Florida Audio Expo 2020 Show Report
Florida Audio Expo 2020 Show In Tampa, Florida.

  The Florida Audio Expo was excited to announce their second annual show for 2020! This show was held on Friday February 7th through Sunday February 9th, 2020 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Tampa Airport Westshore. This Southeast show gives music lovers the chance to personally audition some of the industry's finest offerings, all taking place in sunny Florida. The show was free(!) to the public too! Exhibit space doubled from last year's event and was sold out months before the show, as it did for the Florida Audio 2019 show!

Attendees had the opportunity to experience the world's finest high-performance audio equipment in Florida's famous sunny weather. This included audio electronics, legendary loudspeakers, terrific turntables, and must-hear headphones from the industry's most coveted brands. Hi-Res Music streaming service Qobuz returned as the Expo's official music source.

Florida Audio Expo 2020 Show Report

Enjoy the Music.com And MAYORS Celebrates Luxury Timepieces During Florida Audio Expo 2020
Report By Steven R. Rochlin
In 2020 Enjoy the Music.com is celebrating our 25th Anniversary and wanted to do something extra special. During the Florida Audio Expo we worked closely with MAYORS Jewellers, the Southeast's leading multi-brand retailer of jewelry and luxury timepieces retailer, for an exciting evening devoted to mechanical timepieces. For those unfamiliar, MAYORS has 17 stores within Florida and Georgia and is owned by Watches Of Switzerland, a leading luxury timepiece and jewelry company for over 50 (!) years, and so it took a bit of doing to make this event happen.
---> Enjoy the Music.com and MAYORS celebrates luxury timepieces during the Florida Audio Expo 2020.

