2026 Florida International Audio Expo Feb 20-22

Anyone from Space Coast Audio Society attending, and if so what day?  I’m going Friday. Also, is there any kind of meeting place for said group?

Was at the show yesterday.  Saw about everything there was and a few rooms twice.  The show was smaller this year..I’d guess maybe 25%? 

BUT..regardless of all the first floor heavyweight systems, one room, for me, was easily best of show at any price. 

Aretai on the 2nd floor. 

Aretai had their mid model Contra 200F running in fine form powered by tiny Benchmark Class D monoblocks.  Stunning system. Stunning pair of speakers. Made in Latvia.

I’m seeing prices on the web around $28K. If anyone is in the market in the $15K-$40K range(or higher) I’d be running, not walking to any place where you can audition the 200F’s.   They make a larger model, the Contra 350F, for larger rooms. The 200F bass needed a little taming as they were in a smaller room with no treatment, but stunning detail, stunning soundstage, super musical, no fatigue..just give me more.  Both the 200F & 350F are easy to drive too..certainly well within the range of modest powered tube gear. I couldn’t imagine..

We stopped by the Aretai room on the way out as I wanted to hear a couple requests, but the host was having a break and the room was locked.  Unfortunate. I see the Aretai will be in two rooms at Axpona. I wish I’d be back north in time to go, but, not to be. 

I've heard many speakers over the years in the 4-figure to 6-figure range, and been to a number of audio shows. The Aretai 200F was the best I've heard yet (although the Albedo Acclara last year, were awfully nice too).

Other thoughts. 

Heard to Popori Electrostats on the first floor..very nice. There was a smaller pair on the 3rd or 4th floor, but the host was jammin hard-ish rock(on two visits)..not for me, so not really sure how they sound. 

Heard the Magnepan 2.7i.  Nice sounding panels, sound clean, but sound quite thin to me and I listened to them twice. It may have been the setup/room.  I hadn't heard them previously, but was interested in them as I run a pair of LFT-8b's at home...and the LFTs, in my mind..ear..MUCH better.  I'll be upgrading my 8b's to 8c's in the next month. 

I just came back from the show. It didn’t take me long to go through each room. Quite interestingly, a few big-brand products like Innuos and Aurender were just one of the components in the room setups.  Anyway, I visited three rooms that I think are worth mentioning here.

Best Sounding:
Living Voice R80 fed by Innuos Zenith Mk3, BP Zola DAC, and BP S20EXD power amp. The sound was silky smooth, with rich and controlled bass, an airy top end, and a sweet midrange. Natural and very musical. ($82k)

Innovative Active:
Innovo Luxe T1 ($20k) fed by Aurender N150 and McIntosh preamp. It doesn’t go that deep (35Hz, -3dB), but it can be placed against the wall to gain more weight. The tonal balance is excellent — polite yet engaging. Warm sounding but still detailed.

Solid Floorstander System:
Soundfield Obelisk T7 with Orchard streamer and Orchard Starkrimson DMC 2.5. Full range with well-extended bass, transparent presentation, clear midrange, and good dynamics. ($18k)

Frankly speaking, even in a big room with acoustic treatment, none of the systems at the show impressed me in terms of soundstage performance.  It is fairly difficult to do it right in hotel.

@nogaps agree on the Aretai with Grimm MU2 DAC and Benchmark gear. Nice minimalist setup but great sound. 
 

@lanx0003 agree on the Living Voice , Border Patrol room. So silky smooth and easy to listen to. Would love to try out the Zola DAC. 
 

another favorite was the Audio Note room. Field Coil speakers AND field coil cartridge on the TT. 

here’s some pics I took as well. 
https://spaces.skylum.com/web-page/372ddd0d6b122dbb