Robert Schryer

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Motet, PMC, Accuphase, EverSolo, Lumin, Kimber
Montreal Audiofest 2024
Robert Schryer  |  Mar 29, 2024  |  0 comments
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.
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Notes to a New Audiophile
My Back PagesThink Pieces
Robert Schryer  |  Jul 23, 2019  |  32 comments
Dear Newbie: Welcome to the wonderful world of hi-fi! If you're besotted with a desire for audio gear that can make your recorded music sound better than you've ever heard it, you've come to the right place.

And at just the right time: Not only is there an unprecedented amount of sanely priced, excellent-sounding audio gear on the market; there's this thing happening between us right here and now—the fact that you're reading a letter I wrote especially for you.

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Octave Audio V70 Class A integrated amplifier
Integrated Amp Reviews
Robert Schryer  |  May 03, 2024  |  4 comments
It may be strange to read what I'm about to say in the pages of Stereophile, but it's the cold hard truth so here goes: Audio reviews are inadequate. They don't tell the whole story. They come up short and can even misdirect.

It's not their fault, or at least sometimes it isn't. Even the good ones can't tell you how something will sound to you—let alone make you feel, the ultimate point—in your own room. As helpful as they may be, they can't address the elephant in the listening room: synergy.

In reviewing the Octave Audio V 70 Class A integrated amplifier ($12,000 and up; $15,900 as reviewed), I was reminded of the importance of synergy in our hobby.

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Off the Well-Trod Path
New ProductsToronto Audiofest 2021
Robert Schryer  |  Oct 26, 2021  |  2 comments
Olga Oreshyna is an artist who makes, as she calls it, "non-traditional art." She begins by collecting old wood, “with scratches, cracks, knots, and other imperfections that are similar to real life." She carves it into pieces, dries it, colors it with acrylic paint or stain, and “fits [it] to a specifically designated position” among other wood pieces to create a mosaic sculpture.
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Passion Audio: Shindo, Wolf von Langa, J.Sikora, Luna Cables, Wattson, HANA, Fezz Audio
Montreal Audiofest 2024
Robert Schryer  |  Mar 31, 2024  |  1 comments

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.

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Planète Haute-Fidélité: MartinLogan, Hegel, Wattson, Stable 33.33, Reed, EMT, Luna Cables, Cardas Audio, Saturn Audio
Montreal Audiofest 2024
Robert Schryer  |  Mar 31, 2024  |  0 comments
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.
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Planète Haute-Fidélité: MartinLogan, Stable 33.33, Reed, Hana, Saturn Audio, Wattson Audio
Montreal Audio Fest 2023
Robert Schryer  |  Mar 30, 2023  |  0 comments

When I think of MartinLogan, I immediately envision an electrostatic speaker. One of their tall ones equipped with the dynamic woofer. A second later, I'll be reminded that Martin Logan also makes good cabinet-style standmounts such as the one I saw at the 2019 Toronto Audiofest, the Motion 35XTi. What I won't naturally equate with an ML design is a box-design floorstander,

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R.I.P., Audiophilia. It Was Nice Knowing You.
As We See It
Robert Schryer  |  Apr 18, 2017  |  65 comments
Audiophilia is dead.

Actually, it retired to an exclusive country club in the sky—but as far as the enduring, salt-of-the-earth audio hobbyist is concerned, it may as well be dead. The reason is simple: The old audiophile paradigm used to be mostly about when we were going to get that top-shelf component we had our eye on; it was rarely an if proposition. That's because, if you were an average, determined audiophile, it wasn't prohibitively expensive to buy top-shelf equipment. That's what made our hobby so exciting back then: the idea that you could actually own the best sound around. Damn!

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Robert Schryer's First Day in Montreal
Montreal Audio Fest 2017
Robert Schryer  |  Mar 25, 2017  |  0 comments
I was pumped about this year's Montreal Audio Fest, the city's 30th consecutive audio show, for a couple of reasons. First, I was pumped because I was covering the show for Stereophile with the estimable Art Dudley, and, second, because after last year's debacle that saw the show being unceremoniously cancelled by then-fest organizers/owners, the Chester Group, then resurrected by previous and self-re-instated show organisers, Michel Plante and Sarah Tremblay, the event's rapid revival was proof to me that the Montreal audio show still has legs and a purpose. (The show is taking place this weekend at the Hotel Bonaventure.)
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Robert Schryer's First Day in Montreal
Montreal Audio Fest 2018
Robert Schryer  |  Mar 24, 2018  |  3 comments
I was thrilled to be back to cover the Montreal Audio Fest for Stereophile with my partner in crime Art Dudley, Eager to start roaming the hallowed halls of the Bonaventure Hotel, Art and I quickly drew up the lines of our respective coverage territories in the program's exhibitor floor plan and went our separate ways.

First room on my route belonged to Gershman Acoustics, who was showcasing their sizable new flagship speaker, the Posh (above left), which, as its name suggests, is poshly priced at (US)$129 000/pair...

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