This is the third and final selection of listening impressions from High End 2023 and hifi deluxe 2023.

HED Unity

The Unity headphone from HED Technologies is a wireless headphone with a built in WiFi streamer. It can stream directly from services such as Qobuz and Spotify losslessly at up to 24/96. It also provides Bluetooth and wired connectivity. The Unity is packed with technology, providing a range of other features, including automatic noise cancellation and head tracking.

The Unity is a closed back headphone with 40mm dynamic drivers. The earcups are milled from a block of solid aluminium alloy, and together with the memory foam ear pads provide very good passive sound isolation. The Unity is a very good sounding headphone, both wired and using WiFi. I found the headband to be a little uncomfortable on the head. Also the rigid connection of the earcups to the headband, without any swivel, also reduced to comfort a bit. Notwithstanding these comfort issues, the Unity is very interesting. I look forward to an opportunity for a more extended evaluation.

An additional point of interest for me was meeting Trinidadian acoustician, Dr. Jason Cambridge, who designed the Unity’s acoustics, and was on hand to discuss details of the product and its design.

Linkwitz LX521.4MG

The Linkwitz LX521.4MG was on demo at hifideluxe 2023. This is the current incarnation of the reference loudspeaker design of renowned engineer, the late Siegfried Linkwitz. The LX521.4MG is a full-range 4-way dipole, with a pair of tweeters, front and rear, open baffle upper and lower midrange drivers and a pair of woofers. Each speaker is powered by the Linkwitz PowerBox 6pro NCore Precision Analog LX521, a 5-channel class D amplifier with analog signal processing to implement the LX521.4MGs crossovers.

The LX521.4MG completely disappeared in a huge soundstage with excellent imaging. The sound was neutral and dynamic, with very natural sounding timbres on vocals and instruments. The bass was deep and powerful, and easily powered the very large listening room. This was a very impressive system indeed, which provided some of the best sound I heard at either hifideluxe 2023 or High End 2023.

Living Voice R80

The R80 is the new, large two-way floorstander from Living Voice. This ported design uses a pair of 8″ elliptical mid-bass drivers and an elliptical tweeter, in an MTM configuration, with an outboard crossover. The R80 were sourced by a Kuzma XL Air turntable with Safir 9 tone arm, and powerd by tube electronics from SJS.

Living Voice consistently produces some of the best sound at High End with its large Vox Olympian and Vox Palladian horn loudspeakers. The R80s carried the Living Voice torch wonderfully well, with a big bold sound, pinpoint imaging, a wide and deep soundstage, and all the refinement of a reference-class loudspeaker.

Perlisten S7t

The Perlisten S7t, demoed in an attractive walnut veneer finish, delivered very impressive sound. The speakers were driven by a Momentum MxV integrated amplifier from Dan D’Agostino Master Audio Systems. They were set up along one wall in a very large space, which housed several other systems. Despite the less than ideal location, the S7ts sounded very good reproducing the amazingly deep vocals and Stygian bass notes on the “The Sound of Silence” by Geoff Castellucci. They were equally at home with the dazzling guitar and bass of Poliphia on their track “Playing God.”

Perlisten also staged a very impressive Dolby Atmos demonstration, featuring speakers from their R and S series.

PMC prodigy1 and prodigy5

PMC introduced the Prodigy series at High End 2023. The prodigy1 is a small two-way standmount, while the prodigy5 is a small floorstander. As expected, the prodigy5 went deeper than the prodigy1, but both speakers provided powerful, fullrange sound, belying their diminutive dimensions. The bass displayed texture and resolution, and this continued seamlessly up the frequency spectrum to the sparkling treble … and they played loud, without strain. The Prodigy series worthily represented their heritage from the long line of highly acclaimed PMC studio monitors. Very impressive speakers indeed!

ProAc K1

The ProAc K1 is the top stand-mount speaker in the ProAc product line.  They were demonstrated in a system comprising an Audio Research CD player and an Aesthetix Mimas integrated amplifier.  Whether Jon Cambell’s gravelly voice on “Down in the Hole,” or Chris Jones’s “No Sanctuary Here,” or Hugh Masekela’s plaintive flugelhorn on “Stimella,” the K1s sounded wonderful, with a rich midrange and brilliant treble. Also there was high quality bass, and much more of it than you should expect from a stand-mount speaker.  The imaging was superb and the soundstage wide and deep.  An outstanding speaker, fully deserving of its position as ProAc’s flagship stand-mount.

Raidho X2t

The Raidho X2t was the most amazing speaker I heard at High End 2023. They sounded excellent, of course, as did other systems. What stood out was how these small floorstanders, less than 6″ wide and 3′ 6″ tall, absolutely filled the large room, delivering engaging sound in a seamless, three-dimensional soundstage. Standing next to the 2.1m tall Raidho TD6, it would have been easy to believe that the huge sound was coming from the huge speaker, but it wasn’t. It was produced by the diminutive X2ts.

The X2ts were driven by an electronics from Moon, including a pair of Moon 888 monoblock power amplifiers. The system produced excellent resolution, with purity of tone and timbral delicacy. Vocals and instruments sounded just right, and their sonic images were solid and palpable. All of this is expected from Raidho. What was amazing was the depth and power of the bass and the huge scale of the soundstage these little speakers threw.

This was some of the best sound at High End 2023, and for me, the most outstanding.

SVS

SVS had all their subwoofers on display, as well as a couple of demonstrations. On demo was the SVS Prime Wireless Pro Speaker System with the SVS 3000 In-Wall powered by a SVS Sledge STA-800D2C amplifier. I’m familiar with the Prime Wireless, but it was my first encounter with the 3000 In-Wall. Even in the open exhibition space, it delivered deep, powerful bass that certainly packed a punch. I look forward to hearing it play in a room.

SVS also constructed a demonstration room with a 5.2.2 Dolby Atmos home theatre system. It featured a pair of SVS Ultra Bookshelves for the left and right fronts, an SVS Ultra Center for the centre channel, another pair of SVS Ultra Bookshelves for the surrounds, a pair of SVS Prime Elevations for the height channels, and 2 SVS SB-3000 subwoofers for the LFE. Playing demo segments from movies like “Top Gun: Maverick,“ the Ultras delivered dialogue and sounds from the front and surround channels with clarity, and produced an engaging, immersive experience, underpinned by the powerful LFE effects from the twin SB-3000s.

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