Toronto Audiofest 2022 Show Report Part 2
Thirst for more on the third floor.
Show Report By Rick Becker

  I was looking forward to seeing Gilbert Yeung again as it has been more than a few years. I understood he was retiring from the audio business, which would be unfortunate as his Blue Circle line was highly regarded and had an almost cult-like following. It turns out Gilbert has been transitioning to Angela for the past few years, gradually becoming her true self. Angela proudly pointed out a poster of a short documentary film that features her work in the audio industry and the transition she has gone through. It was shown at a film festival around the time of the show, but hopefully, it will be available on YouTube at some point. The music playing in the room was coming through stand-mounted Fyne Audio F1-8 monitors (mentioned earlier in the show report) and it was powered by the “concept amp" shown above.

There were plenty of interesting things to look at — both the traditional Blue Circle as well as artistic interpretations of audio gear. And the room was busy — both times I stopped in. It will take a leap of faith to purchase gear as far into the world of art as her new creations, but hey, have you seen the prices of Warhol or Banksy artwork lately? This is a lot more affordable. I've long been a proponent of bringing the audio world closer to the art world, and I certainly welcome Angela's work and admire her courage. If it sounds as good or better than the previous designs, then it's a win-win situation for everyone.

Just to be clear, Angela-Gilbert continues to make a full line of components that feature a new, artistic faceplate design, all of which can be seen on their new website. The new brand name is "Angela Yeung - Gilbert Yeung" and the blue circle theme is carried over to the many new products they have come out with over the past few years during Covid.

Lii Song Canada was in the next room, which was dark and full of people examining a wide variety of speakers on display. There was also really good sound in this room coming from the open baffle speaker ($5760) shown above, driven by a Galion TS120 tube amp that can be switched from high current Class A (30 Watts, as heard) to high voltage class AB (50 Watts, $3500 USD, or a special edition playing is $4500 USD). Thomas Tan of Galion Audio also runs his Thomas and Stereo YouTube channel. He stressed that while the amps are made in China, he voices them here in Canada to improve the sound.

The Lii Song speakers with their unique paper cone drivers and high efficiency are about subtlety and finesse, yet they can play loud, as I heard. Lii Song also markets just the drivers for people wishing to build their own speakers. People filled the few seats, listening intently, while others poked around, sorting out the mystery of these speakers. I returned a second time on Sunday, hoping to get a better listen, but the room was just as crowded. Debbie Carwana of Madly Audacious Concepts, Inc, who imports Lii Song, was helpful in sorting out all the treasures in this room.

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