rlauferblog

The Technics SL-1200 turntable is one of my favourite audio components of all time. When I heard Bay Bloor Radio was hosting a Technics Event showcasing their Reference Class SL-1000R as well as the rest of the lineup, I jumped on chance to attend.

First up, the SL-1000R.

This $27,000 beauty weighs 40KG and features a heavy duty Coreless Direct Drive Motor

The control unit is separated from the main unit to suppress the effects of unwanted noise on the main unit

The Stereo Power Amplifier SE-R1 Features cool technologies such as jitter elimination, an adaptive optimization algorithm for speaker impedance, and it transmits the volume control information, together with the audio signal, directly to the power amplifier in digital form

The Network Audio Control Player SU-R1 also has jitter control and digital noise isolation

And now for the listening session. Hearing It Takes Two by Rob Base and DJ Easy Rock on a Technics turntable brought back so many memories from my clubbing days. That’s why I love audio, such an emotional experience.

No DJ spinning with this rig though. The platter weighs 8KG with its tungsten weights and 10mm thick brass weight on the outer periphery and is driven by quite the torque.

Thanks so much to the reps for the Technics swag.

Next from Technics Premium Class, the SL-1500C, featuring a cartridge Auto Lifter system.

Powered by a Technics Grand Class Network Audio Amplifier

Moving on to the static displays. My dream rig, the SL-1210G

SL-1210GR

SL-1500CK

Ahhh my beloved SL-1200MK7

You know business is about to pick up when that blue light comes on

Nice little mini-system SA-600

Despite looking at $100,000+ turntables at Audiofest 2023 a few weeks ago, I can safely say I would be totally satisfied with a Technics. While they bring up lots of memories and nostalgia for me personally, they have certainly kept up with the times with great new technology.

All done with the Technics exhibits, I took time to browse around the store. I was pleased to see KEF Blades set up for listening as I did not get the chance to hear them at Audiofest. Being a KEF owner myself, I have always liked their sound.

More KEF speakers, including the legendary LS50

Lots of McIntosh on display at the store as well

I want that clock!

And lots of JBL as well

Nice little Marantz system with Dali speakers!

Yamaha

Bryston

Not sure what this is but cool display

Thank you once again to Bay Bloor Radio for hosting The Technics Event and for your great hospitality! It has been a while since my last visit but I will make sure to stop by more often in the future.

RL

Part 1 of my review covered all the systems that I listened to/auditioned. Here I will cover the ones that I did not get to audition. Some of them are real works of art.

Like Accuphase, for example. I love their classic look. Shown here with PS Audio P20 power conditioner

Goldmund

Again, I love the look… of the Goldmund components, their Tethys speakers and even the stand. Really wish I heard this system.

Allnic Audio with monster speakers (custom made by Corby’s Audio)

Remember, I am 6’ tall

NAD with Dali Epikore 11 speakers

Classe with gorgeous Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4 Signature speakers

I liked the B&W displays showing the speaker internals

Audio Research with Rethm speakers

I actually own KEF speakers. Their Uni-Q coincident driver is great. I would have loved to hear the Blade

Marantz

Fleetwood Sound Company Deville speakers made from sustainably harvested, solid Pennsylvania ash hardwood that has been “torrefied” meaning “thermally treated for tone and stability.”

Powered by Accuphase

PSB speakers

PSB Alpha IQ BluOS powered streaming speakers

Innuous with their Pulse network music players

They were also exhibiting Pathos amps

Audionote

The Synergistic Research Powercell showed up in a few displays

Naim

Rotel

SPL

Great selection of amps

Transrotor turntable!

Paradigm. One of the few set-ups with a subwoofer

CH Precision

Lots on display from Saturn Audio including: Alta Audio, Allnic Audio, Kuzma, Saturn Audio, Sbooster, and Lumin

Wynn Audio showcasing Karan Acoustics

Altitudo Audio showing a variety of brands (there are 19 in the exhibitor list)

Audio Space out of China

Meze Audio from Romania

FiiO

JBL and Mission

Gershman Acoustics, Accuphase, Gutwire Cables, Pass Labs, Lumin, Weiss

Cerwin-Vega

Davis Acoustics

Sennheiser

Perreaux

And that’s all for Part 2.

