Part 6: The Lower Level, Montreal, And Westmount Rooms
Robots, high-end audio exhibition rooms, plus audiophile rock 'n' roll.
Montreal Audiofest 2025 Show Report By Rick Becker

M2  Bliss Acoustics
Bliss Acoustics used a thin scrim behind the speakers, and the sound was too flat and dry for my tastes. I've heard these speakers with the Nagra amplification at the Toronto show and given it an Enjoy the Music.com Best Rooms Award. At Montreal 2025, their new open baffle AudioNec OBI Max Black Edition ($41,500) speaker upstairs in 1227 (Part 1) was much more exciting. I could easily point to the room acoustics as the culprit here.

I'll save us both some time and print the price list below. The AudioNec EVO-3 speakers were $144k, and the entire rig was similarly expensive.

The red-belt drive system of the Nagra turntable looked familiar. It is similar to the design used in reel-to-reel tape recorders to control the speed of audio tape over the tape heads. The Nagra Reference Anniversary turntable ($232.5k) incorporates a suspension system in pillars at each corner. The Nagra Reference cartridge ($24.5k) is among the most expensive available.

The J Sikora Reference turntable, equipped with the J Sikora KV 12 Max tonearm ($84.8k for both), was a little more than a third the price of the Nagra. It featured an Etsuro Uruishi Bordeaux cartridge ($9,635). Aside from the more complex engineering of the Nagra table, it costs more to manufacture in Switzerland than in Poland. Notice the round J Sikora signature coaster on the right front corner to place the record clamp so it doesn't scratch the piano gloss finish of the plinth.

M3   Kin by Totem And Totem Acoustics
Coming around the corner into the long hall between the Montreal and Westmount rooms, there was a big wall on the right. Vince Bruzesse of Totem Acoustics never lets such a wall go to waste. He is a pioneer in using large graphics to decorate rooms at audio shows... or maybe it was his long-term associate, Lucy, who influenced the trend. They added a table to display a colorful selection of their KINPlay series, including the white monitor and floorstander on the end that appeared to be self-powered. KINPlay is a lifestyle category that includes amps, center channel speakers, soundbars, and subwoofers for music and home theater applications.

Truth be told, I actually visited this room late on Saturday and finally got to say hello to Vince Bruzesse once again. He's been taking Sundays off in recent years, so I've been dealing with his son, Nico, who has filled in for his dad, working shows for over a decade, it seems. Vince and I go way back to the Delta Hotel days of the Montreal show. The oldest reference I could find was in my New York Home Entertainment show report from 2001. I had already known him for several years at that point. I wrote:

"Totem Acoustics also came down from Canada, and Vince was talking the talk, hawkin' his Hawk for $2,395, and shakin' his Staff for $1,500. No wonder, in this show of Megabuck equipment, there was frequently a line at his door. The fit, finish and sound reproduction of his speakers are an obvious value in this industry that seems hell bent for riches. Mr. Brusezze (damn I can never remember how to spell it!) makes his money the old fashioned way. He earns it."

I finally learned how to spell his last name, but looking closely at his name tag in the photo, I noticed the staff at the show got it wrong this year. Also note the Rolling Stones Black Flag belt buckle and the vintage Totem Acoustic 35th Anniversary lanyard from a few years ago on this year's pass. Congratulations, Vince! Vince Bruzesse of Totem Acoustics enthusiastically wants loyal Enjoy the Music.com fans to know that he was proudly one of the first recipients of a Lifetime Achievement Award, and he is still going strong.

Nico pointed out the new Super Tribe Tower ($12k to $15k) on silent display that will be coming out in July/August, and will be active at Axpona in a couple of weeks. It fills the gap between the smaller Tribe Tower and the larger Element Metal V2.

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