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Retailer The Sound Choice presented an all-digital setup—a less common sight at Montreal Audiofest 2026 than you might expect. Front-end duties in this system were handled by a Matrix Audio pairing of the NT-1 network transport ($5990) and SC-1 clock ($7990) feeding a trio of tube-based Fezz Audio components: the Equinox Prestige DAC (designed by Lampizator, $4250), Sagita Prestige preamplifier ($3650), and a pair of 15W, class-A, parallel, single-ended triode Mira Ceti monoblocks ($10,000/pair), each fitted with a matched pair of Western Electric 300B tubes ($2200/pair).

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With digital playback (I didn't hear the analog front end), the system in the Bliss Acoustics room at Montreal Audiofest 2026 struck an impressive balance between power (rhythmic certainty, deep bass, and guttural impact) and finesse (tonal refinement, explicit texture, and a wide dynamic range that could shift effortlessly from explosive to micro-textured). It projected a vast, stable, harmonically rich soundscape…

Audio Note UK embodies the credo of keeping things simple and using the best parts. The system in the Audio Note room at the Montreal Audiofest, with the analog front-end, made a very strong case for their approach. (I didn’t get to hear the digital front end): I heard purity imbued with natura-sounding l resonance, oodles of earthy texture, and weight and immediacy that seemed organic and human.

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Not just great sound for the price but great sound, period. I only had the chance to hear the vinyl setup in the Hearken Audio Room at Montreal Audiofest 2026, but it was so nourishing musically I wanted for nothing. The sound was 300B-expressive: explicit, textured, immediate—but not overly rich. It was just right, never harsh but possessing an engaging musical ease that made me forget about the equipment and just enjoy the…

The Lemay Audio Dayton Wright Hommage 7.3 speakers on display here delivered vivid, dreamlike sound: starkly defined, dramatic, convincingly lifelike.

Other qualities I noted were itsimpactful microdynamics, purity of tone, concrete layering, and colorfully scintillating imaging. Bass had more power and physicality than might be expected from electrostatic speakers without subwoofers.

For…

Robert Schryer and Ken Micallef welcome one and all to our upcoming in-depth Montreal Audiofest 2026 coverage. Besides the teaser Reels we've already been posting, Rob and Ken will be conducting show interviews and showing us lots of great new gear from the show in the days ahead, so stay tuned!

Did the man survive? I don't remember. I do remember my mother looking at me and asking, a glint of amusement in her eye, "Why did you do that?"

"Do what?" "With your arms." I looked at her, not understanding. "You held your arms over your head," she said. "Warding off the boat…

Or so I thought. Behind the curtain, resting on the windowsill,…

While editing this review, I got sucked in to an investigation of the two albums Rob mentions in this section: Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! by the Cannonball Adderley Quintet and Ron Carter's Spanish Blue. That investigation led to a story I think is worth sharing.

Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! has an interesting history. The liner notes on the original LP claimed it was recorded live at the Club De Lisa, "one of the swingingest spots in Chicago's South Side." The Club De Lisa was a real place—in fact those liner notes were written by one of the club's…

Description: Two-channel streaming network bridge. Input: 100Mb/s Ethernet on RJ45. Outputs: one 75 ohm S/PDIF (RCA) with isolation transformer, 500mV peak– peak; one 110 ohm AES3 with isolation transformer, 2.8V peak–peak. Standards: UPnP/DLNA, AirPlay, Qobuz Connect, Tidal Connect, Roon Ready, Airable internet radio. Plays with Audirvana. Control app: Wattson Music for iOS, Wattson Remote for Android. Supported formats: WAV, FLAC, AIFF, ALAC, MP3, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, WMA. Supports PCM to 24/192kHz, single-rate DSD natively. Power consumption: 2.5W while playing, 1…