Toronto Audiofest 2024

Toronto, here I come! Land of the CN Tower, Canada's Wonderland, the Blue Jays, Drake's NBA-sized basketball court in his mansion, and, of course, the Toronto Audiofest, where hundreds of audio brands representing the latest, greatest audio gear and accessories are displayed for our amusement.

My reporting at this year's event is going to be logistically different from prior years. Instead of taking place at one venue, this year's edition is being held at two neighboring, parking-lot-sharing venues. These include the usual one, the Westin Toronto Airport, and, joining it, the Holiday Inn Int'l Airport, for a show that will encompass seven exhibit floors.

According to the organizers, who are the same ones behind the Montréal Audiofest, the second venue was added due to limitations in the availability of larger spaces for both exhibitors and events. One such event is this year’s inaugural headphone "Earvana Fest"—literally, an Audiofest within an Audiofest.

Not enough "fest" for you? No problem. This being October, the Toronto show will also host an Oktoberfest offering fine sausages and hearty beer, although I'm not sure yet how this event ties into the audio/music landscape. But the organizers aren't anything if not cleverly creative: Their "Prohibition Night" consisting of pairing whiskey and music at the Montréal Audiofest in March proved such a hit that it was brought over to the Toronto show. Who would've thought that mixing booze with music would be something people would like? Those Audiofest organizers are very astute readers of the human condition.

Rest assured that I have no intention of doing anything that would jeopardize my ability to find my way around the two venues and report back here on the coolest, best-sounding, most desirable gear available today. I'm like a bloodhound with a GPS nose.

Now where the heck is my damn hotel room?