Another Bristol Hi-Fi Show has been and gone. Maybe we're biased, but 2025's showcase was a belter, bringing keen punters, manufacturers and journalists alike face-to-face with the best, brightest and occasionally oddest audio tech that the market has to offer.
2025's expo was once again an Aladdin's cave of treasures to choose from, featuring big-name brands showcasing products as diverse as amplifiers, turntables, headphones and music streamers. It's speakers which tend to dominate the show, though, acting as the focal point through which proud companies can showcase their talents to the thronging crowds.
We of course had our patented tech demo running throughout, but much of the pleasure of the Bristol Show is donning your comfiest trainers, getting on your feet and doing the rounds to listen to speakers of all shapes and sizes, some of which ad even resisted the urge to play the entire Dire Straits back catalogue.
From stylish standmounts to big-name floorstanders, here's our selection of the latest, greatest demos from this year's Bristol Hi-Fi Show.
Ruark Audio Sabre-R
We do tend to like the way that Ruark Audio does things. The British outfit's R410 music system is a thing of beauty (and it sounds stunning, too), whereas the Ruark Audio MR1 Mk2 are a superb pair of desktop speakers that, like the R410, sound as good as they look.
No surprise, then, that we were guilty of making a B-line through the crowds to the handsome new Sabre-R bookshelf units, deploying a two-way design with a 26mm silk dome tweeter working alongside a 15cm natural fibre cone mid/bass driver. This was the first time Ruark had demoed a pair of passive speakers at the Bristol Show for more than 20 years, so apologies to anyone we knocked over on the way to see them. Worth it.
PMC Prophecy series
A few of us had already crossed paths with PMC's latest range of premium loudspeakers, but for the uninitiated, this was an opportunity not to be missed, especially with the thought of the British manufacturer's superb Prodigy series ratcheting our expectations up to feverish levels.
PMC's new line, the Prophecy, is made up of five new models – a standmounter, three floorstanders and a centre speaker – with each member using PMC's trustworthy transmission-line design alongside brand-new drive units across the board. We had the chance to get some serious listening time with the handsome Prophecy speakers working alongside a Michell Audio turntable, and while it was a treat from start to finish, we now have a problem: we want to hear them even more!
Wharfedale Super Linton
Our dear old (he's not that old) editor-in-chief Alastair Stevenson made good on his promise to run at full tilt in the direction of Wharfedale's latest hi-fi offering, and it's not difficult to see why. We awarded the Wharfedale Linton five stars when we reviewed them in 2020, and we feel entitled to expect quite a lot from this latest pair.
The Super Linton continue the legacy of the British brand's much-acclaimed Wharfedale Linton standmounts, boasting upgraded cabinets, drive units and an improved crossover to eke out those extra levels of sonic performance. From what we heard, all of that work may not have been in vain.
Wilson Benesch Horizon
Wilson Benesch has made a rather welcome habit of popping up at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show, treating fans last year to a very welcome showcase of its big-bucks Discover 3zero standmounts.
This year was no different, well, apart from the actual choice of speakers on display. 2025's expo was a chance for Wilson Benesch to showcase the luxurious Horizon floorstanders as they launched in the UK, and with a whole room to themselves, the dazzling debutantes were really given space to shine. It's nice to hear a pair of speakers do their thing without Jethro Tull seeping in from the next room, after all.
Fyne Audio F500S
Fyne Audio is on a world-beating run at the moment, with its recently-reviewed floorstanding effort – the supremely talented F501E – nailing another five-star trophy to pop onto the Scottish brand's metaphorical mantlepiece.
Fyne is once again aiming for the full five with its F500S Series of loudspeakers which aim for significant audio upgrades over the established F500 line without putting the price up. The new range consists of the standmount F5S and F500S speakers, the F501S and F502S floorstanders, as well as a mountable LCR unit, but it was the XX that we managed to sample at this year's Bristol Hi-Fi Show. It's too early to tell, but once again, the signs seem extremely positive from one of the most in-form brands in hi-fi.
Read our Fyne Audio F500S Series news story
Neat Iota II
Oh, they're so cute! Neat had a few different bits and pieces of display for punters to enjoy, with the ultra-compact, super-cute Iota II standmounts acting as a particular highlight. You might be familiar with the original Iota, the equally compact units which boasted colourful, 'stackable' designs (they were often piled on top of one another in marketing and press materials), with Neat bringing the endearing configuration back for a whole new generation of listeners in 2025.
Morgan Acoustics Ten-12
If you were seeking size and power from this year's event, you couldn't have done much better than the rather whopping Morgan Acoustics Ten-12. The rooms aren't exactly massive at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show, but we received the impression that the Ten-12 could have filled the hotel foyer with their broad, muscular sound. Teasing a wide frequency bandwidth and low distortion to go with all of that size and scale, they were certainly one of this year's surprise packages.
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The Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025: pictures, news, highlights and the latest releases
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