Toronto Audiofest 2024

Now that’s what I call truth in advertising, because bliss was served! What sound! What grandeur! What an exquisite example of the best that sound reproduction can offer. Retailer Bliss Acoustics’s room was presenting one of my favorite demoes at the show, proving to me, at least—and this despite the fact that I’m not immune to sometimes feeling resentful toward gear I can’t afford—that the really expensive stuff can be worth the money. It just sounds better. It sounds expensive, in the sense that you know there’s no way you can get this level of performance at a discount.

Nagra
Again, Nagra was showing, this time with two Nagra sources, both of which I was treated to, including the Swiss company’s Reference Anniversary Turntable ($232,500 w/tonearm) fitted with a Reference Cartridge ($24,500), a Nagra Streamer ($6500—now that thing sounds like a potential deal!), and an HD DAC X ($89,500). The rest of the system comprised a Nagra HD Phono ($115,000), a Nagra Classic PSU feeding the Nagra Streamer, a Synergistic Research internet switch ($3000), a Pilium Olympus preamplifier ($110,600), a pair of 400W Pilium Kratos monoblocks ($208,600/pair), and a pair of three-way Kroma Atelier Irya loudspeakers ($252,000), with cabling by Hemingway Audio and WAY Cables; Fokus and Arkitek stands by Modulum Audio.

If you’re prone to feeling a crushing sense of disillusionment every time you hear a system you covet but can’t afford, then best to stay away from this system. But if, like me, you like to hear what’s possible today in sound reproduction, then this assemblage of state-of-the-art gear is bound to please you with its effortless portrayals of musical cohesion, natural timbre, dynamic momentum, natural tone, and well-defined bass extension, all of which will be happening inside a vast, atmospheric, enveloping, brain and heart-embracing sonic wonderland.