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Oh, là, là! It’s back!: the North American audio show with the Euro flair, the Montréal Audiofest—or as I like to call it, the sexy audio show. It’s at its usual illustrious spot, the Hotel Bonaventure. Boy, did I miss it—and miss covering it for Stereophile. It’s always a fun event to visit, and it’s my hometown show, the one I’ve been going to for thirty years—until the Big Bug stopped it. The show runs from March 25 to March 27.

I parked my car on Friday, seven floors below the Earth’s surface, inside the Bonaventure’s parking garage, then emerged from the elevator on the…

(All prices are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated.)

Without further ado, let's jump right in, starting with the system in the Hegel room, which was bright, clean, and crisp—and that was just the room. Among the vertical cue of Hegel integrated amps you see in the following photo, only the third from the top was in operation: the 250Wpc, class-AB, dual-mono Hegel H390 with DNLA streaming DAC ($7500), which was being fed Tidal tracks streamed via Apple Airplay. Analysis Plus Silver Apex speaker cables ($3500/8ft pair) connected the Hegel to a pair of French-made, 89db-…

(All prices are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated.)

The Moon by Simaudio room was playing music streamed from the company's Roon-ready, DSD- and MQA-decoding Moon 680D streamer DAC ($13,000), connected to a 740P balanced preamp ($11,500), both connected to a two-output 820S optional external power supply ($10,000). Speakers were the tall, slender, Denmark-made, ribbon-tweeter–equipped Raidho TD 4.2's ($180,000/pair), each powered by a dual-mono, 225Wpc 860A v2 power amplifier ($25,000 each). Nordost Valhalla 2 cables connected everything together.

Not cheap…

(All prices are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated.)

The room occupied by Canadian distributor Apple Tree was a revelation, and probably not in the way you might imagine. Its system used the same integrated amp that I bought and use—the Italian 37Wpc, class-A Grandinote Shinai. I know that amp well, so I was curious to hear it at the heart of another system, this one featuring a Transrotor Fat Bob S turntable ($7520) fitted with a Tru-glider Pendulum tonearm ($5900) from Canada's Integrity Hi-Fi, a Benz Micro Glider SH Cartridge ($1380), and a Grandinote Cell lV phono…

(All prices are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated.)

Quebec-based DR Acoustics is a relative newcomer to the audiophile scene, but the company been making headway lately with its line of cables and AC conditioners. Many exhibitors at this year's show were exhibiting with the company's products, and Classé Audio chose DR Acoustics cabling to use inside their amplifiers.

In a demonstration presented to a cluster of seated onlookers that included me, a representative of the company plugged a run-of-the-mill orange power cord into a Monster Entech Power Line…

(All prices are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise specified.)

I was surprised by the sound quality I heard in the Nation Imports room. Here was a relatively compact system that cost quite a bit less than most systems I heard at the show—yet not only did it hold its own against more expensive fare, in some areas, such as imaging, definition, and the portrayal of female vocals, it beat it. I'd even say that this system's overall presentation was better balanced than most; it sounded well put together and glitch-free. The sound had a nice sense of touch, it wasn't harsh, and it…

(All prices are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated.)

Rooms by distributor Motet always sound great, and this room, belonging to Motet and retailer Audio Présence, was no exception. Feeding a pair of attractively stocky PMC MB2S passive speakers ($45,000) was a Lumin P1 network music player ($16,000) and a trilogy of Accuphase electronics: the DAC DC-1000 ($25,000), the C-3850 preamp ($35,000), and the 100Wpc class-A A250 monoblocs ($25,000 each). Modulum racks and XLO cabling were used throughout.

This system's sound was big, well-organized, and free flowing…

(All prices are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated.)

The Lemay Audio room comes with a sweet story and a giant killer.

First, the sweet story: François Lemay, Tenor Audio founder and now owner of Montréal manufacturer-retailer Lemay Audio, remembers the moment vividly, even though it happened nearly 50 years ago, when he was a budding audiophile in his early twenties. "I was shopping for speakers when I heard my first pair of Dayton-Wright electrostatic loudspeakers," François told me. "They were incredible, like nothing I'd ever heard, and I promised myself…

(All prices are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated.)

I like how Yamaha, a brand not known for audiophile products, has, in the last few years or so, been making audiophile products. I find it flattering, in a Sally Field kind of way: "You care, Yamaha. You really care."

And by all the signs, they do. Several of the company's high-end products have received good press lately, including in Stereophile, so I was happy to get a chance to listen to a few of those well-reviewed products in the Yamaha–Luna Cables room.

You want serious audio-purist…

(All prices are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated.)

I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume that every single audiophile, in that moment when they heard the news that PS Audio was coming out with a loudspeaker—not just any speaker, but a statement product—felt a combination of incredulity and curiosity, for a couple of reasons: PS Audio doesn't make speakers. It's an electronics company. In its almost 50-year history, PS Audio has never made a speaker. And suddenly it has, in the aspen FR30 ($40,000/pair).

However, those in the know know that the aspen…