The 2024 edition of UK Hi-Fi Show Live took place on the weekend of September 22–24 at its impressive customary venue, the Royal Ascot Racecourse Grandstand. As usual, there was a plethora of audio brands on display. This show has had an uneven ride in recent years. It was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID pandemic, and then cancelled again in 2022 due to the death of Her Majesty the Queen—the venue is part of the Crown estate. It ran successfully in 2023, but then, a couple of weeks before the 2024 show, part of the main roof at Ascot blew off in a freak storm. Thankfully, show organizer Paul Miller of Hi-Fi News fame was able to relocate some of the top-floor exhibitors to lower floors, and the show went ahead on schedule.
Yours truly at the Ascot entrance
Despite the absence of notable UK brands such as Linn, Naim, Rega, ATC, and PMC, there were plenty of superb systems and a vast array of new products on display. I have never understood how people can love audio but hate hi-fi shows. To me, the pleasure of show-going comes from the sheer variety of approaches to sound reproduction on display. It seems to me that the deeper you journey into audiophilia, the easier it is to realize that there’s more than one way to skin a cat. Shows are the only places where you can hear so many amazing systems under one roof and discover so much incredible new music, much of it superbly recorded. I also value the opportunity to learn from manufacturers’ presentations as they explain their engineering decisions. This year, I was blessed to finally meet the delightful Laurence Dickie, creator of the legendary Bowers & Wilkins Nautilus loudspeaker and head honcho at Vivid Audio, over a glass of fizz. Afterwards, I messaged SoundStage! boss Doug Schneider and said, “Laurence Dickie is a flipping genius.” (Okay, I didn’t say “flipping.”)
The remarkable Laurence Dickie (left) illuminating the room and enlightening me
On a negative note, it still astounds me how few manufacturers and distributors bother to type up a summary of the products they are demonstrating, complete with prices. You’ve spent tens of thousands of pounds to bring gear and staff along, and hired a suite at one of the most prestigious hi-fi shows in the world to demonstrate your products to the audio press, dealers, and distributors, not to mention thousands of audiophiles with money in their pockets. Despite all this effort, your marketing people apparently don’t think it might be useful to tell visitors what they’re listening to and what it costs. There was a handful of exceptions—Henley Audio and Origin Live, for example—but the majority of exhibitors needed to wake up and join the 21st century.
Henley Audio’s clear pricing and model display
I can’t imagine how much it must cost to hire Royal Ascot for the better part of a week, but I’m darned thankful that, despite these troubled times, somebody has the chutzpa to do it. This is one of a few occasions worldwide where people who love music and believe in its exquisite reproduction can come together to celebrate their passion. Join me, fellow music lovers and audiophiles, as we take a trip through the lofty halls of Ascot in pursuit of sonic excellence. All prices are in GBP unless noted otherwise.
Let me take you down ’cos I’m going to . . .
Upon entering the venue, the first thing to catch my eye wasn’t audio-related at all, but three rather special cars. The first was the original 1966 Batmobile, as featured in the films and series of the era. The second was the new Lotus Eletre SUV, which features an astonishing 23-speaker 2160W Dolby Atmos sound system designed by KEF. Finally, one of the newer blockbuster-era Batmobiles was on display, representing a radical departure from the old model. This one is more like some kind of funky lunar rover with two seats, enough suspension travel to cross any terrain, and glorious fighter-jet-style canopies for each occupant.
The remarkable new Batmobile
The scale of Ascot is such that it can take a while to get your bearings, despite the helpful bowler-hatted ushers hanging around on every corner.
Ascot must have the most confusing collection of escalators in the world!
Cadence Distribution
I headed first to Cadence Distribution’s enormous room, where a vast array of gear was on display, culminating in the main demo area fronted by the sublime SME Model 60 and Garrard 301 Advanced turntables. The Garrard is now available in any of Farrow & Ball’s many color shades to match your décor. It’s even possible to order a special 12″ variant of the composite SME Series VA tonearm originally developed for the Model 60.
