Perfectly placed in the Midlands, the UK Audio Show 2022 made its home in the Staverton Park Hotel in Daventry. The second year at this venue has been welcomed by visitors and exhibitors alike, judging by the increase in trade stands. Indeed, this year's show saw much of the hotel's first floor taken as well as the larger rooms on the ground floor, with one exhibitor placed in the function room dangerously adjacent to the bar. Thankfully, these unique new loudspeakers were priced safely clear of impulse buying territory.

I am always interested and hopeful that events such as the UK Audio Show will encourage younger music lovers to get involved. One sure-fire hotspot for those making initial upgrades to their listening habits was the Hifonix room, which has been dubbed the Headzone in previous years. Here every element of personal audio was on display. There was also plenty to entice in the world of two-channel hi-fi at an impressive range of prices.

AIR AUDIO

Looking to tweak your analogue front end? Air Audio displayed an extensive range of Hana cartridges, including the affordable ML and the flagship Umami Red.

As well as the pick-up carts, and also on show from Japan, were the rather impressive-looking tonearms by Sorane. My eyes were drawn to the twelve-inch ZA-12 Transcription Tonearm.

Asking Michael for the price, I braced myself for the worse, only to be told that it could be mine for what I considered to be a reasonable £2,149. Meanwhile, the more standard-looking s-shaped TA-1L with a detachable headshell has an asking price of £1,626. Also on the stand was a new range of connected-fidelity Float isolation products alongside the brand's AC-2K balanced power mains transformer, which, at £1,995, impressed us when we had it in for review.

ALCHRIS AUDIO

Alchris Audio's compact square room would not usually be the ideal staging for audio demonstrations. However, it was perfect for showing how the panels from GIK Acoustics can turn a sonically tricky space into one that at least enables the listener to enjoy music without myriad reflections and distortion. Moreover, it appeared that many were interested to hear what Managing Director Dave Shevyn had to say during the seminars held on both Saturday and Sunday as, whenever I went past, the room was to capacity.

Between the talks and more available on Sunday, Alan Clark of Alchris Audio demoed his AR-2 speakers driven by an SMSL SL98E Class D amp and Pioneer PD-S901 CD player. Alan never ceases to amaze, and these £680 standmounters continued the Clark trait of loudspeakers performing way beyond their price point as they pumped out choice cuts by Yello. Also adding to the performance were the Alchris Slabzorba isolation platforms as well as the GIK panels.   

ALPHASON AUDIO

Alphason proudly displayed its HR-200S Reference Tone Arm, unveiled at last year's show, which we hoped to see in action on the company's much-anticipated Paragon turntable.

On the run-up to the show, we were told that the Paragon can reproduce immaculate bass down to 3Hz as the suspension is tuned to 0.65Hz. Additionally, the word is that the Paragon features a 15-inch diameter, 96-pole motor designed and made by Alphason used to spin the 25kg platter through a direct drive system getting it up to speed in less than one second, with accuracy promised to be within 2.5 revolutions over a year.

However, a more humble-looking late-80s Alphason Sonata and Atlas external power supply was making lovely noises in the room.

AMERICAN AUDIO COMPANY

American Audio showed the retrotastic KLH Model Three (£1,795) two-way and Model Five three-way (£2,495) loudspeakers - both having been reviewed by StereoNET. Here they were being driven by Bluesound products. The Model Three was treated to the recently announced £599 Bluesound Powernode Edge streamer and amplification, while their larger siblings were ably driven by the Powernode.

Both systems made a pleasing noise with suitably retro tracks. Unfortunately, the room didn't allow for more contemporary dynamic recordings to fare so well. However, Diana Krall's Temptation and Find The River by REM sounded pretty darned fine.

ART AUDIO

Art Audio returned to the UK Audio Show once again and, this time, brought along its 28W hybrid Adagio 520B single-ended monoblocks, which were undoubtedly eye-catching in their shiny chromed finish and blue backlit tubes. The amp uses a solid-state rectifier with E88CC 6922 and 12BH7 double triode drivers. Art Audio states that only the power valves have to be matched thanks to automatic biasing, offering plug-and-play user-friendliness.

