Toronto Audiofest 2025: Complete Show Coverage, Biggest Gear Reveals, And Best Demos
What happened, what to buy, special highlights, plus our best audiophile gear picks!
Toronto Audiofest 2025 Show Report By Rick Becker

Kennedy HiFi, IsoAcoustics, And Tri-Cell Enterprises
IsoAcoustics' new Gaia Neo footers were demo'ed with a pair of identical Audiovector speakers powered by Fezztubed gear. It is well worth sitting through this demo as IsoAcoustics has been at the forefront of the move toward vibration-absorbing footers, and they are now in use in several forms with over 70 manufacturers. I had a nice chat with founder Dave Morrison, a great guy

The Fezz Audio Equinox DAC ($3k) caught my interest with a tube visible from the top, presumably in the analog output stage. Could this be a more reasonably priced alternative to the entry-level LampizatOr Amber 5 DAC? Seems I read something about LampizatOr collaborating with someone.

IsoAcoustic zaZen vibration-absorbing platforms are seen in use at every show. They come in a light and heavy version. I had a chance to flip one over to discover the low-profile footer I didn't know was there.

Level 3

Altitudo Audio

Altitudo Audio has upgraded to a larger location and has moved to 1457 St. James Street in Winnipeg. They make the long trek from Manitoba to both the Montreal and Toronto shows from halfway across North America. That's kind of like driving from Miami to Toronto. With a metropolitan population of about 834k, it is the largest and only real city between Toronto and Calgary, so it serves a very large area. It's no surprise they have expanded their business as they feature a lot of quality brands. The Hartley speaker was a larger version of one I had seen on silent display at a previous show. Its complex geometry makes it a hard sell, but from what I heard, this speaker deserves serious attention. It's the real deal, and the stand complements it quite well.

Noticing the pie-crust edge on the back perimeter, I took a closer look. Dual ports suggest some complex ductwork inside, and the silver knobs suggest some adjustments are possible.

Trilogy monoblocks were topped with HRS damping blocks, and the rack was also from HRS.

When I returned to this room on my sweep at the end of the show, I heard this Audio Physics Avanti sounding very good.

A CAD ground block was decorated in Canadian livery. That probably works well for most of Canada, but they need a blue version with a yellow fleur-de-lis for Quebec. CAD has been among the top grounding systems for years, now, and a larger ground block was hidden in the shadows of the equipment rack.

Vinyl Sound

I've been anticipating the development of the Model 7 from KLH, having been very favorably impressed with the Model 3 and Model 5 when they were first introduced. The Model 7 is $6k/pr USD. They were a bit disappointing with a bright treble, but both the midrange and treble are adjustable with knobs on the back. Tuning them in properly was not on my schedule. Vinyl Sound is in the Richmond Hill area, north of downtown Toronto.

The Arcam SA45 was a new Class G integrated amplifier with a high-resolution screen.

---> Next Page.