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

Niagara 

Kennedy HiFi, IsoAcoustics, And Motet Distribution
In the Niagara room, I ran into Dave Morrison, CEO of IsoAcoustics, and shared that I had favorably mentioned the new GAIA Neo footers in a comparison with Stack Audio and Tough Nut footers in a review here. He's leaning on a pair of speakers with and without the GAIA Neo footers that were set up to demonstrate their effectiveness.

IsoAcoustics goes beyond individual speaker footers to include desktop stands for small speakers, and ring isolators for subwoofers. The tall silver item on the right edge of the photo above is a tool for raising heavy speakers to facilitate installation of the GAIA footers. It is especially useful for those of us who have given up on Planet Fitness.

Not shown here were footers for components and turntables. Their website has an extensive component matching program to help you select the best product for your specific application. I was impressed!

For those with very heavy (and most likely huge) speakers or amplifiers, the new GAIA Titan Neo footers are now available. Like the standard GAIA Neo footers, these feature additional refinements such as micro-height adjustment, a swivel feature for unlevel floors, and a direct, tight fit to the base of the speaker that also enhances the appearance. Note the gloss black finish on the right and smoke chrome finish on the left. Also note the three sizes of the Titan and standard GAIA Neo seen here, with the smallest ones closer. Interchangeable threads are available if you need a different thread in the future.

K3  Auralis Distribution And Forte Art and Music
As I predicted they would, LAiV Audio from Singapore has taken off with their elegant, diminutive components, and initial reviews have been favorable.

How about a fully balanced, discrete R2R ladder DAC for $1,199 MSRP? With discrete buffered preamp outputs, both RCA and XLR? And a discrete headphone amp with three gain levels? Also available in black? Did I mention it is cute?

The Harmony LExt is actually offered as two different components. One offers additional RCA and XLR inputs to the Harmony HP2A through LE-LINK, a proprietary connection. The other is a very nice-looking and flexible phono stage with RCA inputs that also connects to the HP2A headphone amp/preamp via the proprietary LE-LINK connection. ($359 USD) I have to think they would sell hundreds of the phono stage if it had RCA output for those without other LAiV components.

K2  Auralis Distribution And Noteworthy Audio
This quadrant featured LAiV products on two sides, and two tables full of audiophile LPs under the name Deluxe Edition. And yes, those were CDs on the near corner of the table.

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