DanaCables And Gingko Audio
Plus Sennheiser, Lampizator, Salk, Pro-Ject, Focal, Pangea and Furman.
Report By Frank Garofalo
DanaCables was at the 2020 Florida Audio Expo with their line of handcrafted cables along with speakers by Gingko Audio. If you are someone who is unsure about cables, the difference that they can make or even where cables fall on the priority tier list of audio components when it comes to which component of an audio system makes the biggest difference. You can test the difference between stock cables and DanaCables on various headphones at a show and see for yourself.
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Musical Surroundings
Featuring AMG, DS Audio, Rogue Audio, Magnepan, and Clearaudio.
Report By Frank Garofalo
Musical Surroundings made an appearance at the 2020 Florida Audio Expo with products from AMG, DS Audio, Rogue Audio, Magnepan, and Clearaudio. To start, we have a pair of Magnepan .7 quasi ribbon loudspeakers ($1400) that are widely known to be one of the greatest performers with in their price range. Powering the .7's was Rogue Audio's very special Cronus Magnum III integrated vacuum tube amplifier ($2995), which I was excited to see.
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Gershman Acoustics, exaSound, VAC, And Nordost Cables
Report By Frank Garofalo
Gershman Acoustics was showcasing their new Grand Studio II loudspeakers ($11,900) at the 2020 Florida Audio Expo. The Grand Studio II loudspeaker is essentially two large two-way monitors on top of each other. This speaker system features a pair of 1" high performance ferro-fluid cooled coated silk dome tweeters, which are accompanied by two 8" woofers. These two 8" woofers utilize extensively vented motors in order to eliminate compression and to allow for quiet excursion of the drivers.
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The Bleeding Edge
Trends Old and New at FLAX 2020 New Enjoy the Music.com reviewer Maurice Jeffries discusses his favorite rooms at Florida Audio Expo 2020 and what made them so special.
Report By Maurice Jeffries
My formal Florida Audio Expo 2020 Show Report recently appeared in the pages of our sister publication Positive Feedback. In my two-part show overview, I surmised that FLAX 2020, which ran from February 7th through 9th, 2020 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Tampa Airport Westshore Hotel in balmy Tampa, Florida, was well on its way to becoming an important early-in-the-year destination event for the close-knit audio community, especially for audiophiles living in the southeastern United States. Buoyed by a notable uptick in overall attendance...
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Rick's Home Theater
Featuring SVS, Parasound and many more!
Report By Frank Garofalo
Home theater representation at audio shows can be rare at times. This room by Rick's Home Theater featuring SVS, Parasound, and more was the only room at the 2020 Florida Audio Expo where you can sit down and relax while listening to a recorded live show on a Sony TV and SVS loudspeakers.
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McIntosh, MartinLogan, And Integrity Sound
Report By Frank Garofalo
McIntosh, a brand that every audiophile is familiar with and may be the most well-known brand in high-end audio. Those classic glowing blue VU meters are something that is undeniably iconic. McIntosh was at the 2020 Florida Audio Expo along with MartinLogan and Integrity Sound, a local dealer located within the greater Tampa area.
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Legacy Audio's Complete System
Report By Frank Garofalo
Legacy Audio makes a return to the Florida Audio Expo this year with a stunning new amplifier to show off. Legacy Audio not only makes products for us audiophiles, they also have their own line of professional audio gear that ranges from giant high quality, high SPL output loudspeakers arrays to small studio monitors and home theater products. Legacy Audio has their own line of electronics for the audiophile, home theater, and professional audio markets as well.
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AGD And Ocean Way Audio
Report By Frank Garofalo
AGD was at the 2020 Florida Audio Expo with their recently reviewed by Enjoy the Music.com "The Audion" GaNTube monoblocks. AGD has a unique line of amplifiers with a unique design philosophy. Advanced complex technology is found in AGD power amplifiers. I encourage you to look into just how well that technology can make music, which you can do so by reading Rick Becker's review.
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Classic Audio Loudspeakers
With Atma-Sphere Music Systems, Tri-Planar Tonearms, And Purist Audio Design
Report By Frank Garofalo
Tucked in the corner far away from the rest of the rooms at Florida Audio Expo 2020 was the Classic Audio Loudspeakers' room. Being away from the block of rooms inside the Embassy Suites with absolutely no neighboring rooms, the Classic Audio Loudspeakers T-3.4 and Hartsfield horn loudspeakers were able to play at volumes that would otherwise interfere with neighboring rooms.
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Wynn Audio At FLAX 2020