We were told that the Adagio features a separate choke-filtered power supply for each output valve, two per monoblock. Additionally, Hovland MusiCaps and 1% metal film resistors alongside large core output transformers (400 wt capable) designed for high damping. The company's Composer turntable went via a Vinyl One phono pre and Conductor line-level pre, while digital tunes were provided by PS Audio DirectStream. Loudspeakers were provided by Sung Audio, and the Game of Thrones Medley performed by 2 Cellos sounded epic.

ATACAMA

The ever-helpful team from Atacama took over a sizable corner of one of the trade spaces. They seemed almost constantly engaged with visitors wanting to know more about the properties of Atabites and which furniture options would best suit their requirements.

I especially liked that Atacama offered trade show discounts to people who understandably had to go home, measure up, and then place orders once the show had finished. You really can't say fairer than that.

AUDEN DISTRIBUTION

Auden Distribution had a good-sized room to show off a range of Hegel electronics and Amphion loudspeakers. Also on display, and further up the pay scale, were recent additions to the Auden portfolio; loudspeakers from Eggelstonworks alongside cables from Audiomica.

The main demonstration consisted of a Hegel H590 (£9,500), Amphion Argon 7LS (£4,500), Audiomica Celes Excellence Loudspeaker cable (£1,600), Audiomica Pebble consequence USB cable (£1,200), and an Auralic Aries G1.1 (£2,499).

Meanwhile, a Power block and cables by MusicWorks provided clean juice to the set-up.

AUDIO CONSULTANTS

The Audio Consultants focused on digital sources and featured an Aqua Acoustics La Diva Mk2 Drive and La Scala Optologic Mk2 DAC combination. Also available was Ayre Acoustics' CX-8 CD player.

Streaming was provided by an Innuos Zenith Mk III partnered with a PhoenixUSB reclocker and PhoenixNET network switch. Meanwhile, Ayre Acoustics EX-8 2.0 and Luxman L-507Z provided amplification alongside the AVM Ovation 6.3 flagship integrated. Components were sat on EXR and SXR Frame racks and Isolation Bases by Harmonic Resolution Systems. Finally, a pair of Kudos Titan T707 speakers took turns with the new flagship floorstanders from UK manufacturer Ophidian, the £14,000 Voodoo. The latter performed exquisitely as they played Begging by Norweigian trumpeter Mathias Eick. It was satisfying to hear the digital front-end sounding so natural when playing back this arrangement of acoustic instruments with percussion, piano and trumpet retaining a realism of scale.

Mains distribution was by Puritan Audio Laboratories Studio Master Purifier and GutWire Cables power cords. GutWire Cables interconnects, and speaker cables were also in the system. Room acoustics were controlled with Acustica Applicata DAADs.

AUDIO DREAMS

The Birmingham-based exhibitor introduced visitors to two Italian brands in the form of Sigma Acoustics Loudspeakers and White Gold Electronics Cables. These were paired with solid-state amplifiers from EAM LAB, also of Italy. The Overture 20th Anniversary edition loudspeakers from Sigma Acoustics use Sublimis Pi-Greco cabling internally, so it made perfect sense that Audio Dreams utilised the same range from White Gold to plumb the system together.

Continuing the Italian theme, demo tracks were provided by notable Italian labels ranging from pop to jazz and classical cuts. This high-end system sounded great in the small room and proved that good sounds can come from a relatively compact set-up, especially compared to the rigs at High End Munich that feature Sigma Acoustic's larger offerings.

AUDIO NOTE UK

Audio Note UK always seems to be a crowd-pleaser, and the company took over no fewer than three rooms this year. Moreover, they always appeared well-attended. One room was the 'discussion space', but the big room was home to a TT-Three fitted with an ARM-Three/II and IO I Moving Coil cartridge linked to a PSU3 and AN-S5/L Step Up Transformer.

