TAVES Consumer Electronics Show 2017 Show Report 
Toronto Audio Video Entertainment Show Part 1
TAVES 2017 Show Report By Rick Becker

Audio by Mark Jones has become a prominent presenter at TAVES the past few years with world class, very expensive systems producing outstanding music. But for me, Mark is the real draw with his showmanship and delight in presenting fine music selections from his collection of LPs. This room is as much about enjoying music by anyone who ventures in, as it is about the actual equipment for the few who can actually afford it. And everyone is treated equally. The rig was toned down slightly from last year, but repeated the outstanding analog source comprised of Kronos Pro turntable ($38,000 US), Kronos Black Beauty tonearm ($8500 US) and the optional SCPS power supply ($13,500) with two banks of large capacitors that supply off grid power.

One bank charges while the other bank drives the two counter rotating platters of this unique design. Having reviewed the more affordable Sparta version of this counter rotating platter technology (where I could easily disengage the lower platter), I can attest to the significant benefit of this design. Adding the SCPS power supply takes performance of this up another very significant notch.

I've heard analog rigs costing six figures at shows that I cannot say sounded any better than the several times I've heard this $60,000 Kronos Pro. And that doesn't include the $13,000 Cdn price of the Lyra Etna SL moving coil cartridge. Still, that's a lot of money. But the rest of the rig was in the same league with the Swiss made CH Precision P1 dual mono phono stage ($31,000 US), C1 digital to analog controller ($32,000 US, base price), and M1 Reference stereo power amplifier ($51,000 US). An Aurender N10 8TB Music Server ($8,500) delivered digital source material. The speakers heard here were the Focal Sopra No. 3 floorstanders ($24,000 Cdn) which, as good as they are for the price, did not float the music like the nearly three times as expensive Vivid speakers in the previous room. Nonetheless, this was easily one of the Best Rooms at the show. Other significant contributors in this rig included the Massif Audio Design wood component rack, amp stand and cable risers specially designed to hold the very high quality Nordost Valhalla 2 Reference cables.

As an added bonus in the Audio by Mark Jones room, Michael Taylor from Nordost periodically gave a demonstration of the Nordost QRT Qkore grounding devices. The Qkore1 is designed to connect to your power distribution device or conditioner and the Qkore3 is designed to connect to the various components in your rig. A Qkore6, not shown, is available for use with monoblocks and additional components. The Qkore is a passive device but a component must have an available open input or output to connect with. Neither device is intended to replace the household ground of your electrical grid. Starting without either device connected, first Michael added the Qkore1, then the Qkore3, and then he removed both devices together, each time playing the same brief selection of music. The improvements made when adding each device seemed small, but the removal of both devices revealed a much more apparent and undeniable deterioration of the music.

The importance of critical grounding has become an important development in recent years with several companies offering beneficial solutions. A lot of companies in the High End offer tweaks that purport to make significant improvements, many of which draw the ire of consumers who label them as snake oil. Nordost is to be applauded for running such a demonstration to give us a chance to experience these products for ourselves and draw conclusions based on experience rather than skepticism. This is not the first time they've run this type of comparison. I've heard them compare cables, footers and other power products as well. They're committed to proving the value and validity of their products. Kudos, for sure.

Circling back to the Alex Colville Lobby I entered the Berton 3 room hosted by Audio Eden which had been locked the first time I passed by. I was confronted by a bold red JBL Synthesis K2 S9900 loudspeaker ($80,000 Cdn) with its wide horn loaded tweeter sweeping from edge to edge, driven by Mark Levinson No. 536 monoblocks ($43m998/pair). Here, too, the system employed an expensive loom of Nordost cables, about $100,000 worth, with the wide speaker cables tucked into the corner of the walls and floor, rather than on risers. On silent display when I visited was the Clearaudio Absolute Phono ($18,995), a straightforward version of this phono stage.

Another variation of the Absolute Phono comes with a dedicated small amplifier attached directly on the headshell, right after the phono cartridge that reportedly drops the S/N ratio 10dB. The Absolute Phono can be used with almost any phono cartridge. The relatively new and highly regarded SME Model 15 ($11,495) suspended turntable with belt drive was shown here with the SME V tonearm ($7195, all prices Cdn, here). It was fitted with a Dynavector DV-XX2 Mk II cartridge ($2200). Wish I could have heard that rig. What I did hear, from the Mark Levinson No. 519 audio player ($28,999) was a crisp, dynamic, up-front sound reminiscent of the JBL bookshelf speakers of the '60s and '70s, brought up to today's high level of resolution. Playback from the analog front end might have revealed more subtle micro dynamics and tonal shading if you were lucky enough to have been at the right place at the right time.

Moving back around to the Pinset 2 room, one of two hosted by Update TV and Stereo, a retailer with three locations in the Toronto area, I found a surround sound system featuring Revel Concerta 2 speakers which may have also been driven by Mark Levinson electronics. I didn't pay much attention to this room given the home theater focus.

Next door, in Pinsent 1, the other room hosted by Update TV and Stereo, was a wall of Samsung TVs arranged from left to right in good, better, best and incredible technology with prices rising commensurately. An "Oh my God" 85" screen was about the price of a decent amplifier, as I recall, making it entirely reasonable for someone who is into watching movies as much as I am into listening to music. Nathan Mactaggart and Andrew Ho were eager to sell me one, but I explained that I'd have to get my wife's permission to bring home a screen that large. While the room looked sparsely populated when I took this photo on Friday, it was constantly jammed on Saturday when the attendance rose dramatically.

Entering the Berton 2 room across the hall, I fell speechless as I watched Eli Gershman give details of his extraordinary new Gershman Acoustics Posh speaker to an enquiring visitor. At first glance, it appeared to look like a slender cousin of a Wilson Maxx, but further investigation revealed it was much more akin to the Gershman Black Swan with the mid-tweeter module suspended above the dual bass driver unit by the silver steel side brackets. The bass unit sits on its own set of spikes, as does the mid-tweeter unit held up by the silver side supports. This use of steel is the first I can recall from any Gershman speaker. The tweeter is Morel's finest and that's a 5" Accuton Cell ceramic midrange. The 8" woofers feature aluminum cones and are of Gershman's own design. The crossovers use Mundorf's finest capacitors. As set up, a single Nordost speaker cable was used, though the bass is set up for bi-wiring. A jumper cable carried the signal to the mid-tweeter unit.

Jacques Reindeau of Oracle Audio gave me a warm welcome even though suffering from a cold. He had two of his Oracle turntables in use when I visited and the sound was detailed, neutral and taut, but it kind of felt like solid state amplification. Jacques treated me to a listen to "Cheap Sunglasses" from a ZZ Top LP I happened to be carrying around. Excellent playback from a 25 cent garage sale record! As with the Gershman Black Swan before it, I suspect it might sound very good with tube amplification, but Eli is partial to the Moon solid stage amps that were playing here. At $129,900 Cdn/pair, you want to audition these with familiar equipment to be sure it is going to work for you. Personally, I get a little dizzy when gear gets above five figures, but I don't begrudge people who can afford such fine equipment. Aesthetically, I thought it was a stunning contemporary design and I look forward to reading the reviews.

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