Robert Schryer

As per our ritual, Karim and Dan arrived at my door in late afternoon, bearing our ritual's customary offerings: dark beer, wine, cold pork sandwiches, fruit and chocolate tarts, good music on well-recorded CDs, and audio hardware to try out on the host's hi-fi—on this particular Friday, my hi-fi. It's what we did: break bread while gabbing like regular folk about regular things, then bolt for the listening room for an evening of hi-fi fun.

Earlier this year at the Montreal Audiofest, the organization that presents that show presented a lifetime achievement award to longtime Stereophile editor John Atkinson. Yesterday, the same organizers, who also present the Toronto Audiofest—gave the same award to another Stereophile contributor: Mr. Robert Deutsch.

There is something ancestrally earthy about the sound of Acora speakers that is hard to pinpoint. Sure, the fact their enclosures are made of stone might have something to do with the Stonehenge vibe I'm getting from them, but once you hear Acora speakers, I think you'll get a glimpse of what I'm talking about. They sound timeless and wise, like musical sages from another time. They convey the earth-bound existence of artists before they died like few other speakers do. They conjure the essence of music, back to when cavemen tapped sticks on stones.