Southwest Audio Fest 2026 Part 2: Exceptional Stereo Systems, Luxury Hi-FI Gear, And Blue Note Award Winners
Room-by-room reviews, high-fidelity sound systems, marketplace, and Blue Note Awards from SWAF 2026.
SWAF 2026 Luxury Hi-FI Show Report By Mike Harkins

  Within part 1 of my SWAF 2026 show report, I covered several very musical rooms at SWAF 2026. In part 2, I'll feature several more rooms that had the best musical sound along with people, talks, the marketplace, and Blue Note Awards for best of show.

Room 943: ModWright Instruments And Alta Audio
Eric Lee demonstrated the Alta Audio Alec SE two-way loudspeakers in piano black finish. They were powered by a ModWright KWA300 Power Amplifier, ModWright's latest flagship model touting 300 Watts per channel into 8 Ohms and 550 Watts per channel into 4 Ohms. That's way more than the highly efficient Alta Alec speakers require, but hey, it's a flagship!

These Alta Audio Alec SE are beautiful flat-faced shmoo-shaped loudspeakers standing a mere 39 inches tall (without feet) and weighing 75 pounds. These little beauties put out sound much bigger than their size and filled the room with superb music and great stereo imaging. This recently improved model incorporates some of the refinements from their top-of-the-line Aphrodite speakers, mainly in the crossover components and wiring.

These speakers have a unique feature called "Dynamic Linearity Ō" which allows the speakers to play at lower volume while maintaining a balanced sound without losing detail. I contacted speaker designer Michael Levy of Alta Audio for an explanation. He says most speakers play well at high volume level but lose musicality at lower volume due to padding and other tuning factors that influence the sound. His designs don't suffer from this shortcoming, because they are designed to maintain linear response at all volume levels. I can't say the effect is very pronounced, but I did notice low-volume details were evident in the room.

Among other musical works, I listened to a very nice piano-based rendition of Stevie Nicks's "Dreams" by Lissie. The electronics and loudspeakers gave me a good sense of depth and emotion in the music.

The photo shows the Alec SE loudspeakers ($16,000 including IsoAcoustic Neo Gaia isolators) and the very prominent ModWright KWA300 amplifier ($17,500), behind them are a Modwright PH150 phono preamp ($9,750 just below the turntable), LS300 Preamp ($11,000) below that, and a ModWright analog bridge (3,900) below that (in black). The lowest box on the shelf is the Matrix Audio mini-I Pro 4 Music Streamer ($1,000). The turntable is the Pure Fidelity Harmony/Savant ($13,900) with Audio Technica ART 20 cartridge ($3,200).

Room 647: Playback Distribution, Vienna Acoustics, Advance Paris
Rob Scandley of Playback Distribution demo'ed some nice-looking gear from Vienna Acoustics and Advance Paris. As the names imply, these beauties come from Austria and France respectively. But the real proof of audio beauty is in the sound and musical reproduction. No doubt, they are articulate reproducers of musical sound as was witnessed in room 647 at SWAF 2026.

The Advance Paris 190 Wpc integrated amp features tube inputs and a hybrid class A/B amplifier design and HDMI with eARC with auto turn-on capability. Four-channel DSP allows external electronic crossover capability with DSP and Room Tune, to tame those unpleasant room artifacts. Such artifacts are often present in hotel rooms and Rob did a good job mitigating them in this room. Anyone who likes to display their gear front and center, would be pleased to show off these beauties. They have either brushed metal or black finish with changeable blue or white VU meters. And they are not priced in the stratosphere. Wow!

Pricing:

    Advance Paris A-I190 NOVA Integrated Amplifier ($7,999)
    Vienna Acoustics Beethoven Concert Grand Reference loudspeakers ($14,995)
    Velodyne SPL-X 10" Subwoofer (($3,999)
    Dual CS-529 Turntable ($1,399)

    V/Coustic room treatments: Super Bass Extreme ($799/pair), Multifuser DC4 ($599 for 4), Cinema Round Premium ($499 for 4), Silent Angel Bonn NSC Network Switch ($1,599), Silent Angel Forester F2 Power Conditioner ($1,849), in addition to other gear in the room.

