Focal, Naim, IsoAcoustics, Kimber Kable in the Kennedy Hi-Fi Room
The speakers on display in the Kennedy room included two pairs of Focal 926s, one of which, standing higher than the other, were threaded with IsoAcoustics Gaia ll feet, the other with the stock feet. Electronics included a Naim ND5 SS2 streamer ($5540 US), which comes with four 24/192 digital inputs, and a 70Wpc Naim Nait SX 3 integrated amp ($5540 US), while cabling consisted of Kimber Kable's Carbon series.
Hearken Audio/Atelier Audio/Jean Nantais/Lenco/Bird of Prey/Miyajima Labs/Ilumnia/Ocellia/Tzar/Aqua
A room I can always count on to deliver soul-stirring, heart-warming, duct-tearing, yearning-to-possess sound is the one hosted by Hearken Audio/Atelier Audio, an oasis of some of the least mechanical, most musical sound I've heard this side of real-life music.
Innuos/ASONA/Synthesis/AperturA/Analysis Plus
You want organic, vinyl-like sound without the vinyl, without spending an arm and a leg for it? Then I have the system for you, found in the Innuos/ASONA room. It starts with an Innuos complement of a PULSEmini network player ($1600) and a PhoenixNET network switch ($4900)those switches, they've upped the digital gameplugged into the preamp section of a Cen.Grand 9i-90SA fully balanced headphone amp ($2900). Amplification was assumed by the gorgeous (and gorgeous-sounding) KT-88-tubed, 80Wpc Synthesis Roma 510 AC amp ($6500) from Italy, which powered a pair of bass-reflex AperturA Sensa speakers (starting at $4300/pair). Analysis Plus cabled everything together.
Moon/Simaudio/AudioQuest
If an audio company is in a position financially and infrastructurally to build components to make a complete system, it probably makes sense to do so, especially when it comes to mid-priced gear that isn't necessarily audiophile oriented. A lot of people who like music and want quality sound, without feeling the need to go overboard in that department, want to be able to buy a turn-key system from a reputable company so they won't have to worry about finding components from separate companies that'll work well together. This same-brand system philosophy also makes sense for us, the audio diehards, because it serves our industry to have people want to join the good-sound crusade and support hi-fi companies in general, rather than completely avoid getting into quality audio because it's just too complicated and fiddly to do so.
It's why Moon by Simaudio launched its Voice 22 standmount speakers ($3800/pair, optional stands $500 extra).
The Anthem/Paradigm room
The Anthem/Paradigm system may have been simply assembled, but don't let that fool you into thinking it wasn't sophisticated technologically or sound-wise. The Anthem STR integrated ($6000) outputs 200Wpc, comes with a hi-rez DAC, a USB audio input that supports up to 32/384 PCM, a pair of MM/MC phono inputs, and offers room correction. The speakers being fed by the Anthem were the fancy-looking five-driver, 95dB-sensitive, class-D bass-amplified Paradigm Founder 120H speakers ($11,000/pair; review to appear in the December issue of Stereophile).
The Audio Note UK Room
Audio Note UK is one of those companies that makes entire systems, including cables, so that you don't need to look elsewhere for compatible productssame-brand audiophile systems have the theoretical advantage of using components that were made to work well together. This can also, theoretically, avoid misfires when trying to match different components, especially those made by people who don't share the same design philosophies, or just don't listen to music the same way.
The BSC Research/Apple Tree Room
The Apple Tree owner and distributor of BSC Research speakers must have done some research on what it would take to put this hard-nosed reporter on his good side because the first he did when I walked into his room was offer me a microbrewery beer. So sneaky. I took a rain check on the beer, but I wouldn't have needed a beer to enjoy the sound I heard in this room.
The Toronto Audiofest is Open
Hi everyone. This is Rob Schryer reporting live from Toronto's Westin Airport Hotel. In case you haven't heard, it's at this venue that the Toronto Audiofest is taking place from October 21 to 23 with 89 exhibit rooms from purveyors of audio all vying to charm our pants off.
Toronto Audiofest 2022: Final Words and Observations
The Toronto Audiofest 2022 may not have been the busiest audio show I've attended, but it was still a success. It had plenty of new product launches, great-sounding rooms, and a good amount of traffic, especially on Saturday, when seats became a hot commodity in many exhibit rooms.
Toronto Home of Audiophile: Gershman/Pass Labs/PS Audio/Weiss/GutWire
I heard some very nice sound in retailer Toronto Home of Audiophile's room, whose system included the Gershman Grande Avantgarde speakers ($16,995/pair), a perennial favorite of mine at shows because they always sound good, hooked up to a Pass Labs XP22 preamp ($14,400), the Pass Labs X150.8 amplifier ($10,500), a source combination of a PS Audio DirectStream Memory player ($9500) and a Roon Ready Weiss DAC 501 ($12,495), another product featuring room EQ. Cabling was all GutWire: interconnects, digital cable, speaker cables, and power cables, with a GutWire power conditioner.