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Southwest Audio Fest 2025
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Thanks for all the hard work, Ron! Look forward to seeing more! If you have a chance to record the Robert Kodas, please do! Appreciate however, you are probably cover a lot already!
SOUTHWEST AUDIO FEST 2025: RON'S SHOW REPORT
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Sorry! Wrong audioshow...both on the same days but in different parts of the world!
Great summary Ron. Looking forward to your interviews.
I couldn’t agree with you more about what sub woofers bring to a system. When properly integrated, they complete and enhance reproduction of the entire frequency range. If there’s sub 20hz bass on the recording then, of course, you will hear that- but heavy, low bass is absolutely not what it’s about.
“Woofage” You’ve created a truly fantastic new audiophile slang. Please continue to use it, with great frequency! There’s no replacement for (air) displacement.
Thank you!
I'm glad you like the woofage term. I actually have used it for quite a while.
Over time I have become only more convinced that driver surface area -- whether cones or planars or compression drivers or add-on woofage -- contributes to realism.
Elliot G.
Industry Expert
I also agree with Ron on sub towers dialed in well lowering the center of gravity. I will also say the detail remains there when you turn on or off the subs...its just that your mind/ear do not focus on it. And i prefer that personally.
At Southwest Audio Fest 2025 I interviewed Alberto Guerra, Founder and Designer at AGD Productions. Alberto discusses the origin of the GAN semiconductor device, GAN applications in audio electronics, the sonic benefits of GAN, and future AGD products.
SWAF 2025 Wrap -Up
This show was super enjoyable. The Hilton Anatole is a great venue for a show. Numerous elevators and minimal waiting to go from floor to floor. Everyone was friendly and it was a pleasure sharing our experiences of audio and the hobby with each other. Exhibitors were outgoing and seemed like they truly enjoyed the process despite the incredibly hard work it is setting up, interacting with audiophiles for 72 hours and then packing everything up again and traveling home. It doesn't go unnoticed how much effort it takes to attend shows as a dealer, distributor or manufacturer.
With that said, this show was a tale of two stories - we had excellent sound in several rooms, and frankly bad sound in several rooms. This wasn't the venues fault, but some exhibitors didn't understand system matching and room acoutistics / dimensions.
Here is my list (in no order) of outstanding rooms, disappointing rooms, most pleasant surprise, most unpleasant surprise, and biggest blunders:
Outstanding Rooms:
Reference Analog: Rockport Orions, Boulder 2160, VPI Avenger Direct Drive, Audio Research 3se and 6se, Aurrender and DCS stack for digital, Nordost cables. This room frankly had it all: tonal balance, phenomenal imaging, tight, deep and fast bass, and great soundstaging all the while never sounding congested or bright despite any genre of music being played. This room had no weaknesses. Supersense lacquers were a great experience to behold - never heard vinyl (lacuqer) have a more black background and low noisefloor as this.
Audio Arts: Zellaton Plural Evos, Soulution, Reed turntable and arm, Air Tight Opus cartridge. Perhaps the best midrange of the show. Super transparent. Remarkably this room had no room treatments. Imaging was fantastic and tonal balance was quite good. Bass was a tad rolled off and when playing complex music loudly the stage became a bit congested but I tacked that up to the Soulution electronics and not the Zellatons.
Scott Walker Audio: Estelon XB Mk II, Vitus electronics and digital, Nordost cables. Perhaps the best treble of the show and transparency. This system was tonally balanced and very holographic. Played several R2R tapes too - on a Sonurous tape deck. Came away very impressed with Vitus and Estelon. Zero listening fatigue.
Reference Analog: Rockport Lynx, Boulder 1150 monos and preamp and phono, Brinkman table and arm, Micro-Benz cart, Timbre Audio Cables. This was another great system by Reference Analog. Perfect tonal balance and great soundstaging with air around the instruments. Very smooth treble without sibliance and fast, deep bass. The Timbre cables did exactly what cables should do: maintained transparency and added no coloration which is quite a feat. The Rockport Lynx are amazing loudspeakers - for the money/pricepoint I don't think they can be matched by any other loudspeaker.
