Description: Three-way sealed-box passive loudspeaker. Drivers: 1.1" (28mm) diamond-coated beryllium-dome tweeter, 5" (127mm) Gen 8 Nano-Tec cone midrange driver, two 7" (178mm) Gen 8 Nano-Tec cone woofers. Crossover: three-way Elliptical Symmetry Crossover (ESXO), 24dB/octave Linkwitz-Riley. Crossover frequencies: 325Hz and 2350Hz. Frequency range: 26Hz–50kHz. Sensitivity: 86.5dB/2.83V/1m. Impedance: 4 ohms. Recommended amplifier power: 50–300Wpc.
Dimensions: 43.5" (1100mm) H × 15.5" (400mm) W × 13.6" (350mm) D with outriggers installed. Weight: 132lb (60kg…
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Sidebar 1: Specifications
The first thing I noticed about the LAiV Audio GaNM monoblock amplifier ($4694/pair; footnote 1) is its unusual shape and size; it occupies space differently than the other, more basic amplifiers on my rack. The GaNMs sat there giving off a megalithic vibe. In either of their two finishes (silver and gold or black and gold), the solidity and seriousness of their sculptural form upstaged any glamor effects offered by their glossy OLED front panel, deeply engraved top-plate logo, and gold accents.
The LAiV Harmony GaNM monoblock
Opening a LAiV product box is a step-by-step graphically…
Museums, like the past they preserve, aren't for everyone. To some they are essential and endlessly enlightening, while others find them irrelevant and boring. Music listeners tend to divide into those who only want to hear what's new and those who refuse to get out of the past.
Today, the blues qualify as a museum piece. While an endless stream of weekend-warrior blues bands still grinds away across the US, nothing new and different has happened in the music in many years, Buddy Guy's well-deserved 2026 Grammy Award notwithstanding. Blues is a music in which—similar perhaps to classical…
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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In the above video interview on our YouTube channel, Robert Schryer speaks with Bliss Acoustics proprietor Dragan Reljic about the gear shown in this room.
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…
In the above video interview on our YouTube channel, Robert Schryer speaks with Audio Note UK reps from both sides of the pond about the gear shown in their room.
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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In the above video interview on our YouTube channel, Robert Schryer speaks with Hearken Audio’s Matt Thomas about the equipment shown in this room.
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…
In the above video interview, from on our YouTube channel, Robert Schryer speaks with Lemay Audio founder François Lemay about the gear shown in this room.
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!