Part 4 — Lower Level, Left (St. Laurent & Outremont Rooms) At The Montreal Audiofest 2026 Show
A deep dive into the Montreal Audiofest 2026, featuring early-morning impressions, high-end audio's latest innovations, audiophile solutions, and standout demonstrations.
Montreal Audiofest Show Report By Rick Becker

Westmount Rooms
At this point, I returned to the elevators and worked my way back down the left side of the hallway, visiting the tables and rooms that were opposite the Montreal rooms.

WK4  Anne Bisson Table
Anne Bisson, who calls Montreal home, visits a lot of audio shows to engage with visitors and perform along with audio systems in some of the rooms. I caught her busy with an autograph, and came upon her singing near the very end of the show.

WK3  Solen, Inc.
Solen had a modest room in the first hallway in Part 1, but probably had more customers at their table by the escalator, where they had parts, accessories, and small components for "over-the-counter" sales.

WK2  Barcola Bistro Audio
In a narrow space beside the ascending escalator was Barcola Bistor Audio with some unusual components. A video blogger was in the process of conducting an interview, so I stood back and stayed mum.

They seemed to have a little bit of everything.

W1  ASONA
The ASONA room on the lower level was as vacant and quiet as their room upstairs. The Indiana Line of speakers seemed to be entry-level, and sitting directly on the floor did them no favor.

On the short rack was a Shanling transport, and an Audio Analogue DAC on the top shelf, with a Heed Obelisk integrated amp below. That said, it was far better gear than what I had until I was in my late 20's, so it gets a tip-of-the-hat for catering to people just getting started, or looking for gear for a second system.

On one table at the side was another Heed integrated amp (left) from Hungary, and a Cayin tubed integrated amp from China. On another table at the side was a Pathos Logos hybrid integrated amp, now in MkII version, from Italy.

W2  Audio Note UK And Motet Distribution
Vincent Belanger often plays in Audio Note UK rooms as a brand ambassador. I purchased his new CD, Songe, at the Toronto show and was very impressed with the new, personal direction he has taken with his music. It is much more contemporary than his earlier classical style recordings, leaning a bit toward Nordic jazz, one of my favorite genres. The Audio Autobahn banner is for a local Montreal dealer.

While not pushed out into the corners of the room, the field coil speakers were placed close to the wall to reinforce the bass, as they were designed to do.

Audio Note UK makes everything from phono cartridges to loudspeakers and everything in between, with multiple levels at each step. Most of the gear in this rig was at or toward the upper end of their offerings.

The Ongaku integrated amp is one of their finest.

The gear was not labeled, but I found a cluster of cards that gave me some clues.

Finished in a clear coat, the traditional speaker design takes on a more contemporary look.

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