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Prices listed in CA$. Importer Motet Distribution had a few exhibits at the show this year. One of them was showcasing two systems, situated side-by-side but separated by a large divider. After greeting representatives from PS Audio, Kimber Kable, Kennedy HiFi, and PMC, I settled in to have a listen to the first system. It…
Prices listed in CA$. Another room that served up incredible sound was that of retailer Bliss Acoustics, whose demo included a J.Sikora Reference turntable ($64,500) fitted with a KV Max 9″ tonearm ($16,450) and Nagra Reference cartridge ($24,500), a Nagra Classic preamplifer ($24,000), a Nagra Classic phono stage ($26,000), a Gryphon Essence stereo amplifier ($32,480),…
Regular visitors to the Toronto or Montreal Audiofest have come to expect something unique and special at an Audio Note UK exhibit: a live cello performance by the company’s music ambassador, Vincent Bélanger, who plays his instrument while accompanied by instrumental music played back by an all-Audio Note system. As usual with one of these…
Prices listed in US$ except where otherwise noted. I heard more fantastic sound in the Audio by Mark Jones room, which displayed a pair of Apogee speaker-inspired planar-type Clarisys Audio Studio Plus speakers ($66,000/pair) allied to a stack of twin-chassis products that included a CH Precision 300Wpc M10 stereo power amplifier ($104,000), an L10 preamplifier…
Prices listed in CA$. When owner of retailer EQ Audio Video Ed O’herlihy told me he and his team had painstakingly set up the Focal Grande Utopias EM EVO ($359,998) better than they’d ever been set up at a show, I believed him. Why? Because I recognized that glint of confidence in his eye that…
Prices listed in CA$. Be honest: When you saw the speakers in the above photo, did you immediately think, “Tannoy”? Me, too. They’re actually the Vintage 15 model ($49,950) made by Fyne Audio, and they looked gorgeous — and massive — when I saw them in person in retailer Gramophone Audio’s room. They also sounded…
Prices listed in CA$. I’m just old enough to be able to say that when I was young, I listened to music on cassettes and vinyl. Today, I enjoy the modern technology that companies like Innuos bring to music streaming and storage solutions. Innuos, in particular, makes what I consider to be products that are…
Prices listed in CA$ except where otherwise noted. Some demos blow away my expectations with their sound, and the Charisma room fell into that category. Aside from the fact Charisma Audio wasn’t well known to me, their speakers being demoed looked diminutive, so I expected sound to come out of them in, shall we say,…
Prices listed in $CA. I won’t say that listening to music in an Acora Acoustics exhibit room is akin to having a religious experience inside a church, but it’s close. There’s often a sense of profundity that I feel when I listen to an Acora demo. I felt that sense of profundity again in Toronto, in…
Prices listed in CA$ except where otherwise noted. For the 30th anniversary of the company’s Black Swan loudspeaker, Gershman Acoustics unveiled their Black Swan 30th Anniversary Edition, in a striking white finish ($90,000). Changes over the regular Black Swan include refinements to the drivers. The bass driver also weighs more, which, at 66lbs (30kg), requires…
Prices listed in CA$. Throughout the years at audio shows, the Hearken Audio room has consistently offered me a peaceful interlude to everyday noise, but not just noise of the external kind, but the internal one that happens inside my head. Invariably, the Hearken room will be a wellspring of mellifluously-flowing, earthy, rich-toned sound that…
Prices listed in CA$. Something most of us can relate to is how important speaker placement is. When I entered retailer Elite Audio’s room, it was immediately apparent the folks setting up this system knew how to position speakers in a difficult room. The speakers — the chic-looking Triangle Magellan Cello 40th Anniversary Edition in…
Prices listed in US$. I’m going to get this out of the way: Every time I visit a On a Higher Note exhibit room, I turn into a sap. I get wishy-washy. I can’t help it. There’s something about the systems that proprietor Philip O’Hanlon is able to put together that allows those systems to…
Prices listed in CA$. Every time I’ve visited Altitudo Audio’s room at a show, I’ve always been met with a variety of hi-fi options I can listen to. This time was no different. Altitudo Audio ‘s Leonid Yamborko was presenting his bookshelf Elipson Legacy 3210 speakers ($6500/pair), perched on Tri-Art’s new 22″-high P-Series stands in their…
Prices listed in CA$. ArtistCloner is a jack-of-all-trades hi-fi manufacturer. This relatively new brand builds something at all levels of a playback chain, from a source and power cables to speakers and cable risers. ArtistCloner was presenting the world launch of its mini Ether 2.5 loudspeaker ($8,999/pair), which stood next to the original, still-in-production Ether…