Warsaw Audio Video 2025 Show Report

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 and 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 packs 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 won’t 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 an inviting, big, warm sound to it with just the right amount of theater and spectacle to 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 a Class D power amp section. It has a rated power output of 250 watts into 8 ohms 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 stages, 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 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 was 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 its 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 its DSP capabilities allow plenty of options to adjust the speakers for best performance in a variety of situations.

Well, at Warsaw, Dutch & Dutch took 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 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 of 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 isn’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 won’t 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 were 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!

Amphion

While visiting the Amphion room, I enjoyed catching up with company founder and CEO, Anssi Hyvönen.

I have had the pleasure of reviewing the flagship Krypton3X speakers, and Anssi was explaining to me how the Krypton’s tweeter has now found its way into the new Argon 3X bookshelf and 3LX compact floor-standing speakers that he had with him at the show.  The upgraded tweeter not only extends treble response way out beyond our hearing range (55 kHz in this case) but also provides better integration with the midrange drivers in each speaker. This brings a taste of the Krypton’s performance to a more approachable price point.

I got to listen to the Argon 3X bookshelf while there. It’s a 2-way design with a rear passive radiator (so is the Argon 3LX), and it sounded much bigger and more powerful than I was expecting. Excellent midrange and upper-midrange clarity with vocals and instruments, and the bass impact was surprisingly potent. Excellent work from our friends in Finland!

SVS

SVS was in Warsaw doing what SVS does best. Bringing memorable HiFi and Home Theater experiences to the masses.

And judging by their continuously packed room, it seems the Warsaw locals, righteously approved of what the Ultra Evolution Pinnacle speakers and SB17-Ultra R|Evolution Subwoofer were bringing to the table!

Diapason

Diapason is a small, artisanal Italian speaker company that was making big waves this year at Warsaw, with the unveiling of their newest speaker design, the Diapason Didascalìa floor-standing speaker.

To my eye, it is a beautiful, daring bit of design, melding wood, aluminum, and leather (eco-leather) into something very special. It honestly has some of the most gorgeous, solid walnut woodworking I’ve ever seen on a speaker. But it isn’t just a pretty design exercise. Listening to the Didascalìa, I right away could tell it has that distinctive, rich, dare I say “Italian” voicing that inevitably flatters the music, making it into something more.

Diapason’s Alessandro Schiavi and Paolo Tezzon took me through the concept and design details of the new Didascalìa in this short video.

Unison Research/Opera Loudspeakers

While we’re on the subject of things Italian, Unison Research was premiering some new components here at the Warsaw show. CEO Bartolomeo Nasta and Engineer Agostino Zamai were presenting to show goers the new Unico PRE preamplifier and Unico DM stereo power amplifier.

The Unico PRE is a fully balanced preamp design with built-in DAC and USB input, along with an MM/MC phono stage with adjustable settings. The Unico DM is a hybrid amp design, with a tube input stage and MOSFET output stage that is rated at 200 watts per channel into 8-Ohms, and is bridgable to mono output.

The updated design details are clean and signal a new look for the Unico line and all the touch points feel of very high quality.

Bartolomeo was also telling me about the new Opera Grand Callas Special Edition loudspeaker. It is essentially an upgraded version of the company’s popular Grand Callas floor-standing speaker with a new aluminum top plate and terminal plate, red Padauk wood veneer, better binding posts, and all-new internal wiring, courtesy of AudioQuest.

Oneiros/VPI Industries

We extensively covered the US launch of the Oneiros speaker at both the Power Station Studios in NYC and at the Florida Audio Expo, so it was great to catch up with company principals Jerry Bloomfield and Graeme Bridge, here in Warsaw, for the speaker’s European “coming out” party.

Beyond the fact that their room has some trick video screens, comfy seating, and cool mood lighting (someone was obviously having fun setting up this space) it was also a big enough area that the speakers actually had a chance to stretch their lungs a bit.

And stretch them they did. The big Onerios speakers sounded effortless with all of the music that I heard. Very clean and clear but without any of that upper-end lift or exaggeration that I sometimes get from the higher-dollar (Euro) hifi show setups. They sounded very natural.

The speakers were ably assisted by a raft of Audio Research amplification, a Wadax CD player, and a VPI Vanquish turntable with full matching rack and a Fatboy tonearm. It was using a DS Audio Grand Master optical cartridge and a matching TB100 phono preamp. Room treatments were by GIK and all cables were courtesy of AudioQuest. Also, included in the package was VPI CEO, Mat Weisfeld who was there for set up, emcee duties, and once everything was working, general comedy relief.

