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Hey Secrets readers, we’re in Poland once again for Audio Video Show Warsaw 2025, one of Europe’s most significant events for high-end audio and home entertainment—second only to Munich High-End (soon to be Vienna). Spread across three venues and featuring more than 600 brands, the show delivers a full spectrum of HiFi, home theater, and personal audio experiences. It is a show that continues to grow in importance and notoriety and, in our humble opinion, is one of the most organized and best run shows out there.

What makes Warsaw stand out is its unmistakable European mix of the familiar and the unexpected. You’ll find established names unveiling their latest gear alongside boutique makers whose work might not necessarily be available stateside, at least not yet. It’s a feast for anyone serious about sound and design.

Editor-in-Chief Carlo Lo Raso is on the ground from Friday, October 24, through Sunday, October 26, covering the show floor, capturing new product launches, and highlighting the systems that caught his ear.

Follow SECRETS on Facebook and Instagram for live updates throughout the weekend, and check back here for our full post-show report once the event wraps.

Warsaw always delivers something unexpected—and we hope you enjoy our coverage as much as we enjoy bringing it to you!

 

Fezz Audio/Pylon Audio

Polish brand Pylon Audio premiered their new Amethyst Gamma speakers (35K Euros per pair for the smallest of the 3 sizes in the line). Years of development work was needed to achieve the unique and beautiful shape along with working with ScanSpeak on the drivers.

These stunning speakers were teamed with equally stunning, and equally Polish, components from Fezz Audio.

They were showing their new Magnetar preamplifier and Magnetar monoblock power amps from their new Supernova line (65K Euros for the pre and 2 amp set). With KT150 tubes the amps are rated at 200 wpc. The whole shooting match simply looked and sounded so sweet!

 

Focal/Naim

Focal and Naim brought a full on 7.4.4 channel ATMOS music system to the Warsaw show this year! The EM system was anchored by the Focal Grande Utopia EM Evo speakers as fronts.

These were accompanied by a Viva Center Utopia Evo speaker, four Utopla 1000 IW LCR speakers with 1000 IW SUB subwoofers as surround speakers, and the top Atmos layer was formed by 1000 IC LCR 5 speakers. The entire system was mounted on a custom-made grid.

The LFE channel was handled by four Focal Cinema Utopla Sub subwoofers, powered by four Naim CI-NAP-101 amplifiers.

Amplification included the Naim Statement for the front L and R, with the stereo sound source being a Naim ND 555 streamer supported by two external NAPS 555 DR power supplies. The Dolby Atmos processor was a Marantz AV 10, supplemented by a Marantz AMP 10 multi-channel power amplifier that powered the surround channels. The reference multi-channel sound source was a Magnetar UDP900 Universal player.

 

Paradigm/Anthem

The Hoser HiFi Chronicles volume 1: Paradigm and Anthem.

As a Toronto native it did my heart good to walk into this room at Warsaw hear this very smart, great-sounding, and imminently approachable 2.1 channel system consisting of the Paradigm Founder 80 loudspeakers and a Paradigm Defiance S10 subwoofer anchored by an Anthem MRX740 receiver.

The system used Anthem’s ARC Genesis room correction system to properly integrate the subwoofer with the speakers and correct any room issues, but left the system largely to its own devices above 400 Hz. The system sounded excellent, and showcases an intelligent and flexible solution that can really be enjoyed by almost anyone. While it’s fun to see and hear all the “bling” out there, it’s good to be reminded that you don’t need to go into hock for good hifi!

 

Silent Pound

The amazing Silent Pound Bloom Loudspeakers from Lithuania. They may look like a fancy decor-first monitor speaker with an integrated stand, but don’t let that fool you.

Each of these speakers pack an 8-inch concentric driver and two 12-inch bass drivers in a dipole configuration so if there is bass in your music, you will hear it and feel it. And because of the constant directivity design it wont be at the expense of everything else. Brilliant stuff!

 

Revox

There were some lovely sounds coming out of the Revox room at Warsaw. This was partly due to the B77 MkIII reel-to-reel deck (16,995 Euros) that I am familiar with.

But there were a few other Revox components in play that I was not familiar with. They were the tidy little Revox M500 Connected Amp (3,995 Euros),  the Revox T700 Black Edition Turntable (3,995 Euros), and the slimline 3-way Revox Prestige G140 loudspeakers (4,990 Euros).

It has honestly been years since I have associated Revox with anything other than RTR decks. My bad. This was a genuinely great sounding, tidy, and unpretentious system.

 

The Note

Boutique European audio manufacturer The Note, specializes in phono preamps, step-up transformers, and phono cartridges all with a meticulously vintage vibe.

