search

Now, before we return to Montreal, here's more from the Southwest Audio Fest.

You won't mistake an MBL speaker for any other. No matter what size MBL speakers you buy, you will get the same unique 360-degree dispersion in the highs and mids.

MBL's smallest and most affordable loudspeaker offering is the Radialstrahler 120 ($26,500/pair), which was demoed in Dallas (footnote 1).

MBL also made the electronics running the speakers, specifically the new C41 network player/DAC ($11,100), which also served preamp duties, and two MBL N15 monoblock amplifiers ($20…

During the demo, Sade's "Cherish the Day" sounded seductive. A couple that had been sitting through previous demo tracks had gotten up to leave but turned around and sat back down to hear more.

I requested "Thief Rockers" by Thievery Corporation, a frequent request from me. The couple that came back to hear Sade stayed for the Thievery. I enjoyed the detailed yet smooth and…

The digital source was an MSB Select DAC ($115,000), a Select Digital Director ($27,500), and a Taiko GSM Extreme server ($30,000). Cabling was by Synergistic Research: SRX Interconnects ($9,500), SRX Slimline speaker cables ($22,500), and SRX power cords ($10,000); power conditioning was also Synergistic, the Galileo SX with an SRX power cord ($27,995).

Sara…

First, the Børresen M6 ($550,000/pair). When a pair of speakers sells for more than half a million dollars, expectations are high. Paired with Aavik's top-tiered components (see list below), the M6 speakers demonstrated astonishing agility and seemingly boundless dynamics.

The electronics were Aavik's C-880…

Prices are in Canadian dollars

The first thing I thought when I spied SPL’s component rack was how nifty its gear looked—neither too large nor too small, with faceplates just the right size to accommodate their features with style. I was especially taken by the appearance of the company’s solid-state Director Mkll preamp/DAC ($4800), with its two VU meters; the one in the red finish on the poster outside the room was especially tasty.

That same feng shui faceplate aesthetic was also present on the company’s Phonos phono stage ($2269). Only the company’s solid-state, class…

All prices are in Canadian dollars.

After I witnessed the ribbon cutting-ceremony performed by 20 industry under-40-somethings on Friday morning—a symbolic event meant to jointly celebrate the Montreal Audiofest’s 35th edition and the new generation of audio-industry flamekeepers—I hit the rooms closest to my own room, starting with Corby’s Audio. This Toronto-area retailer was showing a spread of audio gear that offered a visually appetizing mix of rich wood tones and sleek metal surfaces.

Providing the rich wood tones were isolation shelves and racks by Tough Nut Audio (…

And now for more from the Montreal show. All prices are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated.

You want guts? You want music with explosive dynamics, effortless sonic propulsion, and a bass beat that punches so low and hard it makes you sit up at attention? How about if with all that power came high-level transparency, dimensionality, tonal purity, vocal naturalness, and microdetail?

If that sounds like your kind of system, the demo I heard in the Le Studio du Son room could be your cup of tea. Or coffee. Or can of Red Bull.

Speaking of cuppas: On the top…

All prices listed in Canadian dollars.

For a couple of years now at the Montreal Audiofest, Classé Audio and Bowers & Wilkins have been exhibiting together. That’s no surprise considering that both brands are owned (for the moment at least) by the same company, Masimo. (Medical-device manufacturer Masimo may soon be spinning off the former Sound United home–hi-fi brands.)

But there may be more to it than just a sharing of a parent company: Undeniably, , these two brands dance well together, almost as if they were planned to be matched. The two manufacturers’ products,…

All prices listed in Canadian dollars.

"I could live with a system like this," I thought, as I sat beguiled by what I was hearing and seeing in the room co-hosted by Luna Cables, Thöress, AudioNec, The Wand, and Wattson Audio. At that moment I wasn’t thinking only of the system’s sound quality but also of the artisanal, passionate, old-values aesthetic these companies represent. Certainly those components—those values—were making beautiful music together, music with touch, tactility, air, pure tone, expressive delicacy, vocal purity, solid bass, transparency, and informational…

All prices listed in Canadian dollars.

Hegel hosted a few rooms. In this one, the Norway-based company’s setup included its brand-new 150Wpc H190V streaming integrated amplifier with MM phono stage ($4899, projected release: May), a pair of Andrew Jones–designed MoFi Sourcepoint 8 speakers ($4399 with stands)—the model's 8 designation refers to the size of the concentric driver—AudioQuest cabling (various prices), and a MoFi Ultradeck turntable with factory-aligned Mastertracker MM cartridge ($3999), which wasn't in use during my visit.

The sound of Tidal-streamed files…