At last year’s Montreal Audiofest I was fortunate to attend an amazing pre-show media event. This year I attended two of them!
First up, the Harman event for a preview of the latest and greatest from Denon, Bowers & Wilkins, and Marantz.
We started with an introduction to the latest iterations of the Denon Home wireless speakers, the 200, 400, and 600, all powered by HEOS. The speakers vary in the number, size, and direction (e.g. forward or top firing) of drivers.
Here is a sound sample of the 600.
Next, the Nautilus! I have been wanting to hear these for a long time!
We heard 3 or 4 tracks. Of course, my favourite was the punchiest.
BTW note how the Nautilus were finished in McLaren Volcano Yellow
We also had the opportunity to try B&W headphones and check out the rest of their expansive lineup
All to a nice backdrop of Beatles paraphernalia including Hollywood stars made by the actual artist!
I didn’t stay for this preview as I attended the Abbey Road unveiling a few months ago.
More from Marantz and Denon
On to the Gentec event for the latest from Klipsch, Onkyo, Teac, Pro-ject, Musical Fidelity, and Wiim.
I arrived just in time for the intro to the Klipsch Fives II, Sevens II, and Nines II powered bookshelf speakers, which is perfect as those are what I was most anxious to see!
I would definitely go with the Nines so was happy they demo’d those…awesome song too!
I was also happy to audition the Heresy. They played the same song as the Nautilus demo and it was great to hear how much bang for the buck you get with the Klipsch in comparison.
I heard the KlipschHorns last year but this time it was powered by the Flagship Musical Fidelity NuVista system. 2 x PAM mono blocks, 1 x PRE preamplifier and all with separate balanced power supplies. Musical Fidelity M6XDAC with a WiiM Ultra streamer.
Home theatre system (also heard this last year).
Musical fidelity
Awesome tape decks from Teac!
All done with the media events it was time for the show! Can you guess where I went first? If you have read my past reviews, you would know it was Acora! Especially since I saw on social media that they were bringing back the VRC!!!
Some static displays outside the room.
Now if the VRCs weren’t insane enough, imagine being paired with six REL subwoofers!!!!
And incredible Audio Research!
Listening through my headphones there is no way I did this system justice as the bass was ASTONISHING in person! (no distortion)
And you knew I had to clear the room hahaha
Val you are the best!!!
Next, I stopped in to see my good friends at Bliss Acoustics!
In addition to their usual awesome lineup of J. Sikora, Nagra, Gryphon, and Kroma, I was looking forward to checking out Aries Cerat.
Great to see Dragan and Rene!
I meant to go back for a sound demo/vid but it was a short visit to the show (more on that later).
Joseph Crowe had one of, if not the best, room at Toronto Audiofest (indeed a lot of people agreed on that). This time they had a much bigger room to really let the system breath.
French song for Montreal
Next, I went to Monitor to see if they brought back the Hyphn. No luck on that front but I have to say the Platinum 200 sounded AMAZING! I am telling you, all Monitor products are great.
Ok now for my biggest surprise of the show, JBL Summit series! I was NOT expecting that!
MACO had one of the nicest rooms at Toronto Audiofest…once again they look great!
Based on online reviews, I was really looking forward to auditioning the Dutch & Dutch 8c. I wish I had more time to go back with requests as the sample playing did not give me the full flavour.
Now for some EARVANA ! I tried the Forte Ears Macbeth at Toronto Audiofest and I loved everything about them including the look, feel, and definitely the sound!
The Noble Audio Shogun is equally stunning! And very in line with my other hobbies.
love the tsuka-ito design on the wire
Of course, I had to give them a listen!
They sounded great! In retrospect, I wish I did a side-by-side comparison vs. the Forte as they use different approaches. As it stands, I would be happy with either.
While in the EARVANA/market section, I came across these artists who make household items/art out of old records!
I picked up a Deep Purple bowl
Ok back to audio rooms with Altitudo Audio. I loved that gigantic Burmester Reference 909 Mk5 amp!
You know I love Michell turntables
SVS home theatre
Bryston
Wynn Audio
Eversolo Motet
Grimm Audio
Lemay Audio
Rega
Solen
I started Toronto Audiofest with my best experience, Vincent Belanger playing alongside Audionote and I will end the same way here! This time I got a better seat and recorded all three songs in their entirety.
Spectacular!
I picked up Vincent’s newest CD. Thanks for the autograph!
