KEF's Blade 2 vowed attendees with Arcam gear. This and the Vivid Audio Giya 4 are the two compact multi-way speakers I personally most lust after to review and possibly own.

Here are two views on the internal goings-on.

Kharma's reach extends across quite a financial swath all the way up to the stratosphere but this stylish sub/sat system could be their best option for the normies amongst us.

The Aussie chaps of Kyron Audio have licked the challenge of making open-baffle speakers domestically acceptable on size and looks. Since shipping from Oz to CH and back spells royal pain for a small company, Australian correspondent Edgar Kramer will pen something on these.

Here's a side view to underscore the domestic happiness angle. The seated audience also communicates how short these speakers are to not dominate their environs despite twin 15ers.

The Greeks at Lab12 have upped their game with new products amongst which is a very clever powerline filter with precision read-out over a number of AC specs and—unique!—an auto mode. That uses diagnostics to determine what internal filter/s to engage to best combat what ails a particular wall socket.

Best Sound of Show, cost no issue, came once again from the Living Voice Vox Olympian/Elysian system with Kondo electronics, Kondo cabling and C.E.C. digital source.

The enormous subs this year had the fully bespoke LV finish and cosmetic details.

The decal had gone pure precious metals.

Here I attempted to show the radiating veneer of an Elysian subwoofer which countered my best efforts by reflecting right back at me. Using a ceiling flash in a number of directions merely created various hot spots to make this the best-looking version I managed.

An external crossover option requested by a client made a fully finished appearance...

... and the burning question about whether lead-acid or Lithium batteries sound better had finally been sorted. Kevin Scott dips his wick in lead - and to the tune of some 650kg worth no less. In short, this entire system ran fully off the grid again. Going beyond even Kaiser, that's how ultimate professionals do it. This includes driving everything up in their own trucks to be set up and dialling in sound whilst their neighbours still wait for the show warehouse to deliver their goods. That's based on actual feedback from their neighbours across the corridor! Some showgoers I talked to complained that Kevin likes to play opera which as a genre they don't appreciate. True, that's also what played whilst I was present. But, it happens to be one of the most challenging and thus telling genres extant. Most presenters would be scared to spin it. They prefer vocal Jazz which sounds good on everything. I'm no opera freak myself but find such music far more revealing of a system's prowess than the typical show fare. For three years in a row now, this room served as my barometer and yardstick on what's humanly possible in hifi when someone pulls out all the stops. Respect, appreciation and gratitude for such an exotic no-holds-barred opportunity!