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

House Of Stereo
System 2

Focal Kanta N1 ($8000/pair) with Naim C1-102 ($1499) and C1-NAP ($2999).

System 3
Focal Diablo Utopia Colour EVO ($30000/pair) with Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 800.2 ($11,499). Also on display are the Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista PRE ($26299) and the Nu-Vista PAS ($28,399).

One important thing to note is that all Focal / Naim systems are controlled with the same application, making it simple to access all your speakers and systems in your house at the touch of a button. This means regardless of whether you are using the dedicated Focal Diva Utopias or not.

Room 419   House Of Stereo
House of Stereo put together a room with Electrocompaniet, Antal Audio Systems, and Triangle speakers, and I will tell you they did a fantastic job. It was one of my favorite rooms at the show. Occasionally, everything in a system works, and this is one of those times. Everything seemed to come together to make beautiful music.

The sound was everything you could hope for in a playback system. It had the soundstage, the detail, and even the midrange to go with it. Oh, sure, there were some flaws, but nothing is perfect. However, after spending some time with it, I was craving more. That is impressive because it is tough to make an impression on day one that will last to the end and beyond at a show like this.

Unfortunately, I could not get a complete list of the system components. However, I discovered that the speaker played one of the most significant parts. That was the Triangle Magellan Duetto 40th ($7000/pair).

Room 420   House Of Stereo
House of Stereo once again did a phenomenal job working with Electrocompaniet, Stenheim, and Nordost to create a coherent, great-sounding system. The system together was very musical and excelled at being exceedingly detailed. It resolved more of the small nuisances than I would have thought possible, given the time they had to set these systems up and the constraints they had to work with in these situations.

Further, the bass, which is so easily overdone, especially with floor-standing speakers in these fairly small rooms, did not overpower. Instead, it meshed with the music and enhanced rather than detracted or made it seem artificially added. The midrange, which unfortunately seems to be most systems' failure, was this system's strength, adding to the enjoyment and creating a far more enjoyable experience.

Overall, it certainly was one of the better systems at the show. Of course, nothing comes without its price, and this system is not for the faint of heart or the light of wallet. The system consists of Stenheim Alumine Five SE speakers ($76,500), Two Electrocompaniet AW 800 M Nemo 2 amplifiers ($45,000/pair), an Electrocompaniet EC 4.8 MkII preamplifier ($4900), an Electrocompaniet ECM 1 MkII streaming DAC ($5700), and Nordost Valhalla 2 Cables.

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