Part 7: The Lower Level, Outremont, And St. Laurent Rooms
A symphony of spectacular high-fidelity sound!
Montreal Audiofest 2025 Show Report By Rick Becker

O3   Audeze
The Audeze room with a big window was self-explanatory. Not being a big headphone fan, aside from using my trusty Grado SR80e cans every day for internet sound and Zoom classes, I didn't bother to go in. This photo is worth a thousand words. It also illustrates that there were opportunities outside the EARVANA space to try out headphones.

O4   Yamaha Canada Music
Likewise, the Yamaha room was visible through a window with a couple of Yamaha instruments on stands and their famous yak stools.

On more than one occasion, I have preferred their floorstanding NS-2000A speaker ($10k CDN), seen here, to the flagship NS-5000 large monitor ($15k USD), which requires a stand. Notice the small Wattson Audio Madison network streamer/DAC ($5k) on a slab of rock with some special footers under the rock.

The GT-5000 turntable features balanced output, belt drive, and an oversized 11-lb platter designed for easy lifting of an LP. It also featured substantial vibration-absorbing feet. Below the turntable was the C-5000 preamplifier ($14k). The matching M-5000 power amplifier ($14k) was on the bottom shelf, seen in the previous photo. This photo gives you a good look at the finish on the impressive Massif Audio Design rack, which they use every year.

Coga footers were used under the Wattson streamer / DAC, and the Yamaha pre- and power amps…and maybe the speakers, too. They are said to work on concrete, ceramic, wood, and carpeted floors. They are an aircraft-grade metal with a special coating to absorb vibrations. The concave recess on top is to retain speaker spikes. Keen-eyed Enjoy the Music.com, with hundreds of show reports and gear reviews, realizes Coga is a new Canadian manufacturer.

O5   MOON By Simaudio
On a table in the hall, Moon had their products from the North collection on display to see up close and touch. The display board behind the table identified the various components. The chassis design has been consistent for many years, but you can order all-black, two-toned with silver, and I've even seen an all-silver component. Two-tone is their most iconic combination.

The rig inside played to the "less is more" theme, but from the sound quality, you would never guess "less." Streaming in this room was from Qobuz and a curated selection on a NAS hidden from sight. It was mostly CD quality, though some Hi-res music was played at times. This more minimal look seems to be a significant trend in the high end — maybe not so much for gearheads, but for people who are more into music.

They featured the 641 Integrated amp on top of the 681 Network Player/DAC. The integrated amp ($12,500 USD) is a balanced design with 125 Wpc. The 681 Streaming DAC ($13,500 USD) features a 32-bit DAC, balanced circuitry, and built-in streaming and network playback. The speakers were a modest pair from Dynaudio from Denmark, and they were connected with expensive Nordost speaker cables from the USA.

Michael Manousselis has been with Dynaudio for over 30 years, the past five as President, Americas at Dynaudio North America. We connected at shows early on in our audio careers, and many times since. The speaker was the Contour Legacy ($14k USD) from the Heritage Special series, a rear-ported, 2.5-way design. There is also a two-way monitor version available.

All things considered, this was a high-quality, well-balanced system that allowed you to afford higher-quality components and cables than a more complex system. Furthermore, the system integration is designed to keep you off the equipment merry-go-round. Just sit back and enjoy your music.

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