I’m here at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2024, which runs from Friday, February 23rd to Sunday, February 25th, checking out what some of the biggest, best and most storied hi-fi brands have to offer.
I’ve seen some seriously cool products here and have listed the best 5 speakers on display from brands including Linn, Leak, Dynaudio and more. There’s even a bonus pair of concept speakers receiving their first appearance at the show (more on those below). As a first-timer to Bristol Hi-Fi, I feel like a kid in a toy store.
1. Linn Audio 360
First up are the Linn 360 floorstanding speakers. These beautiful speakers were designed with the legendary Linn Sondek LP12 turntable in mind and are available in several different finishes (we saw the Single Malt finish in person). With a whopping price tag starting from £55,000 per pair, the Linn 360 is the definition of an audiophile speaker, and I can confirm that the eye-catching 3-way sounds brilliant.
At the show, the 360 was connected to Linn’s Sondek LP12 50th anniversary turntable and Climax DSM amp/streamer. I’ll cover the full listening session at a later time, but for now can say that the 360 sounded both crisp and wonderfully warm, tackling any music genre thrown at it with ease. With a wonderfully balanced sound and a nice big soundstage, this is a seriously good speaker.
2. Leak Sandwich 250
The wonderfully named Leak Sandwich 250 speaker was 63 years in the making, and follows on from the original set released in 1961. Having seen the speakers in person, I can confirm they are gorgeous. With a vintage-inspired look (the theme of a lot of speakers at the show), they’re a sight to behold.
Priced at $2,495/£1,999/AU$4,799 per pair, the Leak Sandwich 250 uses Leak’s Aluminium Foamcore Sandwich cone and 30mm textile-dome tweeter combined with 109mm midrange and 280mm bass drivers. The walnut veneer finish (applied by hand) of these speakers really gives them a touch of class.
3. Dynaudio Confidence 60
One of the more impressive listening rooms at the show is Dynaudio’s lounge, where Dynaudio has its Confidence 50 set up. These tall, slender speakers sounded fabulous, with a particular highlight being the twinkling strings of acoustic guitars on Neil Young’s ‘Old Man’ and Don McClean’s ‘Vincent’.
Designed in Denmark, the 3-way Confidence 50 has a whopping 600W of power and retails for £36,500 per pair. These speakers sounded perfectly balanced and warm, with plenty of focus on the mids and a nice wide soundstage that danced around the room. If you don’t already have the Confidence 50 on your list, check it out.
4. Fyne Vintage X
It’s been a busy start to the year for Fyne with the release of its special production speakers, including the F1 series. At Bristol Hi-Fi, the company is showing the Fyne Vintage range, a classic revisited and a hark back to the days of big, bold wooden cabinet speakers.
Tucked away in a listening room, the Fyne Vintage X (Ten) is on demo and these speakers felt to me like a warm hug. Every area of the sound was well balanced, with trebles, mids and bass all given room to breathe. A 2-way housing a 10-inch driver, the Fyne Vintage X retails for £6,499 per pair. It sounded seriously good with any genre that was played, although classic pop suited it best.
5. Wilson Benesch Discovery 3zero
One of the more unique designs at the show, the Wilson Benesch 3zero is a standmount speaker carrying a unique build, with a spiky triangle-shaped cabinet that is sure to raise some eyebrows.
The third generation of the Discovery range, the 3zero costs between £18,995 and £21,295 per pair, which is certainly pricey for bookshelves. But, on listen they were accurate, clean and provided plenty of room-filling sound for a small set of 2.5-way speakers with a 25mm tweeter and 170mm mid-range driver. The country track I heard was plenty punchy and clear, with the 3zero doing a good job competing with the floorstanders at the show.
Honorable mention: Diora Acoustics Lada 3
Diora Acoustics is a cabinet maker based in Poland and the Lada 3 is a new project for the company. These speakers are getting a first-ever preview at the show, and they take the prize for design. The triangle-shaped Lada 3 grabs your attention with a red gloss finish and, amazingly, has vibration tech, meaning when pushed it wobbles from side to side.
Sound-wise, the Lada 3s were good, with 250W of power allowing tracks to come through with a focus on the bass and mids. Although they didn’t beat the other speakers at the show, I’m glad I saw them as this is what the Bristol Hi-Fi Show is all about. There was no price or release date since this was only a first-look, but we’ll be keeping our eyes out.
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