Montreal Audiofest 2024

Gershman Acoustics are habitual show exhibitors and it shows. They know how to tease out good sound from an acoustically-challenging hotel room. They've also found a synergistic match for their products with those from their longstanding exhibit partners Eon Art, Oracle Audio, and Cardas Audio, with whom they reunited for this show to present two systems, a smaller one and a bigger one.

The smaller system consisted of a pair of Gershman Acoustics Studio XdB speakers ($11,995/pair), the brand new 208Wpc, tube / transistor hybrid Eon Art Squark SE integrated amplifier ($27,000), an Eon Art Tachyon DAC prototype ($TBD), and an Oracle Audio CD transport ($14,000). Looking at the XdBs in the photo, you may be surprised to learn how low its bass response is said to be able to reach: 23Hz. To achieve this, Gershman has incorporated its patented Bass Trap feature in the stand itself, which is a permanent part of the speaker, as is the disc-like resonance control device on the top of each cabinet.

Listening to a CD, the system delivered a solid bass foundation, a clear, transparent soundstage, and a naturally sweet frequency balance. Vocals had presence and were well defined.

As good as the smaller system sounded—and it sounded very good—the bigger, much more expensive system took sound reproduction to another level, as it should. It consisted of a pair of Gershman Acoustics' 30th Anniversary Black Swan speakers ($US 90,000/pair), a pair of Eon Art Boson mono integrated monoblocks ($76,000 each), each of which combines preamp/amp sections, tube and transistor designs, and class-A and class-D circuits.

Also in the system was an Oracle analog front end consisting of a Delphi Reference MkVll turntable/Turbo power supply combo ($16,875), a Reference 1 tonearm ($7500), a Corinth MC cartridge ($2750) and a PH-200 Mklll phono stage ($2420 - $2760).

Cabling and AC accessories for both systems were by Cardas Audio.

As for the audio fidelity, "Oh là là," as the French say. It was splendiferous, certainly one of the best at the show, producing sound that was large-scaled, meaty, suave, detailed, tonally luscious, architecturally layered, with deep bass and palpable images. It was captivating.