Featuring Metronome, Thales, EMT, Karan Acoustics, Kiso Acoustic, Entreq, and Crystal Cable.
Report By Steven R. Rochlin
Wynn Audio was at the Florida Audio Expo 2020 with a wide variety of glorious gear! Starting at the top and working down down the rack, Thales Slim II turntable ($6750) with Thales Simplicity II tonearm ($9450) were joined by the glorious EMT HSD 006 photo cartridge ($1760). The cartridge is a lovely red moving coil (MC) with aluminum cantilever, nickel-plated AlNiCo magnet, and a frequency response from 20Hz to 25kHz. Going classic, the EMT STX 5/10 silver wired step-up transformer ($9280) made its first appearance at a USA event....
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Muraudio SP1 Speakers And Simaudio Moon 340iX
Report By Steven R. Rochlin
Muraudio was at Florida Audio Expo 2020 with their SP1 electrostatic speakers (ESL, $16,400). Muraudio seeks to pushed ESL technology to new heights. Their SP1 has a very special 120-degree array of Continuous Curve ESL panels with 1650 square cm of surface area. This provides good volume output with coherence, plus more surface means you can achieve higher volume output without unwanted distortion.
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Endow Audio
Plus VAC, Hegel, iFi Audio, Audio Envy, and Qobuz.
Report By Steven R. Rochlin
Stepping into the Endow Audio room at Florida Audio Expo 2020 I was warmly greeted by Tim Strunk. His innovative speakers are far from those typically seen, as they feature a multi-driver array for midrange and highs. Their motto is "The Sound Of Live Performance", and when one considers that when enjoying live music the sound is bounced and reflected from the hall's surfaces....
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Gingko Audio And DanaCable
Also featuring Lampizator, Salk, Sennheiser, Pro-Ject, Focal, and Furman.
Report By Steven R. Rochlin
It's always a good day when I meet-up Vinh Vu during a show. There's always a smile on his face and good music playing too. During the Florida Audio Expo 2020 Vinh was going all head-fi with an abundance of stereo headphones, plus of course his line of DanaCables and Ginko Audio tweaks. Sennheiser's incredible HDV 820 digital headphone amplifier provided plenty of drive for virtually and set of cans. Of course all headphone cables were, as you guessed it, but DanaCables.
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Music Hall: Everything But The Kitchen Sink
Report By Steven R. Rochlin
When Roy wasn't busy on Friday night getting drunk at Enjoy the Music.com's exclusive, and private, event at MAYORS Jewellers, he sat within his room of what appeared to be every type of audio tweak and component (but the kitchen sink). Too much to list, so here's some picks for you viewing pleasure plus their show price list.
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Integrity Sound
MartinLogan, McIntosh, Pro-Ject, And Auralex
Report By Steven R. Rochlin
My Muse / wife Heather loves McIntosh audio gear. It's a combination of the sound, and glowing blue meters visual styling, that brings love into her warm heart. On the other hand, if you want to make my Muse angry, go ahead and turn of those glorious McIntosh Lab amp's blue lights and get ready to see the other side of her emotions. Integrity Sound brought together some amazing products here at the Florida Audio Expo 2020!
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Audeze, Nagra Audio, And Chord Electronics
Report By Frank Garofalo
It's great to see more headphone exhibitors this year at the 2020 Florida Audio Expo. Audeze made an appearance with their full line of headphones available to listen with a variety of different DAC + headphone amplifier combinations. It's great to have Audeze's full line of headphones all in one place. If you were looking at picking up a pair of headphones from Audeze, like I was but was unsure which can would fit you and your needs, this is the place to make that decision.
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Legacy Audio Features Their New I-V7 Amplifier
Report By Steven R. Rochlin
Legacy Audio is one of the truly amazing companies within high-end audio as they do everything from front-end gear to speakers and all-in-between. At the Florida Audio Expo 2020 they were showcasing the company's new i-V7 ($7350), which is their most powerful home theater / multi-channel amplifier to date. It features the latest state-of-the-art ICEedge technology to deliver seven channels at 600 Watts @ 8 Ohms, which if you do the math is 4200 Watts in total!
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High Fidelity Cables, Bafflex Loudspeakers, Luminace Audio And Esoteric
Report By Frank Garofalo
Wow! This must be the coolest looking room at the Florida Audio Expo by far. High Fidelity Cables makes their first appearance at Florida Audio Expo with a system fit for a sci-fi supervillain. High Fidelity Cables is not just a cable manufacturer, they offer a wide range of products from cables to power conditioners and speakers. You are probably wondering what the heck those lightsaber looking things are.
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Acora Acoustics, VAC, Esoteric And TransRotor
Report By Steven R. Rochlin
