Costa Mesa, California—There was a time when I was feeling negative about audio shows in general. During that phase, I found myself nitpicking every system and room I listened to—the bass wasn’t deep enough, the imaging lacked precision, the soundstage wasn’t wide enough. And so on.

Fortunately, I wised up and realized that criticizing everything I hear is not what it’s about. It’s about enjoying the differences among the incredibly diverse offerings only an audio show can provide. And it’s diversity that this year’s SoCal (Southern California) T.H.E. Show, held June 6-8, had in spades. The event— organized by a talented and passionate group of people led by Emiko Carlin—felt bigger and more varied than ever. I’ve covered T.H.E. Show for several years now, but this year, the range of exhibitors and gear felt like it reached another level.

In this report, I’ll share the standout rooms from my visit—and reveal my (very subjective) Top 3 of the show!

Legacy Audio Room

Among the rooms I visited, this was, in my opinion, the most technologically advanced system.

The Legacy Aeris XD speakers ($25000/pair) are a “4.5-way” system featuring the Legacy Dual Air Motion tweeters and built-in subwoofers with internal bass amplification. Not to be overlooked is their acoustic room correction capability. The system was driven by Legacy’s Wavelet 2 DAC/preamplifier/streamer ($7950), which includes a digital crossover. Listening to “Let’s Fall in Love” by Diana Krall, the sound was exactly what I’d hope for from such a sophisticated setup: über-modern and flawlessly balanced.

Audio Note

Now we move on to a system with a very different sonic signature, made up of Audio Note equipment, including the company’s AN-E-SPX Limited field coil loudspeakers ($65,000/pair), a Meishu Phono 300B Konzertmeister integrated amplifier ($65,000), and an AN-TT Three Deluxe turntable with PSU3 power supply ($16,535 for both).

It’s always refreshing to hear a classical track at an audio event. Classical music is rarely played, likely because it doesn’t flatter a system the way audiophile staples do—those tracks with chest-thumping bass or artificially enhanced soundstages. But what I heard in the Audio Note room was a vinyl pressing of Beethoven’s “Piano Sonata No. 14” (“Moonlight”), performed by Friedrich Gulda. The natural warmth of the German Steinway piano, in the hands of an old master, came through beautifully.

The gentleman managing the room was completely immersed in the music—eyes closed, hands moving like a conductor. And I felt like doing the same. For me, this demo delivered the most analogue-sounding experience of the show.

Common Wave Hi-Fi / Harbeth, Mola Mola, Shunyata Research, Eiger

Almost as warm as the Audio Note system, but with greater resolution—that’s how I’d describe the sound in the Common Wave Hi-Fi room. The system featured Harbeth M30.3 XD2 speakers ($6190/pair) paired with a trio of Mola Mola electronics: the Perca stereo amplifier ($9850), the Makua preamplifier with phono stage ($15,200), and the Tambaqui DAC ($13,500). Cabling was by Shunyata Research, with power conditioning by Eiger.

The setup brought out all the magic in Linda Ronstadt’s voice on the track “What’s New”. Her vocals were rich and emotive, while the string accompaniment flowed with a silky smoothness that made the performance feel both intimate and luxurious.

Tonian Labs / Denon, Marantz

Tony Minasian is a recording engineer who has been designing his own speakers for over 30 years. On display were his Oriaco G6 speakers ($4500/pair), which feature a Fostex driver, a top-firing (!) tweeter from La Voce of Italy, and a modified forward-firing tweeter from SB Acoustics.

This was my third time hearing his speakers at an audio show, and one thing I always notice: he consistently pairs them with modest electronics. In this case, a used Denon PMA-3000NE integrated amp and a Marantz CD67SE CD player—neither sold by the exhibitor. A misstep, perhaps?

Still, the sound has always impressed me, with high levels of clarity and coherence. That impression held true when I listened to The Cure’s “Boys Don’t Cry”. But I couldn’t help thinking these speakers deserve more distinguished companions.

Sunny Components / Rockport Technologies, ASR Audio, Wadax Studio, Shunyata Research, HRS

Based on on what I heard of Tool’s “invincible”, I feel confident in saying that this room’s demo sounded faultless. Normally I might give most of the credit for the system’s excellent performance to the speakers, which, in this case, were Rockport Technologies Atria II speakers ($38000/pair). But after researching the amp being used, I realized that would be an oversimplification.

The amp in question was the ASR Audio Emitter II Exclusive “integrated” amplifier ($27,000). I put quotation marks around integrated because it looks nothing like your typical integrated. It comes in four heavy, bulky enclosures, one of which is a dedicated battery power supply (yes, it operates off grid).

If you’ve read one of my articles about the impact of the volume control on sound quality and agreed with me, you already know how much degradation most volume-control designs introduce. But the ASR Emitter’s volume control is unlike anything I’ve seen or read about. Rather than discard gain resistively (as most designs do), it adjusts volume by working directly with the amp’s input stage to produce varying levels of gain. Elegant and radical.

Hearing a system sound this good with such a uniquely designed component in the chain got me thinking—how would it sound paired with speakers I’m familair with? Also in the system were a Wadax Studio streaming DAC CD/SACD transport ($39,800), Shunyata Research Omega series cabling, an Everest X power conditioner ($9895), and HRS EXR audio stands.

