Bristol HiFi Show 2025 – The Kudos Roundup

For nearly four full decades, The Bristol HiFi Show has been a staple of the British high-end audio calendar. In that time, many shows have come and gone, but few have continued to pull in crowds and brands quite like Audio T’s showcase in Bristol. 

Kudos Audio has enjoyed some truly memorable experiences at Bristol HiFi Show throughout the years – not least last year’s show, when we previewed SIGAO DRIVE to the public for the very first time, to much anticipation and an incredible reception. You can read about that experience right here on our blog, in fact.

For 2025 – the 36th year of the show – we returned to the newly renovated Bristol Marriott as contributors to two equally impressive and unquestionably standout systems. In Empire Suite 3, we joined forces with our good friends at The Chord Company to help highlight their superlative cable range. And in Room 314, the team at Ultrafide Audio assembled a jaw-dropping system –  featuring their amplification products alongside Linn electronics. Team in a pair of Kudos Audio loudspeakers, and it was a system capable of knocking the socks off even the most seasoned listener.

In this piece, we’ll take a closer look at each system, and round up the reaction from press and enthusiasts alike.

Kudos x The Chord Company

A big milestone for The Chord Co at this year’s Bristol show – with the UK-based cable company celebrating 40 years of manufacturing their products in Britain. We were delighted to help them celebrate this remarkable milestone by providing a pair of Kudos loudspeakers for their excellent demonstration system. 

Primarily, The Chord Company presented their recently announced PhonoARAY turntable earthing system and the English Electric EE1 Plus network noise isolator. These were showcased alongside recent additions to the range, such as the C-USB and Clearway USB-C cables, the Leyline RCA/Leyline 2XL interconnects and speaker cable, and the Epic Digital Tuned ARAY cable.

This listening setup was completed with a pair of Kudos Audio Titan 707s. It made for a stunning demo system, one that featured in many reviewers’ weekend highlights.

The Chord Company’s press demonstrations were incredibly well received, with The Ear, HiFi & Music Source, The Speaker Shacks, and HiFi Pig all singling the room out for praise – the latter of which described the sonic experience as ‘excellent’. The Ear noted how the system “made Dylan’s Tangled Up in Blue sound cleaner, more relaxed and less brash”. 

Kudos x Ultrafide Audio

Meanwhile, in Room 314, our good friends at Ultrafide had a serious treat in store for Bristol Show attendees. At the heart of their system was the brand new Ultrafide DIAS amplifier – a monstrous Class A/B dual mono amplifier delivering a staggering kilowatt of power. This came complete with Ultrafide’s U4 PRE amplifier, and a suite of world-class Linn electronics, including the Linn LP12 record player as a source. 

This system was finished off with a pair of our flagship Kudos Audio Titan 808s. And goodness gracious, did it produce the goods. 

In The Ear’s review of the show, Jason Kennedy noted how the system “produced the cleanest high sound pressure heard at the event with the aid of some Kudos Titan 808 speakers.”

In HiFi and Music Source’s Simon Wilce had plenty of praise to heap on the Ultrafide system, describing it succinctly as ‘incredible’. 

Online blog The Speaker Shacks was absolutely glowing in their praise for the Ultrafide system, noting how they “absolutely loved their room at the Bristol show this year, they were demonstrating the new DIAS Stereo power amplifier which is an absolute beast and they had the incredible Kudos Audio Titan 808 speakers that sounded sublime on the end of their electronics.”

They went on to explain how “For the size of the room, the bass delivery was powerful and controlled with superb dynamics and resolution from the Kudos Audio Titan speakers.”

The team at HiFi Pig described the system as ‘a monster’, noting how it delivered, “impeccable control over the speakers and has a ton of power on tap.”

Another great year in Bristol

Public reaction at Bristol HiFi Show never fails to disappoint. We enjoyed so many interesting conversations with enthusiastic attendees – especially when it came to the power and versatility of the Kudos Titan 808s alongside Ultrafide’s new DIAS amplifier. 

This is the first of many shows for us at Kudos Audio this year. We’re travelling far and wide to spread the joy of Kudos listening – in the UK, Europe, and further afield. Keep a close eye on our social media channels and the Kudos Audio news page on this site for more information on your closest event. As always, seeing and hearing our products is the best way to experience their sonic ability and transformative effect on your listening.