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

Room 423   Suncoast Audio
The first thing I thought when I walked into this room was that these are beautiful speakers. They are absolutely unique and could make a statement piece in any room. Of course, that is no reason to buy them, but before going any further, I felt it incumbent upon me to point out that fact. Luckily, the beauty wasn't only skin deep. These speakers and the electronics that powered them were also pretty impressive.

While I didn't have the time I would've liked with these speakers to do justice and put them through their paces, honestly, I did have a little stint. One thing that stood out is they were very lovely in reproducing female vocals without the edge that some speakers seem to produce. The speakers could take the details of the playback system and render it into a generally laid-back sound full of splendor and majesty without being overly fatiguing. This allowed me to sit and enjoy the music rather than being ready to run for the door like many of the other systems at the show.

Components within the system include:
Esoteric K-03XD SE SACD / CD Player - $16,000
Pink Faun Scion Music Server / Streamer - $21,000
Block Audio Preamplifier - $45,000
Block Audio Mono Amplifier - $60,00 per pair
Clarisys Piccolo Loudspeakers - $35,500 per pair

Room 425   Harmonia Distribution
The Harmonia Distribution room had fabulous speakers paired with really cool amplifiers. The speakers, which are built with a somewhat retro look, contain their own "EQ" settings, which are made to help create the "perfect" sound with these bad boys. This is coupled with Pathos amplifiers, allowing them to be bi-wired to the speaker even though you are amplifying them with the same component. It is a bit of electronic magic, and they aren't the first to do it, but it works in this case.

The result is a system capable of some pretty impressive sound. The sound is smooth and sophisticated. There is absolute majesty about it. You can almost hear the time and effort it takes to curate a system to make a sound on this level. The instruments are crisp and clean-sounding without any harshness. Vocals are natural-sounding and organic. Nothing is forced, and everything is just easy and flows. Overall, it is just a pleasant listening experience.

Two systems were on display in the room. The first was the demo system, and the second was there for the show.

System 1
Pathos InPol Heritage MkII Tube Hybrid Integrated Amplifier ($18,995+), PrimaLuna EVO 100 Tube Phonostage ($3695), Sbooster BOTW AC Power Supply ($399).

System 2
This is the system that was being demonstrated at the show. Notice below the speakers the "EQ," which can change the speaker to three different settings. This does actually make a difference depending on the type of music you listen to at the time.

The system consists of Grimm Audio MU2 Media / Streamer / Preamplifier ($17,500), Pathos Reference Stereo Preamplifier ($26,995), Pathos Adrenalin Monoblock Amplifier ($23,995/each), Fyne Audio Vintage Classic Gold X SP floorstanding loudspeaker ($12,999 per pair).

Room 431   Orchard Audio
When we did our first pass through the show on day one, the Orchard Audio room was one of the busiest on the 4th floor. We wondered what all the commotion was about, and when we finally made our way through the door, we found a good system that wasn't going to break the bank — well, at least some people's bank, anyway.

Two systems were on display in the room, one powering a pair of bookshelf speakers and another powering a pair of floor-standing ones. The ones we had the chance to catch were the bookshelf pair, but the systems weren't all that different. We will list both within this report so you have them for reference.

One might think a sound system for an excellent price means that you will sacrifice something, but that isn't it at all. Instead, you are going to get a bargain here. You would be hard-pressed to find a pair of monoblocks for $2500 anywhere, let alone ones that perform as well as these for the time I spent with them. The speakers sound impressive, and you have an excellent system for a reasonable price. It is a win-win deal as far as I'm concerned. No wonder the room was busy, but it wasn't for everyone.

System 1
This bookshelf system was demonstrated when we were in the room. It was enough for the hotel room where they presented their equipment for the expo. It consisted of the PecanPi+ Streamer Premium ($1500), Starkrimson Mono Premium ($2500/pair), Soundfield Mini Monitor ($1200/pair), Handcrafted 9AWG speaker cable ($305/pair).

System 2
This floorstanding system was also displayed, but we didn't hear it. They also changed out the amplifiers for their higher-end ones, which you could easily do on the bookshelf speakers. However, you should try it to see the results because sometimes they might surprise you.

The floor standing system consisted of the PecanPi+ Streamer Premium ($1500), Starkrimson Mono Ultra Premium ($5000/pair), Soundfield Audio 1212OB ($7500), Handcrafted 9AWG speaker cable ($305/pair).

Room 435   Oneiros Audio
The Oneiros Audio loudspeaker room is a testament to what can be done through collaboration. The all-analogue system was curated with the best that all the manufacturers had to offer with price being no object. It was someone's dream system.

There was absolutely nothing you couldn't like about the system when you walked into the room. It was visually impressive and sonically appealing. It had the power to move mountains but the gentleness to brush your hair and everything in between. The only thing it didn't have was the power to change the room that contained it, which was the only thing holding it back. If one system had issues with its environment, it was this one, but room issues aside, you couldn't see this system without giving it the kudos it deserved.

The system consisted of the Oneiros loudspeaker ($650,000/pair), Vanquish Rack, DS Grand Master Cartridge, TB100 Tube Phono Equalizer, Audio Research Reference 6SE Preamplifier, Audio Research Reference 330M Monoblocks, and Audioquest Mythical Creatures — Dragon Cables.

It's funny, but although we didn't seem to cover all that many rooms, the time seemed to pass so quickly that we were already a couple of hours into the first day of the show. It was at this point that we took a break for lunch, and it seemed the perfect place to end part one of the show report. Stay tuned for part two and the rest of the floor.

---> Onward to part 2 of Brett Rudolph's FIAE 2025 show report. 

---> Back to the Florida International Audio Expo 2025 show report homepage.