It's Showtime Here At SWAF 2025
This year's game plan is to enjoy the music.
Southwest Audio Fest 2025 Show Report By Paul Schumann

  Has it been a year already? It felt like I drove up to Dallas just a couple of months ago. Before I knew it, I was back in the beautiful Hilton Anatole Hotel to enjoy the second Southwest Audio Fest (SWAF) high-end audio show. Last year was my first audiophile show here at SWAF in 2024, so it was a bit like drinking through a firehose. With a better game plan this year, I was able to enjoy this show more and take longer listens in the rooms. There was a lot to be excited about in the SWAF high-end audiophile show.

The first system to catch my attention at SWAF was set up just outside the VAC ballroom. Compared to many audiophiles, my listening space is pretty modest, so I'm always attracted to setups that fit easily into my comfy living room. This system consisted of a VAC Essence Line preamp ($9,000), two VAC Essence 90 Monoblock Amplifiers ($9,000 each), Acora Acoustics MRC-3 speakers ($15,990 per pair), an Arender A1000 Streamer / DAC ($3,500), and Cardas cables throughout. Listening to music in the busy hotel lobby wasn't ideal, but what I heard was natural sounding and dynamic.

Songer Audio was back at Southwest Audio Fest this year. This year, they showed off their open-baffle S2x loudspeakers ($65,000/pair with power supplies). The rest of the system was comprised of Whammerdyne DAM2-Ultra 2A3 Monoblocks ($17,995 per pair), Innuos ZEnith MK3 Music Server and Streamer ($18,900), Innuos Phoenix NET Network Switch ($4,349), LampizatOr Baltic 4 DAC ($6,850), and a PS Audio Power Plant Regenerator ($5,999). This room demonstrated the magic that happens when a great SET amp is paired with a great full-range driver. The sound was clear, direct, and thoroughly engaging.

Euphoria had two rooms at the show. The one that caught my attention featured Stenheim 5SE loudspeakers ($76,500), CS Port 212PAM2 Monoblock amplifiers (two sets for vertical bi-wire) ($75,000 a pair), CS Port C3PR Preamp ($24,000), CS Port C3EQM2 (battery) Phono preamp ($15,000), CS Port TAT1M2 Turntable ($50,000)...

...Kuzma Safir 9 arm ($22,000), My Sonic Labs Signature Platinum Cart ($11,000), Pilium Elektra DAC ($40,000), Taiko Extreme Server ($32,000 as shown), and Argento Extreme Cables (starting at $24,000). The music coming out of this system was punchy and dynamic, yet detailed simultaneously.

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