In closing, once again Audiofest was an amazing experience! I learned a ton about hi-fi from speaking to the reps and of course being able to experience audio from $100 to over $1 million is an incredible learning experience. Apart from enjoyment of the listening experience, it really shows you what is out there and what you can expect as you go up in price range.

To recap my show favourites:
Speakers
1. Acora Acoustics VRC
2. Monitor Audio Hyphn
3. Acapella Audio Arts 780 Hyperspherical Horn Atlas
4. Magnepan 3.7i
5. Denon PerL Pro

Electronics…the NAIM Statement and pretty much everything by:
1. Audio Research
2. Nagra
3. Accuphase
4. Goldmund
5. Allnic Audio

Thank you once again to Audiofest for the media pass and to Bay-Bloor Radio for getting my McIntosh hat and shirt in time for the show.

This was my first hi-fi show and it definitely wont be my last.

RL

Links to both parts

Toronto Audiofest 2023 – Part 1

Toronto Audiofest 2023 – Part 2

I just attended my first high-end audio show, Toronto Audiofest 2023, and it was amazing! By way of numbers, the show features 50+ listening rooms that span over 5 floors and exhibit over 200 brands of high-end audio. There are also industry reps on site and activities around the show.

When I first started researching the show, my initial plan was to go room-by-room on each floor and learn as much as possible as I still consider myself a newbie to hi-fi. As the show drew closer, I thought it might be a better idea to have specific objectives in mind. Specifically, find the speakers/equipment that are best suited to the type of music I listen to. This first part of my review is dedicated to my listening experiences while I cover static displays in the second part.

Simply put, I like BASS and lots of it! I listen to rap/hip-hop and dance music. Granted, a lot of hi-fi is more geared to Jazz, Classical etc. but still I wanted to see how a million dollars worth of equipment would handle Lil Wayne lol. And fortunately I got a chance to do exactly that! I am very grateful to the exhibitors who indulged my reference tracks of Trampoline by SHAED and A Milli by Lil Wayne (at least for headphones lol). I was also glad that a lot of exhibitors were using an “anything but Jazz” approach. Most of the videos I have watched from other similar shows around the world were heavily skewed to Jazz.

I started off with the Focal Grande Utopia. After all, it is pretty hard to beat a $350,000 speaker powered by a $350,000 amp so I thought it would make a great baseline (no pun intended).

for size comparison

monster NAIM Statement amp

Granted, the Grande Utopia isn’t really focused on providing chest-pounding BASS, rather it is designed to be as close as possible to a live performance. Toward that end, the opening song in the set was optimized with and composed to be played on the Grande Utopia by Vincent Belanger and he was on hand to introduce it!

What can I say other than it sounded as great as you would expect an $850,000 system to sound lol.

Btw, the rest of the Focal line was also on display.

Some were even set up for sound demos, again with NAIM electronics.

Focal also offers an incredible lineup of headphones (and NAIM does headphone amps!).

I went straight for the $6,500 Utopia set. I am sure those don’t play Lil Wayne too often lol. Once again, they lived up to their reputation with deep BASS and no distortion.

The Clear MG is used by professional recording artists worldwide

The Stella

Show specials

A lot of people say that it is really important to “try before you buy” with horn speakers because they sound different than conventional speakers. I never understood that as I think they sound great…and can produce BASS! The Acapella Audio Arts 780 Hyperspherical Horn Atlas is no exception.

Pre set-up

It’s 3 10” drivers ready to go from 25hz to 140khz, powered by Vinnie Rossi

again for size reference

closeups

sideview

price

closeups of the Vinnie Rossi BRAMA amps

They sounded amazing! Things are definitely off to a good start.

Next what turned out to be one of my favourites of the day, the Magnepan 3.7i mated to Hegel’s new H600 Integrated Amp. I had never heard Magnepans before and was impressed with the amount of BASS the design puts out. While it didn’t end being the strongest in that department, I really like their overall sound. I am sure the Hegel brought out the best in them (great company out of Oslo, Norway)

The Maggie 3.7i is billed as the company’s “first model in our floor-standing lineup to incorporate our famous ribbon tweeter along with quasi-ribbon bass and midrange drivers.”

