Prices listed in CA$.

Entering the Audio d’Occasion room, I was surprised and delighted to come face to face with my favourite harmonica player, Quebec’s own Guy Bélanger who just released a wonderful, blues-based album, Postcards from London, recorded at London’s Abbey Road Studios. I discussed the album’s release and my impressions of its music here.

Guy was playing the harmonica parts of his album live as the recording played. It was awesome—though obviously not the ideal way to gauge the sound of the components. Still, the system did an admirable job of supporting and blending with Guy’s performance. Of course, no gear sounds as realistic or dynamic, nor slices or pushes through the air quite like the real thing, especially in a smallish room like this one.

Even so, the demo proved effective, standing in for a live band with aplomb. The setup featured a pair of three-way Davis Acoustics “The Wall” speakers ($40,999/pair), an Atoll IN300 EVO integrated amplifier ($5499), an Atoll ST-200 streamer ($3799), and a Merging Technologies ST-2 DAC, all wired with Nordost cabling.

On a couple of hard blues tracks, the sound was bold, full, and lively, offering a solid foundation for Guy’s solos.