And that’s a wrap on my coverage! Don’t misinterpret the brevity as an indication of anything about the show. I am once again doing three shows in three different cities back-to-back so can’t be quite as comprehensive as if I was covering this show only. As such, apologies to the rooms I could not cover.
To recap my highlights (this time in no particular order)
I was hoping to see the B&W 801 Abbey Road Edition at Toronto Audiofest 2025 last week. Instead, I found out that there would be an official launch at Bay Bloor Radio this weekend, which is even better!
The setup
First some background information from the B&W rep who opened with an interesting story about how B&W’s relationship with Abbey Road started 45 years ago.
John Bowers demo’d his 801 speakers at the famous recording studio and was initially told they were not good enough but upon closer examination it turned out they were too good and exposed the deficiencies in their recording equipment! Here is the iconic 801 like the one he demonstrated
Since that day, successive generations of 800 Series loudspeakers have been used in Abbey Road’s control rooms and contributed to iconic music and film scores recorded there. Some of those iterations were also on display.
Culminating in the version launched today, a limited edition of 140 for the price of $80,000 per pair.
Based on the 801 D4 Signature with its Diamond Dome, the Abbey Road has unique design cues such as the red Leather by Connolly trim that references Studio Two’s control room and the red leather chairs used by performers.
And a Vintage Walnut cabinet to match the organ
Powering the speakers today, a Marantz LINK 10n Reference Network Audio Player / Preamplifier ($16,000) and a pair of Marantz Model 10 Reference Integrated Amplifiers ($22,000 each).
Now on to the sound demos! We start with the Indiana Jones theme song, one of the first (if not the first) to be played through the original 801 at that first Abbey Road demo! Just t be formal the full title is the Washington Ending/Raiders March performed by John Williams and London Symphony Orchestra.
Unfortunately, the video for the next song, “We Came Along This Road by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (2011 remaster)” got copyright blocked.
Next, Sam Smith performing Diamonds Live at Abbey Road Studios
Now for some more bass, Imaginary Friends by deadmau5
Can’t audition Abbey Road speakers without playing The Beatles! Indeed, Paul McCartney is one of the few people who has unlimited access to Abbey Road. Here he is performing Come Together
As an encore, at my request for more bass heavy music, Ghost Rider with Make Us Stronger!
One last look for size comparison
Thanks again James for today’s demonstration!
All done with the demo, I took some time to look around Bay Bloor’s awesome store starting with the Technics turntables.
SL-1500C/W like the one used for the Turntable Show, a recent seminar at Bay Bloor Radio comparing turntables with streaming.
SL-15000C/K
SL-1200MK7, one of my favourite turntables of all time. It deserves multiple pictures lol.
SL-1200G
SL-1200GR2
SL-1300G
SL-1210G
I didn’t take pics of the whole store although I did get a few of their home theatre demo with JBL speakers, including two in-wall subwoofers!
Thanks again to Bay Bloor Radio and B&W for hosting this event and allowing us to experience ultra rare limited edition speakers!
Seems like yesterday that I covered my first audio show and now Toronto Audiofest 2025 is my fifth! I bring that up because I wanted to open with not just my favourite room of this year’s show but probably my favourite experience of all the audio shows I have attended, and that was to see Vincent Belanger play live to Audio Note! The mix of live music with great audio gear was quite the emotional experience!
Quick shot of the system
Now Vincent tunes his cello and makes adjustments to play alongside Audio Note’s new AN-E Ltd Field Coil speaker that goes down to 18hz!
First he plays without the music accompaniment
And then the incredible dual performance!
Thank you once again Vincent!
I mentioned the speakers go down to 18hz. and wow that field coil design sure throws some bass! Thanks for accommodating my musical preferences!
Audio Note doesn’t just sound great, it looks amazing too!
The TT-Three is a real stunner
After the demo we ran into my favourite audio Youtuber, Audiophile Junkie!
Thanks to Audiophile Junkie’s show reviews, I learned about MACO and their open-baffle speakers. Good thing too as they turned out to be another one of my favourite rooms of the show!
Aesthetically they were for sure my favourite.
The Macaria speakers looked much better in person than I anticipated
Especially in red! My camera did not do justice to how great these look in person.
Side view of the open-baffle design
MACO paired their Macaria speakers (in thermal treated ash) with equally stunning Whammerdyne Heavy Industries electronics, Damn Awesome Monoblocks (DAM2s)! I live in a factory converted loft and love the industrial look of Whammerdyne. Of all the audio gear I have ever seen, these would be the best match for my home!