Garrard 301 Advanced with the new SME VA 12″ arm
A brace of Nagra electronics that must cost more than my house (sadly, prices weren’t displayed) was driving the new Siltech Symphony loudspeaker system. This enormous loudspeaker has an extensive driver complement designed to provide full-bandwidth sound, extending from a bowel-loosening 17Hz all the way to 100kHz. To achieve this astonishing range, the Symphony has five treble tweeters of diamond and ribbon varieties, three midrange drivers, and no fewer than four 18″ woofers per cabinet.
Cadence’s exquisite system
As you would expect, the sound was seriously impressive, with notes that seemed to emerge from inky-black silence and orchestral soundstages that defied the artifice of hi-fi to sound like a live performance in a concert hall. Worthy of note is the fact that these loudspeakers have a multi-box design rather like the larger Wilson models, and each individual cabinet is supported on illuminated ruby gemstones—which looks rather cool. I guess that helps justify the €380,000/pair price tag.
The gigantic Siltech Symphony loudspeaker
Also on display was the new Nagra Streamer, which was announced in May at the High End show in Munich. Part of the firm’s Classic lineup, the diminutive Nagra Streamer is devoid of any screens or lights, save for a single green power-on LED. Despite its modest visual presentation, this is a potent slice of Swiss engineering, with ultra-precise clocks and casework hewn from a solid-aluminium billet. The streamer will output up to DSD256 to a Nagra DAC via Nagra’s proprietary N-Link output; and DSD64, DXD (Digital eXtreme Definition), and PCM up to 32-bit/352.8kHz via S/PDIF. The streamer comes with its own power supply, but can also be powered by the Nagra Classic power supply for enhanced sound quality. Supported protocols include Apple AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, and UPnP/DLNA. Qobuz support is available via the free mConnect app. Roon Ready certification is pending. The UK price is expected to be under £5000.
The diminutive Nagra Streamer
Sound Design Distribution / Vivid Audio
Making its show debut was Vivid Audio’s new flagship Moya M1 loudspeaker (£400,000/pair), which comes from the mind of Laurence Dickie, who surely must hold the title of most innovative loudspeaker designer in the world right now. A pair of these gigantic loudspeakers dwarf the Siltech Symphony speakers mentioned above—in fact, they dwarf any loudspeakers you can think of. Standing beside them is like being in the middle of Stonehenge. You find yourself wondering how anybody managed to build something so awe-inspiring, and how the hell they ever managed to move these objects at all. Okay; shipping the new Moya M1 to Ascot is not quite as impressive as lugging 40-ton bluestones 180 miles from a Welsh quarry to Salisbury Plain 5000 years ago by hand. But you get the idea.
The monumental Vivid Audio Moya M1
The basic goal of this design is to minimize resonances and reflections. To this end, all drivers feature exponentially tapered tube absorbers, which is something Dickie pioneered on the Nautilus when he was at B&W. Nowadays, many B&W loudspeakers feature those strange tapered tubes on the rear of their tweeters. These tubes dissipate rearward output from the drive units. On the M1, the concept has been refined, and the woofers’ tapered tubes are so long that they now have to fold back on themselves.
Moya M1 close-up
The cabinet is manufactured from Vivid’s carbon-reinforced sandwich composite and is available in pretty much any color you desire. The five-way, 13-driver design features four bass enclosures, each housing two 225mm alloy-diaphragm drivers operating in a horizontally opposed “boxer” configuration to negate the huge forces acting on the structure. The front baffle incorporates two front-firing 175mm carbon-fiber-reinforced lower-midrange drivers, a single 100mm carbon-fiber-reinforced alloy midrange dome, a 50mm aluminum-alloy upper-midrange dome, and a 26mm aluminum-alloy dome tweeter coated with a diamond-like substance. All edges are rounded to further reduce diffraction.
