Montreal Audiofest 2025

Marchand Audio Video, Davis Acoustics, Jadis, and Crescendo in Harmony
Have you heard The Wall? Not the Pink Floyd album, but a three-way, 51"-tall rectangular-parallelepiped speaker ($42,000/pair in the Walnut finish). Powered by a 50Wpc KT170 tube-based Jadis i70 integrated amplifier ($19,900) and an analog, tube-staged JS2 Mk.IV DAC ($12,000), The Wall didn’t just look like walls—albeit attractive ones—in the Marchand Audio Video room, or merely occupy the long wall they were set against.

With their side ports, these speakers are intended to be placed against the wall; they projected a wall, but not of the flat kind.

This wall was breathtaking: energy-field vibrant, multi-dimensional, full-range, seamless-sounding, peep-show explicit, and micro-dynamically charged, yet also capable of delivering explosive crescendos. That reminds me: the cabling used was by up-and-coming cable company Crescendo.

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Marchand Audio Video Pt2: Advance Paris, Audiovector, Jadis, Fezz Audio, and Crescendo Steal the Show
Marchand Audio Video had a handful of exhibits at the show, including this one, which centered around an Advance Paris A12 integrated amp ($4285). Advance Paris? The name sounded vaguely familiar. Surely it was a new brand, I thought, before it hit me—I’d read about Advance Paris in a Mark Henninger-penned Industry Update published in Stereophile’s April issue.

Although Advance Paris has been around for 30 years, the French company’s products have just now landed on North American shores. The 190Wpc A12, which combines a solid-state amp with a tube preamp and is one of the company’s best-selling products, was being demoed with a music-streaming, DAC-equipped laptop and a pair of Audiovector R 6 Arreté speakers ($44,000/pair). These speakers employ an AMT tweeter and an extra rear-firing 3-inch midrange driver with its own dedicated crossover (it’s the third speaker pictured from the left). On static display were also several products by Polish manufacturer Fezz Audio, a brand we’ve been hearing more about lately—positively, not least in the pages of Stereophile.

This system cast a soundstage that filled its large-ish demo space in a way that sounded effortless, projecting an energized, composed, instrumentally-meaty presentation. Highs sounded extended, almost limitless in their projection while never sounding abrasive, but just right, open, and full of life.

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Epic Bass at Marchand Audio Video: GoldenEar, Anthem, AudioQuest
In another of Marchand Audio Video’s rooms, there were two setups centered around GoldenEar speakers. The first I heard was fronted by the just-released two-way GoldenEar T44 speakers (around $6000/pair), fed by an Anthem STR integrated amplifier with a built-in DAC ($6000) and an AudioQuest Niagara 5000 power distributor ($7500).

On laptop-streamed Qobuz fare, the first thing that hit me was the amount of bass coming out of those speakers, specifically from what the company calls each speaker’s “long-throw quadratic active subwoofer,” which sounded like, well, a subwoofer. The sound generated a big picture—much bigger than I expected given the speakers’ slender appearance. The music was meaty, harmonically enveloping, and widescreen.

But if I thought the first system launched a lot of bass, it seemed almost paltry compared to the bass coming out of the second system’s three-way GoldenEar T66 speakers ($8000/pair), each of which has two “long-throw quadratic active subwoofers.” Fed by the same amp and power-distributor combo as in the first system, the T66s delivered music that was epic, weighty, detailed, effortlessly dynamic, and projected far into the large room. It was impressive to behold. Cabling for both systems was by AudioQuest.

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Masimo Brings Marantz 10 Series, Bowers & Wilkins 801 D4, and DR Acoustics Together
Health technology manufacturer and multiple-audio-brands owner Masimo used a curtain to split its large exhibit space into left and right sections. On the right side, several recently released Marantz products—including its new Horizon and Grand Horizon one-speaker sound systems, which I reported on in last October’s Toronto Audiofest report—were displayed on podiums. The left section, behind another curtain, was where the listening room and demo were held.

