The annual Bristol Hi-Fi Show took place on the last weekend of February 2025. Last year, the hotel received a name change and a bit of a refresh, so this year's Bristol Show was hosted by The Delta Hotels by Marriott Bristol City Centre, which, we're pleased to report, had working lifts the entire weekend!

There was a slightly lower attendance at this year's show, not helped by the stormy Sunday. Some previous regular exhibitors were absent, which allowed new faces to appear. Overall, there was still plenty to see and hear, and many rooms offered great sound per pound. The resulting Bristol Hi-Fi Show delighted visitors with its many fine-sounding systems across its seven floors. Here are some of StereoNET's stand-out demonstrations.

AUARLiC | SUGDEN | GRAHAM AUDIO

AURALiC's latest Vega S1 streamer with S1 PSU (£1,999+£999) was paired with Sugden's Class A duo of the Sapphire DAP 800 preamplifier (£5,650) with its six digital and six analogue inputs, and a Sapphire FBA 800 power amplifier (£8,530). These drove a pair of Graham Audio LS5/9 speakers (~£4,000). This presentation by a digital front-end showed that it doesn't have to be clinical to be detailed and engaging.

CADENCE DISTRIBUTION - MICHI | SPENDOR

Cadence Distribution hosted a compact system regarding the number of components but heavyweight in sound and physicality. The solidly constructed Michi Q5 Transport DAC (£5,499) cuts an imposing silhouette compared to other top-loading CD players. 

The puck alone is a work of art, and the illuminated disc bay is lovely. It was a shame that the network connection wasn't fast/stable enough for the swish OLED display to show the CD's album artwork. This was connected to a Michi X3 integrated (£5,999) driving a pair of Spendor's new 2.2 A-Line loudspeakers (£2,000). The new speakers sport a new port arrangement and drivers. 

The system oozed class and refinement, and did a superb job filling an ample space articulately and musically.

CONNECTED FIDELITY

The centrepiece of the impressive Connected Fidelity system was a new flavour of its TT-Hub turntable, which now can accommodate a pair of tonearms. 

The demonstration presented a Sorane SA1.2 arm loaded with Hana's Umami Red cartridge alongside a Sorane TA-1 tonearm armed with a Hana SH MKII. This was plumbed into an Astintrew AT1000 preamplifier and AT2-5100 power amplifier going out to Coppice Audio X-3 speakers. Power was running through the AC-2K, which now has a new RF filter on the input, and they were using one of their star-wired distribution blocks.

DIORA ACOUSTICS

Polish brand Diora was making its second Bristol Show appearance and brought along its more affordable range, with many eyebrows raised at the large Polaris 5 floorstanders, which carry a pleasingly surprising £2,000 price tag - many assuming they would be at least double this. This 2.5-way design features passive radiators capable of moving plenty of air and producing room-filling volume. The system was knitted together by Tellurium Q cabling and featured Gryphon's CD player and integrated amplifier on the rack. However, it was actually an inconspicuous Mezzo 600w Class-D amplifier taking charge of the Polaris 5 loudspeakers to great effect. This was one of the surprises of the show, for sure.

ELITE AUDIO | REVIVAL AUDIO | LINDEMANN AUDIO

Elite Audio demonstrated several systems featuring UK debut components, and we experienced a couple that we felt did the business. The first of our visits saw the £3,590 Lindemann Musicbook:SOURCE II streaming DAC going through a £2,900 ModWright Analog Bridge buffer and into a £10,000 Octave V70 Class A push-pull pentode integrated tube amp. This, in turn, drove a pair of Revival Audio's Atalante 5 speakers (£4,690). These large standmounts produced an incredible soundstage with plenty of presence.

On our second trip to the Elite room, we enjoyed Lindemann Audio's £2,250 Woodnote:Combo all-in-one 2x50W streaming DAC amplifier, which is capable of 24-bit, 384kHz PCM/DSD 256 digital audio, and the £990 Revival Audio Sprint 3 bookshelf loudspeakers. This sounded great and would be plenty enough to fill a small to medium space with great sound.

HARBETH

Last year, Harbeth unveiled its NLE concept, leading to the much more room-friendly NLE-1. This compact, two-way active speaker implements the same DSP technology as its larger predecessor to deliver either more bass at the expense of peak output or a flatter response at higher SPL. Each driver is powered by a 50W Class D amplifier and sounds much larger than it really should. This £3,000 per pair offering delivered exceptional imaging and a striking midrange. The range of contemporary finishes might scare some of the old guard, mind.

