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Get an insider’s view of the Toronto Audiofest in our specially curated articles! Find in-depth coverage of various exhibitors, and uncover the latest brands making waves in the industry. Our category is your backstage pass to the latest and greatest in audio equipment showcased at Toronto’s top audio event!
TAF2023: Jean Nantais, Miyajima Labs, Linnenberg, Bastanis, Ikeda, HRS, Hearken Audio, Yeti, IK Audio
Prices listed in CA$. Throughout the years at audio shows, the Hearken Audio room has consistently offered me a peaceful interlude to everyday noise, but not just noise of the external kind, but the internal one that happens inside my head. Invariably, the Hearken room will be a wellspring of mellifluously-flowing, earthy, rich-toned sound that…
TAF2023: The Audiophile Junkie’s Toronto Audiofest Highlights
In this half-hour video covering the highlights of the 2023 Toronto Audiofest, the Audiophile Junkie talks about his favorites exhibitors and what he bought. Check out his YouTube channels for a closer look at the Toronto Audiofest, showcasing nearly all exhibitors, rooms, and gear, along with casual chats with key industry folks.
TAF2023: Triangle, EverSolo, Perreaux, XLO, Tidal
Prices listed in CA$. 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…
TAF2023: Bergmann Audio, Grado, Graham Audio, MoonRiver, Cardas Audio, Artesania Audio
Prices listed in US$. I’m going to get this out of the way: Every time I visit a On a Higher Note exhibit room, I turn into a sap. I get wishy-washy. I can’t help it. There’s something about the systems that proprietor Philip O’Hanlon is able to put together that allows those systems to…
TAF2023: Gold Note, Elipson, Tri-Art, Lumin, Synergistic Research, Audio Note
Prices listed in CA$. 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 ($6500/pair), perched on Tri-Art’s new 22″-high P-Series stands in their…
TAF2023: ArtistCloner
Prices listed in CA$. 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 ($8,999/pair), which stood next to the original, still-in-production Ether…
TAF2023: Cyrus, Spendor, Atlas Cables
Prices listed in CA$. One of the demoes hosted by distributor Erikson Consumers was displaying something I hadn’t seen in any other demo at the show but that on first sight warmed the cockles of my heart in a place overrun with streaming: a dedicated CD player. This is no knock on streaming; I get…
TAF2023: Atoll Electronique, Final Audio, Atohm
Prices listed in CA$. Many exhibitors at this year’s Toronto Audiofest were showcasing panel-style loudspeakers, including electronics manufacturer Atoll Electronique, who was presenting the North American launch of the company’s SDA300 Signature Streaming, DAC Amplifier ($6,999, and hence the SDA in the model name), paired with a pair of Final Audio Model 7 Hybrid electrostatic…
TAF2023: Audio Note UK, Eversolo, Triangle, Kimber Kable
Prices listed are in CA$. This compact setup in one of Motet’s several rooms at the show surprised me. I didn’t expect it to sound this good. Fronting it was an Eversolo DMP-A6 Master Edition streamer ($2000) feeding FLAC files into a class-A, single-ended Audio Note M2 preamp ($9000) and a class-A, directly heated triode…
TAF2023: Bowers & Wilkins, Classé Audio, DR Acoustics
First things first; I hadn’t expected the Bowers & Wilkins / Classé Audio room to smell as good as it did! A sweet mixture of herbal and fruity scents, perhaps? I can remember only a few rooms I’ve visited at shows that enveloped both my sense of smell and of hearing. The Bowers & Wilkins…
TAF2023: Moon by Simaudio, Bowers & Wilkins, Cardas Audio, Tidal
Prices are listed in CA$. Moon by Simaudio’s new flagship series, the North Collection, will comprise six models in all, four of which will gradually be rolled out in the coming months, and two of which were released this month in time for the Toronto show. Powering a pair of 3-way, 90dB-sensitive Bowers & Wilkins…
TAF2023: Hegel, Magnepan, Analysis Plus
Prices listed in CA$. The Hegel room was showing off its Viking CD player ($6000), on static display when I visited, and 308Wpc, dual mono, DAC-equipped H600 integrated amplifier ($15,000). The source was FLAC files streamed from a laptop hard drive, while the speakers were Magnepan’s model 3.7i ($11,875/pair), which looked taller to me, and…
TAF2023: Vinyl Sound, Thorens, Accuphase, MoFi, Fleetwood, Furutech, Ortofon, Norstone
Prices listed in CA$. Some systems sound so effortlessly musical, so capable of preserving the music’s essence and soul, that while listening to them I tell myself that I’d be happy living with such a system for a very long time. Accordingly, I tell myself that this is my type of system, this is the…
TAF2023: Lenbrook, DALI, NAD, Kimber Kable
Prices are listed in CA$. Since DALI released its $150,000/pair flagship Kore loudspeaker over a year ago, I’ve seen it consistently demoed with NAD electronics, to good effect. This match-up always delivered powerful sound, authentic tone, and a huge soundstage. At this show, the Kore was supplanted by the company’s latest model in the series,…
TAF2023: American Sound, Audio Research, Rethm, Qobuz, Transparent Cable, AudioQuest
I can’t imagine bigger audio news this year than that of Audio Research filing for something akin to a Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Fearing that such an iconic company – one I always took for granted as being indestructible – might possibly go under and disappear from the audio landscape was disheartening and unsettling to me.…