The Whammerdyne Circuit Salad 60w/channel hybrid amplifier also had the right industrial look
as did the Viablue cables
Even the signage in the room was great
And really nice touch on the live decibel meter!!
the room really came across as cohesive and “professional”. Sorry I couldn’t make it to your afterparty.
Another room with something “unique”, the world’s first free floating cone loudspeaker the Ilumnia Magister Novus!
The driver actually “floats” by means of electromagnets to nullify any mechanical resistance of the cone so there is no absorption of music signal.
Power to supply the floating
The Sound Kaos RiPole Subwoofer is also different as the woofers are in an isobaric configuration but they also throw sound out the front and back.
Paired with Reed turntable
and Trafomatic EOS Integrated Amp
This is what it all sounds like
Ok now for the best sounding rooms! As I have said in past reviews, the Monitor Audio Hyphn is one of my all time favourite speakers and today was no different.
Michi electronics
Rega turntable
Sound check
Yup, I could use this system
Impossible to talk about best sound without mentioning Acora!
Case in point, the MRC-2
Kora High Fidelity electronics.
Note all gear was sitting on Seismion vibration isolation platforms.
Great to see you again Val
More great Acora speakers powered by Accuphase
Another contender for best sound of the show, Joseph Crowe!
The Speaker System No. 2087 with its 18” bass sound as big as they look. And I loved their openness to playing any type of music. Note to exhibitors, it goes a long way to your brand when you do this!
Bass was so clean!
Beautiful matching wood for the electronics
Perhaps not as extreme but equally clean sound from Audio Solutions Figaro M2 at Bliss Acoustics.
Love the custom Martini Racing livery
Canadian premiere of the J. Sikora Aspire turntable with 12KV Max tonearm
7CSPort TAT1 M2 with air floating string drive and CSPort battery powered Phono Preamp C3EQM2
Bliss now carries Wadax!!! The Studio Player is one of the more “economical” pieces in the Wadax line at $57,500!
Pilium Leonidas MY25 Integrated Amp
Isolation platforms from Graphite Audio and Ictra Design
Static display of the Nagra Compact Line, the PSU, Phono, and Streamer
Great to meet the rep from Audio Solutions and catch up with the crew from Bliss Acoustics.
Another of my favourites sound-wise, the Dali Epikore 9 4way speaker with V-16 F subwoofer
The PMC Prophecy 9 also had great sound with a lot of bass from its “LaminairX aerodynamic airflow technology”. Again, my type of sound!
The Michell Gyro is one of my favourite turntables.
The latest version got a huge overhaul or as Michell says “not a reinvention, but a reimagining of everything beneath the surface. It’s a ground-up engineering overhaul that delivers dramatic improvements in performance, usability, and long-term reliability—while staying true to the Gyro’s unmistakable form.”
One of the big changes was to rework the main chassis that now uses precision-machined 19mm aerospace-grade aluminium tooling plate in place of cast aluminium. It also has integrated brass counterweights. There were also changes to the baseplate, suspension, platter edge, etc. (see their website for a full listing)
The Revolv with shielded motor pod and PSU with electronic speed selection (so you don’t have to change the belt when you want to change the speed)
TechnoDec
Apollo Phono Stage and Muse Power Supply
Some fun facts about Michell
Such as the founder was behind C3-P0’s eyes!
Thank you to the rep for the great walk-through of the lineup! It was also nice to see many rooms using Michell turntables.
Corby’s Audio room with a Gyro, Q Acoustics speakers and Saturn electronics.
Saturn electronics
Q Acoustics 5050 floorstanding and bookshelf speakers
Concept series
Speaking of Saturn Audio…
Hailing from London Ontario, Saturn is known for natural sounding audio products that “are about the power of simplicity.” Here is the owner presenting some of their great products.
Coherent Speakers
Beautiful burl on the tweeter
Kuzma turntable
All on Tough Nut Plateau Isolation Rack System (being assembled here for another display)
Entracte Audio had one of the more interesting rooms of the show. I was not familiar with Fink Team Audio but I like their style. The Borg is two-way floor standing design featuring a 10.25 inch high-power mid/bass driver and an Air Motion Transformer (AMT) tweeter.
The KIM is “a reflex system with a paper coned woofer with a massive magnet, Two-way construction with AMT HF unit, again based on a Mundorf core” (per their website).
