Hi everyone,
I’d like to share an Italian event that might be of interest here on WBF, especially to those who are curious about the crossover between professional PA and high-end domestic audio.
The idea comes from Sante Felli, whose YouTube channel has built a very active community around one main thesis:
If properly integrated and tuned, some professional PA solutions can work at home with surprisingly high performance, opening a real comparison with traditional hi-fi.
On his channel you’ll find a lot of debates and tests, often with Electro-Voice Deltamax loudspeakers as protagonists, so you can easily get the flavour of this concept: friendly but combative, and above all very hands-on.
“Professional Home Audio” – 3rd edition
Rome, Italy – Casa San Juan de Ávila, Sala S. Ignazio
Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 November, 10:00–17:00 (according to the official program)
Address: Via Pietro de Francisci 158, Rome (Aurelio area, easy to reach from Metro “Cornelia”)
The two systems – what will be playing
In the listening room there will be two full systems, both professionally set up.
1) The PA-derived system
A system coming from the PA world and optimised for domestic use:
Loudspeakers: Electro-Voice Deltamax 1152
Active crossover / controller: EV DX38 with official EV presets
Amplification: bi-amping with Crown XS700
Subwoofer: active sub Electro-Voice ETX-18SP, positioned in the centre
Digital front end: Gold Note PS-10 DAC/streamer
Power distribution: Dynavox X4100 power strip
System setup & alignment: handled by sound engineer Marcello Croce
Why does this make sense in a domestic context?
The Deltamax are professional systems designed for high sensitivity and large dynamic headroom. At home, if properly tuned, this translates into immediacy and effortless dynamics. The DX38 manages crossover slopes, EQ, delays and phase before the power amps, and bi-amping allows independent control of LF and HF with less intermodulation.
The ETX-18SP subwoofer, with its internal DSP (filters, delay, phase management), can be integrated very cleanly with the tops and allows directional configurations when using multiple units. In this case the central placement should help with a coherent summation of the lowest frequencies in the room.
The Dynavox X4100 is used to organise the power distribution and keep the cabling neat for all services, while the presence of a professional engineer like Croce closes the loop with a calibration consistent with the actual listening space.
2) The high-efficiency home system
The second system is all about domestic high efficiency at reference level:
Loudspeakers: Klipschorn
Electronics: line preamp and tube power amp by Maestro Sarath Dissanayake also know as European kondo.
Analogue front end:
Turntable Michell Gyrodec SE
Tonearm Sorane SA1.2
Cartridge Hana ML Gold
External PSU Gold Note PSU-10
Phono stage Gold Note PH-10
Digital source: again Gold Note PS-10
The Klipschorn probably need no introduction here: they are among the most iconic horn loudspeakers ever, designed to work in the corners of the room. They remain a strong reference for understanding what real dynamics and high-efficiency horn loading can do, especially when combined with refined tube electronics and only a few watts of power.
Who is behind the event
Overall concept and organisation: Sante Felli
Technical and IT support: Ugo Richiello
Coordination: Tiziana Landini
The analogue and digital front ends (Gold Note, Michell, Hana, etc.) are kindly provided by Evoluzione Hi-Fi in Frascati (owner Gianni Scapin), a well-known dealer in the Rome area with a dedicated listening room and a strong focus on serious demonstrations and consultations.
The tube amplifiers are built by Maestro Sarath Dissanayake. For those who read Italian, there is a detailed article about his electronics on QuotidianoAudio:
www.quotidianoaudio.it
(I can provide a translated summary in English if someone is interested.)
The Klipschorn system will be curated and supplied by Antonio Ceraglia, with additional support for room acoustic materials in the hall.
Why this might interest WBF members
This third edition of Professional Home Audio puts two different languages side by side:
a PA-derived system, finely filtered and time-aligned,
and a classic high-efficiency, horn + tube domestic system at a very high level.
The goal is not a “shoot-out” in the usual sense, but a real-world comparison of approaches, with careful setup on both sides. Visitors will be able to:
listen to both systems over two full days,
ask questions, discuss setup choices,
and ultimately decide with their own ears whether the idea of bringing a properly tuned professional PA system into a home environment makes sense compared to a more traditional high-efficiency hi-fi chain.
Personally I’m especially curious about the practical, in-room experience: how the PA system scales at domestic levels versus the horn system, and how people react when they hear both in the same space.
Practical info (recap)
Dates & times: Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 November, 10:00–17:00
Venue: Casa San Juan de Ávila – Sala S. Ignazio
Address: Via Pietro de Francisci 158, Rome (Aurelio district)
Access: car access from Via Pietro de Francisci; easy connection with Metro A, “Cornelia” stop
Venue website: https://www.casasanjuandeavila.org/it/
If you are in Italy on those dates, Rome is the place to be: a serious PA setup on one side, a top high-efficiency home system on the other, same room, same music, same conditions.
All you need to bring are your ears – the sound will do the rest.
In the end, though, there’s only one question left: who will win?
you are very welcome.
Best regards,
Giona Orlandi
I’d like to share an Italian event that might be of interest here on WBF, especially to those who are curious about the crossover between professional PA and high-end domestic audio.
