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

Level 2

Bliss Acoustics
Bliss Acoustics from Ottawa is a relatively new retailer, founded in 2022, but it quickly gained notice with a Best Rooms award in 2023 with a wide variety of top brands. They haven't disappointed me since.

As you scan the price list below, notice the relatively modest price of the Audio Solutions Figaro M2 speakers. I've heard other models before at other shows and quickly spotted them as a high-value line from Lithuania. Acoustically, they are not out of place in this high-priced system. You might question the Custom Art livery from Martini Racing, an accent that is likely more popular in Europe, where auto racing is a more prominent sport, but other than that, this is a well-designed, high-value speaker.

I had the pleasure of meeting Gediminas Gaidelis, owner and designer at Audio Solutions, with zero language barrier between us. He is proud of his boutique status as a manufacturer, preferring to maintain quality control and customer service without chasing higher production numbers or great wealth. I sense he is a man of solid integrity, with youthful enthusiasm that points to even greater things to come in the future.

I like the CSport turntable, shown here with its linear tracking tonearm, because of its high performance without being an overly complex or truly massive design. It has substance along with an attractive design, without reflecting an inflated ego of its owner.

One of the fun threads of exploring analog at audio shows is hearing exotic phono cartridges that you rarely get to hear, or even see, at a brick-and-mortar store in any given city. Above is the Aidas Trustone Violet Gold MC cartridge ($11,200).

Following my penchant for ‘less is more,' here is the J. Sikora Aspire turntable with a carbon fiber tonearm I first saw in Chicago. It appeared to have an Etsuro Cobalt MC cartridge ($6,300) fitted. I didn't get to hear it here, either.

Dragan Reljic, the proud owner of Bliss Acoustics, is another Canadian retailer who is not afraid of supporting expensive brands, and he takes away another Enjoy the Music.com Best Of Toronto Audiofest 2025 Blue Note Award this year!

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