Halcro Eclipse mono power amplifiers
Driven by the mighty Halcro Eclipse mono power amplifiers, the sound was simply immense, with a palpable sense of the air in the room moving, even at normal session levels. The soundstage was incredibly stable no matter where one sat in the room, with almost no sense of there being any hot spot. From Lyle Lovett to solo guitarist Marcin’s rendition of Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir,” the sound was extraordinary, transcending the parameters of mere hi-fi. This loudspeaker is right at the bleeding edge of what is possible sonically and technically in the home—the final frontier. Everybody at the show, including other manufacturers and distributors, wanted to hear it in action.
Nothing moves air quite like the Vivid Audio Moya M1
YG Acoustics
Making its UK debut was the new XX3 loudspeaker from Arizona’s YG Acoustics. This advanced four-way design is available in active and passive configurations. The driver complement includes a new hybrid Lattice tweeter with advanced airframe, two 6″ midrange BilletCore drivers whose diaphragms are machined from a solid piece of aircraft-grade aluminum, three 7.25″ BilletCore lower-midrange drivers, and two 11″ BilletCore woofers with ultra-high-field-strength motors for low distortion and high power handling. The active variant includes built-in DACs, DSP, and 700W of amplification per drive unit, for a total of 5.6kW per speaker.
YG Acoustics XX3—don’t try lifting a pair!
All of this aluminum means that each cabinet weighs a staggering 374 pounds. The price is expected to be £252,000/pair for the active model; pricing for the passive version is yet to be announced.
Also making its show debut was the Bel Canto Black system, which now incorporates standalone amplifiers for wider compatibility with other brands. The range includes the new ASC2 (Asynchronous Stream Controller), which is in essence a preamplifier that operates entirely in the digital domain and outputs via fiber-optic cable to the TI 1792 PCM–based DAC incorporated into the new DMD. From there, the analog signal is sent to the new MA1200 monoblock power amplifiers. Each monoblock is capable of outputting 350W into 8 ohms. Expected prices are £25,000 per unit for the ASC2 preamplifier and DMD DAC, and £25,000 for a pair of MA1200 power amplifiers.
Bel Canto Black
Karma AV
Karma AV represents several significant brands in the UK, but I made straight for their SVS room, because the firm once famed for its class-leading subwoofers has been busy of late developing a wide range of loudspeakers for two-channel and multi-channel use. Debuting at Ascot was SVS’s new flagship, the Ultra Evolution Pinnacle floorstander, which retails for £5999/pair. This attractive loudspeaker comes in a variety of finishes, including piano-gloss black, piano-gloss white, and oak veneer. The driver complement comprises a 1″ diamond-coated aluminium-dome tweeter, two 5.25″ glass-fiber-coned midrange units, and four 8″ composite-glass-fiber woofers, mounted two on the front and two on the rear to neutralize vibration. It’s a ported design with twin rear ports and sturdy cabinet construction. The front baffle arches outward at the top and bottom to time-align the drivers.
SVS Ultra Evolution Prime Pinnacle
This is a deeply impressive loudspeaker design, which I think is going to prove highly competitive in its segment of the market. Driven by Primare electronics, the Evolution Pinnacles sounded immensely rich and expressive when reproducing Stevie Ray Vaughan’s sublime electric guitar on “Tin Pan Alley.” I heard fulsome, well-controlled bass and searing dynamics when the music demanded. This is a brand with a huge amount of engineering expertise, and it shows.
Another Karma AV–distributed brand with a great deal of engineering aplomb is Denmark’s System Audio, who showed their Silverback 1 wireless on-wall loudspeakers (£2198/system, including companion Stereo Hub). This incredibly neat and attractive design manages to squeeze DSP and 2 × 80W of active amplification into an insanely small cabinet. The driver complement includes a waveguided 1″ soft-dome tweeter and 5.5″ long-stroke, glass-fiber-membrane woofer. You can pair the Silverback 1 speakers with the Stereo Hub, which transmits 24-bit/96kHz audio to the speakers using WiSA (Wireless Speaker and Audio) technology. The Stereo Hub has built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi; a Roon Ready network streamer that supports Apple AirPlay 2, Google Chromecast, Spotify Connect, and UPnP/DLNA; one optical and three coaxial S/PDIF inputs; an HDMI-ARC input; a USB audio input; and a line-level analog in.