Side view showing the thickness, or rather the thinness

Hegel’s H600 Integrated Amp is a “dual mono design” which is said to be as close as possible to the performance of two mono amps in a single box. It is paired with their Viking CD player here

Next in my first “squirrel” moment of the day, I was walking down the hallway and had to do a double-take when I passed by the Fyne Audio room. The booming BASS and great song, “Hey, Now” by London Grammar pulled me into the room. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the sound was actually coming from bookshelf speakers! Well, EPOS ES14N bookshelf speakers, to be precise. As the German company’s ad says, “Unglaublich” is right.

A head-to-head comparison was done against the Fyne Vintage setup and I dare say that I preferred the bookshelf speakers. And that’s the thing with hi-fi. I am sure an experienced audiophile would point out the specs between the two but we all hear differently.

The second time I got so drawn in, I ended up finding my BASS champ, at least for “punchy” BASS. I was in the next room when I heard a thunderous pounding and had to run over to see what it was. Lo-and-behold the Monitor Audio Hyphn. Each tower contains two sets of 8” BASS drivers facing each other in an isobaric design (Monitor refers to this as “force cancelling”). I remember this back from subwoofers in my car audio days and clearly the concept has evolved since then and the results are astonishing. THIS is the sound I am used to and looking for.

All powered by Rotel MICHI R8

Great job by the crew

If the Hyphn was the punchiest and gave me the sound that I wanted, the Acora Acoustics VRC was the “rumbliest” and gave me the sound that I didn’t know that I needed!

Each Acora VRC speaker, made of granite, features 2 12” BASS drivers and weighs 550LBS…oh and a pair costs $295,000. Definitely my favourite of the show and probably the best loudspeaker I have ever heard.

Of course it didn’t hurt that the VRC was paired with Dan D’Agostino and Audio Research, two of my favourites. The full list of D’Agostino includes: Momentum HD Pre-Amp ($58,650), Momentum M400 MxV Monoblock Amps ($115,850), Momentum Phono Stage ($44,850).

Check out the remote on the D’Agostino

Audio Research Reference Phono 10 Phono Stage…love their products!

Oh right, and let’s not forget the SAT XDI Record Player System, which costs an astonishing $415,000!!! (plus another $57,000 for the pick-up arm!)

So yes, literally well over $1 million when you include all the components and wiring. But worth it.

Bliss Acoustics room was probably the best “Audiofest experience” and is indicative of why I love attending tradeshows.

First of all, they had a lot of things that I wanted to see and many “surprises.” Such as Nagra electronics

Even the J. Sikora Reference turntable on display had a Nagra cartridge

speaking of Nagra and turntables, I bought their Reference 70th Year Anniversary Collection Album at the show

and I met the gentleman who put it together! I have seen Rene in Youtube vids of other shows (like Munich) and it was great to meet him in person.

In addition to Nagra, Bliss Acoustics had The Gryphon Audio electronics and I was not expecting that! Gryphon was not on the exhibitor brand list but I was sure happy to see them represented at the show.

Another surprise, Western Electric! The hybrid amp was really cool.

I also had the opportunity to audition the AudioNec Evo speakers, which sounded great.

and check out their Nordost audio cables (the only ones I noticed at the show)

The Bliss Acoustics team was super friendly and accommodating, thanks again!

BTW, I should mention that I think the fact their room was well lit made a difference. Most were quite dark and had backlighting that is not conducive to photography.

Before I conclude my loudspeaker listening experiences and move to headphones, I’d like to give recognition for “best BASS bang for your buck” to Emotiva. Their T2 speakers sound great but the fact that they sound so good for under $1000 is quite remarkable.

Emotiva also has a modular system for their electronics that allows for 32 variations. They also sell direct to further keep costs down.

Alright, moving on to headphones, let’s start with one of the coolest things at the show, the Denon PerL with Masimo Adaptive Acoustic Technology. Basically the earbuds perform a hearing test on you and then personalize the sound experience to your hearing! The Pro version also has active noise cancellation.

