Show Reports

Hello and welcome to Part 3 of my Florida International Audio Expo 2025 show report! This is the point in the show where I got to experience the mighty wonders of the Esoteric Grandioso T1 turntable, Esoteric Grandioso E1 phono preamp, and other cool gear in the Sabal Room.

ESOTERIC / SABAL
If FLAX showgoers went into that Sabal Room, chances are they’d remember a huge stack of Esoteric components — including the company’s Grandioso T1 turntable that was racked with nine other massive Esoteric chassis (and flanked by two more, one each on either side) — not to mention PMC’s unusual Fenestria tower speakers.

Esoteric, a Japanese marque and now part of TEAC, with whom a merger took place last year, also introduced their new Grandioso N1T network transport at FLAX 2025, but we’re keeping our focus here on all things analog. To that end, I spoke with Hiroyuki Machida, senior manager with the company’s international sales and marketing department, about the Esoteric Grandioso T1 table and Grandioso E1 phono preamp (seen above and below), which boasts a separate power supply in a second chassis.

The Grandioso E1 was designed for compatibility with a wide array of phono cartridges having low to higher outputs, in addition to optical cartridges via an optical input. Machida also told me that the E1 also contains DS Audio’s EQ technology.

The Grandioso E1 is equipped with both a voltage (RCA) input for MM and higher-output MC cartridges, and current-based balanced inputs (3x XLR) for MC carts. For those MC carts, the latter makes use of the (relatively) high-current signal to minimize the amount of amplification needed in that first stage, as Machida explained, which means less noise and sound that can be “more fresh and dynamic.”

Gain can also be matched for cartridge output. Finally, audiophiles interested in classic EQ curves will appreciate that the E1 offers a selection of six EQ curve settings — RIAA, Decca, Columbia, Teldec, AES, and NAB — plus a mono playback mode. In an atypical design touch, the matching remote control has buttons on both sides, yet it felt ergonomically sound.

Meanwhile, the tonearm included with the Grandioso T1 (seen above) was fitted with an Ortofon MC Diamond cartridge, the maker’s flagship. The Grandioso T1 — the company’s first-ever turntable (which we also saw at AXPONA 2024) — incorporates their patented magnetic suspension drive system to enable the platter to “float,” which of course is intended to avoid mechanical noise and rumble. The motor also uses magnetic forces on one side and steel on the other in a design that physically isolates the motor from the processor, Machida added.

This all contributes to a very high-torque design. “Compared to the normal belt drive, it has 280x higher rotational torque,” Machida continued, “so nearly the same as the direct drive.” That is, it surely gets up to speed quickly, and maintains rotational stability. These factors evidently play a role in delivering punchy sound and the handling of dynamics, especially bass impact.

In a demo, Machida played a cut from Charly Antolini’s 1981 release on Jeton, Crash, a high-impact percussion record that was captured direct-to-disc. Leading-edge transient attacks were startling, and astoundingly hard-hitting. It was an I-can’t-believe-it’s-vinyl kind of moment. In a word: Impressive.

Some unique adjustments are built into the Grandioso T1 table, such as the ability for the user to slightly shift the motor’s proximity to the platter — that is, to be closer, or further away — by turning a small dial. This allows changes to the degree of magnetic force applied, and the rotational torque can be manually adjusted up to 60% lower, Machida confirmed. This is reportedly to tweak the sound to approximate what one might hear with a belt-drive design — perhaps to subtly soften attacks, for instance.

The T1 table has an open-loop mechanical system that uses a clock for control, so there’s no servo controller. The precise rotational speed — 33.3 or 45rpm — is shown on the table’s front display.

Naturally, the T1’s aesthetics and materials align with its heavy-duty aluminum chassis. Other additional tonearms of various lengths can also be mounted onto the T1’s plinth structure.

This was certainly among the higher-end systems I experienced at FLAX 2025, and one that was well worth checking out for its going all-out/all-in. Power and precision shined in abundance here with all the Esoteric gear in the Sabal room, that’s for sure.

And that’s it for now. Part 4 is coming soon — as in, Monday!

Author bio: Julie Mullins, a lifelong music lover and audiophile by osmosis who grew up listening to her father’s hi-fi gear, is also a contributing editor and reviewer on our sister site, Stereophile, for whom she also writes the monthly Re-Tales column. A former fulltime staffer at Cincinnati’s long-running alt-weekly CityBeat, she hosts a weekly radio show on WAIF called On the Pulse.

For Part 1 of Julie’s FLAX 2025 show report, go here.

For Part 2 of Julie’s FLAX 2025 show report, go here.

For Ken Micallef’s 15-minute video showing all sorts of great turntables and other cool analog gear at FLAX 2025, go here.

For even more FLAX 2025 coverage, go here on our sister site Stereophile.