Credo EV 1202, Audioshield and LTA | CAF 2024

I don’t know if I’ve told you this, but I’m having a secret affair with the loudspeakers in these photos. The last time I saw them, I was in Switzerland, and I’ve been thinking of them ever since. These, of course, are the Credo EV1202 loudspeakers ($16,995/pr), and while they look like many other tall, slim floorstanding speakers out there they somehow know, deep down, what I really want from a pair of loudspeakers. John McGurk of Audioshield Distribution, who imports these fantastic transducers from Basel, probably knew I was going to attend CAF and brought the 1202s to tempt me. It might’ve worked.

This is the first time, I think, that I’ve seen AudioShield team up with LTA. In other words, I’ve never heard the Credo EV1202 loudspeakers mated to Linear Tube Audio’s ZOTL circuit design before, and I’m here to report the marriage is a happy one. The Credo EV1202 speakers are very balanced from top to bottom, with ample bass response and a smooth, slightly warm tonality that I find addictive and comforting, and the LTA’s penchant for air and transparency provided just a touch more detail than I’ve heard before.

AudioShield also distributes Meitner and EMM Labs digital sources, which were also represented in this system at CAF 2024. Analog was provided courtesy of a Dr. Feickert Analogue Volare turntable, and streaming was supplied by HiFi Rose. While all of the individual components were newsworthy in one way or another, I’m so distracted by the loveliness of the Credo EV1202 loudspeakers that I can’t think of anything else from this room. I’m always a big fan of high-end audio components that offer incredible value without flash or bling, and the Credos–from a distance–appear to be the proverbial wolf-in-a-wool-sportscoat. Look closely, and you’ll see that precise Swiss approach to audio. Listen closely, and you’ll be as drunk on the sound as I am.