Karma demonstrated the Silverbacks with another WiSA component: the Primare I15 streaming amplifier (£1200). This is the ultimate in minimalist high-quality audio—a modern-day equivalent of the Naim NAIT and Linn Kan I took to university with a Systemdek IIX turntable. But I had to take boxes of records too. With a system like this, you can have all of the world’s music in the palm of your hand.
System Audio Silverback 1
System Audio has engineered the Silverback to take advantage of boundary placement, and has also designed a woofer with extra-long throw, enabling this diminutive loudspeaker to produce far more bass than you would ever expect. To demonstrate the system, the team fired up Boris Blank’s “Ninive” and then gunned the volume. It was genuinely hard not to let my jaw hit the floor. I’m struggling to think of any small loudspeaker I have ever heard that sounded so large and so capable. Another benefit of eliminating cables is that you avoid all the issues they can introduce—WiSA offers bit-perfect digital transfer.
Primare I15 with WiSA (left)
There are people who, for reasons of space or domestic harmony, will never be able to put a large floorstander and an array of boxes into their room. For them, System Audio’s approach may be the answer to a prayer. I’d love a Silverback 1 system in my bedroom.
DALI
DALI brought their new Rubikore range to the show. Incorporating technology that has trickled down from DALI’s flagship Kore loudspeaker, the new series benefits from entirely new drivers, crossover designs, and ports, as well as significantly enhanced standards of finish. Models on static display included the Rubikore 2 standmount (£2299/pair) and Rubikore 6 floorstander (£4499/pair). The range-topping Rubikore 8 floorstander (£5999/pair) was on active demo. The new series also includes the Rubikore Cinema LCR speaker (£1799 each) and Rubikon On-Wall (£1299 each). Except for the Rubikon 2, all models incorporate DALI’s hybrid dual-tweeter assembly, in which a largeish dome is combined with a magnetostatic driver (the assembly is rotatable on the Cinema and LCR models). All incorporate wood-fiber cones derived from the Kore and use DALI’s SMC (soft magnetic compound) motor system, which is designed to reduce heterodyning, as SMC doesn’t conduct electricity, but is magnetic.
DALI Rubikore range
Sound Foundations
Something that grabbed my attention in the Sound Foundations room was DS Audio’s ION-001 vinyl ionizer. This device emits a beam of ions to eliminate static charge on records while they are playing. It can be used with any turntable-and-cartridge combination and is entirely freestanding. It reminded me of the old red Milty Zerostat gun that I used to fire at my records in the 1980s to reduce static. The key difference is that while the Zerostat would momentarily reduce static charge on records, the ION-001 works continuously the whole time a record is playing. It can be yours for £1750. Also on demo was the DS Audio line of optical cartridges installed in Clearaudio turntables. These cartridges have certainly piqued my interest—someday I must get around to trying one. John Lee Hooker’s The Healer was sounding very fine in this room.
DS Audio’s ION-001 vinyl ionizer (rear)
Someday I’ve got to try one of those DS Audio optical cartridges
Origin Live
Origin Live, purveyor of some extraordinary turntables and tonearms, brought their new Sovereign S Mk V turntable (£8300) to this year’s show. I recall drooling over their stunning Voyager model last year—a fabulous slice of vinyl-spinning majesty. When I inquired about a review sample, I was told in no uncertain terms that they were in such short supply due to their complex and labor-intensive build process that none were available. I guess that’s why the Voyager wasn’t at Ascot this year, but the Sovereign was. The Sovereign S Mk V benefits from a new upgraded copper insert in the platter as well as a superior power-supply unit offering more accurate speed control and improved sonics.