Acora Acoustics has two rooms here at the Florida Audio Expo 2020. Acora speakers use extremely solid granite enclosures to ensure solid build quality, luxurious styling, and a solid foundation for the speaker drivers. Their SRC-1 floorstanders ($28,000 per pair) and SRB monitors ($15,000 per pair) mounted on SRS stands were both smooth and clean sounding. They were bring driven by Valve Amplification Company's (VAC) 450 iQ Monoblock power amplifier....
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RBH Sound, Marani, OPPO, Clarus, And Denon
Report By Steven R. Rochlin
RBH Sound debuted their 45th Anniversary SVTRS Limited Edition speaker system ($44,996) at the 2020 Florida Audio Expo in Tampa. As one of only twenty systems to be produced by RBH Sound, they developed this system for those seeking RBH's reference-grade loudspeaker system with DSP. RBH 6α six channel amplifier and Marani's flagship LPP-480F linear phase DSP speaker management processor includes delivery, setup, and on-site calibration by a member of RBH's staff.
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ModWright Instruments, EgglestonWorks, Wolf Audio System/House of Sound, WyWires, Stillpoints, And VPI Industries
Report By Steven R. Rochlin
Daniel Wright of ModWright Instruments is one of the truly bright lights within high-end audio. Cautiously calm, casually cool, and super smart! ModWright's KWH 225i vacuum tube integrated amplifier ($8495) combines the solid-state output stage of the company's Reference KWA 150SE amp with the controls and integration of their KWI 200. A few tweaks here, replacing the SS preamp circuit with a Class A tube design there, and you get 225 Watts of perfectly powerful amp-power.
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Gershman Acoustics, VAC, Exasound, VPI, Nordost... And A Seedie Player?
Report By Steven R. Rochlin
One of my fave couples to see during shows, and the Florida Audio Expo 2020 is no different, is Eli and Ofra Gershman. As one of the cutest Canadian couple who produce lovely loudspeakers, my Muse / wife Heather and I always enjoy investing time learning about their latest offerings. During FLAX 2020 Gershman Acoustics was showcasing their new Grand Studio ll floorstanders ($11,900). A pair of high performance 1" coated silk dome tweeters are centrally featured and flanked top/bottom by 8" extensively vented motor woofers.
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Valve Amplification Company, Von Schweikert Audio, Esoteric, Kronos, Masterbuilt, Critical Mass And The Audio Company
Welcome to the Big Room!
Report By Steven R. Rochlin
Welcome to the BIG ROOM! You've read about it, perhaps you've been fortunate enough to have heard the astounding VAC / Von Schweikert combo at one of the many shows around the world. The mating of the big arse Von Schweikert speakers with an abundance of VAC amplifiers. If you missed it, you're reeeeeally missed out... and should have been at the Florida Audio Expo 2020. This was the very last time to hear a truly amazing sound system, since Von Schweikert will no longer be bringing their insanely heavy and very large Von Schweikert Ultra 11 loudspeaker system ($325,000 per pair) to shows.
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MBL North America, United Home Audio, And Wireworld Cable
Report By Frank Garofalo
MBL North America makes a return to the Florida Audio Expo with almost the same system as last year. MBL brought out their 101 E MK II Radialstrahler omni-directional loudspeakers ($70,500) that were fed by MBL's Noble Line electronics. This time around sporting all white electronics and speakers in lieu of last year's black and white panda color scheme.
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The Audio Company
VAC, Von Schweikert Audio, Esoteric, Kronos, AirTight, Critical Mass, Masterbuilt, Acoustic Sciences
Report By Frank Garofalo
The Audio Company nailed it this year with their massive Von Schweikert Ultra 11 loudspeakers ($325,000) powered by four VAC Statement 452iQ power amplifiers ($75,000), preamplifier duties carried out by the VAC Statement line preamplifier ($80,000) which was fed by Esoteric digital front end consisting of their Grandioso D1x monoblock DACs ($50,000) with the GI Grandioso clock ($26,000), Grandioso P1x CD transport ($50,000). Streaming from the Esoteric N-01 ($22,000) and the Aurender W2OSE ($22,000).
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Mc Audiotech, Linear Tube Audio, Audience, Wolf Audio Systems, And Symposium
Enjoy music all day and night long....
Report By Steven R. Rochlin
Within Mark Conti's MC Audiotech room at Florida Audio Expo 2020 was their innovative Forty-10 loudspeaker ($35,000 per pair) that includes an electronic crossover to ensure precise frequency split between the drivers. With each enclosure of this two-way being independent, the stylish upper frequency array is loaded with proprietary transducers (drivers).
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PureAudioProject, Pass Labs, VPI And Luminous Audio
Big sound and luxurious style at reasonable pricing.
Report By Steven R. Rochlin