This whole vintage sourced and lovingly restored system that they had in their room had a inviting big, warm sound to it with just the right amount of theater and spectacle to the make you believe you had stepped back in time. Any field could speaker fans would have been in heaven here!

 

Bona Watt, OePhi

Polish manufacturer Bona Watt had an impressive hybrid integrated amplifier called the Triton (10K Euro).

Designed with a tube preamplifier stage mated to Class D power amp section. It has a rated power output of 250 watts into 8 ohm and 500 watts into 4 ohms. It is even designed with two expansion slots in the rear of the chassis.
The company offers a variety of expansion cards including 2 types of MM/MC phono stage, 3 types of DACs, an FM tuner, balanced inputs, and more to configure the Triton to your liking. The handheld rotary remote control is also a unique touch.

The Triton was partnered with a pair of OePhi Transcendence 2.5 tower speakers from Denmark (10,900 Euro/pair). Using a pair of mid/bass drivers from PuriFi audio and an in house produced metal dome tweeter, the speakers looked quite attractive in their oak wood finish. They also sounded especially powerful with excellent depth and impact in the bass.

The system was rounded out with a Lampizator Genya Plus DAC and a turntable from Bennyaudio of Poland.

 

Ø Audio

Ø Audio was in the house in Warsaw with their excellent Icon 12 loudspeakers. For those who don’t know, these Norwegian speakers use a a 3/4 inch compression driver with a carbon fiber diaphragm set within a specially designed horn waveguide to optimize the dispersion characteristics and ease the integration with the custom 12-inch woofer that they have completely designed in-house.

The asymmetrically designed cabinet is veneered in a gorgeous high-gloss walnut finish that I could practically swim in. The Icon 12 were being driven by a pair of AW 800 M monoblock amps from Electrocompaniet along with supporting electronics from DCS.

The room sounded excellent with a huge image, great bass, and very good detail on the music they were playing. Look for a review of the Icon 12 coming soon from yours truly.

 

Dutch & Dutch

Danish company Dutch & Dutch is well known for their active, DSP- enabled speaker, the 8c. I’ve heard it on a few occasions and I’ve always found the sound to be excellent, and it’s DSP capabilities allow plenty of options to adjust the speakers for best performance in a variety of situations.

Well at Warsaw, Dutch & Dutch to the wraps off a new smaller speaker called the 6c (10K Euro/pair). The new 6c has all the same design traits and features of its the bigger sibling just with smaller drivers in a modestly smaller package.

Listening to them in the demo room they readily impressed with their balanced sound, precise imaging, and just how much punch could be coaxed out of that smaller cabinet. Thoughts immediately turned to how awesome it would be to have five 6c speakers as the main channels of my home theater!

 

Bryston

The Hoser HiFi Chronicles volume 2: Bryston.

One of my favorite brands in HiFi, I have not run into Bryston at a US audio show in quite some time so I was happy to come across them at Warsaw.

The Compact T10 3-way stand-mounted speakers were a first experience for me and I really enjoyed what I was hearing from them. Fantastic imaging, a tonal balance that showed no noticeable thinness anywhere in its bandwidth, and a surprising bass punch.

The speakers were mated to the BDA 3.14 Streamer/DAC and Bi 200 Integrated amp for a tidy cohesive system. Fantastic sound, modest footprint, Canadian quality and pedigree. Take off, eh!

 

Aretai, REED, hARt Lab

This space had two adjoining rooms, each with a different system comprised from these brands.

The first room had the great sounding little Aretai Contra 100S bookshelf speakers from Latvia (9,900 Euro/pair), which we’ve covered at several past shows.

They never cease to impress for their size. These were mated to the hARt Lab Tune Six Super Integrated Amplifier (26,500 Euro) with built-in streaming, DAC, and MM/MC phono stage.

It’s a hybrid integrated amp with a Class-A tube input stage and a dual mono, high current MOSFET output stage. It also has a relay-based 64 step volume control. It’s rated at 150-watts into 8-ohms and 270 into 4-ohms. The turntable is from REED of Lithuania, and it is their Muse 1C friction drive model (13,400 Euro).

The Muse 1C was finished in a gorgeous layered wood look and used the company’s 1H carbon fiber tonearm (3,410 Euro). It will also play at speeds of 16, 33, 45, and 78 rpm to boot.

Taking a closer look at the friction drive internals (also referred to as idler wheel) it felt like I was looking at the guts of a fine automatic timepiece.

