FLAX 2023: In the Groove
Super values and sound at the Florida International Audio Expo 2023.
FLAX 2023 Show Report by Maurice Jeffries

  The high-value VIABLUE cable company / Aretai speaker folks knocked one out of the proverbial ballpark in Suite 303. Fronted by CAT electronics, the tiny Aretai Contra 100S compact monitors sounded just fantastic, fast, coherent, and transparent, with stellar staging, oodles of air, and great presence. Excellent dispersion aided by a custom waveguide really opened the sound stage. A great value at $9,000 (€7,500 per pair as stated in the Aretai literature).

Abby Lincoln's Throw It Away from her 1995 "Painted Lady" release (Verve / Gigantes) sounded utterly natural and relaxed. The system captured her husky, gravelly presentation, limited octave range and all, in full relief. Bass alignment was well-nigh perfect to my ears. All the VIABLUE cable prices are available from the same company on their online price guide. An unqualified BOS contender.

Up in Suite 9-15, one of several chief show-sponsor Suncoast Audio's many rooms, Hegel's standout new electronics (the P30A preamp at $8,995 and matching H30A power amp at $18,995) made musical magic with the stunning Swiss-authored Clarisys Minuet Neo Panel loudspeakers ($33,800/pair), ribbon updates of the famous Apogee line. Dynamic expression sounded almost horn-like in immediacy and impact, with wall-to-wall staging, and reasonably precise imaging. Great tonality, extension, and micro-dynamic expression, my notebook indicated. Perhaps not totally transparent but that may have come down to the smallish room which probably deprived the speakers of the space needed to breathe and bloom sonically. Still, a stunning debut.

The digital front-end (Aurender and Lumin) tracked the QSound-encoded special effects of Roger Waters' Too Much Rope like a bloodhound. Wayne Shorter's lovely Penelope (Etcetera / Blue Note) soared in all its winsome beauty, at once delicate and heartbreaking, and utterly enchanting.

The Shunyata Research team ably demo'ed the benefits of their passive component chassis grounding devices. Leonard Cohen's gravelly bass lost most of its gravel, grit, and texture with the SR devices removed, but fully restored with the SR devices re-engaged, along with a good dose of tonal precision and focus. A legitimate BOS contender.

Pricing is as follows: Hegel P30A preamp ($8,995) and H30A power amp ($18,995), Aurender ACS10-16TB Music Streamer/Server/CD Ripper ($6,000), Lumin P1 Music Streamer/Preamp/DAC ($10,000), Shunyata Research Denali 6000/S v2 power conditioner ($5,500), Altaira Grounding System ($5,500), Sigma V2 NR power cable ($3,500/1.75m), Sigma V2 Interconnects ($5,000/1.0m pair), Venom X Bi-Wire speaker cable ($2,500/2m), Omega USB cable ($3,500/1.5m), Omega ethernet cable ($3,000/1.5m).

The Gershman Acoustics folks debuted their 30th Anniversary Grand Avant Garde speakers, new VAC amps (the same electronics featured in the Scott Walker / Synergistic Research / VSA suite if memory serves), and EMM Labs digital stack sounded just swell. A live performance by Quebec-based harpist Isabeau Corriveau blended seamlessly with the recorded backup performers, highlighting just how wonderfully dynamic and natural the 30th Anniversary loudspeakers sound. I very much enjoyed the sound of the standard Avant Garde speakers that I heard last year (driven by Krell electronics), but positively loved what I heard when the lovely VAC tube amps entered stage left.

The Gershman / VAC amp pairing really cast a bewitching spell in the small Suite 914 listening room.  Sorry folks, but for the life of me, I couldn't locate the price sheet.

Down a level, in Suite 813, the Computer Audio Design (CAD) / Aesthetix system sang sweetly, indeed. The system featured a server, DAC, and passive ground control technology. My listening notes detailed an utterly noiseless presentation from the all-digital file streaming setup. Miles' Blue in Green bloomed teasingly from out of nowhere, the performers bolstered by superb bass clarity and precision, wonderful air, and a disarming delicacy that sounded utterly non-digital. A remarkable sounding room for New Apartment Lounge dwellers with a few bucks to burn.

The Ripped CD version of Kind of Blue sounded oh so much like vinyl that I almost cried. Another BOS candidate. The pricing runs as follows: CAD 1543 DAC Mk II ($15k), CAD Audio Transport ($17.5k), CAD USB II-R cable ($1,500), CAD Passive Ground Control devices - GC1.1 – $2,250 / GC1.3 – $5,500, Aesthetix Mimas integrated amp ($9,000), Bibacord interconnects, and Solid Steel audio rack.

More good news! Speaker designer extraordinaire Andrew Jones held court in Suite 815, discussing his new back-to-the-future speakers (the MoFi SourcePoint 10 at the $3,700 the pair mounted to SourcePoint stands - $499). The SourcePoint features a 10" paper woofer wed to 1.25" soft-dome tweeter. Fitted centrally within the bass driver, the 1.25" soft dome tweeter features a wide-roll surround and large diameter voice coil, the concentric driver arrangement delivered stunning coherence and superbly stable imaging.

Powered by the nifty little HiFi Rose RS520 Network Streamer / Integrated Amplifier ($3,695), the amp sitting on a Solidsteel equipment rack ($2,499), I marveled time and again at what I heard, this despite my being seated to the far side of the room well out of the sweet spot. Wonderful attack, striking bass clarity, with impressive reach, and fine pitch precision. Stable, precise imaging, my notebook quipped. Disarmingly natural and engaging on Andrew's selection of entertaining tracks, this system is a super-value BOS contender.

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