Toronto Audiofest 2026 Show Report Part 2: Hi-Fi Highlights, Great New Gear, And Must-Hear High-End Audio Systems
From the newest turntables and DACs to reference-quality loudspeakers and remarkable tweaks, Part 2 explores exciting audiophile exhibits and presentations.
Toronto Audiofest 2026 Show Report By Rick Becker

ANK Audio Kits
Having finished up on the long hallway to the right as you enter the Convention Center, I walked past the Rega and "I Love the Fab Four" exhibit, and headed down to the long hallway to the left.

ANK Kits is a consistent presenter at the Canadian shows, and their tables are usually well manned to handle curious inquiries from guys willing to (or merely considering) wielding a soldering iron for the thrill of DIY, or the thrill of saving thousands of dollars. While not exactly like the Audio Note UK designs from which they are derived, I doubt you would hear the difference (or give it much credence) in a blind listening test. I learned to love tube gear early on in my high end journey, but writing and reviewing led me astray from the thrifty and adventurous path of doing it yourself. This Canadian company has been around quite a while, so I'm sure they are doing lots of things right. If you're a complete solderphobe, you can even purchase their kits fully assembled. And if you're as politically averse to buying Russian tubes as I am, they may even be able to come up with a workaround.

MacIntosh II  (The Room)

Tri-Cell Enterprises, Inc.
Tri-Cell Enterprises is a major distributor in Canada, and they had one room dedicated to silent display of many of the speaker brands they carry. They also have a showroom in Woodbridge, Ontario.

I've been a Kharma fan since my early days, and Tri-Cell has been a more consistent distributor of the brand in Canada than we have had in the US in modern times. They are still, perhaps even more, among the elite brands in the world. I had a nice chat with Vincent Scalzitti, founder of Tri-Cell back in 1989, seen here with coffee in hand.

I've heard the large horn-loaded Odeon speakers before and was duly impressed. This German line features high sensitivity loved by tube amplifiers.

The smaller Odeon Nova S II speaker ($10,250) was very attractive with gorgeous woodwork and a more approachable size and price. With 95 dB sensitivity, they should sound very good with tube amps.

MacIntosh I (The Room)

Tri-Cell Enterprises, Inc. And Altitudo Audio
Next door, Tri-Cell teamed up with a huge active display from Altitudo Audio.   Leonid  Yamborko trucks in from Winnipeg, Manitoba, for both the Montreal and Toronto Audiofests. (That's not Leonid in the photo.) Their room at Montreal this year was among the Honorable Mention rooms, and they had another fine showing here.

Altitudo carries a lot of brands. In addition to the Audiovector speakers and Acoustic Arts electronics, I noticed numerous items from Synergistic Research, including a power conditioner, Black Box resonators, HFT tuning dots on the speakers, and the Vibratron SX in the photo.

Also intriguing were the speaker platforms from Tri-Art Audio made from bamboo and finished in both a traditional and a rustic finish.

Here again were some Odeon speakers, possibly the Helix model ($43,250).

I had seen ads for the Sphinx speaker($63,500), but I was surprised how small it was. It is a work of art for anyone into Art Deco interior design.

As is their style, Altitudo presented a veritable candy store of goods that takes a lot of time to fully explore. Unfortunately, I didn't get to seriously listen to their room this time.

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