Brane Audio

Another technological wonder at T.H.E. Show was Brane Audio’s portable wireless speaker Brane-X ($499). While there are countless portable speakers on the market, in my experience almost none can produce very low bass without noticeable distortion.

A litmus test for such bass response is playing “Limit to Your Love” by James Blake, which was exactly what they did. What I heard was deep, clean bass that was bewildering given the speaker’s size. Based on what I heard, I found their following claim convincing:

“Brane X is the only portable speaker on the market that can audibly reproduce the main sub-bass notes… It maximizes efficiency, ensuring that every watt is used effectively to produce deep bass without unnecessary energy waste.”

Zesto Audio / YG Acoustics, Cardas Audio

Another standout room. Listening to classic jazz tracks like “Freddie Freeloader” by Miles Davis and “Take Five” by Dave Brubeck, the sound was not only sparklingly clean but also stunningly textured. Truth be told, that’s been a consistent impression I’ve had in every showroom featuring YG Acoustics speakers—in this case, the company’s Summit model ($29,000/pair). The system was driven by three Zesto Audio components: the Athena tube DAC ($15,000), the Leto Ultra II tube preamp ($11,900), and the Eros 500 Select class-A monoblocks ($35,000/pair). Cabling was by Cardas.

I’d like to bestow an honourable mention to the exhibitor with the most visually striking components: TiKi Tube Amps, whose products, even on static display, were expressive.

And now, for my top 3 rooms at this year’s SoCal T.H.E. Show!

Dynamic Sound Systems / Popori Acoustics, AGD Productions, HiFi Rose, AudioQuest

I’m a real sucker for flat-panel speakers. Despite their large size, their sonic strength isn’t in producing a huge wall of sound, but rather in their sonic naturalness—especially when it comes to voices. The Popori Acoustics WR3 electrostatic speakers ($69,000/pair) were no exception. They played an audiophile favourite, “No Sanctuary” by Chris Jones, and it was remarkable how realistic his voice sounded.

I should add that I’d also heard unbearably boring sound from flat-panel speakers at shows, usually because they were paired with subpar electronics. But the sound in this room was the exact opposite. That’s when I noticed the exhibitor was using electronics by AGD Productions, namely the Duet monoblocks ($11,500/pair) and Alto preamplifier ($4999). I’ve been to the designer Alberto Guerra’s house before, where he was using a pair of Magnepan flat-panels with his gear. A match made in heaven? It sure seems like it.

The rest of the system included a HiFi Rose RS150B network streamer ($4995), a HiFi Rose RD160 DAC ($5295), with cabling and power conditioning by AudioQuest.

Alma Audio / Boenicke Audio, Nagra, Artesania, IsoTek, Kubala-Sosna

Another winning room featured speakers that were the polar opposite of the towering Popori electrostatics. The diminutive Boenicke Audio W8 SE speakers ($18,254/pair), barely reaching knee height, got me concerned: “Oh no, this is going to sound like the music’s coming from the floor.”

My assumption couldn’t have been more wrong. We often talk about speakers “disappearing,” sometimes a bit too casually, but that’s exactly what I heard (or didn’t hear?) with the Boenicke speakers driven by a chain of Nagra gear, including the Classic AMP ($19,500), Classic PRE preamp ($19,500), Classic DAC II ($18,500) with Classic PSU power supply ($16,900), Compact PHONO ($4950) and Streamer ($4950).

Listening to “Fade to Black” by Dire Straits, I could clearly visualize the musicians standing there, and they were full-size. The soundstage was so convincingly rendered that I actually pressed my ear to the speakers to make sure that’s where the sound was coming from. And the detail was remarkable, too.

When I hear sound quality this good at an audio show, I usually ask to hear an orchestral track—a test that many otherwise great-sounding systems fail. But when they played Mahler’s “Symphony No. 5”, conducted by Markus Stenz (OEHMS Classics), the system showed no discernible weaknesses, only strengths.

Completing the system were an Artesania Panzerholz equipment rack ($22,790 as configured), an IsoTek Mosaic Genesis power conditioner (was $10,000, now $5000), and Kubala-Sosna cables.

SVS / Hegel

Last but not least, I have to include in my top three a room featuring a Hegel H400 integrated amp ($6995) and a model of speakers that has never failed to impress me, no matter where I’ve heard them: the Ultra Evolution Pinnacle speakers ($5000/pair) from SVS, a manufacturer typically known for its subwoofers.

It was my third time experiencing them, and just like the other times, I was blown away by how flawlessly they played—this time, while reproducing the original soundtrack of the movie Inception. If you assume that full-range speakers from SVS are all about the bass and nothing else, you’d be greatly mistaken. The rest of the frequency range sounded excellent—accurate and highly resolving. The bass response remained impressive, not just in how deep it went, but in how seamlessly it integrated with the rest of the spectrum.

This impression was validated by an orchestral track played at my request—Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture conducted by Leonard Bernstein. Despite their puzzlingly modest price tag, I would not hesitate to call them one of the best-sounding speakers I’ve heard.

***

Before I wrap up, I want to reiterate what a wonderful job Emiko and her team did with this year’s T.H.E. Show. I can’t begin to imagine how challenging it must be to bring together such a wide range of products and people under one roof—all while undergoing a major transformation of their business. That transformation includes a redefinition of the brand (T.H.E. = Total HiFi Experience™) and a new mission statement: “To make HiFi more than just a sound, but a state of mind and a way of life.”

Amen to that.