The second room had a bigger system consisting of the Aretai Contra 200F tower loudspeakers (27,800 Euro) connected to the hARt Lab Tune Two Reference preamplifier (with built-in streamer) and the Tune Three Reference Dual Mono Power Amplifier.

For analog sourcing we had the REED Muse 3C Turntable with both the REED 5P and 3P tonearms.

Of note was that REED has introduced a new optical cartridge called the SF with technology licensed from DS Audio and a matching optical phono stage with battery power supply.

Both systems sounded brilliant with the bigger system having one of the cleanest sounding phono setups that I have come across. Both combos were really quite special.

Oh, and off in the corner on static display, Aretai was showing a pair of Contra 100S in an exotic wood finish with a copper colored waveguide. So other options are available if standard black and white aren’t your thing. I’ll take two, please!

 

Popori

Popori Acoustics has impressed me with their electrostatic speakers at past shows, and here at Warsaw I encountered their flagship speakers for the first time.

Called the Vitorla (95,000 Euro/pair), these sail-shaped speakers are a two-way electrostatic design, with an added high-frequency ribbon transducer. The speakers themselves have integrated ambient LED lighting that is adjustable by remote control.

The frequency response is claimed to be 28 Hz – 22 kHz and these elegant panels will indeed put out some bass that you can feel as I experienced in the listening demo. You can certainly add subwoofers to these speakers if you want but, make no mistake, you wont really need them.

I experienced all the great qualities that I’ve heard from the best panel speakers, a wide deep soundstage, lightning quick transient response, and a wonderful sense of clarity…along with impressive, solid, punch-in-the-gut bass.

The rest of the system consisted of a Cary Audio DMS-500 Streamer, a Pro-Ject Xtension 12 turntable with Ortofon RS 309 D Tonearm, and an EMT HSD 006 MC cartridge.  Control and power was courtesy of a Musical Fidelity A1 integrated amp and two AGD Duet GanFET Monoblock power amplifiers. All cabling was provided by VIABLUE cables.

 

IsoAcoustics

The Hoser HiFi Chronicles volume 3: IsoAcoustics.

Dave and Paul Morrison from IsoAcoustics are always great fun to catch up with at shows. At Warsaw they had the full range of new Gaia NEO Isolation feet and they were conducting a with-and-without Gaia feet test on two otherwise identical pairs of Bowers & Wilkins 603 S3 speakers. Using a HiFiROSE streamer/amplifier Paul was switching between the speakers on the fly as music was playing. And yes, I heard a difference and, no it wasn’t subtle. The Gaia-equipped speakers had a noticeable tightening and additional focus to the image and the bass was also less bloated than without the feet.

The interesting thing was that the difference I heard between the speakers was even more noticeable when I wasn’t in the sweet spot but standing farther back in the room. Very surprising and  intriguing!

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A native of Toronto Canada, Carlo's interest in audio began at a young age when, unbeknownst to his mother, he started taking apart her numerous transistor radios to see how they worked. This desire for “knowledge through deconstruction” continued through to the family’s 8-track tape player, turntable, headphones, and speakers. Carlo subsequently spent a lot of time in his room. Toronto was a fertile ground for Hi-Fi in the 1970s and 80s and Carlo spent much of his wayward youth hanging out in downtown Toronto stereo shops, listening to all manner of gear and picking the brains of the various store owners. Through that formative experience, Carlo developed an appreciation for good music and good sound reproduction. Also, as a budding graphic artist, the aesthetic aspects of a given piece of gear became increasingly of interest to his eyes. It was at about that time as well that Carlo began purchasing “Audio Magazine” on a regular basis and came to appreciate, in particular, the writing and reviewing of the late Leonard Feldman. Later on, he was also influenced by the writing and observations of the staff at Sound and Vision Canada, helmed at the time by Alan Loft. Carlo graduated from Sheridan College with a degree in Classical Animation and was subsequently employed by Walt Disney Consumer Products for 10 years as a Character Artist and Art Director. Having become disenchanted with Los Angeles, he then decided to strike out on his own. Carlo started his own company and has been freelancing artwork, from his home studio, primarily for the toy and publishing industries since 2001. In 2013, on a bit of a lark, Carlo answered a “Call for Writers” ad from an AV website that he had been regularly reading for about 5 years called Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity. He had come to appreciate the website’s combination of subjective impressions along with the objective bench-testing available in several of the reviews. The “B-Team” must have been working that day because by some miracle he was hired as a writer and his first review for the site was published early in 2014. Carlo has been continually writing, editing, traveling, listening, and learning on the company’s behalf ever since. Carlo currently lives in Granville, Ohio with his wife, two sons, and a very old, but chill dachshund.

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