Once I’d breached the curtain, I was met with a system of gleaming finishes, including the California Burl on a pair of Bowers & Wilkins 801 D4 Signature speakers ($72,000/pair), and the Champagne finish on two of Marantz’s new flagship 10 series models: the Model 10 integrated amplifier ($20,000)—two of which were used to bi-amp the speakers—and the Link 10n 2.1-channel streaming preamplifier ($16,000). The only product from the 10 series that wasn’t in the playback chain was, alas, the SACD 10 player ($16,000).

This system, which used cabling and an Antigone 3.0 power/grounding unit ($8995) by DR Acoustics, produced sound that was substantive and large-scaled, with deep-colored tones, fine detail, bold impact, a layered soundstage, and an engaging, bass-bounding musicality. Maybe next time, if I’m lucky, I’ll get to hear the SACD 10.

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Audio Note UK’s Best-Sounding, Best-Looking Room Yet?
Two things about the Audio Note room: it was both one of the English company's best-sounding and best-looking exhibit rooms I've visited. Coincidence that both happened at the same time? Or were my intertwined senses—visual and of hearing—enhancing the experience of the other?

I don’t know, but the painting that took up the whole front wall, provided courtesy of A’yin Morradi of Montreal arts collective 16th Letter Entertainment, certainly added to the mood, as did local cellist extraordinaire and Audio Note music ambassador Vincent Bélanger, who assumed the live portion of the demos.

Of course, contributing to my experience was the gear itself, such as Audio Note’s class-A, 20Wpc 211-tube-based Jinro integrated amplifier ($48,000), which uses the same circuit design and topology as the company’s legendary Ongaku integrated amplifier but uses copper for its transformer windings and most of its internal wiring instead of the Ongaku’s silver.

It was the first time I heard it, and I loved it, although I was privy only to its amplifier stage. The Jinro was being fed by the company’s M3 RIAA preamp ($17,000), a TT3 turntable / Power Supply 3 ($25,000) fitted with an Arm Three/II tonearm ($3750) and MC IO II cartridge ($11,750), an AN-S4 passive step-up transformer ($11,350), and a pair of AN-E SPE-HE speakers ($18,500/pair). I didn’t get a chance to hear the company’s also demoed CD4.1X CD player ($22,000), but jazz played from LPs sounded spacious, room-filling, naturally warm, texturally explicit, and microdynamically tactile. Every note seemed distinct from the other but also perfectly in tune with it, threaded seamlessly into the musical fabric. The experience was spiritually nourishing.

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When Budget Meets Performance: Auralis Distribution, Fosi, Matrix Audio, Focal
Even if you’re only casually familiar with the type of Chinese audio gear known for its off-the-charts price/performance ratio, you’ve probably heard of Fosi Audio. This Chinese audio electronics manufacturer has garnered a loyal following among audio enthusiasts on tight budgets. If you’re one of those people who live in North America, you're in luck... Fosi products are now available direct from Canada through Auralis Distribution. If you’re wondering if that means you’ll have to pay more to order from Canada, I’ll respond by quoting a line my daughter always tells me: “Don’t worry about it!”

The Fosi products I auditioned in the Auralis room included a 180Wpc class-D Fosi ZA3 (48-volt version) amplifier ($199), used in stereo mode, and a ZD3 DAC/preamp ($260). These mighty mice were paired with a Matrix Audio digital transport ($2750) and a pair of discontinued Focal Chorus 716V speakers ($1498/pair when last sold).

Of course, the sound of this system didn’t surpass that of the loftier-priced systems at the show—but still! There was power, drive, clarity, bass, an expansive soundstage, and a fun factor that comes from seeing how much good sound can be had for so little money.

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Wynn Audio’s World-Class Demo: Vimberg, Metronome, Vinnie Rossi, Critical Mass Systems, Entreq, Crystal Cable
Wynn Audio had one of the best demos at the show, the kind that might make you go, “I wonder what bank has the laxest security?”

Peering at the brand names in the system, you’d think it was assembled by the United Nations. It included a pair of Vimberg Mino speakers ($57,500/pair) from Germany, a Metronome combo of t/AQWO2 transport ($51,500) and t/AQWO2 DAC ($50,000) from France, a pair of Vinnie Rossi Brama monoblocks ($87,000/pair) and a Brama preamp ($57,000) from the US, Critical Mass Systems racks, stands, and footers (also from the US), an Entreq Olympus Infinity T ground box ($8000) from Sweden, and Crystal Cable cabling from the Netherlands. Canada supplied the venue.

