Part 6: Montreal Audiofest Chronicles 2024
The Lower Level, Montreal, and Westmount Rooms.
Montreal Audiofest 2024 Show Report By Rick Becker

M6  Villeneuve Audio Video, Marchand Audio Video, And Tri-Cell Enterprises

The M6 room on the corner was a hotbed of activity when I entered. I had a hard time taking photos with so many people milling around and casting shadows from the bizarre lighting. Villeneuve and Marchand are retail outlets while Tri-Cell is one of Canada's largest distributors.

The 'paint job' on these Acapella Art speakers was actually just a projected pattern, though the bell of the horn may well have been a soft taupe.

The emphasis here was on selling gear. I've heard these two Fyne Audio speakers at another show and I can tell you the larger (and much more expensive) one sounds much better, but they are both premium products that deserve an appropriate audition. That wasn't about to happen in this environment, despite the fine Luxman integrated amplifier and CD player.

If your room was a little smaller or your budget was fragile, there was a cute bookshelf version of the big boys.

I spotted this retro stand-mounted monitor with a leather pull tab on the grille for easy removal.

Removing the grille revealed a coaxial driver and tone controls for "energy adjustment" and "presence adjustment" along with frequency charts showing which frequencies were being boosted or attenuated. This is actually kind of cool for those who seek different emotional responses from their music at different times.

It was nice to see younger people exploring audio at this year's show. This has been a slowly growing trend.

M7  Villeneuve Audio Video, Marchand Audio Video, And Tri-Cell Enterprises

Turning the corner on this end of the Montreal block, I came upon a huge and impressive home theater that surely took a crew to set up and tear down after the show.

A table in the hall seemed to be a puppy mill from Audioquest. I'll take a dog over a snake any day.

M8  Emotiva Corporation

Emotiva seems to be showing up more frequently at shows. Their long room was nicely laid out with lots of clearly labeled gear on silent display as you entered.

At the far end of the room was a stereo listening rig with two pairs of speakers to choose from.

Much of their electronics is geared for home theater. The stand-up cards gave basic specs as well as prices for each piece which was especially helpful for their line-up since they have so many receivers covering a wide price range.

---> Next Page.