Robert Schryer

SPL, PMC, Luna Cables
Montreal Audiofest 2024
Robert Schryer  |  Mar 24, 2024

The first thing I thought when I spied SPL’s component rack was how nifty its gear looked—neither too large nor too small, with faceplates just the right size to accommodate their features with style.

Continue Reading >
Corby’s Audio: Saturn Audio, Coherent Audio, Baetis Audio, Rega, Allnic
Montreal Audiofest 2024
Robert Schryer  |  Mar 24, 2024

After I witnessed the ribbon cutting-ceremony performed by 20 industry under-40-somethings on Friday morning—a symbolic event meant to jointly celebrate the Montreal Audiofest’s 35th edition and the new generation of audio-industry flamekeepers—I hit the rooms closest to my own room, starting with Corby’s Audio. This Toronto-area retailer was showing a spread of audio gear that offered a visually appetizing mix of rich wood tones and sleek metal surfaces.

Continue Reading >
Bienvenue to the 35th Edition of the Montreal Audiofest!
Montreal Audiofest 2024
Robert Schryer  |  Mar 24, 2024

"I'm back, back in the saddle again"—actually, I'm back at the Montreal Audiofest, held March 22–24 at its usual grand locale, the Bonaventure Hotel.

Continue Reading >
Leak Stereo 230 integrated amplifier
Budget Component ReviewsIntegrated Amp Reviews
Robert Schryer  |  Dec 22, 2023
Sometimes I think expensive components—I'll let you decide what constitutes expensive—should come with a big red sticker on the box that reads "WARNING! This product will probably not meet your expectations!" That's because when you spend a lot of money on something, you expect that something to have no flaws and to sound nigh perfect. Why else would you have paid so much? As you gaze at it, touch it, and listen to it, it constantly reassures you that you made the right decision by picking it over all the other, less pricey candidates. It has to be unambiguously better than any component of its nature that has passed through your system, or else, what was the point in all that upgrading?

Prior to this review, I had expectations about the product under review, the Leak Stereo 230 ($1695 with the walnut enclosure), based on, among other factors, price.

Continue Reading >
Moon by Simaudio Voice 22 loudspeaker
Stand Loudspeaker Reviews
Robert Schryer  |  Apr 28, 2023
I'm picturing a gaggle of cigar-chomping Simaudio execs in an office discussing what to do about the fact that their high-end amplification lines have become so successful that their names have become synonymous with the company. "In the '90s, people thought our company was called Celeste," one floor-pacing exec says, speaking for everyone in the room. "Now they think we're called Moon! How do we fix this?" After much debate, a member shouts: "We add 'by Simaudio' at the end!" The execs hoot, holler, and slap the conference-room table—and thus is born Moon by Simaudio.

A fictional account? Sure, but, as they say in the movies, it's based on a true story.

Continue Reading >
Montreal Audio Fest 2023: Final observations
Montreal Audio Fest 2023
Robert Schryer  |  Apr 02, 2023

Finally, it snowed during the weekend of the show, on Saturday, which was disappointing. It meant I wasn’t in an alternate 'verse of the multiverse after all and, consequently, I wasn’t the Alternate Rob with a half-million-dollar hi-fi waiting for him at home.

Continue Reading >
Gershman Acoustics, Eon Art, Oracle Audio, Reed, Cardas
Montreal Audio Fest 2023
Robert Schryer  |  Apr 02, 2023
Jacques Riendeau of Oracle Audio

I was running out of time.

Continue Reading >
Audio Note
Montreal Audio Fest 2023
Robert Schryer  |  Apr 02, 2023

As usual, I found cellist and Audio Note UK music ambassador Vincent Bélanger hosting the Audio Note UK room, but this time, Vincent wasn't alone.

Continue Reading >
ArtistCloner
Montreal Audio Fest 2023
Robert Schryer  |  Apr 02, 2023
Our fearless reporter--left--waxing eloquent in his notebook.

I have bumped into manufacturer Artist Cloner’s owner and designer, Sylvio Comtois, many times at audio shows. He strikes me as being a bit of a mad scientist. Not “crazy” mad but mad in the sense of being obsessed with a particular objective.

Continue Reading >
Totem, Yamaha, MoFi, AudioQuest
Montreal Audio Fest 2023
Robert Schryer  |  Apr 02, 2023

When I asked Totem's Vince Bruzzese, at last year's "static" launch of the new Bison series, what the impetus was to create the Bison range, he said it came down to wanting to create something special to mark the company's 35th birthday but also that of the Model 1, which came out in the year of the company's founding, 1987.

Continue Reading >

Pages

X