Origin Live Sovereign S Mk V
Combined with the Origin Live Agile tonearm (£10,500), Kagami CS-1 phono cartridge (£8250), and Discovery Ultra phono stage (£4300), this is a formidable vinyl front end. The rest of the system comprised the ever-dependable Sugden A21 SE integrated amplifier and DeVore Fidelity O/baby loudspeakers. My listening notes describe the sound as unforced, natural, open, and detailed. Crucially, scribbled beneath these observations, I wrote: “one of the best sounds at the show.” I’m very keen to undertake a review of one of the Origin Live turntables, as every time I hear one, I am struck by its superbly accurate sound and precision engineering. I lean towards no-bullshit firms that focus on sound engineering and sensible pricing, not voodoo and mythical pricing, so they’re my kind of company.
My kind of company
Absolute Sounds
It’s always a highlight to visit the enormous suites hired by this distributor of high-end exotica, where one can hear some of the most elite audio brands in the world. As usual, this year Absolute Sounds had arranged a huge variety of presentations in their two demo suites. I chose to attend the ever-dependable Mike Valentine’s presentation on his jaw-dropping Chasing the Dragon records. This also gave me the opportunity to introduce Doug Schneider to Mike, not only so he could hear the records, but also to let him experience this gifted engineer’s off-the-wall British humor.
Mike Valentine slaying some dragons
To celebrate its 50th anniversary, Wilson Audio has launched a new version of the WATT/Puppy (£42,998). It’s the ninth generation of this revered design. Wilson Audio says its aim was to build the kind of speaker Dave Wilson would have built if he’d had the capabilities that are now available to the company he founded. The WATT/Puppy was originally designed as a studio monitor that Wilson could transport to recording venues, so of all the Wilson line, it achieves an ideal balance of size, price, and performance. The Ascot demo pair was finished in a stunning navy-blue color. Innovations include an all-new Convergent Synergy carbon tweeter and redesigned 7″ midrange powered by an alnico quadracore magnet for superior midband detail and accuracy. The bass section now features the same 8″ drivers fitted in the Wilson Sasha V. All the usual Wilson principles apply here, including the focus on time alignment, inert enclosure design, and glorious aesthetics.
The legendary Wilson WATT/Puppy returns
Whenever I’ve listened to Wilson loudspeakers, I’ve always found that there’s something inherently correct about the way they present music. Along with ATC, Wilson remains one of my favorite loudspeaker brands.
This year also marked the 50th anniversary of Absolute Sounds head honcho Ricardo Franassovici’s involvement in the audio business. He spoke movingly of the need to listen to and feel the music, not just focus on the equipment. You could be forgiven for thinking that this is slightly ironic coming from a man who sells some of the most esoteric—and expensive—equipment on earth, but it felt sincere to me. I think Franassovici realizes that for most people at his demos, the equipment he sells will be forever out of reach. But that is why his demos are always packed, from the beginning to the end of the show. People want to hear the best audio in the world—even if they cannot afford it. I suspect he wanted to leave listeners returning home to their more modest systems with a message not to be discontented, and I liked that a lot. As I’ve written before, I firmly believe that some equipment is capable of transcending its price. If you choose carefully and match speakers well to your room, you can assemble a system that rivals the megabucks stuff.
Absolute Sounds’ Ricardo Franassovici speaking
I often used to leave audio shows blown away by the incredible systems I heard there, only to return home and feel slightly disappointed with my own system. I have made some modest upgrades over the past five years, and that disappointment doesn’t happen anymore. I have a system that is as musically satisfying as anything I hear at shows, and it didn’t cost megabucks to get there.
I reflected on my own audio journey over the past 40 years as I schlepped out of Ascot at the end of day two with Doug Schneider. There was just time for us to return to my hotel, grab a coffee, and change before heading out for dinner with some of the Estelon, Nintronics Audio, and Nexus Audio crowd. It seems to me that in audio, as in so many pursuits, it pays to enjoy the journey as much as the destination.
Jonathan Gorse
Senior Contributor, SoundStage!
