This powerful yet precise system was tasked with filling a small ballroom with sound; in the process, it delivered a captivating performance. A pair of Stenheim Alumine 5 SE speakers ($72,000/pair) did the heavy lifting.
Sound Lab is an electrostatic speaker specialist. The company's G745-3C ($20,000/pair) debuted at the first Southwest Audio Fest. These speakers aren't small, but they are suitable for relatively compact spaces, thanks to the panels' modest 20" width.
At the Southwest Audio Fest in Dallas, Børresen Acoustics took a room and outfitted it with two killer systems. The cost-no-object system featured the flagship M6 speakers; the other showed the capabilities of the more affordable but similarly imposing X6 towers.
VAC and Acora were a compelling combo at SWAF 2024. In this demo, a pair of granite-bodied Acora SCR-2 loudspeakers ($48,000/pair) sounded rock-solid powered by a pair of VAC Essence amplifiers ($9900/each).
This superb high-end audio system, featured at the Southwest Audio Fest in Dallas, included Estelon Forza speakers ($170,000/pair) in dark silver liquid gloss powered by MSB M500 mono amplifiers ($75,000 each).
Now, before we return to Montreal, here's more from the Southwest Audio Fest.
You won't mistake an MBL speaker for any other. No matter what size MBL speakers you buy, you will get the same unique 360-degree dispersion driver technology. The company's smallest and most affordable entry point into its line of speakers is the Radialstrahler 120 ($26,500/pair), which was demoed in Dallas.
Von Schweikert Ultra 55 speakers ($120,000 in Porsche Oslo Blue) are the company's smallest flagship-level offering, but still reference-level in capability with a response specification of 20Hz-40kHz. In practice, they delivered a completely enveloping and absorbing musical presentation.
Ken Songer of Songer Audio must be on to something because his demo led me to experience a heart rate of 141 while listening to "Sharkey's Day" from Laurie Anderson's Mister Heartbreak.
The Van Zyl Audio Alpine mid-horn speaker ($12,000/pair) is designed to cover a frequency range of 125Hz up to 20kHz. It uses a horn-loaded 8" Tang Band full-range driver that connects to the amplifier directly, free of crossover componentry. The design adds a physically time-aligned AMT tweeter—implemented as a super tweeter—to extend the highs with a simple first-order crossover applied.
Ted Denney used a top-tier stereo system to demonstrate Synergistic Research's latest product, the Voodoo Streaming Server ($14,995), at the inaugural Southwest Audio Fest. The demo also included the Vibratron SX ($3995), a passive resonator design from the company's early days.
With the consumer version of the Planet Venus Spectral Coherence Control Essential plugin ($189), adventurous audiophiles can experiment with removing distortion inherent to a recording, independent of the playback system.
Some fresh, high quality products making their U.S. show debuts—not to mention the excellent sound quality that was achieved—made this system a fun one to audition.