Le Studio du Son Room
Making its North American premiere—perhaps its world premiere, according to Le Studio du Son's Olivier Fragman—was the Aperion Verus III Concert V8T Tower speaker ($5000/pair, the big ones in the photo above).
Robert Schryer
Continue Reading »
The NAD/DALI/AudioQuest Room
Friday—opening day—was crazy. I've never visited so many rooms in one day at an audio show—14, to be exact. That's a lot of rooms to cover. As a show reporter, you must take the time to listen to the gear, evaluate its sound, jot down legible impressions, make sense of exhibitors' explanations, get product names and prices, take photos of the gear, and ask for business cards so you can contact someone later if you're missing information. Then, despite my best efforts, I often must make a repeat visit because I forgot to take a particular photo or pick up a price list or ask for the exhibitor's business card. It's time-consuming.
Le 34ième Montreal Audiofest
Sunny? Springy? Even more bizarre: No snow is predicted for the entire weekend, during the 34th Montreal Audiofest, which runs from March 24 to March 26.
KLH Model Three loudspeaker
"Dear audio enthusiast." Those were the user manual's introductory words, not "Dear audiophile." I stared at them for a few seconds, letting the implication of that greeting sink in. I don't know if it was meant this wayperhaps notbut for me, this was a whistle call announcing that the KLH Model Three ($1799.98/pair) was not intended for those obsessed with having the best at all costs; it was meant for people who dig quality sound, period. It was also meant for people who dig that vintage-American-speaker look.
Continue Reading »
Toronto Audiofest 2022: Final Words and Observations
The Toronto Audiofest 2022 may not have been the busiest audio show I've attended, but it was still a success. It had plenty of new product launches, great-sounding rooms, and a good amount of traffic, especially on Saturday, when seats became a hot commodity in many exhibit rooms.
Continue Reading »
EQ Audio/Rotel/Monitor Audio/Focal/Musical Fidelity/Kimber Kable/Norstone/Audience
Like at the last Toronto Audiofest, I listened to two of EQ Audio's main systems that were setup at both ends mirror-image-like along the length of the back wall of their huge, subdivided exhibit space. One system included another North American premiere!the Monitor Audio 3-way PL200 3G speakers ($17,500/pair)the second system consisted of a pair of Focal Sopra No.3 speakers ($33,798/pair) and electronics by Musical Fidelity.
Continue Reading »
Eon Art/Oracle/Gershman Acoustics/IsoAcoustics/Cardas
And now for something completely different, Part 3.
Continue Reading »
Ever heard of a monophonic integrated amplifier? An amp that includes a single amplification channel along with its single channel preamplification stage? I hadn't until I visited manufacturer Eon Art's room, which was demoing a pair of such a rare, in fact, one-of-a-kind, beast, called the Boson ($72,537/each).
Hearken Audio/Atelier Audio/Jean Nantais/Lenco/Bird of Prey/Miyajima Labs/Ilumnia/Ocellia/Tzar/Aqua
A room I can always count on to deliver soul-stirring, heart-warming, duct-tearing, yearning-to-possess sound is the one hosted by Hearken Audio/Atelier Audio, an oasis of some of the least mechanical, most musical sound I've heard this side of real-life music.
Continue Reading »
EQ Audio/Focal/Vicoustic/Kaleidescape/Dolby Atmos
And now for something completely different, Part 2
Continue Reading »
On the gentle urging of one of the nicest guys in the biz, Ed O'Herlihy, owner of Ontario retailer EQ audio video, I visited, among the many exhibits Ed was hosting in his nearly stadium-sized space, was the Focal 1000 series Utopia 7.0.4 Dolby Atmos demonstration, the exact same setup that Focal presented in Dallas at this year's CEDIA Expo.
DALI/NAD/AudioQuest
You want more "big" sound? The kind whose tentacles can reach into every nook and cranny of a large room with warm reverberant energy, rich tones, colorful harmonics, and bass tremors that'll seep through your seat? Then step right up, into the DALI room, which was showing its new flagship KORE loudspeakers ($150,000), monuments to state-of-the-art speaker design conceived in the land of the VikingsDenmarkalong with a pair of 200Wpc, class-D NAD M23 monoblocks ($5000 each), a streaming M33 integrated amp ($7800), an AudioQuest Niagara 5000 line conditioner (7000), and a bevy of AudioQuest Thunderbird Zero cabling.
Continue Reading »