On classical music and opera pieces, I heard an intricately mapped-out reproduction of a performance stage populated by instruments and people gesticulating in front of me. Vocals and choirs sounded holographic, detailed, and lifelike. It all sounded so natural, opulent, and realistic that I couldn’t hear the system at all—just the recording, up close and personal.

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Montreal Marvel: Baetis, T+A, Saturn Audio, Magico, Tough Nut, Silversmith, and Analysis Plus
A cellular biologist by education, Joe Makkerh’s life changed course when he began offering advice in forums on how to use JRiver software with Baetis music streamers and did such a great job at it that he was recruited by Baetis founder John Mingo—known for his prickly demeanor—to do customer service for the company. Eventually, Baetis was passed down to Joe, who hasn’t looked back.

In honor of John Mingo, who passed away in 2022, Joe named his new flagship music streamer the Reference 4 Mingo+ (starting at $14,500). The unit, which can also function as a Roon endpoint, was shown at the Montreal show in the company of a T+A DAC 200 (DAC and preamp, $10,375), a 125Wpc solid state T+A A 200 power amp ($7970), a Saturn Audio 103C power conditioner ($2800), and a pair of Magico A3 speakers ($22,000/pair). Cabling was by Silversmith and Analysis Plus, while the company Tough Nut provided the isolation racks and platforms—some of the most beautiful audio furniture I’ve seen. From what I heard, those racks aren’t just eye-pleasers; they work very well, too.

With music streamed from the Mingo+’s internal hard drive, the sound was clear, detailed, and natural. Despite my being a little too close to the system, which was placed against a long wall in a very narrow room, it still produced a soundstage that was well structured and expansive, with solid imaging.

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Room-Filling Synergy: Galion Audio, Pearl Acoustics, Tone Winner, Matrix Audio, Siltech, and Transparent Unite
Crossing me in the hallway, Galion Audio’s Thomas Tan stopped me to urge me to visit his room to hear the synergy between his company’s Galion Audio TS A20 power amp ($4995) and a new speaker by a company called Pearl Acoustics I’d never heard of.

I already knew Galion’s 20Wpc, solid state, Jupiter capacitor–equipped TS A20 sounded superb, so I assured him I would drop by, and I did—and boy, am I glad I did. Visually, the speaker, called the Sibelius ($12,900/pair with stands), was not what I expected; it’s attractive, but it’s a thin column with a single 4" driver. In his presentation to the crowd before the music started, Pearl Acoustics’ founder and chief engineer, Harley Lovegrove, a Brit based in Belgium, suggested that “Perhaps the best way to look at the Pearl Acoustics loudspeaker is by seeing it as a microphone in reverse.” From what I gathered, this meant that in a similar way a 1" microphone diaphragm can pick up the subtlest sounds and the full range of frequencies, the Sibelius’s driver was designed to deliver the same.

What about bass? “The driver sits on top of a large column of air, trapped inside our enclosure, with the only means of escape via the front port,” Harley said. “Just like a double bass, the air in our enclosure is suspended in such a way that as the driver compresses the air from above, the air is simultaneously forced out below, in perfect synergy and with an immeasurable loss of energy due to an almost total lack of internal vibration. This allows our loudspeaker to produce 36Hz with the same amount of energy as 20kHz.”

He concluded his presentation with, “Whenever anyone hears our Sibelius speaker with its tiny 4" driver for the first time the reaction is always the same. Utter surprise.”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” I thought. Turns out he was right. The ensuing drum solo and songs I heard on CDs played back through a Tone Winner TY-1CD transport ($1700) and Matrix Audio Sabre X DAC ($3000), with Siltech and Transparent cabling everything together, made me wonder what was going on. How could these speakers sound this big? Dynamics were stunning. Bass walloped. Tone was textural. Detail was granular. The soundstage was walk-through enveloping.

My takeaway? Harley and Pearl Acoustics may really be on to something.