One of the owners, Sven Vogtland, said the bar was inspired by a trip to Tokyo where he jumped around listening bars with his friends Khruangbin. The Sunshine State gets its first listening bar with Dante’s HiFI, which opened last month in Wynwood. We also highly recommend checking their original Hi-fi offering, Studio Eksotika, in Bali. The room is a discrete backspace with inlaid JBL 4355 speakers, an Alpha Recording System 4100 mixer with their 3500 crossover, and a pair of modded Technics tables. Designed by Sou Fujimoto, the vibrant space offers a combo of Indonesian archipelago cuisine, cocktails, and of course, a dedicated “Music Room” for listening. Potato Head in Hong Kong is the second overseas venue by the Indonesian-based hi-fi / hotel family. The front panel is also covered in 10mm-thick brass that slowly decays under the acids of each DJ’s fingers, meaning “everyone that plays will leave their mark.” Potato Head (Hong Kong) The brass beauty has an unheard of 120dB fader cut for complete silence and is capable of delivering +22dBm (power ratio in decibels ) at <0.0003% THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) (1Khz), rendering it (with even all the faders maxed out) nearly impossible to distort. Vinyl Factory did a quick gear tour if you’d like to peek at the goods, which include their custom Living Voice speakers and crossovers, Triode tube amps, a Kuzma XL DC turntable (!), Isonoe modded Technics 1200’s, and (not featured but a recent update) their custom 50kg solid brass paneled Isonoe rotary mixer. The cafe-by-day, bar-by-night venue was built strictly for listening, with an emphasis on in-depth musical programming showcased on their world-class Living Voice sound system. Spiritland (London)īased in London’s Kings Cross district, Paul Noble’s Spiritland opened its doors in 2016 and still stands as one of the great new entries in the world of hi-fi bars.

Whatever the venue size, we’re always excited to explore new places to discover music.īelow, a list of listening bars that have cropped up around the world. Others have created elite Mancuso-style dance floors to elevate the club experience. Some have taken a more Kissa-inspired approach, creating intimate pocket-sized venues to showcase a humble system solely used to play album sides. Taking inspiration from Japan’s well-established institution of record bars, music and audio enthusiasts around the globe have been building unique spaces, creating environments that appeal to fanatics and casual listeners alike. In recent years, hi-fi and listening bars have caught on outside its Tokyo origins with what feels like a new audiophile driven cafe or bar opening daily. A look into some of our favorite audiophile bars around the globe, old and new, from Hong Kong to Miami.

Song bar in tokyo