Toronto Audiofest 2022 Show Report Part 4
Lower level rooms and ground floor in part 4.
Show Report By Rick Becker

  At the entrance to the room, there were two other, more modest rigs set up with a couple of couches to sit in while listening to the Acorastand-mounted monitor and the floorstanding two-way speaker. These smaller rigs priced out at $35k CDN and $78k CDN without the Acora stands. I didn't hear these more affordable systems, but it is easy to see how you can scale down to fit more modest size rooms without giving up a whole lot of sound quality. (I heard the two-way floorstander at Montreal where it was easily one of the Best Rooms at the show.)

The other news here was the presentation of the two-way speaker in white! While I prefer a dark color while listening in the dark with only a small reading lamp on, it is refreshing to see an alternate color. It was at this point that Valerio confided that the speakers at this show were not the traditional black granite from Africa that he had been using, but a new synthetic composite made from quartz. He claims that it is 99% as good as the granite he has been using, and more forgivable of less expensive gear that many folks match up with his speakers. On the one hand, he sure fooled me. And on the other, 1% is a difference you can make by moving a couple of pieces of furniture around in your room.

Just when you think you've seen and heard it all, a couple comes into the Acora room with their two dogs in a stroller. How thoughtful of them to consider their dogs' ability to handle the high-frequency performance of the speakers they were considering. The little brown pup was obviously enthralled by the Acora, while Superdog, all decked out in his cape, seemed to be soliciting some petting or a scratch behind the ears.

Valerio Cora will be bringing his speakers to the Capital Audiofest 2022 and I highly recommend you stop to give them a listen, regardless of your current economic status. They are a real benchmark for quality sound from a reasonably sized loudspeaker.

From the large Sutton rooms, I doubled back towards the lobby and ducked down the stairs to the three large rooms on the Lower Level. I spotted the familiar kiosks of Wynn Audio and grabbed photos of the Kalista DreamPlay X SACD/CD transport that also handles DSD up to 256 and is compatible with MQA. It also functions as a streamer through either Ethernet or Wi-Fi and also has a USB input. It has an AES/EBU digital output because it does not contain a DAC like the similarly styled unit that was in the active system in the room.

Another piece of eye candy was the Thales TTT-Compact II Swiss-made turntable with a turquoise anodized Thales Simplicity II tonearm designed to keep the cartridge perfectly aligned in the groove without the encumbrance of a typical linear tracking arm. The turntable is deceptively simple in appearance but houses a belt drive system with three flywheels in addition to its DC motor and decoupling ball feet.

Inside the Carlyle room, I met up with Wynn Wong who was graciously answering questions from an interested visitor. The rig featured a Kalista DreamPlay XC ($100k) that was much like the unit in the kiosk, except it had a DAC built-in. It also had DSD streaming and a digital preamp function. This was its North American debut.

The analog front end was an EMT 928 turntable ($12,300) with a 909-HI tonearm ($7,400 fitted with an Xquisite GT cartridge ($20k). The plinth appeared to be CNC machined from billet aluminum. It is a battery-powered design that even included 78 rpm. Battery life is 30 to 40 hours, depending on the speed selected and there is a built-in charging circuit. The minimalist Swiss design was anything but intimidating, unlike the massive turntables that have grabbed the headlines in recent years, yet it is sophisticated in ways that are not visible. As I recall, that is a leather mat affixed to the platter. Unfortunately, Wynn was using a digital source during my visit.

The turntable fed a Karan Acoustics PHONOa phono stage ($55k) that was followed by a Karan LINEa preamp ($52k) and a pair of Karan POWERa monoblocks ($145k). The white speakers were the Vimberg Tonda D ($90k) and the cable loom was the Crystal Cable Art series. North American debuts included the Karan phono stage and a Crystal Cable DaVinci Network cable ($4800 1m). The component racks were from Critical Mass Systems. On the bottom shelf of the left rack appears to be a new model power conditioner from Torus Power made right here in Toronto. Torus recently bought out Plitron, well-known for its transformers, and consolidated at the Plitron facility. Also present, but not seen in the photos was an Entreq ground box, a product Wynn has been using consistently for a few years now.

The music in Wynn's rooms at shows is nearly always of a very high order. I am not always emotionally moved by the music, but this year the system worked in a very enticing manner. And who knows what ecstasy I might have experienced if I had heard the analog front end?

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