Here’s another room getting a ton of coverage on social media–the High End by Oz room. Remember when I talked about dealer rooms, and how exhibit systems are built to feature every single brand that’s carried? That’s a hard way to find synergy in many cases, but Ozan Turan has been delving deeper into his role as a distributor–first with Lansche speakers from Germany and now with VivA electronics from Italy. His system at the 2024 Florida International Audio Expo was stripped to the essentials and focused on one heck of a speaker–the Lansche Audio 5.2 ($57K/pair).
Words and Photos by Marc Phillips
You’ve probably heard of Lansche Audio before–they make the speakers with the plasma tweeters. I’ve heard them several times in the last few years, and they’ve impressed me every time. But for some reason this system at FLAX leapt out at everyone. The clarity of the Lansche Audio 5.2 speakers must be experienced–there’s this feeling that all the music is there, in front of you, coming through an open window accompanied by a breeze that’s invigorating.
It’s rare to encounter a room at a high-end audio show that achieves this level of sound quality with basically just six ingredients. In addition to the Lansche Audio 5.2 loudspeakers, the High End by Oz system included a VivA Solista MKIII integrated amplifier ($29,500), Thrax Audio Maximinus Silver DAC ($38,500), S.I.N. Audio PSD Unlimited Power Distributor ($23,500), a Hifistay Mythology equipment rack ($6,500 per shelf) and a loom of Albedo Silver cables. (A couple of friends in the industry have told me to throw away the rest of my cables and just use Albedo. Hyperbole? Yes. But the buzz is palpable.)
This is not an inexpensive system, but it is very simple. One of the problems with those dealer rooms is that so many devices are plugged in to the wall outlets at one time, which is a recipe for noise and a lack of coherence. But this Lansche Audio 5.2 system stuck in my mind for the entire show–and it was one of the very first rooms I visited. Ozan Turan should be proud of this system and how it performed at FLAX, and yes–I want to review those Lansche Audio 5.2 speakers. Can’t get ’em outta my head, in fact.