Euphoria Audio: CS Port turntable, arm, electronics and amps, Steinheim Aliumine V SE loudspeakers. CS Port from Japan was a new line for me to experience and they win the contest for most beautiful tube amps. I've never quite liked the Steinheim sound (dry and sterile to my ears) but this time matched with CS Port, they sounded liquid and airy. Bass was a bit bloated, but I chalk it up to the small room and standing waves. Fantastic imaging and liquid top end made this a nice listening experience.
Supra HI Fi: Vivid Audio Giyas G3, Audionet amps and electronics, Wadax Studio Player, can't remember the cables.....Great holography and wide soundstaging were prominent with this system. Never heard a bad pair of Vivid speakers and that continues here. The Wadax player was stunning to look at and even better to listen too. An all in one. streamer, DAC, CD and SACD player. Expensive, but if I was only doing digital, this is a one -box solution that is stellar.
There were many other nice rooms (Bella Sound, Borrenson, MBL - big MBL room was impressive but something emotinally missing/dry, Supra Hi Fi room with YG, Benny Audio and amps/electronics I can't remember) but to my ears, those listed above were a notch above the rest.
Biggest Disappointments:
Acora Acoustics rooms. I had been waiting to hear some Acoras for a long time and frankly I was really not impressed much. Acoras were paired with VAC and Audio Research yet they sounded consistently thin in the midrange and hot and sizzling on the top end. These speakers and dry and analytical.
VIVA Audio room: World premeire of the Verticale loundspeakers from VIVA. This were simply not ready for primetime. Room was spacious and adequate. It sounded like a gymnasium PA system. They need to go back to the drawing board with these. I know I'm being harsh, but it was really quite bad.
Clarisys Audio Room: These speakers are getting tons of press but in the smal room the Clarysis Studio Plus speakers sounded congested and uninvolving. It was probably too much loudspeaker for the smallish room it was in. Would love to hear them in a larger room.
Classic Audio Room: Ugh.
Most Pleasant Surprises: Perlisten, Evolution Acoustic, Golden Ear and Vanatoo's were the best loudspeaker bang for buck rooms I heard. Incredible value for all of these lines. Perlisten and Evolution Acoustics are particular giant - killers.
Most Unpleasant Surprises: VIVA (huge disappointment), Big half - moon shaped room with YG and Taiko - this was a HUGE set up blunder having the system set up asymmetrically in the room. The rounded wall or flat all opposite it should have been the front all for this system. This system was easily over $1 million and it sounded below average. Acora loudspeakers - very surprised and disappointed.
That's my take on the show. Caveat: These opinions are based on my ears and sonic preferences. I'm sure many others will differ in their opinions based on their sonic preferences.
Take home message: attend shows and listen for yourselves!!
I sure hope SWAF takes off and becomes the RMAF replacement show for a long time to come. It was run very well and the venue was great. A highly recommended show to attend!
This show was super enjoyable. The Hilton Anatole is a great venue for a show. Numerous elevators and minimal waiting to go from floor to floor. Everyone was friendly and it was a pleasure sharing our experiences of audio and the hobby with each other. Exhibitors were outgoing and seemed like they truly enjoyed the process despite the incredibly hard work it is setting up, interacting with audiophiles for 72 hours and then packing everything up again and traveling home. It doesn't go unnoticed how much effort it takes to attend shows as a dealer, distributor or manufacturer.
With that said, this show was a tale of two stories - we had excellent sound in several rooms, and frankly bad sound in several rooms. This wasn't the venues fault, but some exhibitors didn't understand system matching and room acoutistics / dimensions.
Here is my list (in no order) of outstanding rooms, disappointing rooms, most pleasant surprise, most unpleasant surprise, and biggest blunders:
Outstanding Rooms:
Reference Analog: Rockport Orions, Boulder 2160, VPI Avenger Direct Drive, Audio Research 3se and 6se, Aurrender and DCS stack for digital, Nordost cables. This room frankly had it all: tonal balance, phenomenal imaging, tight, deep and fast bass, and great soundstaging all the while never sounding congested or bright despite any genre of music being played. This room had no weaknesses. Supersense lacquers were a great experience to behold - never heard vinyl (lacuqer) have a more black background and low noisefloor as this.
Audio Arts: Zellaton Plural Evos, Soulution, Reed turntable and arm, Air Tight Opus cartridge. Perhaps the best midrange of the show. Super transparent. Remarkably this room had no room treatments. Imaging was fantastic and tonal balance was quite good. Bass was a tad rolled off and when playing complex music loudly the stage became a bit congested but I tacked that up to the Soulution electronics and not the Zellatons.
