Meanwhile, Simaudio was partnered with Dynaudio loudspeakers, and the duo created a refreshingly room- and wallet-friendly system. I was impressed by…
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Simaudio's Costa Koulisakis was excited to tell us about the company's new "Reach For The Moon" trade-up program. For up to a year after initial purchase, Simaudio customers interested in moving up the Sim price ladder can receive a 100% refund on their well-maintained gear. After the first year, Sim owners can receive a 75% refund on their used gear. "It's a way to stimulate the economy, while building brand loyalty," he said.
Dynaudio's Mike Manousselis introduced me to the OCOS (Optimal COnnection System) coaxial, copper speaker cables ($500/3m pair). OCOS insists that a speaker cable should be completely transparent, imposing no sonic signature of its own. Manousselis explained that the cable provides a constant impedance throughout the entire frequency range, so as to stabilize the partnering amplifier, allowing it to "see" the speaker directly.
I like them because they're skinny and not crazy-expensive.
It was a pleasure to finally meet Stereophile forum member, KBK, also known as, Ken Hotte. If you think he looks a little crazy here, you should read his forum posts.
You would never guess that just moments before the photo was snapped, Tone Imports' Jonathan Halpern was bent over, purple-faced, and teary-eyed with delirious laughter. I'm not sure what it was all about. It had something to do with "championship wood."
In any case, Jonathan was thrilled to introduce the Leben RS 30EQ phono preamp ($2595). "I've been waiting years for this," he said. Like all Leben gear, the RS 30EQ is simply gorgeous.
I know it's only the first day and I've hardly listened to any music, but my Best Music of Show Award goes to the Tone Imports/DeVore Fidelity/Box Furniture Co./Clearaudio room. I doubt there'll be any other suite at SSI where you can hear Q-Tip's The Renaissance followed by some radically bad-ass, virtuoso tabla.
Anthony Abbate builds the cabinets for DeVore Fidelity loudspeakers and also has a range of handsome equipment racks and isolation platforms. Here we see one of Anthony's racks proudly supporting the Leben RS 30EQ phono preamp, the beautifully gold-knobbed and green-…
All right, so maybe I should have followed the recommendation that passengers should get to the train station at least 30 minutes before departure. But, really, does anyone but terminally obsessive-compulsive individuals do that? The train going from Toronto to Montreal was scheduled to leave Toronto at 9:30am. I was planning to be at Union Station in Toronto by 9:15. But with this and that, and delays here and there, when I got to the Via Rail ticket office to exchange my computer printout for the actual ticket it was 9:29 by their clock.
They gave me the ticket, saying that I…
This is my first time attending a Montreal hi-fi show, and so it makes sense that I would make some new acquaintances. It is a pleasure to meet Graeme Humphrey and Danny Labrecque of Coup de Foudre, a pretty sweet looking hi-fi shop in Montreal. Here Graeme and Danny assume a sort of pirate-gangster pose. They appear pretty tough, but they're actually quite gentle.
Coup de Foudre carries a large range of new and used hi-fi components and vinyl(!), and even has a recording studio.
We listened to a system made of Avalon Acoustics Aspect loudspeakers ($8500/pair), VTL…
Lucien Pichette stands with the Avalon Acoustics Aspect ($8500/pair), introduced at January's CES. Here in Montreal, the Aspects were creating soul-stirring sound in the Coup de Foudre room.
At the 2008 FSI, the hornloaded Avantgarde speakers from Germany were being demmed in one of the large rooms in the Centre Sheraton's downstairs convention area. At the 2009 SSI, Avantgarde were exhibiting in a conventional hotel room, but the three-way Duo Grossos ($37,500/pair), driven by Avantgarde Model One monoblocks and an Avantgarde Model One preamplifier, with an Audio Aero Prestige SACD player as source and all Nirvana SX cabling, sounded more coherent than I remember from last year's Show. Playing "The Mooche" from the Stereophile Editor's Choice CD, I was struck by how un-…