Robert Schryer

Montreal Audiofest 2024

Audiophile Experts: Accuphase, DALI, Grandioso, Esoteric, Luna Cables

Robert Schryer Mar 31, 2024

It's always a pleasure to visit an exhibit room put together by Audiophile Experts because the retailer's setups and recordings tend to sound top notch, and you won’t hear these recordings elsewhere at a show.

Montreal Audiofest 2024

Passion Audio: Shindo, Wolf von Langa, J.Sikora, Luna Cables, Wattson, HANA, Fezz Audio

Robert Schryer Mar 31, 2024

Retailer Passion Audio just opened a few months ago on Montreal's South Shore, which is where I live. I couldn't be more pleased about that after listening to the artisinal, gorgeous-sounding, soul-of-the-music-capturing equipment it demoed at the Audiofest.

Montreal Audiofest 2024

Gershman Acoustics, Eon Art, Oracle Audio, Cardas Audio

Robert Schryer Mar 31, 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.

Montreal Audiofest 2024

Planète Haute-Fidélité: MartinLogan, Hegel, Wattson, Stable 33.33, Reed, EMT, Luna Cables, Cardas Audio, Saturn Audio

Robert Schryer Mar 31, 2024

My memory isn't good to start with, but I could've sworn I heard substantially more bass coming out of the MartinLogan Expression ESL 13A hybrid electrostatic loudspeakers ($23,500/pair) in Planète Haute-Fidélité's room than during any other visit to the retailer's showroom in past years.

Montreal Audiofest 2024

Audio Group Denmark, Wynn Audio, Børresen, Axxess, Ansuz

Robert Schryer Mar 31, 2024

Saying Audio Group Denmark/Wynn Audio impressed at this year's Montreal Audiofest is an understatement. They brought the goods and then some. That "some" is what I perceived as the quality of the merchandise and its performance in relation to its price.

Montreal Audiofest 2024

ArtistCloner

Robert Schryer Mar 30, 2024

ArtistCloner is one of those audio manufacturers, like Audio Note, making complete systems from cabling to speakers to power conditioners. Its designs stem from one person's singular vision.

Montreal Audiofest 2024

Altitudo Audio, Audio Physics, Electrocompaniet, Audio Note, Harmonic Resolution Systems

Robert Schryer Mar 30, 2024

You want chunky sounds, vivid tone, socking bass, and a globe-like soundstage with notes that appear so solid and dimensional you might be tempted to try to pick them like an apple from an apple tree? If so, then step right up into the Altitudo room, which may look a little small for the amount of gear present and the size of the speakers I listened to, but make no mistake, the sound I heard from FLAC files streamed from a hard drive was clean, muscular, and colorfully diverse.

Montreal Audiofest 2024

absolu par Centre HiFi: Technics, Ortofon, Jorma Audio, AudioQuest

Robert Schryer Mar 30, 2024

Technics was showing some delightfully high-end stuff. The turntables were more alike sonically than different, revealing a house sound marked by clarity, explicitness, transient speed, ambient cues, and vivid pictures.

Montreal Audiofest 2024

Motet, PMC, Accuphase, EverSolo, Lumin, Kimber

Robert Schryer Mar 29, 2024

The room shared by distributor Motet and PMC Speakers showcased a system—actually, two systems, but I only experienced one. This system surprised me, not merely because it delivered a full, big-picture sound but because the source of that sound was not what I initially assumed upon entering.

Montreal Audiofest 2024

Asona Ltd / Distribution: Innuos, Fonica, Audio Analogue, Perreaux, Analysis Plus

Robert Schryer Mar 29, 2024

The Innuos/Asona room showcased and AB-tested two network streamers for me: the flagship Pulsar and the Pulse.