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Part 6 — Best Of Montreal
Audiofest 2026 Blue Note Awards And Honorable Mentions
Part 1: 1200 And 1300 Hallways Part 2: 2300 And 2400 Hallways Part 4: Lower Level, And Left (Montreal / Westmount Rooms) Part 5: Lower Level, And Right (St. Laurent / Outremont Rooms) This Is Part 6: Best Rooms And Honorable Mentions
Dedicated To Ernie Fisher Of The Inner Ear In 2005, back in the days it was held at the Delta Hotel, and known as Le Festival Son et Image de Montréal, Ernie sponsored a room which earned Best Rooms recognition. I wrote in part: The Inner Ear Report room was another Best Rooms experience. It was here that I met Ernie Fisher who has been writing about audio since the early days of electricity. The sound of the WLM Weiner Loutsprechre Manufacture is the first loudspeaker to fulfill a dream of perfection that Ernie has been carrying around in his head for some twenty years. And I have to agree with him that the WLM is very effortless, transparent and dynamic with an efficiency of 98dB. Surprisingly, this European speaker uses three 12" paper cone woofers made in the USA. (One woofer in each side channel and two in the passive subwoofer)? WLM does not talk about their unusual crescent shaped tweeter module, but Ernie said he peered into it with a flashlight and it looks like it houses a pair of dome tweeters, side-by-side, angled outward from each other. That's the kind of guy Ernie was—seeking out the best, no matter how unknown or unusual a company might be. He was, and still is, an inspiration for me. I hope the music in heaven meets his expectations.
Overview But first, a few comments on the show. At 60-some rooms, Montreal is less than a third the size of AXPONA or Capital Audiofest, and that is a blessing. It is right-sized for enjoying yourself and getting to see the entire show. Two days is plenty of time to see everything without having to prioritize rooms or run zig-zaggedly through floors on multiple levels, and from one end of a hotel to a conference center at the other end. The pace is civil, and so are the Canadians. It's an audiofest, after all, not a hockey game. They have made an effort to encourage bringing children to the event, and there were noticeably more women with their spouses at this show again this year. The Industry Banquet offers industry insiders an opportunity to mingle among retail competitors, manufacturers, and distributors alike. And even a few people from the Press. I arrived on Saturday morning and had to wait in line just to take the elevator up to the hotel on the 12th Floor. Saturday, the show was very busy, and I was told attendance on Friday had been very strong, too. Sunday, attendance tapered off, but from my photos of the lower level in Parts 4 and 5, you can see there were still plenty of people. Three weeks later, at AXPONA, the crowds were even larger, indicating even more momentum in the industry, or at least interest in it. Such strong attendance comes from the upper arm of the K-economy, where people with secure income and even modest wealth seem to want to spend on audio, regardless of fluctuations in the stock market and international turmoil. Whether they pull the trigger on their desires will hopefully be seen before the seasonal slowdown over the summer. But even if sales do not surge, audio shows establish interest in new products and reinforce passion for the hobby. The political weather will likely have an effect, too, but I'll keep my predictions on that close to my chest. From the manufacturing side, I'd say there is a lot of innovation with a major trend toward all-in-one components continuing. They provide good sound and a lot of value compared to separate components, which also multiply the cost of cabling. Preamps with built-in streaming, DACs, and phono stages (or just the ability to add them) are a similar trend. A trend toward developing smaller components is also in evidence. The growing headphone sector seems strong. It is a great portal to the high end for younger folks and provides a place for them to hang out until their ship comes in, later in life. I often wonder why no advertising firm has picked up on high end audio as the perfect playground for a midlife crisis. Better yet, it's a playground you never have to leave, as long as you have enough strength to hit "Play". Additionally, the emergence of new companies over the past few years seems to be gaining traction. Let's face it, many of the founders of the big names in this industry have already moved on, or will move on within the next decade. Some companies will survive the transition intact, while others will likely become players in corporate mergers. And who knows what impact AI will have on consumers and manufacturers. I tend to agree that new technology will increase new opportunities, but there will be winners and losers. The automobile did not kill the horse or the bicycle industries, but each had to adapt. And there is plenty of evidence of adaptation in the high end already.
Big news was seen on the divider between the up and down stairs of the escalator at the show. A new venue for the Toronto Audiofest has been secured at the Sheraton Toronto Airport Hotel & Conference Centre, one kilometer from the previous location at the Westin on Dixon Road. The dates are October 16th through 18th, 2026. It's on my calendar.
Honorable Mentions
Auralis Distribution And Madly Audio (1321)
Artist Cloner, Saturn Audio, And Tough Nut Audio (2327)
Altitudo Audio And Tri-Cell Enterprises (M6)
---> Next Page: Best Of Montreal Audiofest 2026 Blue Note Awards.
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