I did the hearing test and it showed that I have great response to BASS frequencies…hahaha we know it is accurate!

In addition to the personalized experience, I like how you don’t even notice they are there.

More great Denon on display

And more great headphones from Masimo, including the Bowers & Wilkins McLaren edition

Grado Labs has been making high-end dynamic open-back headphones since 1953.

I went straight for the Statement series GS3000x

Very clean sound.

I also liked the Prestige Series SR325E

Audio Technica makes great headphones for gaming, broadcasting/streaming, and even audiophile listening, such as the ATH-ADX5000 with AT-HA5050H Hybrid Headphone Amplifier.

Audio Technica also re-released their Sound Burger, portable record player!

I capped off the day at Audiofest Prohibition Night: Whiskey and Music Pairing. We sampled 6 different Whiskey while having private access to the two main sound rooms. That Taiwan Bourbon was amazing!

That’s a wrap for Part 1 of my review. Check the link below for Part 2.

RL

Links to both parts below

Toronto Audiofest 2023 – Part 1

Toronto Audiofest 2023 – Part 2

As you may know, James Bond wore Danner Mountain Light II boots in Spectre.

Last year, Danner released a 60th Anniversary of Bond edition of the boot with 007 markings. I missed out on the drop but remained on their mailing list and sure enough they put out another batch a couple of weeks ago! This time, I got lucky and they arrived today!

Beautiful packaging

The view all around

plenty of 007 markings

Vibram sole

Made in the USA

And they fit! All four of my Danner boots are size 12EE and these limited editions only come in EE so that worked out great.

Now I just have to book a trip to Austria to see the Elements 007 James Bond Museum in Sölden. My friend was there a few weeks ago and based on his pics, it is one of the coolest things I have ever seen, and I am not even a huge James Bond fan!

He has given me permission to share a few of his pics. Just astonishing.

Yup, I would gladly wear my boots there.

RL

Let’s start Day 3 with some incredible scopes from March. These scopes are 100% hand built in Japan and go through rigorous testing including recoil testing up to one thousand times the force of gravity before leaving the factory!

In addition to the quality, they have some crazy unique features such as the built in gimbal on the Genesis that allows the scope to incline, enabling the shooter to always see through the central part of the lens and engage targets from 20 meters to 3 miles! No wonder it is being used for the King of 2 Miles.

I also really liked the Dual Focal Plane 1-10x. Yes you read that right, dual focal plane! Specifically, the reticle scale is placed on the First focal plane while the cross line is on the Second, solving the issue of lines getting fatter as you zoom in.

More great scopes from March

I like the way they had a target set up at about 100 yards lol…great demo.

Lots of championship teams choose March

If you want something more tactical for your precision rifle, Nightforce is pretty hard to beat

Especially their ATACR series

Of course they also makes scopes for hunting applications

For more of a full range of optics, Leupold is a great choice.

I was most interested in checking out the Deltapoint Micro. The unique design of this red-dot replaces the rear site of your Glock (or S&W) so you don’t need a cutout like MOS. Also, since it is mounted at the same height as factory iron sights, it aligns the red dot with the front sight making target acquisition super fast while remaining very concealable…oops I mean “compact”

Leupold also makes great binoculars

Such as the new BX-4 with built in laser range finder

Or if you prefer a laser rangefinder only…

The Leupold Mark 4 is my favourite spotting scope. They had one on display last year but this year they were showing the GR-10 and GR-15

The Tracer from their “performance eyewear” line (ANSI rated of course)

Rifle scopes

Also offering a very expansive line of optics, Vortex. Some of their red dots

Scopes

Binoculars

Laser range finders (certainly no shortage of these at the show!)

New from Trijicon, the RMR HD. Building on the RMR, the HD adds: a long-lasting, top-loading battery, larger window, a forward looking light sensor that gauges brightness at target and adjusts reticle brightness, multiple reticle options (e.g. complex or single dot), and a new super bright setting and an additional night vision setting. It also has larger, more tactile buttons, new adjusters with greater audible and tactile feedback, and an expanded field of view…all while keeping the same footprint as the RMR.

