I remember when everyone but my grandmother wanted a pair of Von Schweikert VR-4 speakers. They were the talk of the town. The press loved them, customers praised them. And they weren’t too expensive. Things have changed since, of course—the VR.thirty on display at the Audiofest costs $88,000/pair, but it’s also quite a bit more ambitiously designed than the VR-4 was. The VR.thirty also sounds ambitious.

Lenbrook Americas was demoing a couple of systems in its room, all DALI–NAD–Kimber Kable configurations.

Audio Research? That’s right! The iconic brand, now owned by Val Cora of Acora Acoustics, is not only back in circulation but was making beautiful music at the ’fest via its just-released, dual-channel, fully differential, 100Wpc solid state S-100 integrated amplifier ($16,500) and LS-3 preamp, equipped with optional phono and DAC modules ($15,500 altogether).

Thirty-six years ago, I was 23. Why does that matter? Because that’s also when the Montreal audio show had its inaugural year. 36 years is a crazy milestone to reach for any annual event, especially one centered around a hobby as niche as ours.

Linn brand ambassador Lorenzo Pacitti earnestly offered demos in Room 481, and I happily obliged.

It’s 3am on a Sunday morning. I must complete my tasks before Mark Henninger is awake. There are a handful of rooms left, beginning with Room 265, where Supreme Acoustic Systems brought on Soulnote and others.

Ryan O’Connor, president of ReVox North America, was working the rooms and the halls, but his ReVox B77 reel-to-reel machine ($15,900) failed to make it to Tampa for the ReVox room. No matter; the room offered a solid setup, including a Playback Designs IPS-3 integrated amplifier ($13,000) producing 260Wpc into 4 ohms, driving Aretai Contra 100S speakers ($9000/pair).

As I wound down the mad dash from first to fourth floors, from imbibing coffee to considering cocktails, there was still more coverage to put to bed. Deep Dive Audio of Palm Bay, Florida, resuscitated my senses with a large rig of top-flight entertainment components.