Part 5 — Lower Level, And Left (Outremont / St. Laurent Rooms) At The Montreal Audiofest 2026 Show
Major demos, new high-end audio tech, and very interesting audiophile innovation.
Montreal Audiofest Show Report By Rick Becker

The Resonance music bookseller was back again this year. It sounds like a good idea that could be replicated in a lot of cities and towns.

There is nothing like a good mystery to get people's attention.

With a little coaxing, she revealed a table full of CDs, which, like LPs, are making a comeback.

Todd Garfinkle of MA Recordings showed up at this show again, which is no surprise, as he shows up everywhere. However, for the first time, I had the pleasure of meeting his wife, Manko.

ASONA (though you would never guess) had an extensive display of headphones and amplifiers from many of the top brands in the industry.

I had read about ecoute headphones that have a built-in tube preamp (yes), dual mono amplifiers, and are cordless, so I listened and found them to, indeed, have a warm, tube-like sound with rolled-off highs and mellow bass—very pleasurable. Their cloth headband and visible tube give them a unique style.

I also had a listen to Dan Clark headphones ($5200) driven by a Cayin tube amplifier with a very high-end sound signature.

Noble is an artisanal manufacturer of universal and custom-fit in-ear monitors. Motel is a major Canadian high-end home audio distributor that put together this very functional display.

This table of in-ear monitors seems to have been sponsored by Quebec Acoustique.

There was no shortage of in-ear monitors at the show.

---> Next Page.