I covered Tract optics at last year’s show so wont go into much detail here.

Scorpion optics for those looking for a more cost effective solution

Scorpion binoculars

Laser range finder

Ok back to firearms…Sabatti out of Italy has been making firearms for 300 years and are finally hitting our shores lol.

Sabatti rifles are known for their unique Multiradial rifling that doesn’t work like traditional lands and grooves. As they describe it: “the bullet will not be engraved by the rifling, but rather deformed by it.” This is said to result in better adherence of the bullet to the barrel walls compared to polygona rifled barrels. This improves efficiency at least 10% (meaning your bullet will hit with 10% more ft. lbs.) while increasing the service life of the barrel.

The ST-18

Rover Varmint

TLD with skulls camo

Also unique to Sabatti, combination shotgun/rifles in serious rifle calibers, such as this 12 gauge over .308

Even cooler, a dual rifle! Over-under 30.06!

Get off my lawn!

More great Italian guns from Chiappa

Their iconic Rhino

This competition handgun caught my eye

The Little Badger

In a survival tube

Mares Leg

Lever action

And how about some Italian knives from Extrema Ratio courtesy of Tactical Imports

I was super anxious to see the Silente. Designed for an Italian counter-terrorism unit, the handle features a built in wire cutter. You press a button lock on the handle and it springs open to reveal the cutter. So cool!

The Glauca J1 also features a cutter, but this time for Cobra cuffs (kicking myself for forgetting to take a pic with the cutter deployed)

The AMF, Extrema Ratio’s take on the old Gerber BMF

Serious curve on the Leucoton.

The new S-THIL integral

Other great offerings from Tactical Imports, the AR-6 mag fed crossbow

Type 81

Shotguns with various actions

Including the Auslof single-shot shotgun with external magazine and feeding device

Thanks for the demo of how the action works

From the other side

The pin that does it all

Newcon optics! Famous for their night vision, I was hoping to try a pair to see if my legs disappear in the night vision camo pants I just got from Army Issue Surplus lol but alas they were just for display

Shield red dots

Thanks sooooo much to the Tactical Imports crew for answering all of our questions and the product demo. The amount of time you spent with us was appreciated!

Taiga shotguns. I especially liked the one with the bayonet and the folding Wolverine

Taiga will also be bringing in a line of knives from Turkey..i liked the mini-Kukri

Huge lineup of knives covering everything from axes to folders (and including Karambits like the one I got last year) all handmade in Pakistan and imported by MAB impex

This one was my style lol

The MAB crew

The Pocket Blade with a large selection of fantasy and movie knives in case you are into cosplay

Some have suggested that I paint my incoming Premier Body Armor Home Shield like Captain America’s….hmm I think I prefer my shield the way it is

Lots of body armour options at the show…like Milburn Mountain Defense

AI Tactical Solutions

Maybe I do need another shield

Great display of torture tested armor alongside new plates

OMEK International

HTTI

Ok now here is something you don’t see everyday, LED lights for your guns from Fulminare! A sure way to stand out from the crowd and makes for great videos while night shooting. The LEDs can change colour and were bright enough to be seen clearly even in the bright lights of the exhibition hall.

My home range ESSA has Caliber Target retrievers. The cable system is extremely reliable and easy to service on the spot.

Black Creek Labs with the Bronco and Siberian

Gravel with the Fix by Q, Magpul DAKA Hard Case, and Ravin Crossbow

Pro-Shot Products for all your gun cleaning needs

Veteran owned clothing company MadHatter Industries

You knew I would!

Also veteran owned, Corporal4Life

Great to see my friends from CRAFM in my hometown of Montreal

Patch Panel

My favourite

Some people of TACCOM

I ended the day by visiting the FOC booth to pick up the MIRA CBRN Poncho I ordered

Giving Jeff a chance to see that Winkler axe lol

And a chance for me to update my comparison picture! Thanks so much to Fred and crew for yet another great show! I hope that I can update this pic for years to come!

RL

PART 1

TACCOM 2023 – Part 1

PART 2

TACCOM 2023 – Part 2

PART 3

TACCOM 2023 – Part 3