Montreal Audio Fest 2022

This year's annual audio-industry cocktail/supper ceremony was held in a ballroom-like room that gave the proceedings a bit of an Oscar-night flair. (Our invitation to Will Smith was rescinded in light of current events.) In what I'm assuming was a first at an audio-industry gathering, a drag queen entertainer was invited to perform on stage—Montreal's Rainbow—who did a skit with show organiser Michel Plante that involved her "translating" Michel's opening speech from French to English. What made it funny is that Rainbow's English is spotty at best, but she gave it a good, inventive whirl.

As at all of these events, Lifetime Achievement awards were presented to people who have made significant long-term contributions to the audio industry. This year's celebration was especially moving.

The first-announced of the night's two recipients was Classé Audio's Dave Nauber, one of nicest guys I've met in the biz, and I had just met him the day before. I was immediately won over by his humility and kindness. Nauber is leaving Classé after 20 years of service, first as President, then, after Sound United bought Classé from Bowers & Wilkins in 2018, as Director of Brand.

The second recipient was none other than Michel Plante himself, half the organising team of Canada's two Audiofests (his wife, Sarah Tremblay, is the other half). Plante is another mensch who has devoted his life to promoting the audio industry. Michel took the occasion to announce that he had accepted a job as Canadian Brand Ambassador of KEF. By the look on Michel's face and his reaction, it was clear that Sarah had managed to keep Michel in the dark about his upcoming moment in the spotlight.

A hearty congratulations and Godspeed to both Dave and Michel.

Other items I'd like to mention in closing:

The Grado headphone room was consistently abuzz. This room represented an aspect of what's so great about an audio show: You can try out and compare gear on the spot, and if you like something, buy it there at a show discount.

The girls in the Audiofilles ("Audio girls") room just want to have fun. They also want to highlight that girls can dig audio, too. The room was showcasing a system built around a belt drive Pro-ject Triangle turntable (designed by Pro-ject in partnership with Triangle) fitted with an Ortofon OM-10 E cartridge ($1000 for the package), a 125Wpc Music Hall A70.2 integrated amp ($2000, although the unit may be discontinued), and a pair of wireless Bluetooth Triangle AIO speakers ($800). The sound was vivacious, punchy, and capable of a higher degree of musical refinement than its price might suggest.

Audio Pro tabletop speakers, from Sweden, sound unusually great. Lily Luo of importer Motet loved them so much she decided not only to represent the brand in North America but to hire Montreal artist Lisa Liu (see facebook.com/lisaliuarts) to paint each speaker, making it a unique piece of art to admire visually and sonically. Lisa is a fantastic person and a talented artist; any love and support she can get is well deserved.

Trends at the show? Streaming! It's everywhere! The good news is that as this segment of the industry continues to mature, the performance from streaming devices is getting noticeably better. Another trend? Fewer dome tweeters; more ribbons and AMTs.

I'll close my coverage by saying that Montreal Audiofest 2022 was an unmitigated smash and a breath of fresh air. Here's to hoping the Big Bug doesn't ruin the party again.