One of the more interesting speakers at the show was Analogue Alchemy’s Sound Master (left, £19,950/pair). This is a fully open-baffle design constructed in black acrylic and aluminum. Bass is produced by a pair of 10" woofers, while the treble is augmented by a rear-firing tweeter. The speaker comes with an active crossover but not the eight (!) channels of amplification required to power it.

Audiosmile makes the nicely finished Kensai stand-mount (right), which now has a supporting stand and bass section called the Advantage. This £2999-per-pair combined tower contains active crossovers, with the bass section supplying amplification for itself and the two-way Kensai, the pair comprising a semi-active system. The latest addition to the range is a supertweeter to sit on top of the stack for £580/pair. It contains a ribbon driver with 40kHz extension and is finished in leatherette. For a change, its purpose is not to extend the treble above the hearing range, but instead give wider dispersion in the audio band proper.