Home  Hi-Fi Audio Reviews  |  Audiophile Shows  |  Partner Mags  Music News       

  High-End High-Performance Audiophile Review Magazine & Hi-Fi Audio Equipment Reviews

  High-Performance Audio Reviews
  Music News, Show Reports, And More!

  Celebrating 29 Years Of Service To Music Lovers

 

 

Salon Son & Image Report 2012 -- Montreal High-End Audio Show
Montreal High-End Audio Show Report Salon Son & Image 2012
Show Coverage By Rick Becker -- Part 1

   

Mike Tang delighted me last time and he had a repeat performance this year at Montreal. A master tweaker, he takes the road less traveled to achieve excellent results tweaking such vintage gear as an old Thorens TD124 turntable, Marantz preamp and a CV4055 push-pull tube amp that puts out 8 watts into 16 Ohm and 20 Ohm loads. He also builds speaker cabinets for full range drivers such as the Feastrex model heard in his room. The finish was a gorgeous (and hopefully not endangered) veneer looking somewhat like curly maple. Price for the speakers is $7000 as shown and $5000 in plywood. Mike had me pick up a paper cone assembly from a Feastrex driver that weighed a mere 4 grams... or was that eight? Either way, it felt like a feather and featured a very pliable leather surround.

But what really blew me away was the gorgeous copper Carrot One 6wpc integrated amplifier designed in Italy by Ernestolo and manufactured in China. I heard them driving a pair of Chario floor standing speakers about 40" tall and I'm here to tell you THIS is the key to bringing High End to the masses! It functions as a headphone amp with a 92dB signal to noise ratio putting out 3 watts per channel with 10kOhm input impedance using a 6DJ8 or 6922 tube. With its Tripath power stage, it puts out 6 wpc. This is serious desktop office jewelry for middle management and above.

 

The Dr. Feickert Analogue turntable has been gaining visibility in recent years and it sounded quite good mated with Rogue phono stage, Athena preamp and Medusa hybrid power amp driving Harbeth Compact 7 loudspeakers. The Compact 7 was one of the speakers I lusted after when I first discovered the high end back in the 1990's. It was about $1800 back then, I believe. It now goes for $3600 and is still competitive.  

 

In the Rega room I got the scoop on this $6300 all-Rega rig from Robert de Koninck of Son Ideal in Montreal. The Apollo transport fed a Rega DAC, then into the Brio integrated amp (with phono) and on to the RS-5 speakers. The price includes the P3 turntable, too. While most audiophiles don't buy complete systems from the same manufacturer, this room is a respectable way to enter High End audio.

 

Parasound's CD1 CD player ($4999), developed by Holm Acoustics in Denmark, employs a dual read for greater bit accuracy, a fast CD ROM for lower error rates, and a Linux based Intel computer for data processing. The JC 2 Ultra-Premium pre-amp ($4529) was designed by John Curl and the gang at CTC who showed at Montreal some time ago as I recall. The A21 power amp, also designed by Curl is a 2-channel, 250 wpc design with balanced inputs and high bias Class A/AB operation. At $2599, it is the bargain of the group. That is, except for the acclaimed Atlantic Technology AT-1 floor standing speakers they were driving. (I liked them at the previous show, too.) How good did they sound? Well, not as good as the next room where a JC1 monoblock/JC2 preamp combination was driving Genesis 5.3 speakers ($23,500). The analog front end, here, was comprised of a SOTA Essential turntable ($1500) feeding the relatively new Parasound Halo JC3 phono stage ($2350 US price). I noted the Canadian price of the JC1 monoblocks was quite a bit higher than the US price, unless there has been a recent price increase. My preference in rooms here was more than just digital vs. analog front ends. The Genesis is certainly better than the high-value Atlantic Technology speaker and quite a bit more expensive. Both rooms were presented by Audiophonic of Montreal.

 

   

Audiopathways, Inc. is a distributor of premium high end brands such as Audia Flight, Jeff Rowland Design Group, Sutherland, NBS and others. They were putting out reggae music with Audia Flight electronics driving a pair of Chario floorstanders with a gorgeous wood cabinet finished in a flat sheen. The monoblocks, at $25,000/pair, were 300wpc with the first 40-50 being Class A. Very good sound here for those with serious money to spend. And on the sidelines were two other gems to be noted. First was a stunning copper NBS phono stage with adjustability for cartridge loading and selection of cartridge type, as well as mono/stereo for each setting. I was told it weighed a hundred pounds and urged to try lifting it. Yep, it is about as heavy as the sofas I carry around at my day job. At $35,000 you can bet there is a lot of copper in there. The other gem on silent display was a VAC Statement 450 Stereo amplifier with its linear power supply in a separate chassis.

 

Walking into the Fidelio Audio room at the Montreal show is like finding an oasis in the desert. Every year. I don't know how Rene Laflamme does it. Perhaps it is because Fidelio sells CDs, downloads and LPs. People enter his room to listen to the music, not to evaluate the equipment. Serenity prevails. Perhaps it is his purist approach to recording classical and jazz music that begs you to crave the detail and feel the meaning. For those who need to know, 96kHz music files were fed to the USB input of a dCs DAC. The preamp was a KX-R from Ayre, and the Ayre power amp drove Audio Physics Avanterra speakers. Power conditioning was by a Shunyata Research Talos and the power cables were also by Shunyata. This was easily one of the Best Rooms at the show.

 

At this point I took a break and split back to my room for Mt. Dew and a granola bar, my traditional nourishment for bicycling and climbing mountains. A long, glass walled hallway was lined with original paintings by Patrick Larrivee which all featured portraits of performing musicians, perfect for your dedicated listening room. Check his work out at PatrickLarrivee.com. On my way back to where I left off, I encountered a long line blocking the hallway. "Is this the line for ice cream?" I asked. No, it was the line for the Sony room. I took a rain check, but unfortunately never made it back.

 

There is LOTS MORE to come, including one of the most intriguing presentations I've heard in more than 15 years of covering this show. Check back in a few days.

 

Click here for part 2.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     
 

Quick Links


Premium Audio Review Magazine
High-End Audiophile Equipment Reviews

 

Equipment Review Archives
Turntables, Cartridges, Etc
Digital Source
Do It Yourself (DIY)
Preamplifiers
Amplifiers
Cables, Wires, Etc
Loudspeakers/ Monitors
Headphones, IEMs, Tweaks, Etc
Superior Audio Gear Reviews

 

 


Show Reports
HIGH END Munich 2024
AXPONA 2024 Show Report
Montreal Audiofest 2024 Report

Southwest Audio Fest 2024
Florida Intl. Audio Expo 2024
Capital Audiofest 2023 Report
Toronto Audiofest 2023 Report
UK Audio Show 2023 Report
Pacific Audio Fest 2023 Report
T.H.E. Show 2023 Report
Australian Hi-Fi Show 2023 Report
...More Show Reports

 

Videos
Our Featured Videos

 


Industry & Music News

High-Performance Audio & Music News

 

Partner Print Magazines
audioXpress
Australian Hi-Fi Magazine
hi-fi+ Magazine
Sound Practices
VALVE Magazine

 

For The Press & Industry
About Us
Press Releases
Official Site Graphics

 

 

 

     

Home   |   Hi-Fi Audio Reviews   |   News   |   Press Releases   |   About Us   |   Contact Us

 

All contents copyright©  1995 - 2024  Enjoy the Music.com®
May not be copied or reproduced without permission.  All rights reserved.