House of Stereo: A Stenheim Debut, T+A, Etc.
Jacksonville, Florida, dealership House of Stereo occupied eight (!) rooms at FLAX. Room 709 debuted Steinheim's 2.5 Alumine Two.Five loudspeakers ($23,500/pair), accompanied by a bevy of refined products that kept the room packed to overflowing. Several were from Germany's T+A ("Engineering emotion"), including the SD 3100 HV Reference Streaming DAC ($32,387).
House of Stereo: Focal Aria Evo X No. 4, Naim Uniti Nova Power Edition and Scala Utopia EVO, Naim New Classic 300 Series
At the Florida International Audio Expo 2024, the Focal and Naim suite presented an opportunity to experience two stereo systems that merge Focal speakers with Naim electronics in one of House of Stereo's numerous outstanding rooms at the show.
In the Bayshore Ballroom: Technical Audio Devices
Japan's TAD had two rooms at FLAX, including the large Bayshore ballroom, which itself contained two systems, each with two pairs of speakers. Both systems wowed me.
Metaxas & Sins
Showing in the US for the first time in years, Metaxas & Sins by Kostas Metaxas offers audio gear that straddles the line between technology and art. The company refers to its components, justifiably, as "high-end audio sculptures." The aesthetic is unique.
Room 1004, Playback Distribution: Vienna Acoustics, Esoteric, Quadraspire, Esprit
Another heavy hitter, showing in five rooms with multiple product lines, was Rob Standley’s Playback Distribution, featuring equipment from TEAC, the new-to-me company Advance Paris, PMC, Amphion, Vienna Acoustics, and a heaping helping of Esoteric.
Room 1016, Fidelity Imports / The Listening Room
Steve Jain's Fidelity Imports held fort in six rooms at FLAX, crisscrossing lines that included Perlisten, Primare, Michell, Unison Research, Diptyque, Opera, Soulnote, Gold Note, Q Acoustics, and more. Room 1016 was co-hosted by Chestertown, Maryland, dealership The Listening Room.
Room 304: Suncoast Audio Presents Pass Laboratories
Suncoast Audio, a Sarasota-based dealership, was new to me, and boy, did it deliver: Four rooms, and each had serious buzz. Michael Bovaird, proprietor of Suncoast Audio and a cofounder of the Florida Audio Expo, put together rooms that played music that kept the room full, with knowledgeable support personnel (including Nordost's Seth Snyder) to answer questions.
Room 403: Innuos, Volti Audio, Triode Wire Labs, BorderPatrol Audio
In the room shared by Gary Dews's BorderPatrol Audio, Greg Roberts's Volti Audio, and Peter Grzybowski's Triode Wire Labs, music flowed, immense of stage, fast of delivery, with heart-arresting texture, visceral verisimilitude, and dynamic fireworks.
Room 806 and Just Audio: Mission, Audiolab, Cyrus, Spendor, Dual
Just Audio's Lenny Florentine presented two rooms at the show, one jammed with components at all price points (including Luxman, inspiring that company's VP of Sales John Pravel and myself to reminisce about 1970s hi-fi sales), the second with more affordable but no less listenable alternatives. Room 806 offered two systems in one.
Suncoast Audio on the Tampa Terrance: MBL's New Cadenza C41 Network Player
MBL is best known for its striking Radialstahler omnidirectional speaker systems, first introduced in 1979, but the company has made electronics to accompany its speakers since 1986. On the Tampa Terrace at the Florida International Audio Expo, MBL showed off a system featuring the new Cadenza C41 network player ($11,100).