Room City View 6, 7, And 8: Scott Walker Audio And Luxury Audio Group
I was very pleased to see one of the well-known high-end HiFi dealers at SWAF 2026, Scott Walker Audio. They offer some of the best-known brands and I was anxious for some nice demonstrations. On display in these rooms were Sonus Faber loudspeakers, REL subwoofers (stacked 3 high on each side), plenty of McIntosh gear (City View 6). Hulking Estelon loudspeakers, Sonorus open reel tape deck, ART noise suppression devices, Ortvik acoustical treatments, huge mono-bloc amps from Vitus Audio, and many other products were on display in City View 7. And in City View 8, Valve Amplification Company (VAC) powered some gloriously beautiful blue Von Schweikert loudspeakers.

I made note of the acoustics in City View 6 featuring the lower-priced Sonus Faber and McIntosh setup. At my request, they played Boz Scaggs's "Thanks to You" which has a nice bass track allowing those REL subs to do their thing. Unfortunately, I doubt the room was set up well since bass seemed muddied and irregular when this track was played. Full-range bass response seemed out of reach despite the hefty double three-high REL subs in this room. I did get a nice stereo image and excellent midrange quality from this setup, but the bass was a bit disappointing. I'm sure it wasn't the fault of the gear, but probably the room and the need to improve the setup.

I was promised a listing of gear in this room, but as of press time, I have not received it. I'll update if received later.

As for City View 7 and 8, the Estelon speakers sang with authority and great musical sound. But no list of gear or prices was available in this room either. Sorry Scott Walker, but this just doesn't cut it for an audio show. Love the gear, but we need more information.

Room Austin 3: Altec Lansing And Infigo
The very large Austin 3 ballroom proved to be both a visually and audibly superior room. The 200-inch theater screen gave the music an added look, but the music (from Qobuz or digital files) was quite revealing and rivaled just about anything at the show. Altec Lansing Ribbonacci is a huge departure from the large "Voice of the Theater" speakers that made the company famous in years past. None of that up-front theater speaker sound. The large ribbon panels supplemented by flat-faced woofers truly filled the room with enjoyable music that had body, depth, and focus.

Steven Rabitz of Altec Lansing and Hans Looman of Infigo Audio hosted this room. The room was set up well. Infigo electronics provided amazing musical sound through these novel 3-way panel speakers with dipole / bipole design coupled with four unique flat panel DSP-controlled subwoofers.

Considering the magnitude of the sound and vision in this room, the price tag was not outrageous either:

    Streamer: Infigo Audio IS-1 Quadcore - $6,000
    DAC: Infigo Audio Method 4 - $35,000
    PRE: Infigo Audio Method 7 - $22,000
    Amp: 2 x Infigo Audio Method 3 Mono Block Amp - $60,000/pair
    Speaker Cable: Altec Lansing Reference Cryogen 1.5M $5,000 / set
    Speakers: Altec Lansing Ribbonacci Reference - $119,900 / pair
    Subwoofers: 2 per side Altec Lansing ripole woofers with 1000W dsp amp - $ 7,499 / piece
    Projector: AWOL Vision Aetherion Max Ultra short throw (UST) - $4,499
    All equipment on Sapphire Blue Slippers Feet - $400 / set

    Cables/interconnects: USB Cable: Infigo Audio Cryogen USB 1M - $1,500, XLR Cable1: Altec Lansing Reference Series Cryogen XLR 1M - $4,000, XLR Cable2: Altec Lansing Reference Series Cryogen XLR 6M - $9,000

Room 742: Daedalus Audio And Infigo
As I walked into room 742, I was greeted by Lou Hinkley, one of SWAF's organizers. Lou is the developer of beautifully built Daedalus loudspeakers and other Daedalus branded accessories in this room. Another room host was Infigo Audio's Hans Looman, whom I had met previously in Austin 3. Hans was good enough to treat me to some music, including a song by Madeline Peru that I had not heard before. He said you could hear the actual room in which the song was recorded. Listening carefully, I could indeed hear that, but to my ears, the studio recording space was a bit too much for my taste. On the other hand, playback of a Louis Armstrong track was quite musically satisfying. Armstrong's trumpet came across with aplomb, and his singing was 100% Satchmo.

