¡Hola Madrid! - We take in the full experience at Art & Sound Fest 2025

Kromawadax

Dec 8

Written By Guillaume Boyer

The Speaker of Dreams…

… and the Stuff of Nightmares.

That’s certainly one way to summarise the inaugural Art & Sound Fest 2025 in Madrid just over a week ago, taking place from November 28th-30th. Set in the wonderful Est_ArtSpace in Alcobendas in the north of the city – a converted ceramics warehouse turned contemporary gallery – the show threaded some genuinely unsettling, surreal artwork together with five very serious high-end systems. Forget the usual hotel corridors and makeshift listening rooms, the door constantly opening and closing. Here you walked through large open spaces of sculptures, photography, video art, paintings, installations… before finding yourself back in the embrace of the music in the very same spaces. HiFi was just part of the eclectic offering, and that was very much the point.

The brains behind the event – Ignacio Victores of Elektra Hi-End, Cayetano Castellano of Kroma Atelier & Wadax, and Miguel Carvalho of Ultimate Audio – clearly understood that, and gallery directors Javier and Maite of Est_ArtSpace were perfect partners. The approach wasn’t to elevate HiFi to its typical throne of wealth and luxury, but rather to reframe it: let’s focus on music as art and put it into a space where art already lives. Let’s allow all art to bleed together. And wandering through the space between listening sessions, we can say the concept genuinely worked. The weird and wonderful pieces loosened your grip on the everyday, nudging you into a more open, imaginative frame of mind. By the time you sat down in front of a system, you weren’t thinking about cables or crossover slopes; you were thinking about the headspace of the musicians. Like, what frame of mind were Pink Floyd in when they created Shine On You Crazy Diamond? Certainly nothing like a beige hotel suite. The art pushed you closer to that creative edge, and in turn the music landed with far more emotional charge.

Every show has a star, and it was no secret that the star in Madrid this weekend was Kroma Atelier’s Maribel speaker. She welcomed visitors into the very first space, where very comfortable couches meant you could easily spend hours in her company. Maribel is the father & son masterpiece of Kroma designers Javier Millán and Javier Millán Jr. — Kroma’s most ambitious and accomplished speaker ever — and this was her first opportunity to sing to a full audience on Spanish soil.

Maribel by Kroma Atelier

Saturday night was the main event, featuring a listening session of the Maribel system, a brief screening, and, of course, wine and jamón. This was a genuinely welcoming event, people arrived bit by bit — families, couples, audiophiles, art-lovers of all generations — until quite a sizeable crowd had gathered. Miguel Carvalho and Cayetano Castellano spoke about the creation of the speaker and what it means for the Kroma brand, frequently referencing the driving force behind it sitting quietly in the crowd: Javier Millán, not one to bask in the limelight. The ever capable Miguel, as always, was on DJ duty.

*A great crowd gathered on Saturday night for the Maribel event, creating a warm atmosphere (and improving sound quality!)*

*Completely settled in on Saturday night*

Next the crowd moved deeper into the venue where a giant projection of Javier Millán awaited. For a man who avoids the spotlight, he was certainly in it now. This was the screening for the Maribel tribute video which had been shot in the gallery space just below our feet by Rubén Castellano.

What Cayetano shared with us about this shoot was fascinating. Maribel is named after his aunt, a beloved member of the family who passed away many years ago. They struggled to arrange a date for the shoot and when it finally clicked into place, it happened to be on the very date that she passed away - an eerie fact they only noticed later. Coincidence? Maybe. But when he studied the art on the walls where the speaker was to be shot, the name of the artist was none other than… Maribel. Something more than coincidence, then? Who knows, but it does make you wonder…