A fitting pairing to a speaker named “The Borg”, electronics from Angela-Gilbert Young, who’s slogan is “Designer of outrageously innovative and artistic audio components, built one piece at a time.”
Music Pumps, a functioning 20watts per channel stereo power amp with FCF jack to connect external power capacitor pack.
Entracte also had Epos speakers on static display. As you know from my past reviews, I love the ES-14N.
I discovered Marten loudspeakers by chance at Montreal Audiofest earlier this year. This time I made a dedicated stop to their room. Marten is definitely a top-tier speaker maker.
Solid sound from the Bryston speakers and I like the white finish on the amps
Ok let’s take a break from home systems for some Earvana! My benchmark headphones, Focal Utopia
With the Sennheiser HE1 in close second.
More Sennheiser
This year I wanted to focus on IEM and was really anxious to see the Forte Ears Macbeth…so glad they were at the show! They look even better in person…
and sound even better too! These are not just about a fancy faceplate, they are full of technology like “Dual Bone Conductor Drivers” and can deliver bass down to 10HZ!
My usual reference track of course
In doing my show prep, I learned that some IEMs use an isobaric design. I love that design and didn’t even know you could get that in a headphone! The THIEAUDIO Hype 4 IMPACT2 (“Impact Squared”) has exactly that with two 10mm composite diaphragm drivers arranged in an isobaric design.
More great headphone options at EARVANNA
Back to home audio with the world premier of Gershman Acoustics Symphonia
Oracle Delphi Mk VII
Oracle CD 2500 MKIV on Solid Meubles
Allnic H5500
EON Art
More Gershman in Gutwire’s room
I think I have only covered one room of home theatre across all my reviews but this one by Paradigm was certainly worth including.
Not only did they have subwoofers at the front and back of the room, like this Seismic 110
They even had one under the couch! The Millenia Sub has a dual woofer back-to-back bipolar design.
Here is a demo…felt like riding a Harley!
Passion Audio lived up to their name with some high-end components
Such as Wolf Von Langa speakers
Lampizator tube amp and GENYA DAC
Burmester
Audio Eden was showcasing Kharma DB7 speakers in a vibrant orange
MoFi Distribution with their Fender edition turntable with Castle Windsor speakers from the UK
Marantz Horizon
More Marantz
with Bowers & Wilkins
It was great to meet the founder and chief engineer of MonAcoustic and get the details on the PlatiMon Virtual Coaxial Two, in particular, the VC Two’s customizable features. You can toggle the harmonic tweeter on and off and fine-tune its output using a 9-step adjustment switch. The VC Two’s innovative crossover system delivers two distinct sound profiles from a single speaker.
Debut of the KLH Model Seven speakers courtesy of Vinyl Sound.
Davis Acoustics The Wall speakers (I covered these at Montreal Audiofest 2025)
and Final Audio flat panel speaker on display in Atoll Electronique’s room
Once again Hegel had two rooms, one for sound display
And one for static display
Altitudo Audio showcasing a ton of brands including Advance Paris, Audio Physic, Audiovector, CAD, Cardas, Fezz, Gold Note, HRS, Kharma, Lab 12, Merason, OePhi, Takumi, and Trilogy
Canton speakers and once again, Michell turntable in Erikson Consumer’s room
A few rooms featuring Borressen
Tidal Audio speakers at Wynn Audio
PS Audio at Motet
Laiv Audio, Matrix Audio, and Starke Sound at Soulfi
Finally, some components! Chord Cable from the UK. Note how the display was “backwards” with the cables and component backs facing forward. Apart from showcasing their cables, this was also done to speed up the demos they were running all day to show the impact of a cable swap on overall sound.
They also make power conditioners and power line filters
Note that they were using a Michell turntable for the demo.
Iso Acoustics was also running AB demos featuring their GAIA Neo
There were some static displays set up in the hotel lobby as well including a range of Rega turntables. This one was my favourite
As well as a Beatles themed display, shown here with the curator.
Alright so that’s it for my coverage. Now for my usual recap of show favourites! These really shouldn’t be a surprise though!
Overall: Really not a surprise as I opened with this lol. Vincent Belanger and Audio Note
Speakers: Monitor Hyphn, Audio Note AN-E Ltd Field Coil, Joseph Crowe Speaker System No. 2087, Forte Ear Macbeth, Paradigm Millenia Sub, Dali Epikore 9 with V-16 F subwoofer
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