It's always a joy to be greeted by the always-happy Ze'ev Schlik of PureAudioProject speakers, and here at the Florida Audio 202 is no exception. As one of the very first magazines to review their speakers, the Trio 15 TB open baffle back in April 2015, our reviewer Rick Becker said, " I'm hedging my bet on buying the review sample of the PureAudioProject Trio 15 TB speaker. Not because it is not a great speaker, especially for its price (only $3750!), but because I'm in awe of the potential of the design...."
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Rave'in' 'Bout Raven Audio At Florida Audio Expo 2020
Silky smooth sound meets great resolution.
Report By Steven R. Rochlin
With an incredibly smooth and musical sound, Raven Audio was at the Florida Audio Expo 2020 with two systems. One featured a Mytek Digital Brooklyn DAC+ ($2199), Raven Audio Blackhawk / Nighthawk MK3 vacuum tube integrated amplifier, Ce'Lest tower speakers, and Soniquil cabling throughout. System two has a pair of Raven Audio Silhouette MK2 Reference preamplifier and Silhouette MK2 monoblock amplifiers ($15,995) driving the Corvus Reference loudspeakers. Once again Soniquil cabling was used throughout.
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Bryston And Audeze Rooms Plus Nagra Audio Too
With little info to go on...
Report By Steven R. Rochlin
Sometimes you forget to take notes, or your smartly ask the exhibitor(s) to help by e-mailing you a gear list. Alas, sometimes when covering rooms things simply 'fall apart'. No worries, as these things happen from time to time. Bryston had their typical solid-state gear, while Audeze has truly amazing Nagra Audio gear with their extra-special planar magnetic headphones!
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Musical Surrounding At Florida Audio Expo 2020
DS-E1 optical cart. and Rogue Audio's impressive Cronus Magnum III!
Report By Steven R. Rochlin
Garth Leerer of Musical Surroundings fame is always very welcoming and informative, with his room at Florida Audio Expo 2020 being most impressive too! A highlight of this room is the DS Audio, a division of Digital Stream Corporation, E1 Optical Cartridge System ($2750). Before i get more into the other bits, lemme spit at ya some cool things about this photo cartridge. It dices, it slices, it makes thousands of Julienne fries. Oh, wait, please allow me to start again.
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Suncoast Audio Room 12-13
Suncoast Audio store with MORE SUNnsational gear!
Report By Steven R. Rochlin
Florida Audio Expo 2020 had local dealer Suncoast Audio, located at 7353 International Place, Unit 309, within SUNsational Sarasota (Florida), with Fyne Audio F-702 speakers in Piano Gloss Walnut ($8995 per pair) being powered by the prestigious Pass Labs INT-60 integrated amplifier ($9000). As in their other 12th floor room, digital front-end was Aurender yet this time their W20SE music server / streamer ($22,000) feeding Hi-Res Music to the LaScala MkII Optologic DAC ($7700).
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Suncoast Audio Stenheim Room 12-12
Sunny Sarasota store with SUNsational gear!
Report By Steven R. Rochlin
As with many high-end audio shows, and the Florida Audio Expo 2020 is no different, as there were local dealers who also showcased gear. Suncoast Audio is located at 7353 International Place, Unit 309, within sunny Sarasota (Florida) and had three exhibit rooms. Within Stenheim Room 12-12 during the very, very beginning of the show i stopped by and say a truly lovely setup!
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Synergistic Research
A tweak here, an improvement there....
Report By Steven R. Rochlin
Oh... my... goodness! There were so many diverse bits of gear and tweaks within the Synergistic Research room at the Florida Audio Expo 2020 that I'm not sure where to begin! Ted Denny was running a wonderful A/B comparo where you could hear the gains within a system made by using their products. A tweak here, another one there and it really all adds up to musical delights!
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Benchmark Media Systems
Plus Audeze, Focal, Grado, HiFiMAN, MEZE and Sennheiser.
Report By Steven R. Rochlin
A highlight of many shows is visiting Benchmark Media Systems. This year during the Florida Audio Expo 2020 they were headphone city as a ROON server was streaming Tidal with their lossy MQA files and true lossless Qobuz too. Yes, they were really streaming! As you'd expect, a variety of headphones were available to listen to Benchmark's DAC3 B ($1699) Hi-Res Audio DAC and HPA4 ($2999) stereo headphone amplifier.
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AGD And Ocean Way Audio
Report By Steven R. Rochlin
Alberto Guerra of AGD was at the Florida Audio Expo 2020 with his just reviewed by us amplifier and a slew of other great gear. Frankly, was truly curious if Rick Becker's review within this month's Review Magazine was spot on. You know I'm always curious to double-check things, plus Rick bought the review samples so that served to make me that much more curious.
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<-- No Pic Here: Read Why... -->
Editorial: FLAX 2020: Fantastic Fun In Florida!
And as my final show report....
A Heartfelt Editorial By Steven R. Rochlin

