Part 4: Montreal Audiofest  2400 Hallway And Bonaventure Room
A fabulous fusion of audiophile gear.
Montreal Audiofest 2025 Show Report By Rick Becker

2422   Auralis Distribution
I had seen some Fosi amps on silent display once, and heard some buzz about them on Audiogon, but this was the first I had heard a system assembled largely with Fosi components. As I look at my photo, I'm not sure what pieces were actually playing, as there were two systems listed on the price sheet below. The speaker I heard was the Focal Chorus 716V ($1498), and it sounded quite reasonable considering the system cost a few thousand dollars, not a few hundred thousand dollars like some systems I heard here and at AXPONA 2025 audiophile show. For many people wise enough to live within their means, this gear makes a lot of sense, whether you're just starting out in life or downsizing at the end of your time on earth. As ethereal as my reference system is for reviewing, I could easily live with a Fosi amp in my less often used TV rig.

The lower unit on the right with orange / copper knobs was the Fosi ZA3 stereo/mono amp with XLR and RCA inputs and a subwoofer output ($149 USD, 32V and 48V power supplies are optional). Above it was the ZD3 DAC ($180 USD) that has an XLR output and is designed to work with the ZA3 it is resting on. Unfortunately, I missed catching the brand of the CD player on the left.

A Matrix Audio TT-1 Digital Audio Transport (streamer) in silver was just off to the right in the photo above. Like Fosi, it is imported to Canada by Auralis Distribution. Matrix Audio was founded by three young entrepreneurs in 2006 in China. They also produce a preamp, power amp, and an audio-grade reference clock. With a fresh, modern chassis design, this is a company to keep on your radar.

The price list makes this gear very appealing, as if they left off a zero.

2427   Audio Note UK
Audio Note UK is one of the few companies that makes it all, right from phono cartridges to loudspeakers. They have consistent styling with either black components identified with unique font gold lettering or silver components with the same font of red lettering. Mostly, I've seen the black over the years. Moreover, they have multiple levels of each component. They are relentless marketers, appearing at every show I've ever been to, as best I can recall. They change up the components for each show, I suspect, but blindfolded, you would be hard pressed to know. The music is consistently excellent, with their house sound that likely appeals more to true music lovers than typical audiophiles who chase the next hot component. I'm always hard pressed to figure out whether they're running their entry-level gear or their flagship components.

Another consistent feature is that they typically park their speakers in the corners of the rooms to reinforce the bass, although on a couple of rare occasions I've heard them pulled out into the room with great success. I'm not sure if this was their ANE Ltd with a field coil driver, but the blue cone indicates it is a hemp cone rather than the black or grey paper cone of lesser models. The crystal clear, high-gloss finish suggested it was expensive. Like most other rooms, they didn't have an equipment list for me.

Likewise, their rooms always look pretty much the same, show after show. It was quite a shock to enter the room here and find the front wall covered with garage art from floor to ceiling — a very colorful, welcome change.

The DAC 0.1 was using the USB input when I visited, indicating they were streaming like most other rooms, but in fact, they were spinning a CD. Below the DAC was the TT-Three PSU 3 power supply for the turntable. To the right was the M3 RIAA phono stage. Above it was the CD 4.1X top-loading CD player spinning classical piano music. On the floor to the right of the rack was a TOMEI Integrated Amplifier putting out 20 SET Watts per channel with 211 tubes in pure Class A with zero negative feedback. Note the interconnects at the front of the left side of the amp. The speaker cables connect at the back, behind the transformer on the right.

The turntable was a three-motor TT-Three with the wide belt drive, as you can see. I was surprised to learn that this turntable has a three-point suspension centered on the spindle. Of course, it is rare that I ever touch a turntable at a show. The hosts typically insist on mounting the LPs and operating the turntable. At the end of the show, however, I had a startling exception to this rule with an Oracle turntable. I'll hold you in suspense. 

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