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Author: Admin | 2025-04-28
Were instrumental in making SIGAO DRIVE possible, helping the Kudos Audio team breathe life into the technologically groundbreaking electronics that would make this product a reality. They fully embraced our philosophy of masterful simplicity – a methodology that is present in every aspect of SIGAO DRIVE’s design.Earlier this year, we interviewed Roy on this blog to get his thoughts on the design and concept of SIGAO DRIVE. His insights were fascinating and deeply revealing, and you can read that piece in full right here. Derek and Roy spent months collaborating on designs for SIGAO DRIVE’s circuitry and build. By early 2024, we had a working prototype we could show to the world. BRISTOL HIFI SHOW 2024 – THE FIRST GLIMPSEBristol HiFi Show was the place where we demonstrated SIGAO DRIVE to press and listeners for the first time. Early feedback was positive, and excited. HiFi & Music Source called it “a highlight of the day” while AV Forums notes it was “one of the most technically interesting things I’ve seen in a while.”Whilst Bristol offered attendees a tantalising glimpse at SIGAO DRIVE and its possibilities, listeners would have to wait a few months before more was revealed. MUNICH – THE OFFICIAL LAUNCHFor SIGAO DRIVE’s official launch, we found the perfect location in MotorWorld. Located literally just across the street from the MOC (about a three minute walk, in fact), MotorWorld is a museum and luxury automotive storage facility, celebrating the very best of classic and contemporary motorsport and elite car design. Arriving in Munich early in the week, we set about transforming the Hans Joachim Suite into something of an audio sanctuary. Our demonstration system for the event was pretty formidable. Alongside SIGAO DRIVE, we had an Innuos server, Linn Klimax DSM streamer, and three Chord Electronics Ultima 5 power amplifiers. HiFi support came from the Quadraspire Sunoko Vent, all cabling and power from AudioQuest, and a pair of Titan 808 Loudspeakers in a special, limited edition ‘racing green’ finish completed a truly formidable listening setup. Thursday 10th May – the opening day of the show – was set for our worldwide launch. To celebrate, we invited a hand-picked selection of leading HiFi journalists, retailers, and distributors to join us for a special listening event – the first ever public A/B test of SIGAO DRIVE.Kudos Audio MD Derek Gilligan opened proceedings, taking the invited guests through exactly why and how SIGAO DRIVE had been brought into production. The demonstration started with playback in conventional ‘passive’ configuration – with the Chord amplifiers connected to the Kudos Titan 808’s via their inbuilt passive crossover filter network. The track chosen for this demonstration was Fink’s ‘Trouble’s What You’re In’ from their 2012 live
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