There was also a CDT-Three Red Book CD Transport and DAC3.1x/II Balanced and Meishu Phono Tonmeister, all feeding AN-E/SPe-HE speakers, which sounded magnificent playing Bjork. In the second room, visitors could experience Audio Note UK's entry-level system comprising CD Zero Red Book integrated CD player, I Zero integrated amplifier and pre-production prototypes of the AX-Two/II loudspeakers. Finally, in the discussion room were prototypes of AN's Field Coil speakers fed by a "Level 1 system" and Cobra integrated amplifier.

AUDITE ACOUSTICS

Building on last year's surprise hit, the Pilare One loudspeaker kit, Audite unveiled its Pilare Two, which adds another 4-inch full-range driver to the inexpensive but outstanding original.

The man behind the brand, Andrew Szczecinski, told me that he knew that adding another 4-inch driver to the 1/4 wave transmission cabinet would result in good things; it was just a matter of doing it right. He said that the speaker is capable of 60W RMS at 8 ohms and is perfect for low-powered valve amps. Andrew also showed the latest evolution of his Brij isolation platform, the £595 Brij Nedan 2.0.

The unique suspension design of this platform intrigued me, and Andrew told me that he could custom-make them depending on the size and weight tolerance required. The remarkable value-for-money cables of AF Audio connected all the bits together, and I recommend you check them out when you're next contemplating interconnects or speaker cables.

CHORD COMPANY

Chord Company had a stand and a room used to demonstrate its PowerHAUS mains blocks feeding a system containing Innuos and Hegel electronics going out through KEF R3 standmounters.

We were at the exclusive reveal at the company's HQ and later checked out the S6 in more detail when we had it in for review. If you suspect your power could improve before it hits your valuable system, you should check these out.

COPPICE AUDIO

Coppice Audio's wonderfully chilled environment is always worth a visit. During my in the room, it was the £2,495 X1 standmounters playing Mataharie's Puppet in a system including an Audio Detail-tuned Ming Da Dynasty Cadenza Scatola integrated, which produces a claimed 120 Watts per Channel through its pair of 6N8/6SN7 drivers and brace of 6N9/6SL7 triodes in the driver stage.

As well as providing cables, Gekko's Digital Audio Player was also in action.

CULTURED AUDIO

Based in Whitney near Woodstock, Cultured Audio is a new retailer established by Mike Heath, previously of Naim. It, therefore, was no surprise to see a system featuring the esteemed British brand's ND 555 streamer, NAC 552 preamp and NAP 500 power amp alongside a Melco N10 digital library.

This was all output through the continually impressive, isobarically-loaded Titan 808 speakers from County Durham-based Kudos Audio.

Yann Tiersen's Comptine d'un Autre été: L'Après-midi sounded marvellous, with the rich harmonics of the piano really filling the room.

DIVERSE VINYL

A regular site at UK audio shows, Diverse Vinyl was keeping the LP-buying public sated with its extensive range of records. Judging by the constant stream of diggers, it seems that the vinyl revival is yet to show any signs of slowing down.

I managed not to get too close for fear of losing an hour or so to flicking through what they had on offer.

EMILEN AUDIO

Emilen Audio had a relatively straightforward system comprising a Luxman turntable attached to Emilen's Equinox phono stage (£5,950) and preamplifier (£9,950) playing through the company's active ES-1 Reference speakers that utilise Hypex power amps and two stages of DSP correction. Power comes by way of three internal Class D amplifiers in the analogue domain, 250W each for bass and mid drivers and 100W for the tweeter.

The bass enclosure is constructed from a combination of solid walnut with walnut veneered MDF panels lined with carbon fibre. Meanwhile, the high-frequency drivers each have their own loading cavities mounted in a curved front panel machined from 30mm thick solid walnut. This is backed up by 50mm of sculpted MDF to provide a resonance-free mounting completely devoid of straight edges or sharp corners, which could affect imaging, so I am told. If this sounds like something you'd be into, you'd better have £25,000 or so ready to lay down for a pair.

FALCON ACOUSTICS

Falcon Acoustics brought its new M series offerings to the show. The M50 floorstander is priced at £12,795, and the Applause Award-winning M10 can be yours for £2,395.

