You want big-toned, vivid, seemingly effortlessly dispersed sound with a knack for delivering some of the most stable and incisively air-sculpted, but not fatiguing, imaging I've heard at the show? Then step right up, into the Motet room, which was showcasing a powerful system comprising a pair of PS Audio ASPEN FR30 speakers ($40,000/pair), two 65Wpc, class-A Accuphase A-80 power amplifiers in bridged mode ($28,000/each), an Accuphase C-2300 preamplifier ($15,000), a Lumin P1 streamer ($13,500), a PS Audio PowerPlant 20 AC regenerator ($15,000), with cabling by…
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All prices listed in CA$.
All prices in CA$ except where otherwise noted.
You know how they say that after a while dog owners start looking like their pets? I doubt it's true, but on the premise that it is, I wonder if the same can be claimed about brand names or store names; example: if you opened the "Best Gear Ever" store, would you, even subconsciously, feel compelled to seek out and sell the best gear? Would you try to resemble the name, to live up to it?
By the same token, what if your store is called Sonic Artistry? Would you feel compelled to sell gear that's uncommon and makes music that…
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Ontario retailer Hearken Audio always showcases systems made up of exotic products usually from distant lands by brands unfamiliar to me that, together, don't fail to be musical standouts at shows.
This year, Hearken demoed a particularly synergistic batch. Some exhibitors are very good at finding products that work optimally together, and I'd say that Matt Thomas, proprietor of Hearken Audio, is up there in being able to do that—he's got the audio-dealer nose for such things.
The demo this year was centered around products by Senna Sound, a…
As much as these blogs mainly focus on products from Polish companies that, for the most part, have–or are en route to having–a presence in the U.S., a few premieres from companies headquartered elsewhere demand attention. Hence, I took a short trip to Paris for the premiere of the second generation of Devialet’s very first product, the Astra integrated amplifier.
Given that it has taken Devialet 14 years to issue an entirely new, up-to-date integrated, this was a major premiere in a relatively small package. Available in two colors, light bronze or (for a higher price) Opéra de Paris 23…
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Another great-sounding room was the one hosted by retailer Vinyl Sound, a name that, as proprietor of the store, you have to live up to—you have to sell turntables!
And they do, of course, having brought to the show a particularly sweet-sounding one—the MoFi MasterDeck turntable with an Ultra Gold MC cartridge ($9995 for both / $8495 w/o cartridge). The 'table was feeding a MoFi MasterPhono ($8495), a class-A, 30Wpc Mastersound Compact 845 tube integrated amplifier ($12,995), and the brand new MoFi SourcePoint 888 speakers ($7250/pair). Cabling, AC products, and…
The cynical amongst us might say that I began my coverage of Warsaw’s Audio Video 2024 with Polish audio company Ferrum because they were also taking me (and a huge bevy of other press people) out to dinner. While I won’t deny that one of many ways to an audio critic’s heart is through their stomach, my gut reaction to Ferrum has far more to do with its “amazing for the price” sound than its perks.
When I entered the room, I encountered some poorly recorded, edgy rock. A recording of the kind that might convince many a showgoer to forego this room, never to return. But because I’ve…
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Monitor Audio was displaying two systems. The first showcased a pair of the company's Studio 89 monitors ($2999/pair, + $799 for Studio 89 stands) and Anthra W12 subwoofer ($3700), fed by a 140Wpc, class-A/B Rotel RAS-5000 integrated amplifier ($3999), while cabling and the component rack, in systems 1 and 2, were by Audience and Norstone, respectively.
On a Roon-supplied high-res file of an Eric Clapton and B.B. King track taken from the duo's Riding With the King release, Clapton's and King's vocals were transparent, throaty, and expressive,…
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Some products at audio shows create a buzz. They get people excited and raving about them in the venue’s corridors. One such product at this year’s show was the Elac Concentro S 503 standmount speaker ($12,000/pair).
On its website, Elac calls the S 503 a bookshelf speaker, but I feel “bookshelf” doesn’t do the speaker justice—in looks alone; when I saw the S 503 as I walked into Winnipeg-based retailer Altitudo’s exhibit room, I thought, "what a smart-looking speaker". It looked distinguished with its trapezoid-shaped, beveled cabinet in its high-gloss…
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At every Toronto Audiofest, EQ Audio Video hosts the same room and it's easily the biggest one at the show—it's the size of a palatial Austrian ballroom—which the retailer subdivides into several closed-off demos that play at different times. EQ Audio Video owner Ed O'Herlihy knows how to put demos together so they always sound impressive, and this year I got to hear two of the best systems, not only in the EQ room, but at the entire show.
The first system I heard was centered around Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista electronics, including a 300Wpc, fully…
The Toronto Audiofest 2024 was a fun show, and by all signs, the audio hobby still beats with a vital, passionate heart.
Takeaways?
First, if what I saw of this year's inaugural Earvanafest was any indication of the high-end headphone industry's general health, it must be doing very well. The couple of times I stole a gander at the event, it was teeming with activity. It might explain why this year the Audiofest organizers decided to host the headphone component of the show in a much bigger space than usual, and call it Earvanafest!
Second, ribbon-based tweeters are…