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

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. Their website has announced upgrade kits to this Trio15 TB open baffle design, which incorporate either a Heil ESS or BeymaAMT horn replacement driver for the Tang Band reviewed here. Hopefully I will get to hear these new versions at the impending Montreal Salon Son & Image 2015 show about the time this review hits the Internet. And it is easy to imagine other possibilities beyond these new and undoubtedly more expensive versions." Little did Rick know he just helped reignite an open baffle revolution!

In January 2018 the longstanding wisdom of Jeremy Kipnis had his chance for a World Premiere Review of the PureAudioProject Quintet15 Horn1 modular open baffle loudspeakers... and he loved them too! Within his review he said, "If your desire is to connect with your music, then you probably already have a substantial investment in your audio and, dare we say, video system. But even if you don't, you might be surprised how obviously superior some speakers are to others. And that superiority can take many forms: size, shape, sound, and how they make you feel. PureAudioProject's latest loudspeaker design, the Quintet15 Horn1, takes its place among a cherished handful of great speakers that are true musical instruments."

Enjoy the Music.com's Paul L. Schumann got his chance at the 'compact' PureAudioProject Trio15 Horn1 system, and will let you read his review here so you don't miss out on his thoughts on these cherished open baffle speakers.

During the Florida Audio Expo PureAudioProject were showcasing their Quintet15 Horn1 ($9990) and Quintet10 Horn2 ($8990). Driving these beauties were the precious, and reasonably priced, Pass Labs XP 12 Preamplifier ($5800, Pass Labs' INT-25 integrated reviewed here) and Pass Labs XA 25 power amplifier ($4900, reviewed here). High-end audio does not need to be ultra-high priced and Ze'ev's room proved this here at Florida Audio Expo 2020.

With all cables by Luminous Audio, plus their Arion NA phonostage, it helped to achieve outstanding results from VPI's Prime turntable ($4250) with Van den Hul DDT2 cartridge ($1300). My listening impressions say "Big sound at a small price, plus the system looks far more expensive than it is too!" After a fun listening session, I left the room very, very impressed!

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