Both designs feature Falcon's improved take on the venerable KEF B110 mid/bass driver partnered with 25mm M series soft dome tweeters built to spec by SEAS. These are housed in Italian-built cabinets finished in walnut veneer, with rosewood offered as an option. The 3-way vented M50 adds Falcon's B139 bass unit to the mix. The beauty of being at the show the whole weekend is that I caught both models in action, and while the M10 is undoubtedly a talented performer for its size, the added weight produced by its larger stablemate won me over.

However, the special edition units in wonderfully figured cabinets provided the eye candy in this room.

FUNK FIRM

Popping into Arthur's room, I was expecting to meet up with the wild and slightly wacky Kepler turntable again, first seen at High End Munich. However, as well as upgraded plinths, motors and arms fitted to vintage decks, Funk Firm introduced a new Nature Series of turntables, starting with the beautiful Blue Danube priced at £8,383 for the complete turntable.

You could also add the Funk Firm Akutrak phono stage (£1,800 bought separately) and AT760SLC cartridge with the Blue Danube for the £10,833 bundle price. I must say that the Chasing The Dragon LP track of Hawaiian War Chant, played by the Syd Lawrence Orchestra, sounded pure quality. Still, the following track of a solo improvisation on drums really drilled home how naturally articulate this set-up was. This deserves to be a successful offering for Funk Firm. I was also shown the Houdini Mk II, which has some aesthetic improvements and mechanical tweaks over the original.

GIK ACOUSTICS

As well as the knowledgable leader, David Shevyn, presenting the benefits of functional room treatment via various types of panels in the Alchris Acoustics room, the company's stand proved that functionality doesn't have to be plain, boring or unfriendly to a domestic setting.

Here you could choose to have artwork printed or choose from many woodcut patterns and colour combinations to suit your interior design. In addition, the new GIK Bloks were on display, offering a viable option to those who can't, or would rather not, fit panels to their walls as they are free-standing, making them relatively portable. We have a set in situ which will soon be reviewed.

GOLDEN EAR

Golden Ear had two sets of speakers playing via a compact streaming set-up consisting of a Roon Nucleus and Hegel integrated with everything, including power, going via Audioquest cables. It was the standmounts in action when I visited the first time around, with the floorstanders playing the following day.

Both sounded good in the room, but it was a choice between the extended bass and dynamics of the Triton One-R or the option of being able to drive the BRX standmounters a little more. Either way, I am sure most would be happy with whichever rig they choose from these options.

G POINT AUDIO

High-end hi-fi purveyor, G Point, had its wares spread over two rooms which meant that anyone who had trouble hearing both systems at Cranage could listen to them at their leisure within moments of each other. Perfect if you're only a day visitor to the show.

The main room, for want of a better phrase, saw Lampizator's Horizon DAC, fed by a LucasAudioLab Maximus streaming server, amplified by a Riviera Audio Labs Levante integrated (£17,400) and out to the stunning AudioNec Evo2 AS loudspeakers.

Meanwhile, the sublime Diptyque Audio DP160 Signature planar magnetic speakers were joined by a LucasAudioLab Minimus, partnered by a Lampizator Atlantic TRP (Tube Roller's Paradise) DAC connected to a CircleLab A200 integrated amplifier (€7,550).

There was also a third room shared by G Point and Music First Audio, which presented an extraordinarily well-sorted, reasonably compact high-end system. Here a unique Lampizator 7 mini DAC fed a Music First Reference V2 preamplifier out to a pair of Sveda Audio Blipo Home U22 active monitors (€11,000). These Polish speakers feature an enclosed design and ScanSpeak drivers. Keeping it clean was Gigawatt power conditioning.

While it was hard to choose a favourite from these three rooms, the main one did play Steel Pulse's Handsworth Revolution and Megadeth's Peace Sells...

GRAHAM AUDIO/ MOOR AMPS

At the opposite end of the ground floor to the bar was a room where plenty of people seemed to hang around for much more than just a quick listen.

