Art's Sonic Saturday in Montreal

A few years ago, the Hotel Bonaventure (formerly the Hilton Bonaventure), long the site of the Montreal Audio Fest (formerly Salon Son et Image), turned its sprawling restaurant into a sprawling ballroom called the Ville-Marie salon. For the 2019 Montreal Audio Fest, that room was home to Focal Naim Canada (formerly the distributor known in Canada as Plurison, and in the US as Audio Plus Services.) Daniel Jacques (on the left, with me, in the photo above), who founded Plurison/Audio Plus in 1983, has now sold that company to Vervent Audio Group, which owns Focal and Naim; those brands, including a few others—namely IsoAcoustics, Cambridge Audio, Musical Fidelity, Siltech, Vicoustic, and Solid Tech—will now be handled in Canada by Focal Naim Canada, and, with the exception of Cambridge, in the US by Focal Naim America, also a Vervent subsidiary. Absent from the Vervent stable are former Plurison stalwarts Micromega, Crystal Cable, and the curiously named Cocktail Audio. (The fact that "COCKTAIL" appeared on all of this year's show badges, in very large type, surely confused more than one attendee.) It's slightly complicated.

Far simpler is the outward appearance of IsoAcoustics' new Delos isolation platform ($US499 and up, depending on size): a slab of solid walnut, nicely finished. But underneath is the same technology used in IsoAcoustics' isolation feet (four of which I recently bought for my Garrard 301—watch for that in the June 2019 Stereophile), which involves a compliant structure that's less compliant in some planes of motion than others. It's slightly complicated.

Also new from Focal Naim Canada is the Cambridge Audio Alva wireless turntable, said wirelessness accomplished via AptX HD Bluetooth connectivity. (It can also be used as a hard-wired phono source.) Don't be misled by its Rega-esque appearance, or its obviously Rega-sourced tonearm: According to Daniel Jacques, the Alva is a medium-torque direct-drive turntable, with a platter of high-mass non-resonant acrylic. In wireless mode, the player's onboard phono preamp addresses a 24-bit, 48kHz A/D processor. The Cambridge Alva is set to sell for $US1699, including a moving-coil cartridge.

In the larger and more comfortable of two rooms sponsored by Montreal retailer Codell Audio, I heard a system comprising a Brinkmann Bardo turntable ($CD10,185) with Ortofon TA-110 tonearm ($CD1899) and Kiseki Blue cartridge ($CD2649); Zesto Audio Andros 1.2 phono preamp ($CD6000); Lumin T2 streamer ($CD6999); Brinkmann integrated amplifier ($CD8000); and Harbeth Super HL5 Plus loudspeakers ($CD6999/pair). In fact, only the digital front end was in use during my visit; a streamed file of an unidentified female singing "I Can See Clearly Now" showed off the system's wide dynamic range and good momentum and flow, but a bit of grain in the top end got in the way.

Far better sounding—to me, at least—was Codell Audio's second system, which used a Hegel H190 integrated amp ($CD4500) to drive a pair of Magnepan 1.7i loudspeakers ($CD3100/pair), with an Innuos Zen Mini Mk.3 streamer ($CD1850 w/2TB of onboard storage). A Dobro-fueled blues track sounded fine—sinewy and colorful, with a great sense of scale—and the system chained my attention to the electric-bass line at the core of War's "Low Rider." Forgive the double negative, but don't let anyone tell you that Magnepan speakers can't rock.

A demonstration sponsored by the Canadian distributor Gramophone provided my first opportunity to enjoy at length the Kii Three powered loudspeaker ($CD25,000/pair without the BXT bass enclosures/stands shown above), which makes extensive use of digital signal processing, and which Kal Rubinson wrote about in the September 2017 Stereophile. Streaming Qobuz files with the aid of a Melco player, the Kii system sounded present, punchy, colorful, and, especially, coherent; percussion instruments, in particular, seemed better integrated than usual into the musical whole, not tacked-on. With the BXT units added to the system, I heard more bass weight, but crazy though it may sound, I found the music easier to enjoy—and perfectly satisfying in every way—without them.

COMMENTS
Ortofan's picture

... was probably either Holly Cole or Anne Bisson.

Bogolu Haranath's picture

Some of the other female singers I can find in Apple Music singing "I Can See Clearly Now" .......
Anne Murray ......
Liza Minnelli ......
Gladys Knight .......
Some Lady called ........ Power Music Workout .........
Simone Dinnerstein & Tift Merritt ........
Sugar Beats ........
Dena DeRose et.al .........

Apple Music lists almost 100 different singers singing "I Can See Clearly Now" ....... Female, male and groups ........ I might have missed a few female singers :-) .........

Venere's picture

So it was Holly Cole. I like Holly Cole as much as the next guy (unless the next guy is Mel Gibson...ha) but enough is enough already. How about some Diana Krall for a change? Just kidding.

jporter's picture

So, they sand off "Boos Block" and add their own badge?

brianupnorth's picture

The RCMP (Royal Canadian Music Police) strictly enforce Can-Con regulations. Holly Cole, Diana Krall, Anne Bisson or Nickleback those are the only choices here.

Bogolu Haranath's picture

"Rockstar" ............. Nickelback :-) ...........

Isadore Nudell's picture

It was a pleasure meeting Janet and Art and I greatly appreciated that Art found positive comments on the systems we presented.Being there for the full 3 days, my strongest observation was the many people who returned to our rooms and stated that they wanted to give their ears a rest and to enjoy the music that played.Toe tapping, head bobbing and thumbs up too.

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