Salon Audio Montréal Audiofest Show Report Part 4
It's Sunday, let's take a look n' listen at the Lower Level.
Report By Rick Becker

Westmount 4  Audio by Mark Jones
Mark Jones' room in Toronto was one of the few I missed at the Toronto show last October so it was a delight to see him here in Montreal. His rooms are always something special and this one was no exception. The ProAc K6 Signature, clad in a special veneer that I will guess is Tamo Ash, was extraordinary eye candy as well as acoustically supreme. Such excellence doesn't come easy at 46,300$, but you could easily spend far more for a speaker that would not instill such pride of ownership.

I was so impressed with the veneer that I had to include this close-up photo, along with a prayer that it doesn't come from some exotic habitat that is home to a species on the verge of extinction.

I've always liked ProAc speakers, but the new K series is at an altogether different level than anything that they have made in the past. I've heard the K1 stand-mounted monitor and while I loved the sound, the sub-platform beneath the downward-facing port in combination with the pillar stand seemed a bit awkward. With the floorstanders in the series, there is much less complexity. If the style appeals to you, you need to explore the technology further on their website. It's impressive.

Mark has always presented premium high-end lines at shows and the CH Precision DAC, preamp and power amp were typical of his very high standards. As were the Nordost Valhalla 2 series cables used in the rig. If room size or budget requires you to tone it down a bit, he can do that too.

The other big treat for me here was the Linn Klimax LP12 turntable with built-in Urika phono stage and Exstatic MC cartridge (41,300$). In the face of unprecedented competition from other turntable manufacturers, Linn has clawed their way back into the fray over the past decade. It has been a rare opportunity to hear one at a show.

The LP12 is available at several performance levels in different configurations. This top-of-the-line version was the best Linn I've ever heard and fully competitive in its price range. The beauty of the LP12 is its iconic image and apparent simplicity that invites human interaction. The onboard phono stage dramatically reduces the vulnerable cable distance from the cartridge to the phono stage. It is completely intuitive and it is light enough to install on a wall mount where it will be free from footfall and speaker-born vibrations from the floor.

Westmount 5  Planete Haute-Fidelite
With a graphic of Frank Zappa on the front wall, how could this room go wrong? Saturn Audio is a relatively new brand, but I get more and more impressed with it as it is presented with better and better speakers. The simplicity of their design with the lighted blue lines representing the rings of Saturn keeps gaining more and more respect from me.

The Stable 33.33 Mk2 turntable by Sylvain Pichette is reaching maturity now and he tells me he is now stocking products and manufacturing in batches, rather than building on a made-to-order basis. I remember being very impressed with the prototype he showed on silent display, pre-Covid, and I'm very happy to see him evolve into full production mode.

Here's a closer look at the Saturn electronics.

Martin Logan got their start and is famous for their electrostatic and hybrid speakers. But not being a fan of that type of speaker, I haven't paid much attention to them. They have certainly grabbed my attention with their new Motion XT Series introduced in February at very reasonable prices.

The Motion XT F200 in piano gloss black with only a subtle logo and tastefully designed outboard footers is truly affordable elegance. I love the way the waveform for their air-motion tweeter is subtly molded into the front baffle. The 92dB sensitivity and 4 Ohm impedance mean you don't need a massive amp to drive it. At 7k$, this is a very inviting opportunity.

The speaker grills are 3D printed and precisely snap in over the round drivers without obscuring the beautiful gloss finish. And there is a downward firing port to increase efficiency and maintain a clean look.

On silent display, they had the other models in this series, which also include options for home theater rigs. The walnut version features a black baffle and the white finish is a satin finish. Note the wall-hung speaker sitting on the floor for sides and rear placement in a home theater setting.

Westmount 6  PS Audio
PS Audio took over Westmount 6 with two of their recent introductions — the DirectStream DAC Mk2 and the FR20 loudspeaker. While PS Audio sells factory-direct in the US, it markets through dealers in Canada and overseas. Last year they premiered the larger FR30 and I was not impressed with the presentation for several reasons, some of which had to do with the particular room.

In this large, close to a square room, this year the speakers were offset to the left a bit which puts room reflections from each speaker at different places, rather than concentrating right down the middle. I've suggested this to other presenters in the past and it usually helps. The FR20 has fewer woofers and fewer passive radiators. That helped a lot. Plus, the music I heard this year was a lot less bass-heavy. The mids and treble got downright ethereal, which was far more than I was expecting.

The speaker also does not have the rear-firing driver or treble controls of its larger sibling. Last year somebody may have screwed around with those adjustments. Nevertheless, without all the extra drivers, bells and whistles, this year's presentation was a whole lot better — especially after I pulled my center seat in the front row a foot and a half further forward to get out of a bass node. Just because you have a large room doesn't mean that the best listening positions are further away from the speakers.

I also liked the design of the FR20 better than the FR30. It is a lot less cluttered and the stand looks correctly proportioned to the body of the speaker. I expect it will be a lot easier to set up properly for most people than the larger model, notwithstanding the white glove delivery in the States. Additionally, the BHK 300 monoblocks were more than sufficient to drive the speakers to reasonable volume levels in this room.

I had to get up close to determine whether the DirectStream DAC was the Mk 2 model. With wholly different music this year and without direct comparison with the original, it was impossible to attribute the improved presentation to the DAC. I may have the opportunity to do that later this year.

The other possible game-changer this year was the loom of Kimber Kable. Lonny Gould from Kimber was on hand to explain the geometry of the vari-strand construction of the Carbon series with multiple gauge sizes in each strand. He also explained the little white DC blockers that were used between the IEC inlets and the power cords on numerous components in the rig. Show conditions being what they are, sometimes you have to dig deep into your bag of tricks. Keep an eye out for their room at the AXPONA 2023 show next week.

Coming Soon: Part 5 With Best Of Show Awards!
That wraps it up for this side of the Lower Level. In Part 5 I'll cross over and hit the Outremont and really big St. Laurent rooms — fourteen in total. I'll also be calling out the Best Rooms at the show this year as well as sharing a little adventure I took after the show.

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