Enjoy the Music.com' More coverage from the Florida Audio Expo 2020 show coming soon. Check back daily for more!

More Info About The Florida Audio Expo 2020
"Building on the success of last year's Expo, we have increased our exhibitor count by 60% and are now officially sold out," said Bart Andeer, co-founder and operations manager of the Florida Audio Expo. "We are proud to welcome back many returning exhibitors, but also thrilled to welcome new brands, including leading headphone manufacturers and several international audio brands. We believe we have created a recipe for success with our Expo — the right mix of beautiful weather and incredible sounds from fantastic brands from all over the world. The Florida Audio Expo is a great start to the audio-show season, and we encourage music lovers and audiophiles from across the country to experience what we have to offer."

Last year is was said that "Florida hasn't had an audio show in a good number of years. We look forward to bringing our speakers and electronics to this culture-rich area of music enthusiasts," said Bill Dudleston, founder of Legacy Audio.

"Our mission for creating the Florida Audio Expo was to bring a strong offering to the Southeast market with a fun atmosphere for enjoying music — we want to celebrate our lifestyle and support the industry in this region," said Bart Andeer, founder of Resolution Acoustics and manager of the Expo's daily operations. "We have been working this idea for a few years, but wanted to find the right venue available at the right time of year, and we believe we have achieved both for the 2019 show. We strongly encourage regional dealers and manufacturers from all over the USA who are looking for a new option."

The Florida Audio Expo 2020 indeed provided access to incredible sounds, as well as loads of area attractions to enjoy! Only a five-minute drive from the Tampa International Airport, the Embassy Suites are close to such local attractions as Busch Gardens, and just an hour's drive from Walt Disney World and Universal Studios. Additional benefits for attendees and exhibitors staying at the Embassy Suites include free airport shuttle, free breakfast, and free happy hour.

The Embassy Suites, originally built as condominiums, offers a luxury feel and the living suites are acoustically isolated — one of the key reasons this venue was selected. The audio rooms, Marketplace, and headphone/personal audio demo suites will all feature display areas that include a separate bedroom and kitchen, offering exhibitors the added benefit of a multi-purpose room as an interesting and affordable space.

Qobuz Official Streaming Service Of Florida Audio Expo
The Florida Audio Expo is thrilled to announce that Qobuz, the world's first certified Hi-Res streaming and download service, is once again the  official streaming service for their show. Qobuz, which launched within the US on February 14 (2019), gives music aficionados looking for a premium audiophile experience the music they desire. You can experience Qobuz lossless streaming Hi-Res Music through some of the audio industry's finest products. "Our mission was to create a show that offers music lovers the opportunity to explore new ways to enjoy their music, and Qobuz fits that structure perfectly — we're thrilled to have them as part of the Expo," said Bart Andeer, founder of Resolution Acoustics and manager of the daily operations for the Florida Audio Expo.

When
Friday February 7, 2020 from 10am to 6pm
Saturday February 8 from 10am to 6pm
Sunday February 9 from 10am to 5pm

Where
Embassy Suites by Hilton Airport Westshore
555 North Westshore Boulevard
Tampa, FL 33609

Learn More
You can learn more about this event at Florida Audio Expo's website. 

Previous Florida Audio Expo Show Reports
Enjoy the Music.com's previous coverage includes Florida Audio Expo 2019 show report.