Prices listed in CA$.

Here’s a thought I found interesting: My young host—in his twenties ?—at the comfy and well-stocked audio store Québec Acoustique, William Desjardins, not only represents our succession in regards to the audio hobby, but the enduring force that keeps our hobby forever relevant. Today, of course, the standard 2-speaker-amp-source audio system doesn’t occupy the same place it once did socially or in the imagination of young people in the 70s or 80s, when electronic pastimes were few and music meant so much to so many of us. If you liked music, you needed a playback system. The better sounding ones awakened our inner audiophile and incited us to search for better sound. After all, what better way to show our reverence for something as important as music than to play it back in the best sound possible?

What’s more, in this tale of succession, is that William is the son of Québec Acoustique owner Richard, who founded the store twenty years ago to primarily sell high-end home theater products when such things were popular. As the years went by, it then took a youngster, William, to help persuade his dad to make audio the focus of the store, an aspect of the operations that William himself would helm while his father would continue to mainly look after the theater side of things. William has been the audio go-to guy for the last eight years—successfully so, I might add. The store has been doing brisk business.

To which you may say, “Okay, but a lot of audio and home theater stores made buckets of money during the pandemic because people with extra cash were stuck at home”, and you’d be right, but only partly. After my visit at the store, in which I auditioned a $10,000 system that had no right to sound that musical and well balanced for what is a relatively paltry sum for a quality hi-fi, it was obvious that father and son know what they’re doing. They know about component synergy. They know what it takes to get people hooked on the hobby who have $10,000 of disposable income to spend on a great hi-fi.

And it’s what makes dealing with a reputable brick-and-mortar store so compelling. “Our salespeople have experience with different products and know which ones work best with each other,” said William. “It’s also best to hear equipment for yourself rather than buy something on the Internet because people said it sounded good in their own system. With audio gear, it’s always best to hear it for yourself before you buy it. Dealers can show you great setups in-store, but can also let you try gear at home. And if you have a problem with a product or have questions about upgrading to the next thing, a dealer can help guide you. It’s like having an audio partner.”

When it comes to a $10,000 system, I generally prefer one that has fewer components of higher value over one with more components of cheaper value. Better quality products tend to cost more than those of lower quality. The system assembled by Quebec Acoustique fell squarely into the “fewer components of higher value” category. The system included Dynaudio’s 86db, Special Forty anniversary standmount ($4600), a 50Wpc Simaudio Moon ACE all-in-one music player ($5200 w/phono), and a 2m pair of Nordost White Lightning speaker cables ($400). That’s all, folks.

For my audition, music was streamed via Tidal through the Moon ACE’s streamer. The first track played was “King of El Paso” by Boz Scaggs. It sounded glorious: rich, warm, and vibrant. Scaggs’ voice was palpable and expressive. Maybe I was expecting an overall thinner and more digital sound, but I was surprised by the substantialness of what I was hearing—the system’s presentation was full-bodied and sweet.

Next up was “Skin” by Jamie Woon. Again, the sound was rich and vibrant. Bass was solid and weighty, with good sustain. The soundstage was wide, vocals radiant. transients fast, and the music engaging as all get out.

The last song I listened to was Alison Krauss’ “It Doesn’t Matter”. Oh, but it did. This track provided a wonderful sense that what I was hearing was untethered to the system. If it came from the speakers, I didn’t hear it. It was too free, effortless, and expansive for that. The Spanish guitar sounded utterly natural. I could hear the wood of its body as its notes bloomed toward me and resonated forever. Krauss’s voice was delicate, ethereal, and poignantly human. The whole thing was mesmerizing.

And it was streamed in 44/16, like the songs before it. None of that hi-res or MQA stuff. Yet, not once during my audition did I think, “This song needs to be in higher resolution!” The sound was perfectly fine the way it was.

But should an owner of this system, down the road, want to upgrade it, what does William suggest as a potential upgrade path? “A JL Audio Dominion D110 10” subwoofer ($1750+), followed by a Moon 260DT transport ($3500), then changing the speaker and power cabling to Nordost Blue Heaven ($various).”

And then there’s the possibility of adding a turntable. And why not, considering the Moon ACE comes equipped with a moving magnet phono stage that William said is very good? “A great choice would be the Clearaudio Concept turntable with Verify arm and cartridge ($2700),” said William.

So there you have it, another great $10k setup. And believe me when I say that I’ve heard systems twice, even three times, the price of the Québec Acoustique one that didn’t come close to its combination of musicality and great sound. I loved it. Bravo, William and Richard!