The Daedalus Apollo v.2 loudspeakers were beautifully made, as you can see in the photo. Lou Hinkley is an expert wood craftsman, and the inlaid wood makes for a stunning work of art as well as an excellent source of music that any music lover would love.

Price List:

    Daedalus Audio Apollo v.2 ($22,900)
    DiD-SPK Daedalus Isolation Devices for speakers (starting at $55 each)
    SS/Brass Spikes ($40 each)
    DiD Daedalus Isolation Devices for components (starting at $480 per set)
    Daedalus Speaker Cables – 8ft. set ($1,950)
    AMP: Infigo Audio Method 6 ($22,000)
    DAC: Infigo Audio Method 4 ($35,000)
    Streamer: Infigo Audio IS-1 Quad Core ($6,000)
    USB: Infigo Audio Cryogen ($1,500)
    XLR: Infigo Audio Cryogen ($4,000)

Room Pearl 1: Perfect8, Thrax And Neotech
Novel audio designs introduced every year are sometimes found to offer unusually good performance. A case in point is these Perfect8 glass-encased loudspeakers. This model is called the Cube-T ($75,500), part of a line of glass-cabinet speakers offered by Swedish company, Perfect8. They use a glass material called Super Silent Glass. Jonas Räntilä, Co-Founder & CEO of Perfect8 Technologies hosted this room along with his wife, Maria. Glass plates bound together for the speaker enclosure makes for a visually stunning loudspeaker. But the glass is vibration free, allowing sound from drivers alone to emanate into the room.

Powering the Cube-T speakers were a pair of Bulgarian-built Thrax Heros Mk2S Monoblock class A amps (100 Wpc) which feature a solid aluminum chassis and a hybrid tube design with transformer isolation. Other components from Thrax and others are listed below.

I was able to hear Chris Isaak's recording of "Wicked Game" come alive with a perfectly imaged soundstage and the fine vocal reverberation evident in this recording.

Later, at an after-hours session, Jonas played a Miles Davis recording, "So What". Miles's smooth trumpet playing came across with just the right timbre and bite. Cymbal shimmer heard in the recording sounded as it should. Jonas played Mussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain", a very detailed and close-up recording. And then, one of my personal favorites, "Diamonds and Rust", a love song with a sense of frustration, by Joan Baez. This A&M release was one I recently extracted from vinyl at home. I enjoyed the clear distinct sound of Joan's voice from this recording as reproduced by the first-class audio gear in this room. Some other of Jonas's favorites included choral works which were reproduced impeccably. The sound of the human voice is often proof of performance for any audio system, and this setup did just fine.

This system included some unique interconnects and speaker cables made by Neotech, a Taiwan company using unique metallurgy and wire geometry to channel seamless electrical signals to the various components and speakers.

In addition to the Cube-T loudspeakers, the following components powered this room:

      ThraxYatrus turntable with Frank Schröder CB tonearm ($26,000)
     Ortofon MC Anna Diamond cartridge ($10,500)
    Thrax Orpheus Mk3S phono preamp ($27,500)
    Roon Nucleus Titan Server ($4,000)
    ThraxMaximinus Mk2S DAC ($37,900)
    Thrax Libra 300 preamplifier ($68,500)
    ThraxHeros Mk2S monoblock (pair) ($44,500)
    Neotech interconnects, speaker cables, and power cables (total value ~$28,150)
    Perfect8 XLR (price on request)
    Accessories (rack, resonance control, record brush) by Perfect8 and Ramar ($14,500)

    Total room value (except for Perfect8 XLR): $337,050

Room Pearl 3: GrandiNote, KimberKable, And Anne Bisson
Every now and then, we need a reminder of what true unadulterated, unamplified musical sound is. To that end, we have Anne Bisson, a Canadian vocalist and pianist who often attends and performs at audio shows. This year, as is her custom, she entertained a group of us in the GrandiNote / Kimber Kable room at SWAF 2026 high-fidelity audio show. Her performance included a rendition of Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb" from her newest album, Guilty Pleasures. Anne truly makes this song her own and it's wonderful to hear an actual unamplified human voice for a change. It helps us know exactly what to listen for when a demonstration includes a recorded vocal. She had GrandiNote's Max Serra play the musical background while she sang the vocals. Very nice!