HEA DISTRIBUTION | ASTELL&KERN

At £2,300, Astell & Kern A&Ultima SP3000M might not be everyone's idea of a cost-cutting digital audio player (DAP). However, compared to its £3,800 shinier-finished SP3000 sibling, that saving is not to be sniffed at. While it might have a stealthier, less ostentatious outer, it's what's on the inside that counts. A&K's Tetron Alpha tech is on board, as is an AK4499EX Quad-DAC, giving it native DSD512 skills. Through Meze's wonderful Empyrean cans, this could comprise many a head-fi fan's endgame portable solution.

HENLEY AUDIO | PRO-JECT

Retailing at £1,799, Pro-Ject's Colourful Audio System 2 includes a Debut Evo 2 turntable, MaiA S3 amplifier, Speaker Box 5 S2 speakers, Connect It LS E cable and the Damp It damping feet. Presented at the show in Wine Red, Fir Green, Steel Blue and Golden Yellow are also available should you be bored of the usual monochromatic offerings. The sound it produced was beyond our expectations from this one-stop-shop. Also a pleasant surprise was discovering that the Speaker Box 5 S2 are made in Europe. This would be our first stop if anyone asks us for a simple, compact and capable means of playing their LP collection.

KERR ACOUSTIC

Kerr Acoustic was on fine voice again, with Jes running the show ably assisted by his K300 MK3 standmount speakers incorporating Townsend Seismic Podium isolation platforms. The nicely finished cabinets were each loaded with a 6.5-inch mid-bass driver and a true ribbon tweeter bolstered by a compact transmission line design. These great performers were at the business end of an Innuos Zenith MK3 streamer, a Chord Ultima integrated amplifier, a Chord Hugo TT2 DAC, and an MScaler, all fed clean power via an IsoTek unit. Thanks to that clever transmission line design, these speakers offer great bass from a compact box with a punchy presentation. An airy top end and excellent imaging seal the deal.

SOUND FOWNDATIONS - SOULINES | DS AUDIO

Following the recent news that Sound Fowndations is now distributing the Serbian Soulines turntables, it was great to watch the visitor reactions, especially when they were expecting a '1' at the front of the retail prices. Here was a tt9 turntable featuring a slinky skeletal design with an inverted bearing using a Delrin thrust plate, supporting a 30mm thick acrylic platter. This was fitted with a KiVi M3 unipivot tonearm with a one-piece yoke and armtube. The combined turntable, arm, dust cover, digital sylus force gauge, and record clamp comes in priced at a keen £3,990, considering its engineering and how it performed fitted with a DS Audio E3 optical cartridge. 

If you had more budget, then the 2001: A Space Odyssey-inspired aluminium-framed Kubrick DCX, loaded with the same arm, is still not outlandishly expensive at £6,490, including all the goodies the tt9 does as well as two additional armboards covering most popular options. We were enamoured by the form-follows-function design, but it was the sound that properly won us over – especially after a loud rendition of eighties Bristol band Pig Bag!

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

ACOUSTIC ENERGY

Acoustic Energy filled an ample space with the compact floorstanding AE309 2 loudspeakers (£1,200). Pushing them along was a Rega Aethos amp being fed by a Bluesound Node streamer and silver Rega DAC (not available in the UK/Europe). The 120mm bass-mid drivers in the 2.5-way AE309 2 are apparently based on a Scanspeak design and use a coconut husk and paper cone in an 18mm constrained-layer RSC MDF/bitumen cabinet. This is paired with a 29mm fabric dome tweeter and is said to be good for a 33Hz to 29kHz frequency response. Another serious sounding system offering great sound-per-pound.

CHORD ELECTRONICS

While a Chord Electronics ULTIMA integrated fed by a DAVE DAC/preamp out into a brace of Kerr Acoustic K320 loudspeakers was a lovely thing to behold, it was the diminutive Alto headphone/monitor amplifier (£3,000) that took the spotlight here for us this time. With the ability to drive four pairs of headphones simultaneously thanks to its array of front-panel outputs as well as delivering 25 watts into an 8 ohms speaker load, it is powered by Chord's ULTIMA tech. A fantastic performer with pro-audio cred, and surely a must-have for any audiophile desktop system.

DEVIALET

Devialet was demonstrating its new Astra streaming amplifier ($20,000) with a pair of Applause Award-winning YG Acoustics Carmel 3 speakers. Boasting 2x300 watts alongside a claim of "zero distortion and zero saturation" thanks to its Analogue Digital Hybrid (ADH) tech and a revamped version of the brand's iMX8 processor.

