Florida Audio Expo 2025

Ron Buffington’s Liquid HiFi was a chance to hear excellent orchestral music and learn something in the process.

Ron’s rig included Wadax’s new Studio Player ($39,800), CH Precision M1.1 amplifier ($57,000), and Stenheim Alumine 2.5 loudspeakers ($23,500). Prices include personal delivery and setup.

Accessories, if indeed we can refer to these important component aids as “accessories,” comprised Arya Audio RevOPods ($1495/set of four), Nordost Valhalla 2 power, speaker cables, and interconnects (from $6599), Reiki Audio Super Switch Pro ($3495), Aardvark Ethernet isolators ($4999), Harmonic Resolution Systems Isobase ($995), and Vicoustic Room Treatments ($479). Some unusual grounding devices rounded out the system.

As a “legacy reviewer,” meaning I’m no longer in my 40s, I’ve found the isolation platforms, pods, pocks, cables, conditioners, and the like that work for me. Though I’ve recently explored cables, I was surprised at my own interest in the various grounding devices Ron used to control resonances and defeat noise in his system.

Quiet and stable, the Liquid HiFi system played John Coltrane and Duke Ellington’s “In a Sentimental Mood” within a massive, lifelike soundfield; Holst’s The Planets (Michael Stern conducting the Kansas City Symphony, Reference Recordings) knocked me over with exhilarating dynamics; Lake Street Drive’s “I Want You Back” featured a giant ride cymbal, intimate vocals, and instrumentation in a linear, deep stage.