The idea comes from Sante Felli, whose YouTube channel has built a very active community around one main thesis:
If properly integrated and tuned, some professional PA solutions can work at home with surprisingly high performance, opening a real comparison with traditional hi-fi.
On his channel you’ll find a lot of debates and tests, often with Electro-Voice Deltamax loudspeakers as protagonists, so you can easily get the flavour of this concept: friendly but combative, and above all very hands-on.
“Professional Home Audio” – 3rd edition
Rome, Italy – Casa San Juan de Ávila, Sala S. Ignazio
Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 November, 10:00–17:00 (according to the official program)
Address: Via Pietro de Francisci 158, Rome (Aurelio area, easy to reach from Metro “Cornelia”)
The two systems – what will be playing
In the listening room there will be two full systems, both professionally set up.
1) The PA-derived system
A system coming from the PA world and optimised for domestic use:
Loudspeakers: Electro-Voice Deltamax 1152
Active crossover / controller: EV DX38 with official EV presets
Amplification: bi-amping with Crown XS700
Subwoofer: active sub Electro-Voice ETX-18SP, positioned in the centre
Digital front end: Gold Note PS-10 DAC/streamer
Power distribution: Dynavox X4100 power strip
System setup & alignment: handled by sound engineer Marcello Croce
Why does this make sense in a domestic context?
The Deltamax are professional systems designed for high sensitivity and large dynamic headroom. At home, if properly tuned, this translates into immediacy and effortless dynamics. The DX38 manages crossover slopes, EQ, delays and phase before the power amps, and bi-amping allows independent control of LF and HF with less intermodulation.
The ETX-18SP subwoofer, with its internal DSP (filters, delay, phase management), can be integrated very cleanly with the tops and allows directional configurations when using multiple units. In this case the central placement should help with a coherent summation of the lowest frequencies in the room.
The Dynavox X4100 is used to organise the power distribution and keep the cabling neat for all services, while the presence of a professional engineer like Croce closes the loop with a calibration consistent with the actual listening space.
2) The high-efficiency home system
The second system is all about domestic high efficiency at reference level:
Loudspeakers: Klipschorn
Electronics: line preamp and tube power amp by Maestro Sarath Dissanayake also know as European kondo.
Analogue front end:
Turntable Michell Gyrodec SE
Tonearm Sorane SA1.2
Cartridge Hana ML Gold
External PSU Gold Note PSU-10
Phono stage Gold Note PH-10
Digital source: again Gold Note PS-10
The Klipschorn probably need no introduction here: they are among the most iconic horn loudspeakers ever, designed to work in the corners of the room. They remain a strong reference for understanding what real dynamics and high-efficiency horn loading can do, especially when combined with refined tube electronics and only a few watts of power.
Who is behind the event
Overall concept and organisation: Sante Felli
Technical and IT support: Ugo Richiello
Coordination: Tiziana Landini
The analogue and digital front ends (Gold Note, Michell, Hana, etc.) are kindly provided by Evoluzione Hi-Fi in Frascati (owner Gianni Scapin), a well-known dealer in the Rome area with a dedicated listening room and a strong focus on serious demonstrations and consultations.
The tube amplifiers are built by Maestro Sarath Dissanayake. For those who read Italian, there is a detailed article about his electronics on QuotidianoAudio:
Un pomeriggio ascoltando le elettroniche by Dissanayake - QuotidianoAudio
Da anni, Dissanayake costruisce prodotti Hi-End in modo rigorosamente artigianale e su specifiche richieste del cliente.
Si tratta sempre di pezzi unici, di grande pregio, realizzati con componentistica NOS e circuitazioni rigorosamente proprietarie. Siamo andati ad ascoltare le sue creazioni.
www.quotidianoaudio.it
The Klipschorn system will be curated and supplied by Antonio Ceraglia, with additional support for room acoustic materials in the hall.
Why this might interest WBF members
This third edition of Professional Home Audio puts two different languages side by side:
a PA-derived system, finely filtered and time-aligned,
and a classic high-efficiency, horn + tube domestic system at a very high level.
The goal is not a “shoot-out” in the usual sense, but a real-world comparison of approaches, with careful setup on both sides. Visitors will be able to:
listen to both systems over two full days,
ask questions, discuss setup choices,
and ultimately decide with their own ears whether the idea of bringing a properly tuned professional PA system into a home environment makes sense compared to a more traditional high-efficiency hi-fi chain.
Personally I’m especially curious about the practical, in-room experience: how the PA system scales at domestic levels versus the horn system, and how people react when they hear both in the same space.
Practical info (recap)
Dates & times: Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 November, 10:00–17:00
Venue: Casa San Juan de Ávila – Sala S. Ignazio
Address: Via Pietro de Francisci 158, Rome (Aurelio district)
Access: car access from Via Pietro de Francisci; easy connection with Metro A, “Cornelia” stop
Venue website: https://www.casasanjuandeavila.org/it/
If you are in Italy on those dates, Rome is the place to be: a serious PA setup on one side, a top high-efficiency home system on the other, same room, same music, same conditions.
All you need to bring are your ears – the sound will do the rest.
In the end, though, there’s only one question left: who will win?
you are very welcome.
Best regards,
Giona Orlandi
