Montreal Audiofest 2024

Do you want chunky sounds, vivid tone, a socking bass, and a globe-like soundstage with notes that appear so solid and dimensional you might be tempted 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.

The system comprised a pair of 4-way Audio Physics Cardeas speakers ($60,000/pair), an array of solid state Electrocompaniet gear including one stereo-configured class-AB AW 800 M Reference solid-state mono/stereo power amplifier ($30,000), a dual-mono EC 4.8 Mkll preamplifier ($7000), an ECM 1 Mkll DAC/streamer ($8000), and—not playing during my visit—an ECM MkV Reference CD player ($10,000) and a pair of 3-way Audio Physic Bookshelf Spark speakers ($10,000–$11,500.00). Cables and vibration shelves/devices were by Audio Note and Harmonic Resolution Systems, respectively (various prices).

This amalgam of products produced a sound that was tangible, substantial, breathy, introspective, solidly anchored, and inherently musical.