Seminar Theater
Seminar Theater was a large room separated from the exhibit areas by an atrium area so that sound interference was non-existent. The room itself was not acoustically perfect, but I had no problem understanding the spoken word from presenters in this room.

Below are photos taken from two presentations I attended, the first by Norman Varney of AV RoomService, Ltd. Norman offers evaluation and scientifically determined room treatments to allow music to clearly come through without the many peaks and valleys that dominate many listening rooms. He charges flat rates for his services. For example, he would charge $6,000 plus expenses for a personal visit, room measurement, and prescription for room treatment. But for much less cost, he can work from measurements of the room made by the owner with Norman's remote assistance. Data sent to Norman allows him to make the correct room treatment recommendations for a given listening room. Goals are reverberation time, noise floor, timing, and elimination of room nodes.

The second seminar I visited was given by Jay McArdle of Legacy Audio. They have been producing high-value loudspeakers from their factory in Springfield, Illinois since the 1980s. But the company was recently sold to Jay, whose background has been in home theater systems. His talk was about the history and future direction of the company.

Under Jay's guidance and the loudspeaker engineering skills of Bill Dudleston, they intend to broaden their use of DSP-enabled and powered loudspeakers of many different sizes and designs. New CNC equipment will enable future refinement of speaker designs along with their continued use of class D amplifiers, built-in or external to the speakers.

Marketplace
I was surprised that no one was selling vinyl records in the Marketplace, but I heard there was a separate record event elsewhere in Dallas and that there was a possibility of some kind of merger of these two events next year.

There were several booths set up for other purposes though. Stax headphones, Snake River Audio (cables/interconnects), Wally Analog (phono setup tools), Music on Reels (open reel tape), ASC (Tube Traps), JVC Kenwood (speakers and electronics), and others were all present and ready to sell their services and products to audio enthusiasts visiting their booths.

I noticed Charles Kirmuss sans lab coat (see photo below), with his Kirmuss record cleaning gear. Although Charles attends practically every audio show in existence, this is the first time I had an opportunity to chat with him personally.

Record cleaning equipment and processes don't seem to be top-of-mind for many of us audio fanatics, but Charles claims it should be. Most records produced, he says, are of inferior quality, even those touted as serious "audiophile" recordings. Some attempt to clean records as a final production step, but the ultrasonic cleaning machines often do more harm than good, since the water they use becomes quickly contaminated and redeposits foreign matter back onto the vinyl.

Charles showed me a recording of Anette Askvik's album, Liberty, a popular record for audiophiles. The pressing, he claimed, was overheated when made causing the record groove to be more contaminated than usual. Then he proceeded to show me the process he uses to restore the recording to a pristine state, meaning an exact replica of the stamper from which it was made.

To do this, he uses a brush and a special antistatic compound he developed to scrub the record surface. This special compound provides an ionic attachment to the vinyl allowing the ultrasonics in his Kirmuss cleaning machine to work effectively. After the ionic treatment, he places the disc in the Kirmuss machine for several minutes, examines the wetting and clarity of the water from the machine and based on these observations determines if another cycle is needed. This particular recording required several cleaning cycles and probably at least 20 minutes of manual and automatic machine cleaning to make it as close to pristine as possible. I don't know the exact time because I left after cycle 3.

The price for the Kirmuss record restoration system is $1,680 including supplies (discounted at audio shows). That may seem steep, but for a machine that actually works, it's probably a bargain.

I can attest to Charles Kirmuss' remarks that even new records have noisy groove walls. Usually, 60 dB of signal to noise is about the maximum one can obtain. Kirmuss claims up to several dB of S/N improvement using his machine and he proves it. If he could automate this machine, it would be much better, but it would probably cost $100,000. Given the high price of some audio gear, there might be a market there.

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