All-in-all, it was a pretty amazing setup with some great people behind it all.

Vivid Audio

Vivid Audio was featuring the latest version in their acclaimed line of Giya speakers, the new Giya Cu line, with the largest model, the Giya G1S Cu here in Warsaw.

These new speakers incorporate further refinements in the tapered tube layout within the speaker enclosure and copper-capped upper and lower midrange drivers, both are said to significantly lower driver distortion for a cleaner overall sound.

The speaker enclosure itself has been re-engineered to be, stiffer and lighter than before via advances in the composite materials technologies that Vivid uses. So how do these big copper curly-cue teardrops sound? Let’s just say, pretty frickin’ amazing!  Very clean and powerful sound, even for a room with a treated wall of glass behind it. The Gina’s were backed by a full complement of Mola Mola electronics and a very striking turntable by EAT.

I also found Vivid speaker designer and co-founder Lawrence Dickie sitting outside the busy room, no doubt taking a break from doing presentations and fielding questions from curious people like me about his new babies. Still, he was super gracious in taking some time to catch up and bring me up to speed on goings on. Much appreciated, sir!

Soft Collective

Swedish manufacturer Soft Collective had one of the more unique products that I encountered at Warsaw this year. An unconventional dipole speaker built inside a furniture-grade Scandinavian (with shades of retro) style enclosure.

It would be easy to simply write these off as just some stylish interior design exercise. That would be foolish. Inside each box fan-sized cabinet is a ribbon tweeter closely flanked above and below by two 7-inch full-range drivers. This array of drivers fires forward along with energy radiating rearward as would be expected in an open baffle design. Bolstering this MTM-style array is a rear-firing 18-inch woofer in each cabinet. 

Since the drivers are all closely grouped by design, the result is almost a point-source sound projection which should translate to excellent imaging, combined with a deep, wide soundstage from the open baffle design. At least, that’s the claim. Well Soft Collective isn’t just blowing smoke with these speakers. I was not expecting both the depth and spaciousness of sound combined with very precise imaging and a very natural tonal balance. All this from a pair of trendy furniture boxes on stands. I mean…WTF?! I was genuinely blown away by these speakers. A completely unexpected surprise!

Raidho Acoustics

More often than not, walking into a room with Raidho loudspeakers in it will usually be a pleasurable sonic experience for me, and this instance at Warsaw was certainly no exception.

The new Raidho TD3.10 loudspeakers were on demonstration during my visit, being controlled and driven by a Simaudio Moon 791 Network Player/Preamp and a pair of Moon 761 Power Amplifiers from their North Collection.

These big Raidhos weigh in at about 105 pounds each, and their cabinets are finished in the most stunning burl walnut veneer. Raidho custom designs and manufactures their own drivers and the ones on the TD3.10 (except for the ribbon) are diamond-coated units.

In a nutshell, I could have sat and both listened and stared at these speakers for a good long time, so attractive were the visuals and the sonics here.

Triode Japan/Peak Consult

Another memorable room for me was this combination of Triode of Japan’s new Junone 845SE Integrated Tube amplifier paired with the Sonora 2-way floor-standing speakers from Peak Consult of Denmark.

In the past, I have listened to individual components from both these companies and have come away suitably impressed with both sound and build quality. Hearing both companies’ products used together was very much a match made in heaven sort of experience. Very smooth and satisfying!

Audio Research/Wilson Audio/Grimm Audio

I probably have been guilty of giving Wilson Audio short shrift when covering them at audio shows over the years.

This is mostly because I often see the big Chronosonic (Mark..whatever) speakers here and there, and as amazing as they look and feel, for whatever reason, I’ve never been blown away by the sound of them. This could easily be attributed to the fact that these sorts of speakers are a bear to set up at shows let alone getting the room to cooperate so people can hear them in the best light. I get that. But that has made me reflexively chalk Wilson speakers up (en masse) as more spectacle and theater than anything else.

Well, that was a mistake, a fairly big one if I’m being honest. This was revealed to me by visiting this room shared by Wilson Audio, Grimm Audio, and Audio Research and getting a good listen to the new Sabrina V loudspeakers. Hooked up to an assemblage of Audio Research amps, Grimm streamers, and an unidentified turntable with a Gryphon phono stage, the Sabrinas sounded quite fantastic.

Exciting, dynamic, and engaging sound with both the digital and audio sources. Some of you may read this and say “Duh! Of course, the Wilsons sound awesome. What did you expect?” Point taken. Well, all I can say is, it can take a little longer for the stars to align for some of us.

