Music

Music


  • TAF2023: J.Sikora, Nagra, Gryphon, Audio Nec, Nordost, Modulum Audio

    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 9โ€ณ 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),…

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  • TAF2023: Audio Note UK

    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 companyโ€™s music ambassador, Vincent Bรฉlanger, who plays his instrument while accompanied by instrumental music played back by an all-Audio Note system. As usual with one of these…

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  • Klipsch, Klipsch, Boom! The Explosive Brilliance of Paul W. Klipsch

    From crafting radios at 15 to redefining high-fidelity audio with the Klipschorn, Paul W. Klipschโ€™s century-spanning legacy fused military precision, engineering genius, and musical passion into a revolution that still echoes in modern hi-fi.

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  • TAF2023: Clarisys Audio, CH Precision, Linn, Audioquest

    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…

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  • TAF2023: Focal, Naim, IsoAcoustics, Vicoustic, Monitor Audio, Rotel, Roksan, Audience, Solid Tech

    Prices listed in CA$. When owner of retailer EQ Audio Video Ed Oโ€™herlihy told me he and his team had painstakingly set up the Focal Grande Utopias EM EVO ($359,998) better than theyโ€™d ever been set up at a show, I believed him. Why? Because I recognized that glint of confidence in his eye that…

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  • TAF2023: Fyne Audio, Canor, EAT, Melco, Skyanalog, Swisscables, Gutwire, Plixir, Puritan

    Prices listed in CA$. Be honest: When you saw the speakers in the above photo, did you immediately think, โ€œTannoyโ€? Me, too. Theyโ€™re actually the Vintage 15 model ($49,950) made by Fyne Audio, and they looked gorgeous โ€” and massive โ€” when I saw them in person in retailer Gramophone Audioโ€™s room. They also sounded…

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  • KEF LS60 now available in Carbon Black

    This is the 5th color made available for the LS60.

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  • TAF2023: Innuos, Fonica, CEN.grand, Analysis Plus

    Prices listed in CA$. Iโ€™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…

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  • TAF2023: Acora Acoustics, SAT, Lyra, MSB, D’Agostino, Innuos, Cardas

    Prices listed in $CA. I wonโ€™t say that listening to music in an Acora Acoustics exhibitย room is akin to having a religious experience inside a church, but itโ€™s close. Thereโ€™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…

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  • TAF2023: Gershman Acoustics, Eon Art, Oracle Audio, Phasemation, Cardas

    Prices listed in CA$ except where otherwise noted. For the 30th anniversary of the companyโ€™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…

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  • The King’s Homecoming in Tupelo

    In the sultry heat of a Southern afternoon, amidst the intoxicating scents of cotton candy and the rural festivities of the Mississippi-Alabama Fair & Dairy Show, a rebellious rhythm began to play. It marked the homecoming of Tupeloโ€™s most illustrious son, the King of Rock โ€˜nโ€™ Roll, Elvis Presley. The year was 1956, a transformative…

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  • 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 Audioโ€™s room, it was immediately apparent the folks setting up this system knew how to position speakers in a difficult room. The speakers โ€” the chic-looking Triangle Magellan Cello 40th Anniversary Edition in…

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  • TAF2023: Bergmann Audio, Grado, Graham Audio, MoonRiver, Cardas Audio, Artesania Audio

    Prices listed in US$. Iโ€™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 canโ€™t help it. Thereโ€™s something about the systems that proprietor Philip Oโ€™Hanlon is able to put together that allows those systems to…

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  • TAF2023: Gold Note, Elipson, Tri-Art, Lumin, Synergistic Research, Audio Note

    Prices listed in CA$. Every time Iโ€™ve visited Altitudo Audioโ€™s room at a show, Iโ€™ve always been met with a variety of hi-fi options I can listen to. This time was no different. Altitudo Audio โ€˜s Leonid Yamborko was presenting his bookshelf Elipson Legacy 3210ย speakers ($6500/pair), perched on Tri-Artโ€™s new 22โ€ณ-high P-Series stands in their…

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  • 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…

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