Salon Audio Montréal Audiofest Show Report Part 2
Rick Becker's Montreal Chronicles 2023 Show
Report By Rick Becker

Bonaventure Room
As I headed back to my room I passed the very large Bonaventure Room. Since it was the last room on the upper level, I ducked in, expecting a lot of tables arranged in flea market fashion with numerous brands and vendors. To my surprise, I was greeted with much finer-sounding music from the new Dali Kore speaker than I had heard in Toronto last fall.

I was so impressed I felt compelled to talk with the host who was cueing up the music. I had come down hard on this combo when I heard it in Toronto, but man, what a difference a room makes! There was a lower ceiling and solid walls on three sides here and the music was vastly improved.

The NAD electronics drove the Kore surprisingly well, after all. But I'll stand by my original opinion that the elegant Kore speaker could sound even better with better equipment.

The speaker exudes an elegance, almost in an Art Deco style, that the NAD gear cannot match.

This is not to shame the NAD gear. It is built to a lower price target than the Kore, after all, and it was certainly playing above its price point with the Kore. What we had here was a case of strange bedfellow under the same corporate banner. Just call them as I see and hear them.

Wandering over to the other side of the huge room I captured a cute display of Tivoli radios. Something for everyone at this show.

As I wound my way back to my hotel room I passed the pool, noticing the delight of the folks swimming, encircled by the freshly fallen snow. Every time I come to the Bonaventure I tell myself I should bring my swimsuit and take a dip but fear of my ears getting blocked up with water is a powerful deterrent. Back in my room I checked my photo memory cards and scanned a few of the 60 or so emails, then relaxed a bit before heading to the Industry Banquet. I'll get to that in another day or so in Part 3, then take the elevator down to the larger rooms on the lower level in Part 4 (and possibly 5).

Keep checking back as there's a lot of very interesting gear to come, plus my personal selection of the Best Rooms at the show too!

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