2023 Florida Audio Expo Show Report

I, too, was very pleased with the small Joseph Audio Pulsar speakers paired with the Doshi electronics. The gear and setup were appropriate for the room where many other manufacturers were trying too hard with too small a space (ahem Focal Maestro Utopia with Naim Statements with less than 7’ listening distance). The body, articulation, imaging and soul of the Joseph Audio room we very moving, and I had a nice time talking with Jeff Joseph about the setup.

Some of my other favorite rooms, without going into much detail:

Margules electronics with Raidho TD 2.2 - this was the boldest, biggest, most organic, and most involving system I heard at the show. Definitely not as fast as the Borresen M1 room when it comes to the microdynamics and speed requirements of electronic music, but it excelled in everything else across all genres, and the speed and microdynamics were more than capable for even the most tasking classical and jazz.

Borresen M1 monitors with the Aavik I-880 integrated - this was uber-high-end, but the clarity, imaging and soundstage could not be beat. Of course, a more “Hifi” sound, but easily could handle anything you threw at it with grace. There were only moments where I was missing the lowest octave.

Thrax electronics with the Lanche 5.2 speakers - this room was just wonderful, an excellent blend of the sound of the two rooms above for what delivered an incredibly organic, but fast and resolving sound with an immense stage (of course the larger room helps, but few if any of the other larger rooms could replicate this magic as something in those systems was always compromising something. The proprietary plasma tweeters on the Lansche were straight out incredible, mixed with a very warm, dynamic, and inviting sound.

All of these were evaluated multiple times over multiple days from their prime listening spots. And in full disclosure, I am a Margules dealer, though I try to remain unbiased about these reviews, which is why I share where I thought there could be improvement areas.

@blisshifi Those Margules/Raidho rooms always sound excellent, very open, natural, non-fatiguing sound. There seems to be nice synergy between those two brands. 

@snapsc  I don't remember the Orchard room, but whole heartedly agree on Mofi and Volti. For $7500 that Hifi Rose and Mofi speaker combo blew me away. I went back multiple times, it was a very musical system! And those Razz speakers were amazingly detailed. I listened to some Trombone Shorty and I swear they were in the room!

@mushniksflorist Yes, they do. It’s the second time I’ve heard them at the shows, and AXPONA last year was the reason I decided to carry the Margules line. I do wish I could carry Raidho, but at the moment, I can’t afford to take it on. The Margules U-280 SC 30th amp sounds great with my personal Borresen Z3 Cryo, ans they pair just as well (albeit with slightly lower performance) with the more affordable Scansonic MB-B speakers that I carry. The Margules I-240 integrated paired with the Scansonic MB-2.5B is a winning combination in my opinion and can fill my 18x23x18 room without a sub, and the pairing costs ~$12K.

@ecrotty @snapsc I did like the tone of the new Volti speakers, but I was less impressed by the separation and imaging compared to many of the other systems there. That said, of course the price points were more accessible than the ultra-high-end offerings others brought. Similarly, I appreciated the Leak and Wharfedale Elysian pairing that one room had (forgot which one). Great tone with nice imaging for the price, but not at the fidelity of many others. 

How was the show? Last year it was terrible. Sometimes we were the only people on a floor and it was just us in most rooms. The only rooms I was impressed with were from the smaller manufacturers: Jolida for example. Other rooms either didn’t sound very good or they were so overpriced for their sound quality.

Too bad rmaf and ces/t.h.e show (in the good days) still aren’t around.