We were told that there's also clever speaker-matching tech onboard. The slimline amplifier certainly drove the YGs well and made for a lavish pairing. The Astra offers phono inputs, stereo line-in, as well as a pair of digital coax and optical inputs.

MICHELL

The storied British analogue brand has placed itself under PMC Distribution's wing. On show this year was Michell's new Apollo phono stage and its partnering Muse power supply. PMC's demo room had us experiencing the new pairing plugged into a Michell GyroDec and out into a PMC Core amp and a set of its lovely new Prophecy5 floorstanders. A feast for eyes and ears alike.

OPTOMA

While Optoma's new UHZ68LV 4K UHD dual-laser projector was busy grabbing visitors' attention due to its 5,000 lumens brightness and claimed 90% DCI-P3 colour accuracy, it was the dinky battery-operated HD projector that won our hearts. 

Named Photon Go, its mission is to offer you the chance to game, watch movies, or play any of your Netflix or Disney+ favourites, as it has Google TV onboard. Being battery-powered means you're not tethered to a power source for around 90 minutes. That said, just plug it into a beefy power bank, and you're literally good to Go!

QUAD

Quad unveiled its ELS2912X electrostatic speaker. Descended from the iconic ESL-57, which first appeared almost sixty years ago, this big behemoth boasts an improved and stiffer frame and chassis. Additionally, we were told that the new electrostatic panels are made in a carefully climate-controlled environment for better consistency, resulting in improved performance from this iconic design. 

Finished in a stealthy matte black, it certainly helped them disappear in the demonstration room. However, the light-up logo (which you can turn off for the full disappearing act) does at least prevent you from accidentally tripping over them. Priced at around £13,000, the design has many fans so expect a waiting list for these.

REGA

Rega's new Brio Mk7 50W amplifier retains its previous generation's remarkable MC phono stage and adds a DAC for its £799 asking price. 

This was on duty with the brand's Planar 3 turntable (£999) and AYA loudspeakers (£1,500). This single-brand system was making a great show of itself and also proves you don't need to spend megabucks to have a fine-sounding British hi-fi system.

REL

Yes, we've been impressed by what can be achieved with systems under £2,500. However, just as you wouldn't spend all your time looking at sensibly-priced family hatchbacks at a motor show, we could not resist stepping into REL's realm to hear this all-out aural assault - in the nicest of ways. Here, the subwoofer maestros featured a pair of three-high stacks of REL No 32 subwoofers arranged in a line array (~£60,000). These assisted the not-too-shabby Stenheim Alumine Five floorstanders (~£70,00). Naturally, these need an able front-end to drive them, and this duty fell to a pair of Reference 330M mono power amps at ~£92,000. 

The source included an Innuos Statement Next Gen, an Audio Research DAC 9 digital to analogue converter, and a Reference 6SE preamplifier. The cables were top-shelf offerings from Chord Company, while IsoTek supplied its high-level power products. It was demonstrated how the REL line array worked, and how adding subwoofers can improve what you hear even when the speakers are in the Stenheim arena. Impressive in every way and totally worth queuing up for.

RUARK

If you've only known the Ruark invested in DAB radios, it might surprise you that it was a prominent loudspeaker brand from the mid-eighties until the early noughties. That means its £699 Sabre-R is a return to form, almost. This new compact 2-way bookshelf speaker features a silk dome tweeter and a 15cm natural fibre cone in a bass reflex cabinet. It has been designed to work with the company's classy-looking £1,200 R610 music console, finished with handcrafted slatted wood grilles with a splash of modernity via a five-inch, full-colour touchscreen display. 

Control is, of course, via Ruark's signature RotoDial, while the R610 offers Wi-Fi and wired networking skills alongside an MM phono stage and HDMI eARC connectivity. The demo system included the equally new and system-matching RCD100 USB CD player (£250). This gave an enchanting performance from a great-looking compact system.

THE VERDICT

Although the organiser Audio T could not control the weather, this year's Bristol hi-fi show actually went very well. There was a real buzz about the place on Friday and Saturday, while Sunday was a chance to revisit rooms that were overflowing the previous days. Overall then, StereoNET had a very fine time at the Bristol Show and look forward to the next one.

As always, you can enjoy our full image gallery from the show here.

Join in the Hi-Fi Show discussions