Scott Walker Audio: Estelon XB Mk II, Vitus electronics and digital, Nordost cables. Perhaps the best treble of the show and transparency. This system was tonally balanced and very holographic. Played several R2R tapes too - on a Sonurous tape deck. Came away very impressed with Vitus and Estelon. Zero listening fatigue.
Reference Analog: Rockport Lynx, Boulder 1150 monos and preamp and phono, Brinkman table and arm, Micro-Benz cart, Timbre Audio Cables. This was another great system by Reference Analog. Perfect tonal balance and great soundstaging with air around the instruments. Very smooth treble without sibliance and fast, deep bass. The Timbre cables did exactly what cables should do: maintained transparency and added no coloration which is quite a feat. The Rockport Lynx are amazing loudspeakers - for the money/pricepoint I don't think they can be matched by any other loudspeaker.
Euphoria Audio: CS Port turntable, arm, electronics and amps, Steinheim Aliumine V SE loudspeakers. CS Port from Japan was a new line for me to experience and they win the contest for most beautiful tube amps. I've never quite liked the Steinheim sound (dry and sterile to my ears) but this time matched with CS Port, they sounded liquid and airy. Bass was a bit bloated, but I chalk it up to the small room and standing waves. Fantastic imaging and liquid top end made this a nice listening experience.
Supra HI Fi: Vivid Audio Giyas G3, Audionet amps and electronics, Wadax Studio Player, can't remember the cables.....Great holography and wide soundstaging were prominent with this system. Never heard a bad pair of Vivid speakers and that continues here. The Wadax player was stunning to look at and even better to listen too. An all in one. streamer, DAC, CD and SACD player. Expensive, but if I was only doing digital, this is a one -box solution that is stellar.
There were many other nice rooms (Bella Sound, Borrenson, MBL - big MBL room was impressive but something emotinally missing/dry, Supra Hi Fi room with YG, Benny Audio and amps/electronics I can't remember) but to my ears, those listed above were a notch above the rest.
Biggest Disappointments:
Acora Acoustics rooms. I had been waiting to hear some Acoras for a long time and frankly I was really not impressed much. Acoras were paired with VAC and Audio Research yet they sounded consistently thin in the midrange and hot and sizzling on the top end. These speakers and dry and analytical.
VIVA Audio room: World premeire of the Verticale loundspeakers from VIVA. This were simply not ready for primetime. Room was spacious and adequate. It sounded like a gymnasium PA system. They need to go back to the drawing board with these. I know I'm being harsh, but it was really quite bad.
Clarisys Audio Room: These speakers are getting tons of press but in the smal room the Clarysis Studio Plus speakers sounded congested and uninvolving. It was probably too much loudspeaker for the smallish room it was in. Would love to hear them in a larger room.
Classic Audio Room: Ugh.
Most Pleasant Surprises: Perlisten, Evolution Acoustic, Golden Ear and Vanatoo's were the best loudspeaker bang for buck rooms I heard. Incredible value for all of these lines. Perlisten and Evolution Acoustics are particular giant - killers.
Most Unpleasant Surprises: VIVA (huge disappointment), Big half - moon shaped room with YG and Taiko - this was a HUGE set up blunder having the system set up asymmetrically in the room. The rounded wall or flat all opposite it should have been the front all for this system. This system was easily over $1 million and it sounded below average. Acora loudspeakers - very surprised and disappointed.
That's my take on the show. Caveat: These opinions are based on my ears and sonic preferences. I'm sure many others will differ in their opinions based on their sonic preferences.
Take home message: attend shows and listen for yourselves!!
I sure hope SWAF takes off and becomes the RMAF replacement show for a long time to come. It was run very well and the venue was great. A highly recommended show to attend!
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I had a blast at this show, and it was great to catch up with so many people, meet some industry icons, and make connections with new dealers. And of course all the gear!
I didn’t focus on hitting every room because I was focused on a few specific things and ran the front desk for a few hours each day. I did come home with a new step up transformer and associated cables which is a plus.
