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To me, no particular trends stood out at this year's Montreal Audiofest, though I did notice one product category that could represent a trend or the luck of the draw: bookshelf speakers that sound meatier and bigger than they have in the past.

Case in point: the Triangle Duetto 40th Anniversary speakers in the Zebrano finish ($8999/pair), which I heard in the room hosted by Quebec-based electronics retailer Centre Hi-Fi, whose products from its own Absolu collection were being demonstrated.

Upstream components included a Technics SL-1300GPK turntable ($4499) with a…

Digital sources: dCS Lina DAC with Master Clock; LAiV Harmony µDAC, HoloAudio Spring3 KTE and Denafrips Terminator Plus DACs; TEAC VRDS-701T, Shanling ET3, and Sparkler Audio S515t CD transports.
Preamplifier: HoloAudio Serene.
Power amplifiers: Parasound Halo A21+, First Watt SIT-4, LAiV GaNM, Pass Labs XA-25.
Loudspeakers: Voxativ Hagen2, GoldenEar BRX, Falcon "Gold Badge" LS3/5a.
Cables: Speaker: Cardas Clear Beyond. Interconnects: AudioQuest Black Beauty, AudioQuest Mackenzie. Digital: AudioQuest Cinnamon (USB and coax). AC: AudioQuest…

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Aidas AG-CU series Malachite Silver: $7025
Aidas CU-series Durawood: $5700
These hand-built, low-output moving coil cartridges from Lithuania use the same basic generator, boron cantilever, AlNiCo5 magnet, and nude MicroLine stylus, but differ in the wire used to wind the coils and the material used for the cartridge body. The Durawood uses copper wire and a body made from multilayered wood; the Malachite uses silver-plated copper wire and a heavier, green, Tru-Stone body. The first thing that struck MT about the Durawood was how quietly this…

Garrard 301 Advanced: $65,000 with SME VA-12 tonearm
MT described this turntable, a painstakingly restored original Garrard 301 from the 1960s mounted in a heavy plinth made from advanced polymer resin (APR) and partnered with a 12" tonearm from SME (not sold separately), in June 2025, but it turned out that the review sample had suffered damage in shipping. He auditioned a better-packed sample in Spin Doctor #31, fitted with Lyra Atlas λ Lambda and Audio Technica AT-ART1000X cartridges. MT found that, as well as offering superb measured performance, the 301 Advanced excelled at…

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Antipodes Oladra server/streamer: $29,000
This expensive server/streamer/reclocker from New Zealand is designed for precise clocking, low noise, and high bandwidth. The Oladra can serve as a Roon Core and can be operated with Roon or with another player app like HQPlayer, MPD with MinimServer, or with "Squeeze," Antipodes' own customized version of the Logitech Media Server. The Oladra can access audio files stored remotely on a NAS and stream music from Qobuz, Tidal, and other streaming services. Users can also add up to 24TB of internal storage—…

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Acoustic Signature TA-7000 NEO: $20,999 for 12" Silver, $18,999 for 9" Silver ★
The TA-7000 uses 4N silver internal wiring, a gimbaled ball/race bearing system, and a carbon-fiber armtube with an internal lattice structure that adds stiffness and damping. It is available with SME or Rega-type mounts and in 9" and 12" versions. The model reviewed was the 9", which conforms to the standard Rega geometry. It pays to be cautious when adjusting arm height, MF advised, as the pillar goes, in a hair-turn of the grub screw, “from rock-solid secure to dropping like a…