Southwest Audio Fest 2024

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.