressive-sounding turntable and it’s very clear that a great deal of care has been taken with its design and engineering.
The ultra-rare Trichord Neo phono stage and CM power supply
Of particular interest in this system was the Trichord Neo phono stage being used along with its accompanying CM power supply unit. This was the last phono stage manufactured by Trichord Research before Graham Fowler retired—at least until Michell Engineering lured him out of retirement!
Audio Note
Audio Note, that legendary bulwark of valve amplification, chose Bristol to launch its new Meishu Konzertmeister integrated amplifier (£45,000), whose gorgeous, glowing 300B valves provide 8Wpc of pure, single-ended class-A power.
Audio Note Meishu Konzertmeister
Even this transistor guy has to acknowledge that this is one gorgeously built amplifier! As Audio Note states, the Meishu Konzertmeister benefits from elegant circuit simplification thanks to their ability to create extremely closely matched transformers and foil capacitors in-house, plus having access to custom-made resistors and electrolytics.
Meticulous construction
The firm staged quite a coup by bringing in the legendary UK radio disc jockey, “Whispering” Bob Harris, who introduced some of his favorite records in his inimical style. I could have listened to his laconic delivery and fascinating reminiscences all afternoon, but I had to move on after a few minutes to cover the show.
UK DJ “Whispering” Bob Harris
Naim Audio
Ensconced in their usual spacious suite, Naim and Focal attracted a lot of visitors to their room all weekend long. I still recall my early days at the Bristol show, when I would enter Naim’s tenth-floor inner sanctum with the reverence of a peasant being granted an audience with the Dalai Lama. The huge towers and rows of green-backlit Naim Audio components were like temples built to the gods of audiophile excellence. Along with fellow pilgrims, I would sit in this hallowed space listening in awe as Naim’s flagship system showed the sonic pleasures that could be mine if I had the resources of an emperor. I would return home to my little Naim integrated amplifier and feel content that I belonged, in some small way, to the same musical dynasty.
Aspirational dreams—love the new Naim styling!
Naim has always been among the friendliest and most welcoming of all audio companies. I think that’s one of many reasons why their equipment commands such brand loyalty. This year, the system on demo was what you might call attainable high-end. Along with the NAP 250 power amplifier, the system included the NSS 333 streaming DAC and NAC 332 preamplifier, both of which I reviewed for SoundStage! Ultra last year following the launch of the 300 series. One day, just maybe, I hope to end up with a system like this.
Focal
On the output end of this system, and resplendent in bright orange, were a pair of Focal Sopra N°2 loudspeakers (£14,999/pair). While the Sopras looked stunning, sadly the bass seemed somewhat loose and unresolved due to room interactions. I have heard Sopra N°2s sound far more impressive in the demo room at Naim’s Salisbury HQ. To Naim’s credit, they had tried to treat the room with absorption panels, but overall, the sound possessed none of the whipcrack speed, power, and definition I know the Naim amplifiers can deliver.
Focal’s striking orange Sopra N°2 loudspeaker
Also on demo was Focal’s new Diva Utopia streaming active loudspeaker system (£29,999), which offers not just active operation thanks to its onboard amplification, but is a fully integrated standalone system with a plethora of streaming options, including Apple AirPlay2, Google Cast, Spotify Connect, and Tidal Connect, plus an app that provides access to Qobuz, Tidal, and internet radio. Despite being a cheaper overall solution, this 400W, seven-driver, three-way system impressed me more than the Sopra-Naim setup—it just seemed to work better in the room.
The versatile Focal Diva Utopia
It’s good to see Naim and Focal joining Dynaudio and pushing forward into high-end “future-fi” audio, because I am sure there’s a sizeable customer base who want great sound without needing a rack full of electronics. Just don’t tell my wife about this system! Overall, the Diva system was an impressive debut in this segment.
Keith Monks
The delightfully lab-coated Jonathan Monks, son of the firm’s founder, was demonstrating a range of Monks record-cleaning devices to all comers. I reviewed the entry-level Prodigy machine for SoundStage! Ultra last year and was so impressed with its forensic cleaning abilities that I purchased the review sample. This year at Bristol, the flagship Redux Two model made its debut. This must be the coolest and most beautifully built record-cleaning machine ever made.
The stunning Keith Monks Redux Two
Priced at £4495, the Redux Two is clearly aimed at libraries, archives, and well-heeled audiophiles. It contains not one, but two cleaning-fluid tanks enabling you to experiment with Keith Monks’s own range of dedicated cleaners, as well as trying alternatives should you wish. Cleaning fluid is electrically dispensed at the push of a button. The machine offers a superior ultra-quiet brushless motor compared to the lower-end Prodigy models. The cleaning arm is a fabulously engineered all-metal affair. It even has a light on the end to illuminate the cleaning head—perfect for use in the dark cellars of the British Library. Unlike the Prodigy, the Redux Two has a full-size rather than label-sized mat. The mat is sculpted with hundreds of tiny rubber pyramids to reduce the risk of recontamination of the playing surface. All components are laser-cut in house and the exterior casework is beautifully finished in navy blue.
The interior of the Monks machine is innovative and beautifully thought-out
Given the cost of vinyl nowadays and the giant leap in replay quality that occurs with clean records, anybody with more than a couple of hundred records absolutely should invest in a record-cleaning machine. I was foolish to wait so long and I have been staggered at the contribution having one makes to my musical enjoyment.
Chord Electronics
This year, Chord assembled a simple yet excellent system comprising their recently launched and superb Ultima Integrated amplifier (£8500) driving Kerr Acoustic’s K320 mk.3 loudspeakers (£8800/pair). Sources were an Innuos Zenith streamer and the remarkable Chord Dave DAC (£10,495).
Chord’s compact but high-performing system
Sonically, this was one of the more rewarding systems at the show—and it was good to hear real music being played rather than the usual audiophile dreck! I know of no finer DJ than Chord’s affable Doug Graham, whose encyclopedic knowledge of cool music always leads me in new directions. This year it was the Americana of Jeffrey Silverstein—check him out!
A second dinner date
Saturday was another fabulous day. I heard some great music and spent the afternoon touring the show with Matt McNulty, who has found fame refurbishing Townshend Rock turntables and painting them in a myriad of incredible colors.
I had a quiet dinner planned with an old university friend who happens to live in Bristol. We met up in the show bar and spent a couple of hours socializing with Toni from Townshend Audio and Stuart and Linette from HiFi Pig before heading out for dinner. There’s a little trattoria a short walk from the hotel, and it was a wonderful evening catching up with my friend, who is a fine trumpet player and orchestra conductor. I must have reeked of garlic by the end of the Bristol weekend!
Jonathan Gorse
Senior Contributor, SoundStage!