I have loads of highlights, but I think my biggest two were in both of the Genesis rooms. The bigger Genesis room with Heed electronics and The Wand turntable was my favorite sound at the show. But their smaller room featured the VPI Forever Model One which I was hoping would be at the show. That’s in a price range that is feasibly obtainable for me and a realistic upgrade. It was great to meet Mat Weisfeld and have him answer my questions related to the new table. House of Stereo was hosting the room, and Joe was very generous with his time on Saturday and Sunday. Can’t speak highly enough about my time with both of them. Same with Dan of ModWright and Bob of Bob’s Devices. All folks I hope to be able to work with in the future.
Really a great event and I’m very grateful to have it locally. I hope next year we see most of the same vendors and a few more folks attending.
I didn’t focus on hitting every room because I was focused on a few specific things and ran the front desk for a few hours each day. I did come home with a new step up transformer and associated cables which is a plus.
I have loads of highlights, but I think my biggest two were in both of the Genesis rooms. The bigger Genesis room with Heed electronics and The Wand turntable was my favorite sound at the show. But their smaller room featured the VPI Forever Model One which I was hoping would be at the show. That’s in a price range that is feasibly obtainable for me and a realistic upgrade. It was great to meet Mat Weisfeld and have him answer my questions related to the new table. House of Stereo was hosting the room, and Joe was very generous with his time on Saturday and Sunday. Can’t speak highly enough about my time with both of them. Same with Dan of ModWright and Bob of Bob’s Devices. All folks I hope to be able to work with in the future.
Really a great event and I’m very grateful to have it locally. I hope next year we see most of the same vendors and a few more folks attending.
I'm truly sorry if I offended anyone with my SWAF review above. I have no industry affiliation and am a Rockport owner, so naturally my ears are fond of them. I was excited as Rockport rarely attends shows in North America and this was a great chance to experience them - thus my exuberant posting (that was a Boulder repost from FB announcing the SWAF rooms).
Again, the report was my opinion based on my own sonic preferences and many will likely differ. It's what makes our hobby and passion for high end audio so fun - so many different ways to build and enjoy a system within certain budgets. After all, it's all about what can get us closer to the music we all enjoy. Thanks for allowing me to be a member of WBF - I find it's the best resource site for high end audio due to all the great members and willingness to share experiences with each other.
Again, the report was my opinion based on my own sonic preferences and many will likely differ. It's what makes our hobby and passion for high end audio so fun - so many different ways to build and enjoy a system within certain budgets. After all, it's all about what can get us closer to the music we all enjoy. Thanks for allowing me to be a member of WBF - I find it's the best resource site for high end audio due to all the great members and willingness to share experiences with each other.
Honestly, I didn't think anything of it. I would hope no one was offended by it, but I'm sure the response will be appreciated anyway. Shows are great for a lot of things, but evaluating gear isn't always one of them. If anything, shows are a great test of how well a dealer or rep can set up a system in a challenging room under a time constraint.
I went into the show with the mentality that the rooms are less for demoing certain gear, and more for auditioning dealers. Great to find who has excellent set up skills, depth of knowledge on their lines, and who is frankly easy to work with. I think the best dealers at a show acknowledge when they aren't getting the sound they want, and they are willing to ask you what you feel might be missing from the sound. That can lead to conversations about options, your preferences, your system, and what might work best for you. Far more valuable than listening to 2-3 random tracks in an unfamiliar space with unfamiliar equipment.
That's why even though I purchased a Bob's SUT, would happily work with ModWright in the future. I got a sense of his priorities, what he felt was going right in the room, and other gear I should consider for my specific needs/wants. I didn't fall in love with the sound of his room. But I did feel he could guide me to quality gear when I'm looking for a specific change. And when it finally comes time to look at new amps or phonostages, he'll be high on my list. Honestly, if I got into a season of changing carts more often, I'd sell what I have now for a PH9 because it would be a better fit for my uses in that situation.
It was a nice room and things appeared set up well. It was an entire Burmester system including loudspeakers. When I was in there it sounded a little anemic in the low frequencies and wasn't too dynamic. Most of the music played was classical, which is not my favorite genre, so there's that. It wasn't my cup of tea, but I can see how those that like detail and imaging as priorities would really gravitate towards a Burmester system. Having heard Burmester components before and really being impressed with them, I couldn't help but wonder if the Burmester loudspeakers were what didn't catch my ears.
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