Audiovector/Chord

Sitting in this room listening to the beautiful Audiovector R10 Arreté loudspeakers mated to the ensemble of Chord electronic components made me feel like I was sitting in some steampunk, retro-futurist lounge.

Not a bad place to be when the sound is this good and the gear looks this cool!

Perlisten

Our friends at Perlisten were paired up with some Bryston gear here at Warsaw. They were showing off the S7t Black Edition speakers with a Bryston BR-20 preamp, a 14B Cubed Power amp, and a DCS Lina DAC.

Along with the speakers was Perlisten’s D8is Subwoofer with its external 3kW amplifier. A rather fearsome setup for sure!

Across from these, on static display, was a selection of the new Perlisten A-Series speakers.

T+A

T+A had a very tidy, minimalist setup in their room for those who are not members of the “more boxes equals better” club.

It was T+A’s new Symphonia Integrated streaming amplifier paired up with their Talis 330 floor-standing speakers. This setup just oozes quality of construction, both when you look at it from a distance and interact with it up close.

T+A gear always feels satisfying to use, which isn’t always the norm with some hifi brands. The fact that this elegant and deceptively simple system sounds so good in use just seals the deal!

Gato Audio

Visiting the folks at Gato Audio is always fun because I really enjoy both the design and sound of their unique-looking components.

What I was not expecting was to come face to face with a new speaker design that they will have ready for sale in January of 2026. Called the CLC65 (9,900 Euro/pair pre-order price) They are the only commercial loudspeaker that I am aware of using all PuriFi speaker drivers in its design. It is a 3-way system using a 1-inch aluminum tweeter with waveguide, a 6.5-inch fiber midrange, a 10-inch aluminum woofer, and dual 10-inch rear-firing aluminum passive radiators.

The system is said to be designed for full-range, low-distortion, studio-grade output, and the brief audition I had here at Warsaw showed exceptional promise with a very clean and transparent presentation. They are rated at 4-Ohms nominal impedance with a sensitivity of 86 dB so they will need some power to drive them to their full potential. Gato Audio is going to be selling these direct to consumers with worldwide shipping and a 30-day free home trial. Color me very intrigued!

Dynaudio

Dynaudio is another one of those brands that rarely disappoints at an audio show, and Warsaw was no exception.

I had a chance to sample both the 2-way stand-mounted Contour 20 Black Edition speakers and the large 3-way floor-standing Confidence 60 loudspeakers in one of the large rooms at the PGE Narodowy soccer stadium.

Now, it goes without saying that Dynaudio knows what they are doing when it comes to speaker design, as evidenced by the way the Confidence 60 towers bent this very large room to its will. They excelled at putting out an almost “alive” feeling quality of sound that sounded equally good from several different seats in the demo area. This I was expecting.

What I wasn’t expecting was how much of that same feeling the comparatively diminutive Contour 20 Black Editions were able to recreate in that same space. It was amazingly Brilliant!

Goebel/Solution/Wadax

It is all too easy as a reviewer to become jaded at some of these high-end, high-dollar systems. They can set up impossibly high expectations in a person’s mind before listening, especially if one is grounded enough to know that someone doesn’t need to spend that kind of money to get good sound.

That being said, sometimes I’ll walk into a room with one of these crazy systems and it will actually exceed my expectations. This Goebel, Solution, Wadax 2.2 channel system hit all the right notes for me and it did it with the most absurd level of impact and authority.

It was literally a wall of sound that was hitting me, but not that sloppy “Grateful Dead” type of wall of sound but an almost overwhelming sonic sledgehammer with gobs of detail and dimension. I’m not going to break down every bit of this system because there is a ton of stuff here,

I took a photo of the equipment list for you (in Polish) to take care of that. But if you love your HiFi, and you have the kind of spare scratch lying around to invest in a system like this, let’s just say that you will be pleased!

Denon/Marantz

Here in Warsaw, Marantz elected to have its new Model 10 series of components ask a pair of DALI Epikore 7 speakers to dance at the “audio ball.”

Denon on the other hand took their 3000 and 2000 series HiFi components and had them ask the Focal Aria EVO X No. 3 to the dance. Both setups were more than just a little enjoyable. They were both great and desireable systems.

DALI

The DALI Rubikore 8 speakers, DALI SUB V-16 F Subwoofer, all paired with Marantz electronics.

I could be very happy with this killer setup! That is all.

EMM Labs

A full EMM Labs system consisting of the MTRX2 V2 Monoblock amps, the new PREi preamplifier, the DA2i DAC, and the TXi CD Transport along with a Pink Faun USB Streamer mated with a pair of Magico S5 speakers.

