THE BRISTOL HI-FI SHOW 2025 - THE MASSES, THE MUSIC AND THE LEGENDS
/It’s been a few weeks since The Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025, and the dust is just about settling. As ever, it was a very busy weekend that flew by in a flash. At 10am on Friday morning, the doors open, and suddenly it’s 5pm on Sunday — time for the exhibitors to pack down and begin the mammoth task of returning the hotel to normal.
This was about the 30th show I’ve worked at, the first being in 1992 (when I hadn’t been working for Audio Excellence for very long). I was completely amazed at the scale of the show and the number of exhibitors all under one roof. Fast forward to 2025, and it’s even more of an incredible event — packed with exhibitors and so much to see and hear. I thought I’d give you a little insight into the show and share my highlights from the 2025 Bristol Hi-Fi Show.
Behind the scenes
In the lead-up to the show, exhibitors start arriving on the Wednesday to begin unloading their equipment and setting up their rooms, alongside construction crews building the impressive stands you’ll see — like the many of the setups in the Bristol Suite on the ground floor. The sound of power tools fills the air! Thursday sees the majority of the exhibitors arrive, with a huge team of porters working like an army of ants, getting vast quantities of equipment from lorries and vans into the right rooms for each manufacturer in record time. I usually arrive on Thursday afternoon to help with setting up the Audio T sales rooms (though, to be fair, most of the hard work is already done by our brilliant IT team, who set up the till systems and more).
For anyone who’s attended the shows over the years, it’s clear just how much work goes into getting everything up and running. It’s a true testament to Audio T, the hotel and all the manufacturers for their continued efforts to put on such a fantastic show for loyal Hi-Fi and home cinema enthusiasts year after year.
By late Thursday evening, the madness starts to calm. Everyone is busily fine-tuning their systems, and the hotel gradually fills with the sound of music as more setups come to life. It’s a magical moment when the rooms transform from chaotic setups into immersive listening spaces, each one showcasing something different — from powerful floorstanding speakers to delicate turntables, all working in harmony to deliver unforgettable sound experiences.
It is time…
Friday morning arrives, and the hotel is buzzing! It’s an early start for everyone — make sure you hit that breakfast buffet hard, as you never know when you’ll get a chance to grab a snack during the day (speaking from experience). Then it’s down to the ground floor sales desk to gather the team for a briefing — and then it’s all systems go!
The Audio t sales team
Throughout the weekend, the energy never drops. There’s a constant flow of excited visitors exploring room after room, discovering the latest equipment, chatting with experts, and soaking in the music. Whether you’re a seasoned enthusiast or new to the world of Hi-Fi, The Bristol Hi-Fi Show offers something for everyone — it’s a true celebration of sound.
The Hard Working STaff on the Entrance Desks
The clock approaches 10am, our fabulous team are ready to go at the main entrance and a quick step outside for some fresh air — and the sight which we have come to expect over the years of a queue heading off around the hotel is there once again — fantastic!
The doors open and before we know it the corridors are full of visitors, the exhibitors' rooms are all open and filling up, and at the sales desk, we remember the quiz we play every year which is: “how long will it be before we hear someone playing Hotel California?” So — if you were near the ground floor sales desk and heard a collective “NOOOOOOO!!!” — now you know why. There have been a lot of songs over the years that get used and used and used, but the one that seems to be lingering is Hotel California, and let’s be honest — there’s only so many times you can hear it!
As the day goes on, it’s the usual very busy Friday. We are super busy on the sales desk offering advice, helping first-time visitors find their way around the hotel, and of course making lots of sales. For anyone that has visited the show, you will have seen the huge Chord Company stands as soon as you enter the show and their eager team greeting you as you come in. Needless to say, with their great show offers and bargain cable bins, they were one of the most popular purchases at the show.
Another very popular purchase at the show was IsoAcoustics, and has been for a good few years now. A fantastic product that is so quick and easy to demonstrate, lots of visitors were purchasing the amazing Gaia Speaker Isolation feet. If you have not experienced any of the IsoAcoustics range then it’s well worth checking them out at your nearest Audio T store.
Some personal highlights…
I managed to get out and about this year to take a look at some rooms, so here’s a few that really stood out for me:
Firstly, David and Goliath — the fabulous little WiiM products, who were launching their new WiiM Vibelink amplifier to sit alongside the WiiM Ultra. Then, to the absolutely bonkers demo from REL Acoustics (by far the most attended room of the show), who were demonstrating a six-pack of Reference Subwoofers alongside some amazing Audio Research electronics. For anyone that heard this demo, I’m sure you’ll agree — it was breathtaking!
A few other products that caught my eye include the new Quad 33/303 amplifiers, Ruark’s new R610 Music Console and Sabre-R speakers and the all-new Acoustic Energy AE300² series speakers.
A couple of my favourite sounds at the show were the Focal Stellia headphones using the Naim Atom Headphone Edition. I had heard the Focal Stellia headphones a while ago but had forgotten how good they can sound when driven with an appropriate amplifier like the Atom.
They say, “Never meet your Heroes”…
But perhaps—well, no, not perhaps—definitely the highlight of the weekend for me was meeting the legend that is Bob Harris OBE. I’d heard he would be making an appearance on both Friday and Saturday in the Audio Note room, but Friday was far too busy for me to get away from the sales desk. I hoped that Saturday afternoon would be quieter, giving me a chance to make it up to the fourth floor in time.
Luckily, I bumped into Micky from Audio Note before the show opened on Saturday and asked when Bob would be there. “Come up about 4pm, and I’ll introduce you”, said Micky. I told the rest of the team that no matter what was happening, at 3:50pm, they had to send me away to the fourth floor!
Right on cue, 3:50pm arrived, and I made my way up to see Audio Note, where Bob was just finishing his presentation. Then, I was introduced. It was an absolute pleasure to meet the man who had shaped my love of country music through his shows over so many years. I mentioned some of my earliest memories of tracks he played that had caught my ear back in the ’90s. Naturally, he knew them well, immediately rattling off the album titles they were from—an incredible encyclopaedic brain for music and a true gent, as you’d expect.
Meeting Bob rounded off the show perfectly for me. I returned to the sales desk with the biggest smile.
The show must end…
Not long after that, the show came to a close. We served the last of our customers at the sales desk, and the monumental task of clearing the hotel of all exhibitors began. The team of porters and Audio T’s crew sprang into action. Vans and lorries queued up outside, arriving in their booked time slots for loading. Trolley after trolley of equipment poured out from the lifts into waiting vehicles with military precision. This is the incredible part of the show — unless you’ve seen it, it’s hard to believe how the team manage to clear the entire exhibition by 10pm. It’s just amazing. A burger and a beer in the bar, and then off to bed.
Monday morning brought the job of clearing out all the apparatus, signage, IT equipment… all the behind-the-scenes bits — and then it was time to head home. And that was it — another show, over in a blur.
On behalf of myself and Audio T, thank you to everyone who visited us at the sales desk and in our rooms. We met some lovely people, caught up with familiar faces we see every year, and had some fantastic chats about all things Hi-Fi and Home Cinema.
I’m already looking forward to the Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2026 — make a note in your diary now: Friday 20th – Sunday 22nd February 2026. See you there!
Thanks for reading
Nic - Audio T Swansea
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