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With previous episodes “216,” from March 2nd, and “218,” from last week, March 16th, I’ve shared some of my experiences with, and taken you on several room visits, at the 2025 Florida International Audio Fest. Today, we’ll dive into the highlights of my Top Five Rooms at the 2025 show. For clarity, all system pricing information is provided in today’s Description section.

First, we start with Room 451, sponsored by Ball Audio Distribution And System Solutions (or, BADASS for short!), and Margules Audio. Then on to Brandon 2, sponsored by Supreme Acoustic Systems, followed by a visit to Salon 1, sponsored by Next Level HiFi, then we move next door to Salon 3, sponsored by Clarisys Audio, and finally, a visit to the Palm Room, sponsored by the Valve Amplification Company, Acora Acoustics, and Scott Walker Audio. Ready, set, go!

In episode 216, from March 2nd, I shared my overall impressions of the sixth Florida International Audio Expo, from the new venue, the Sheraton Tampa Brandon Hotel, to how I perceived the event, and highlighted my impressions of the importance of a very affordable, and overachieving, monitor, developed and presented by nepo baby Lucca Chesky.

All things considered, it was both an ambitious and very enjoyable event, with some exceptionally well-done presentations from many exhibitors and manufacturers. Today, I’ll share some of the more impressive accomplishments there. As always, all equipment pricing detail is presented in today’s Description section.

Last week I brought you eight wonderful-sounding rooms I encountered during the Sophomore Southwest Audio Fest, held at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, Texas. Today, I’ll recap my choices for the top five performances turned in over that three-day event.

These systems include the Lalique Room, by Krystal Clear Audio-Video, the Batik Room, sponsored by Next Level HiFi, the Edelweiss Room, sponsored by High End by Oz, the Wyeth room, featuring the Reference Line of MBL electronics by MBL North America, and the Carpenter Ballroom, sponsored by the Valve Amplification Company, and Acora Acoustics.

It’s hard to believe that this was just the second Southwest Audio Fest… The attitudes, the spirit, the overall upbeat and enthusiastic tenor of this sophomore event were so positive, so fun, and so engaging, that I’m even more convinced than I was after the premier show that with proper marketing and sensible management, the Southwest Audio Fest has the potential to become a premier event on the annual show circuit.

That said, in this episode you get an idea of eight amazing performances I heard during my time at the remarkable venue that hosts this up-and-coming event, in Dallas, the Hilton Anatole. Are you ready? Here we go…

This week finds us midway through the most hectic time of the year for me, spring show season. With Florida and Southwest behind us – and with plenty of coverage of the Southwest Audio Fest to follow here soon – but with AXPONA and High-End Munich still to come, I find myself almost overwhelmed by the sheer volume of my workload.

With the additional challenges of this season, combined with the enduring popularity and remarkably enthusiastic reception that my after-hours curated LP sessions continue to enjoy at shows, today I revisit a seemingly incongruent topic. Many audio hobbyists seem to believe that audiophiles are people who listen to gear, while music lovers aren’t as demanding and simply choose to revel in the music, regardless of the gear used, and that the two are somehow necessarily disparate objectives. Let’s dive in…