Ken Micallef

Angie Lisi of American Sound of Canada always presents desirable components—CAF2024 was no exception. This year, Lisi launched the North American debut of German-made Perpetuum Ebner turntables, the new Phasemation SA1500 integrated amp, new Avantgarde Colibri Series speakers and subwoofer, new Avantgarde Zero Itron speakers, and her exclusive line of Italian Synthesis Art in Music tube amplification.

Harmonia Distribution brought a respectable system to CAF, including a Grimm Audio MU2 Media Player Streamer Preamplifier ($17,500), PrimaLuna EVO 400 Tube Preamplifier ($4995), and a product I raved about at Stereophile and continue to use, the PrimaLuna EVO 300 Hybrid Power Amplifier ($7195).

This is the CAF room that all my audio running buddies and even non-buddies told me about: Songer Audio.

I strolled in and took a seat in front of a LampizatOr Atlantic 3 TRP DAC ($7325), an Innuos Statement Next-Gen Server & Streamer ($25,000), and Phoenix NET Network Switch ($4349). These components fed a Whammerdyne Heavy Industries DGA-Ultra 2A3 Integrated Amplifier ($5995). Whammerdyne Heavy Industries sounds like a Roadrunner cartoon company gone wrong, but I stayed put.

Voxativ's Inés Adler and Christopher Owens are never caught dead empty-handed at shows. This puts me in a state of expectant glee, as their sound, regardless of genre, always resolves itself into something joyful. Even my neurotic hotel-hall dashes, pad and pen in hand, are washed away in Voxativ’s sonic tide.