Here at Kantata, we’re still recovering from a fabulous weekend at Belfast Audio Show 2024.

For the first time, we set out to create a product showcase that was worthy of the discerning HiFi enthusiasts of Northern Ireland - with a real variation of systems, electronics, and listening types. We wanted to offer something for every music lover to enjoy - regardless of your preferences or price point - whilst still maintaining a seriously high level of quality throughout each room and exhibitor.

In this regard, we feel like Belfast Audio Show 2024 certainly hit the brief! Over 250 people joined us at The Stormont Hotel across the weekend - a brilliant turnout. The Stormont proved a great venue for us, with good sized rooms for all our exhibitors and great facilities for relaxing between listens.

The real cause for celebration, however, were our participating brands. Each of them passionately engaged with the event, and provided attendees with an excellent snapshot of why they maintain their unquestionable position at the very top of their respective fields.

In the atrium, the team at Vinyl Matters provided a wonderful record stall that was incredibly well received by our guests - and corridor exhibitions by Audite Acoustics and Custom Designs were equally a brilliant addition to the show. But what about the demo rooms? Let’s take a look at each in turn, and see what they had in store for our visitors.

A quick, special thanks to Neil Hallworth of Audiophile Musings for his kind permission to use his photos in this piece. You can read his fascinating and in-depth show report here.

MBL

One of the real highlights of the weekend was showcasing MBL’s stunning products to Northern Irish music lovers for the first time. To mark the start of our exclusive retail partnership with the 100% made-in-Germany brand, we featured MBL in multiple rooms throughout the show - including their own, dedicated, complete system.

From their incredibly popular demo room, MBL presented their Noble line of electronics - including the N31 CD/DAC with optional Roon module, an N51 integrated stereo amp, and a pair of Radialstrahler loudspeakers. An Innuos Zen Mini server, utilised as a Roon core, accompanied the all-MBL setup.

The reception from attendees was incredibly positive - plenty of interest, with barely a free seat in the room throughout the weekend.

VERTERE

Vertere Acoustics (a constant favourite for our customers) presented a stunning selection of their best analogue listening products, comprehensively supported by MBL. MBL’s N15 Mono power amplifiers and N11 pre-amplifier accompanied a pair of MBL’s iconic R101 E MkII loudspeakers - a seriously impressive suite of products

Vertere used the weekend to offer their ever-popular product comparison demonstrations - initially presenting tracks from a mid-range Vetere system featuring an MG record player and PHONO-1 phono stage. These were then directly compared to the upper-range SG record player and new, remarkable CALON pre-amplifier. The leap up in performance was unmistakably vast, and left every listener visibly impressed.

Vertere also featured their highly-popular and entry-level-priced DG-1S and Dark Sabre package - fresh from its fifth What HiFi? Award in a row. It was incredibly well received by visitors, elevated even further by the addition of their new Dark Sabre cartridge.

HEGEL / AMPHION

Photo Credit: Neil Hallworth, Audiophile Musings

Hegel and Amphion shared a room - presenting an unquestionably high-end yet sensibly priced system that delighted listeners across the board.

Hegel took the opportunity to present their all-new H400 integrated streaming amplifier - nicknamed ‘The Streamliner’ - a product that is designed to replace the much-loved H390. Early reviews have been glowing, and it wasn’t difficult to see why. This one-box product does it all, and then some. Neither short on power nor convenience of use.

This was paired with Amphion’s outstanding Argon 3S loudspeakers, a pair of Custom Design stands, and cabling and power from Audiomica. The result was a modest-sized home system that absolutely enveloped the room - an incredibly impressive achievement.

GRAHAM AUDIO / EXPOSURE

The next presentation saw two iconic British brands teaming up to present a splendidly comprehensive system. Exposure provided a full suite of 3510 electronics including CD transport, pre-amplifier and mono power amplifiers, all working alongside a pair of Graham Audio’s LS5/9f floorstanders.

Graham Audio’s loudspeakers (now available throughout Ireland courtesy of Kantata Audio) never disappoint, and paired with the robust performance of Exposure’s brilliantly-made 3510 series made for a deeply enjoyable system.

AUDIOQUEST

Our friends at AudioQuest took the opportunity to combine multiple brands in a system designed to really showcase the transcendent effects of their leading-level cabling and power products. The star of the show was a Niagara 5000 Power Conditioner, that fed beautifully clean power to an MBL C41 Network Player DAC and C21 Stereo Power Amp. These in turn were accompanied by a pair of Kudos Titan 505s - all, of course, comprehensively cabled by AudioQuest.

This was one of the most interestingly assembled systems at the show and was justifiably well received by attendees throughout the weekend.

MOOR AMPS

Moor Amps are an undoubted and unwavering audiophile favourite - and they weren’t shy of delivering plenty of this crowd-pleasing quality at this year’s Belfast Audio Show. Their system featured an absolute abundance of their most popular products, including the Angel Pre preamplifer, Angel 6 Stereo Power Amplifier, and their floorstanding Ascalon-8 loudspeakers.

An incredibly popular room here - with many attendees marking it out as a highlight of the weekend.

EPOS

EPOS’ ES14N has garnered much praise in recent months - and justifiably so, in our opinion! These stunning speakers were presented in a system that included an Innuos server, Merason Frerot DAC with the POW1 power supply upgrade, and an Angel 4 stereo power amplifier and Angel Pre from fellow exhibitors Moor Amps.

The result was a really quite sublime system that never struggled to present a beautiful soundstage and performance. Many visitors spent a long time in this room - and we can totally understand why!

This system was the proud winner of Audiophile Musing’s SOUND OF THE SHOW Award! You can read their full review here.

INNUOS

The team at Innuos assembled a wonderful system for their own dedicated room. Having featured in class-leading systems right throughout the show (as they so often do at HiFi shows) it was a treat for all listeners to experience a system with specific emphasis put on their peerless products.

Their excellent Innuos Zen NG Music Server was the star of the system in a setup that included a Moor Amps Angel Pre / Angel 6 Power amp and a Merason Reuss DAC. This system also featured Ophidian’s brand new and visually striking Ffion loudspeakers - a brilliant addition to a wonderful setup.

OPHIDIAN

Last but certainly not least, Ophidian excelled in their own dedicated room. An Innuos Zen Mini S and LPSU power supply serviced a pair of Ophidian Incanto floorstanding loudspeakers, powered by Exposure 3510 amplifier and preamp. A real audible treat, beautifully presented by Ophidian.

Ophidian are considered to be one of the most interesting loudspeaker brands operating in contemporary HiFi, and with this system they proved exactly why. This room provided a lively and deeply impressive sound that was richly received by listeners.

So there you have it! Our sincerest thanks has to go to every one of our exhibitors for making the first ever Belfast Audio Show a resounding success. And of course, an equally warm thanks to all who attended to support these incredible brands.

We hope to see you all again next year! And don’t forget, you can demo many of the products you saw on display with us at Kantata Audio. Reach out to us for more.

The Belfast Audio Show 2024 Roundup!