rlauferblog

Torontonians are lucky enough to have TWO boat shows this year! First, the new Boat Show at the International Centre, featuring about 150 exhibitors. And just a short week later, the Toronto International Boat Show, now in its 66th year, featuring about 500 exhibitors. I will be happily covering both shows!

Part 1: Boat Show at the International Centre

I saw on social media that there would be a Donzi Classic 22 at the show and I was really looking forward to seeing it in person (BTW, really nice touch by the organizers to not only list exhibitors but also preview specific models that would be at the show). Sure enough, this beauty greeted us right at the entrance to the show!

It is stunning from all angles, whether it be front

side

back

Unfortunately, my camera doesn’t do justice to the spectacular paint job

Yup, I could get used to that interior

As much as I liked it, the Donzi ended being my second favourite of the day

Second to the Halton Police Boston Whaler that is. Which is not surprising as I love all things “tactical” lol.

Interesting to see it was powered by Suzuki motors.

Some gear on display. I liked the SAR wetsuit and goggles.

I am sure this could outrun the police boat lol. With 200HP, it races at speeds ranging from 110-130MPH.

I really liked the vintage look of this Rossiter 17CD. It reminded me of something you might see in a James Bond movie.

Ironically, Frauscher boats have been in James Bond movies but I think this one is better suited to Darth Vader

Cute little Boston Whaler 13 Sport. I am sure it has the same “unsinkable” reputation as its bigger brothers.

Great way to transport your ATV

Beneteau

Scout

There were LOTS of inflatables at the show. This Highfield was my favourite and it reminded me of the Zodiac Milpro line, my absolute favourite boats (did I mention that I love “tactical” lol).

Another along the same lines

Or if you prefer a friendlier pink

Inflatables in all sizes

I was happy to see Rockford Fosgate at the motorcycle show last week and now have the opportunity to check out their marine line.

I managed to find knives at the motorcycle show…and again at the boat show! Funny we were just discussing such “zombie” knives on the forums.

More interesting displays…neon signs

Cigars

Makes sense that you would find fish & chips at a boat show lol

Though I opted for Zet’s down the street

All-in-all I am happy to have attended. I do about 20 shows per year so I don’t need to see a million things at each show, I can be happy with just one standout. Here there were a few, such as the Halton Police Boston Whaler, Donzi 22 Classic, and Rossiter 17CD. It was also great to discover Frauscher. Since the show, I have learned that they have a collaboration electric boat with Porsche…and they have indeed been featured in Bond movies, as I mentioned lol.

Stay tuned for part 2 next week!

Part 2: Toronto International Boat Show

Just as the police had my favourite boat at last week’s show, so too did they at this show, with an actual Zodiac Milpro Hurricane! (did I mention Zodiac Milpro is my favourite lol)

And in a cool display of new vs. old, they also had an old Cliffe Craft to mark the 75th anniversary of the Marine Unit

Cool gear on display

No Milpros at the actual Zodiac booth though.

Very cool that I got to meet the CEO of the civilian division

Zodiac at Honda

In keeping with the tactical theme, another show favourite, the Stanley Patrol in S.A.R. configuration!

This thing is built like a tank

Check out these bumpers

Powered by twin 200s

No wonder Chautauqua County chose it as a S.A.R.

Yup you definitely feel invincible here lol

More amazing welded aluminum boats from Stanley, such as these landing boats

I love the way the windscreen is protected on the Tiller 17DC

I love the industrial/commercial look but of course Stanley does offer more civilian versions

There were lots of serious utilitarian boats at the show, such as another one of my show favourites, the Hewescraft Alaskan

Plenty of storage and functionality for your fishing needs

I swear I felt like I could hunt Jaws while sitting at the helm of this boat

More great boats from Hewescraft

Equally robust but a tad more luxurious, the Kingfisher 3025 Destination

A beautiful boat for sure but I prefer the rawness of the Alaskan

I didn’t get a chance to board the Ranger Tug as it was quite busy

Perhaps more refined, but still reputed to be unsinkable, Boston Whaler

The 230 Outrage was my favourite

The 280 Dauntless was pretty stunning too

LOTS of fishing boats from Alumacraft

I liked the simple V-Series

Although the Competitor Shadow Series was pretty sweet! Love the V-Max nod to one of my favourite motorcycles

Vs. this Crestliner with 400HP

Smoker Craft

Again, I liked their most basic boat. This classic design is only produced in limited numbers now.

Starcraft duck hunting boat

Lund

Four Winns

Moving on to performance boats, the Nor-Tech 400 Supersport is stunning and can be yours for US$1.2 million

I have always been a huge fan of Brabus tuned Mercedes so I was quite happy to see something form their marine line, the Shadow 300.

Perhaps Brabus could mix their automotive tuning and marine capabilities to do a tuner version of this vintage Amphicar lol

OMG the sales rep said Rossitor looks like something you would see in a James Bond movie….EXACTLY what I said in my review of last week’s show!

I really liked the 14

The bigger ones are also very nice.

I don’t know too much about pontoon boats although there were tons of them at the show, most notably this Avro with Flight Deck complete with slide

Super nice people at Armada. Thanks for the educational discussion.

They even offer a pedal boat!

There were lots of inflatables too. Last week I saw a black/greyed out Highfield, this time in SAR orange

Lots of sailboats too although I didn’t take many pics except for this beautiful Beneteau Oceanis

And now to power your beasts, Mercury Marine racing engines

8.2L

Really cool interactive display to showcase their electric steering

Volvo Penta

As I mentioned, I was surprised Halton Police went with Suzuki for their boat…now I was surprised again at the expansiveness of Suzuki’s marine line.

Yamaha

Honda with Vtec!

In terms of gear, I am always excited to check out the latest from Steiner (I have several).

This time, the hinged Commander

And if you want to buy one, make sure to hit up Ryan at Radioworld

Icom radios

Marine Audio from JL and Rockford Fosgate

I didn’t see any knives at this show although I did find a SOG logo

Oh yeah, and a helicopter!

Last year Boston Whaler was the star of the show for me. This year, I liked Stanley and Hewescraft boats the best. It could be because I am discovering new things or perhaps because my tastes are changing. Now if I could just round that out with a Zodiac Milpro and Donzi 22 Classic…

RL

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