This review first appeared in May 2018 on HifiKnights.com. By request of the manufacturer and permission of the author, it is hereby syndicated to reach a broader audience. All images contained in this piece are the property of Dawid Grzyb or Sveda Audio- Ed.

Reviewer: Dawid Grzyb
Sources: Lampizator Golden Gate (Psvane WE101D-L + KR Audio 5U4G Ltd. Ed.), AMR DP-777SE, Asus UX305LA
Integrated amplifiers
 Trilogy 925
Loudspeakers: Boenicke Audio W8
Speaker cable: Forza AudioWorks Noir Concept, Audiomica Laboratory Celes Excellence
Interconnects: Forza AudioWorks Noir, Audiomica Laboratory Erys Excellence
Power delivery: Gigawatt PF-2 + Gigawatt LC-2 MK2 + Forza AudioWorks Noir Concept/Audiomica Laboratory Ness Excellence
Rack: Franc Audio Accessories Wood Block Rack
Music: NativeDSD
Retail prices of reviewed components in EU (excl. VAT): €4'999/pr, add €499/pr for dedicated two-column stand


Despite having been mainly associated with the Polish pro audio sector, Sveda Audio have also become better known to regular audiophiles. And they are a very interesting domestic firm. Although well-known, liked and used right off in our pro audio industry, they initially flew under the radar of regular hifi enthusiasts for all the usual reasons. Most of our kind view studio-related components as tools not musical joy providers. Still, boss Arkadiusz Szweda was convinced that he could successfully merge the professional and domestic needs in one product and at a price well below insult and injury. And so at the 2017 Audio Video Show in Warsaw, Sveda Audio's Blipo active monitor sang in a room together with a LampizatOr Pacific DAC, Stacore platforms, Verictum power components and Chupacabra subwoofers. My short audition netted high promise and a quick but fruitful tête-à-tête with Arek soon led to today's review.


For many years Arek Szweda operated in the IT sector where the corporate LAN branch was his domain. In spite of such dedication to network-related tasks, audio drew him ever closer until it became his daily job. But his hifi adventure started far earlier and in his juvenile years. The very first speaker set came to be when he was just 14 and many DIY projects followed. He built numerous valve amps from scratch and modified his fair share of CD transports extensively. But soon active monitors became his main focus. He's now done those for almost two decades and there seems to be no going back.


His active ride started formally at Tonsil. Years back, this big and at least in Poland legendary company housed a small internal three-man skunk works team known as TLC. Arek was in charge of its R&D for unique and very much audiophile products. This autonomous division reported directly to Tonsil's CEO and it is here where our man learnt a lot about speaker design. Daily access to sundry top-shelf measuring gear and an anechoic chamber considered to be one of the very best in Europe added real science. Still, the TLC team worked within very strict constraints to be limited to Tonsil's proprietary tech. Hands were tied and a very stale post-PRL environment eventually took its toll. After two years Arek left and with several investors shortly afterwards co-founded APS, a pro company that became known for their active monitors.


This eight-year adventure ended because, as Mr. Szweda explained, he wanted to shift focus on domestic more ambitious speakers. That's how Sveda Audio came to be. Arek Szweda established it in December 2012 and it's been his sole source of income since. Though still primarily known for active monitors, he also designs complete custom audio installations and is a huge fan of high-resolution formats. All his daily DACs of LampizatOr Balanced Golden Gate, Mytek Manhattan 2 and Bricasti M1 are fed via SOtM's sMS-200. Arek is also one of the nicest and easiest-going industry folks I know. Not one question he shied away from. When I asked about Blipo's innards, he laid it all out without hesitation. My overall impression was that he really wanted me to understand what he does, exactly, so that I could describe everything properly. Whilst that's how it should be, it very rarely ever is. So kudos. By now it's also fair to say that Sveda Audio didn't arrive out of nowhere. 18 years in the active game is quite the background. The first product under his own firm went by the name D'Appo and bowed in 2013. It achieved quick fame in our pro sector and this €3'500 tool was described to me as exceptionally clear, agile, neutral and working in top Polish recording studios. Out of many artists who rely daily on Arek's D'Appo, T.Love's multi-instrumentalist Jan 'Jahlove' Pęczak, bassist Wojciech Plichowski and the Hey and Lao Che groups were mentioned. Many individuals then began to use D'Appo at home. This led Arek to work on something more suitable for domestic double duty. After three years of R&D, Blipo launched in 2015. It was to unite the most prominent features from the professional and audiophile realms. Whether Arek succeeded was one of my biggest questions going in.