*Rubén with the speaker named after his mother*

Video by Rubén Castellano

*The perfect cut by* ***Jon Jiménez Soto***

Video by Art & Life Productions

Systems - Room 1

System One

• Speakers: Kroma Atelier Maribel
• Digital Source: Taiko Audio Extreme Server + Master Fidelity NADAC D (DAC) & NADAC C (Clock)
• Analogue Source: TechDAS Air Force I Premium + Air Force 10 Tonearm + DS Audio Grand Master Cartridge + DS Audio TB100 Phono
• Preamplifier: Halcro Equinox
• Power Amplifiers: Halcro Eclipse Monoblocs
• Power Treatment: Audiotricity Stheno
• Cabling: Siltech Master Crown, Turnbull Prestige, Ansuz
• Rack: Artesania Audio

System Two

• Speakers: Borresen C3
• Source (Digital): Aavik SD-188 DAC/Streamer
• Integrated Amplifier: Aavik I-188
• Power Treatment: Ansuz D3 Power Conditioner
• Ethernet Switch: Ansuz A3 Ethernet Switch
• Cabling: Full Ansuz Loom
• Rack: Artesania Audio

Systems - Room 2

System Three

• Speakers: Avantgarde Trio G3 iTron (Galactic Glow) + Compact Twin Subs
• Source: WADAX Studio Player
• Preamplifier: Orpheus Lab Heritage
• Power Treatment: Audiotricity Chimera Signature
• Cabling: Crystal, Esprit, Siltech, Turnbull
• Rack: Neo Quattron Reference

System Four

• Speakers: Audiovector R10 Arreté
• Source: XACT EVO Streamer + LampizatOr Poseidon DAC
• Preamplifier: Gryphon Commander
• Power Amplifiers: Gryphon Revelation Monoblocs
• Power Treatment: Audiotricity Pholus
• Cabling: Turnbull Prestige series
• Rack: Neo Quattron

System Five

• Speakers: Revival Audio Atalante 7 (Walnut)
• Source: Accuphase DP-450
• Integrated Amplifier: Accuphase E-5000
• Power Treatment: Audiotricity Pholus
• Cabling: Esprit Lumina series
• Rack: Artesania Audio

What also made the show refreshing was the simplicity of the layout. No endless rabbit-warren corridors or twenty identical hotel rooms fighting for attention — just two large, open spaces, one hosting two systems, the other three. Acoustically, yes, these cavernous rooms were far from “ideal,” but the format more than made up for it. As it wasn’t possible for each system to be playing simultaneously, the teams took turns: in the first space, Maribel alternated with the Danish system; in the second, three different setups each had their dedicated slot. This single-threaded approach gave the event a real sense of occasion — more like a series of performances than a trade show. You listened together, as a group, focused on one system at a time, and crucially, you had the psychological space to actually absorb what you were hearing. No sprinting between rooms, no decision paralysis, just music, art, and attention. Everyone listening together and gravitating to the system that held the spotlight at any given time.

*A really fabulous system by Ultimate Audio: beautifully liquid, great dynamics and leading edge, never sounding artificial*

*Discovering something new on every art walk between listening sessions*

*Maribel stands just over 2m tall and weighs 220kg*

*Admiring a giant set of Medellín metro projections in the cavernous basement with Hifi Pig’s Stuart Smith*

*The design alone of the Cinnamon DAC is so beautiful that we’re itching to try it! Lovely weight too.*

*Javier Montorcier Cambra, Co-Director of Est_ArtSpace*

*Great silhouettes provided by Iveta and Robert of* *Dream Audio*

If anything, the weekend showed that high-end audio doesn’t need to hide in hotel rooms, or the vastness of Munich/Vienna shows, to be taken seriously. It can sit comfortably in cultural spaces and still deliver world-class sound. If Ignacio and the team decide to make this an annual event, Madrid could easily become a European reference point for a new style of audio show — one that values atmosphere, attention and experience.

Big thanks to the organisers for putting on such a unique experience, and all the dinner, drinks and fun mixed in. Thanks to Eric of Artesania Audio for a lovely and much-needed lunch on day 2, and to Cayetano for his hospitality!