Here Moor Amps' Angel-Pre and Angel 4 power amp sat atop a Quadraspire rack sent the Auralic streamed loveliness to a pair of Graham Audio LS6f speakers. Music was varied and presented in a relaxed yet engaging way. No wonder visitors stuck around.

HENLEY AUDIO

Henley Distribution is celebrating its 25th anniversary and hosting a wide array of hi-fi goodness, covering an equally vast range of budgets and offering something for everyone. Vinylistas had Ortofon and Sumiko cartridges and Pro-Ject's ever-expanding range of turntables to sate them, including the StereoNET-reviewed 8X turntable with balanced outputs and DS3 B phono stage.

It was also good to see Jamo being represented at shows again, thanks to the recent announcement of its Studio 7 range of speakers. This was a brand that I'd look at through my local hi-fi store's window during the late 80s.

Another speaker brand seemingly doing brisk business is Klipsch, which was well-represented in Henley Audio's space, with the new Reference Premier range sitting amongst the retro-styled Heritage Forte in the dem system.

Now in its fortieth year, Musical Fidelity continues to offer a full range of quality electronics, and I can never see myself getting rid of my trusty M6si integrated.

Finally, for those seeking something more contemporary, Cabasse's impressive Pearl Akoya networked speakers were on sentry duty and have now been updated to play nice with AirPlay 2. But it was arguably the HiFi Rose components out on show that were getting the most attention as they have been consistently grabbing headlines since they landed in the UK - none more so than the RA180 integrated amplifier.

Additionally, spotted in one of the demo systems was the newly released RS520 one-box system.

HI-FI TRADERS

Hi-fi Traders were host to the unique silhouette of Hungarian-made Bayz Audio Courante (£55,000) omnidirectional loudspeakers.

They actually made their UK Audio Show debut last year, but here they were paired with Pilium and MSB electronics which made for an aesthetically exciting and sonically satisfying high-end demonstration. However, I find that this type of speaker design takes a moment for your ears and brain to become accustomed to them.

HIFONIX

The large room filled with head-fi at all price points could only be the realm of Aseem Hussain and Hifonix, who brought together esteemed headphone brands such as Focal, Dan Clark Audio, Final, HiFiMan and Ultrasone alongside streamers, DACs and amplification from Auralic, Naim, Chord Electronics and Manley, to name but a few.

Astell&Kern brought along their A&Ultima SP3000, which sounded impressive through a pair of Meze 99 cans. There was also the incredible KANN MAX and SP2000T available to take for a spin.

I had an almost irresistible crush on a set of Spirit Torino Valkaryia Titanium headphones. These feature a "Twin Pulse isobaric System", a 64 ohm impedance and quoted 96 dB sensitivity. Their frequency rating is stated as being 18Hz-35kHz. However, my weekend love affair lasted right up until I was told it would cost me £11,000 to take them away with me. Ah, well. It is better to have loved and lost, etc.

ICON

icOn produced one of the most natural-sounding rooms to my ears. Everything about it just sounded right - unforced, balanced and with realistic timbre yet communicative, engaging and dynamic.

This would be due in no small part to the icOn 4PRO multichannel passive preamplifier, which starts at £3,119 for two channels or £4,999 for the four-channel version. Furthermore, you can opt to have up to eight channels (£6,999), enabling you to drive something such as the remarkable active Linkwitz LX251 loudspeaker system and DSP crossover.

Also on show was the just-announced icOn 5 (£5,999), which offers 168 half-decibel volume steps maxing out at 83 dB and fully user-configurable ins and outs; for instance, 6 in/2 out, 5 in/3 out, 5 in/2 out+1 line out and optional AV Pass.

One of the most common questions I was asked over the weekend was, "which room should I really check out?" and icOn Audio's room remained in my top three all weekend.

Well, that's it for Part One of my UK Audio Show 2022 report. But remember, there are plenty of pictures from the show to be found in the Forum thread.

UK AUDIO SHOW 2022 REPORT PART TWO

Visit the UK Audio Show 2022 Gallery