Delightful Sounds On Day 1 At FIAE 2025
We make it to FL to experience Friday's musical fun.
Florida International Audio Expo 2025 Show Report By Brett Rudolph

  Let me set the stage for you. My son Dylan, my photographer, left Newark, New Jersey, where it was a balmy seventeen degrees, and arrived in Tampa, Florida. We hoped it would be quite a bit warmer, and it was, though not quite as warm as expected. It was somewhere in the low sixties. It was not freezing like home, but it wasn't the warm weather we expected either.

The ride to the hotel, which we thought would take only half to three-quarters of an hour, lasted an eternity as a series of unfortunate events unfolded. They say truth is stranger than fiction, so wait until you hear this story. We got into an Uber, and the driver didn't speak English, which was ok because he knew where we were going. The trouble started when there was an accident on the interstate, and traffic was backed up. Somehow, the driver accidentally canceled our trip, and his system crashed.

Again, this is not a huge issue; usually, the driver reboots the system and resumes the ride; everything is set, and everyone is happy. Oops, the driver can't resume the ride, and since he doesn't speak English, we can't quite figure out how we will fix this situation. Imagine you're in the car on an interstate blocking traffic for a moment, and that was us. Luckily, there is Translate, and after some fancy typing, we mutually agreed. It took us about an hour and a half to make the half-hour trip from the airport to the Sheraton Tampa Brandon. But we made it!

The Sheraton Tampa Bradon is a brand-new location for the event. The event itself took place on three hotel floors and the main floor. It was huge! The nice thing was that it was entirely manageable, or at least it felt that way because you weren't running around trying to find elevators or stairs, and the rooms were together. Basically, for a hotel-room-based show, this one was nirvana.

Upon arriving, I bumped into people I knew and said hello before luckily finding that they had a room open. Delighted, I could check right in and drop my stuff off. Admittedly, I was exhausted; we had been going since 2 A.M, but we went down and ran into Sue Toscano, whose company oversaw logistics for the show. She is always a delight, and once again, she made me smile and fit right at home. Most of the companies were still setting up, and Steven R. Rochlin, Enjoy the Music.com's longstanding Creative Director, hadn't yet arrived, so we returned to the room and waited.

The mixer between 6:30 and 8:30 P.M. was the night's last event, and it was definitely worth the wait. It was fun catching up with old friends. Although I attended the Capital Audio Show late last year, this is the first time I've been to a show in Florida. Many of the people who participated in this show weren't in Rockville, Maryland, and it was great to see old faces as well as new ones. I didn't make it long, but my time was enjoyable. All too soon, it was time to say, "Goodnight, Gracie," and head off to bed. Day one was going to come way too soon.

Day One Begins
The first day is exciting. There is a feeling of anticipation or anticipation just before everything opens that is hard to explain. People were gathered in the elevators, just waiting for the clock to strike ten, and we were in the thick of them. We, my son Dylan Rudolph who took all the photos you see within my report, were some of the first people to board the elevators headed to the fourth floor. Our strategy was simple. Start at one end of the fourth floor, finish that, continue to the next, and so forth. It worked in the past, so why change something that works?

Rooms 415   Chesky Audio
The Chesky Audio room featured the LC-1 speakers ($998/pair), which were announced during the Capital Audio Fest last year. These bookshelf monitors impressed me at the previous show and did so again this time. They are everything you might expect from bookshelf monitors and more for a fraction of what many manufacturers charge. Last time, they were paired with a system that retailed for several times more than the speakers themselves. It might be doubtful if anyone would set up a system like that in real life.

This time, however, they were matched up with a more price-conscious playback system. Coupled with the Chesky LC-1s were the Cambridge Audio EXN100 Network Player ($1799), Cambridge Audio EXA100 Integrated Stereo Amplifier ($2199), Cambridge Audio AXR100 FM/AM Receiver ($599), and the Cambridge Audio CXC Compact Disc Transport ($599). These components and speakers were wired together using Audio Quest cabling.

As noted above, this system's performance was impressive, but it was also different. I thoroughly enjoyed the collaboration of the Cambridge Audio and Chesky matchup. Hearing it with the Chesky LC-1s makes me want to explore the Cambridge E series a bit more.

Room 416   House Of Stereo
The House of Stereo room was all about Focal Niam America, with a little Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista mixed in for good measure. It was a really cool room to see. There were three separate systems on display.

System 1
The first system was their new Focal Diva Utopias ($40,000/pair). These speakers were on display at the CAF show but sadly didn't get the dedicated space or attention they rightly deserved. They are fully active monitors meant to appeal to more of the newer lifestyles that want a plug-and-place speaker — one that can be put in place, set up in a few minutes with only a very easy application, and then ready to go.

The idea is to bring audiophile quality to the person who can afford that caliber of sound and quality to the person who doesn't want it to impinge on their décor. They have indeed done it with this speaker. The speakers can be rolled into place, set up with a smartphone app within ten minutes, and controlled with a well-designed app on either Android or Apple. It also has inputs that can be hooked up to your TV or other components so you can use it with your TV.

Thanks to the interchangeable side panels, these speakers can be easily placed in a room and blended into the décor. These panels, which are dealer-changeable, allow you to modify their appearance based on the way your room looks. Currently, they have quite a show. There are a selection of panels to choose from, and of course, they will work with you if you should need something custom. Basically, these speakers are a designer's dream.

The last time I saw them, I admit they sounded good, but I can't say I was overly impressed. Indeed, as a total lifestyle speaker, they were ahead of the curve, but that was the best I would be willing to give them. That changed at this show. I can tell that once set up properly, they really do sound good. If you couple that with the innovative application and the fact that these have a real targeted audience, you have something special.

Although not demonstrated while I was in the room, two other systems were on display.

---> Next Page.