It looks and sounds like Darth Vader’s stereo set! “The Force is strong in this one!”

HIFIMAN

In the headphone area at Warsaw, the HIFIMAN display was constantly slammed with showgoers. I was just able to sneak in and grab a listen to a pair of my favorite headphones of late, the HIFIMAN HE1000 Unveiled.

Gloriously good sound!

FINAL

Sitting at the FINAL headphone table, I tried out two different headphones. The first was a set of DX3000 CL which sounded warm and full-bodied to my ears. The second set of headphones was an unlabeled prototype set that was being crowd tested with show goers to get their impressions. Both pairs of headphones were closed back but sounded significantly different.

This unlabelled set of headphones had a cleaner, clearer presentation and a broader sound stage, almost what I would associate with an open back pair of headphones. Very interesting and surprising. When they are ready for prime time, and they have an official name, I think I’d like to review a pair of those cans.

FiiO

Speaking of busy tables the FiiO display was also jam-packed with visitors, checking out the latest and greatest.

Of particular interest to me was the newly announced FiiO M27 digital audio player. Physically, the thing looks like a beast. Roughly about twice the size of my FiiO M23 DAP that I had with me.

STAX

Our Lory Hawley reviewed the new STAX SR-007S Earspeakers recently and was absolutely smitten by them. At Warsaw, I was able to spend a few moments with them myself and I have to say, I can see why she was so taken with them.

They have that beautiful transparency that I really love about electrostatic cans, tuned with just a touch of warmth, and with bass that I could feel. Rather outstanding I’d say!

BTW, if you want to see a little behind the scenes of what goes on at STAX, come check out my factory visit video that I shot when I visited STAX in Japan last year.   

PMC/Musical Fidelity

Here in Warsaw was my first time listening to the PMC MB2 SE speakers as part of a live demo.

The MB2 SE has real professional music studio street cred, and here, paired with Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista electronics they sounded exceedingly good. Clear, revealing, and utterly powerful.

This is one of those rooms that I could have sat in and listened for a very long time, and the Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista gear seemed to complement the speakers perfectly.

MartinLogan/Anthem

For those of you who need to have your electrostatic fix for the day, MartinLogan had you covered if you were at Warsaw.

Their Impression ESL 11A loudspeakers were living up to their name in the best way possible. Teamed up with the Anthem STR Preamp and STR power amp duo, the whole combination sounded quite enjoyable with an excellent soundstage and very good integration between the dynamic bass section of the speaker and the stat panel.

Anthem’s ARC Genesis room correction system was clearly doing its part to help sort out any bass issues in the room. A successfully executed, easy-to-live-with system.

Eversolo

Eversolo was showing their new DAC-Z10 Preamp/Digital-to-Analog converter at Warsaw. Similar in some respects to the company’s DMP-A10 Preamp but without built-in streaming or room correction capabilities.

The Z-10 uses dual AKM AK4191 + AK4499 DAC chipsets (one set for each channel) managed by an FPGA for its core signal decoding duties. It has an R2R-based volume control and supports the use of an external clock if you so choose.

Its inputs include the usual SPDIF flavors, HDMI ARC, I2S, AES/EBU, and PS-USB. It also has a dedicated headphone amplifier and looks like it is built to an exceedingly high standard. For someone who already has a streamer and doesn’t want room correction (or may find it redundant in their system), this is one component that is definitely worth watching.

Ferrum/ATC

Polish company Ferrum which makes the fantastic half-size OOR headphone amplifier, HYPSOS power supply, and WANDLA DAC (reviews from Secrets coming soon), introduced a new streamer at Warsaw.

Called the BROEN, it is meant to both visually and operationally integrate with the above-mentioned other products to create a pint-sized, powerful audio system to use with both headphones or as the complete front end of a traditional 2-channel system.

In the demo room, an entire Ferrum stack (including the BROEN) were driving a pair of stunning ATC SCM100ASL active speakers, and sounding wonderful in the process! Look for the BROEN to be available in early 2026.

Estelon

Polish distributor, Nautilus had this great-sounding room featuring the Estelon X Diamond Mk II speakers, Kondo Audio Note Electronics, and a stunning Transrotor turntable that looked like Superman’s Fortress of Solitude!

YG Acoustics

RCM Audio had a setup showcasing the YG Acoustics Hailey 3 speakers connected to Vito’s Audio electronics, and a very smashing SME turntable.

Another excellent sounding room in the Golden Tulip hotel and the Haileys sounded very well balanced and more than held their own in a rather large space.