Toronto Audiofest 2023 Show Report
Part 1... The Fourth Floor
Show Report By Rick Becker

Room 438(?)
Here, the Chord Ultima Integrated amplifier($15,500) was driving a Spendor Classic 1/2 three-way speaker ($12,500) mounted on a low-mass, non-resonant Spendor Classic 1/2 stand ($3k, pair) making for a rather expensive combination.

This is the first new integrated from Chord in quite a while. It puts out 125 Wpc and is a pure analog design with no phono, no DAC, and no streamer, allowing you to choose your front ends. The music was very smooth and inviting, typical of the British sound. While it's expensive, it's the kind of system you buy once and turn your attention to your music, rather than jumping on the audiophile merry-go-round in search of the next hot item.

Room 439  Erikson Consumer
In their first room, Erikson Consumer, a large Canadian distributor, showed a more affordable rig with a stack of Audiolab gear including a 9000A integrated amp with proprietary lossy MQA, 9000CDT dedicated CD transport, and their new 9000N network player ($4499). A Dual turntable sat on top of the rack, and an Audiolab power conditioner at the bottom indicated the room was receiving 120 Volts.

Room 441  Erikson Consumer
In their second room, Erikson featured a more upscale rig with Revel F228BE speakers ($16k) with an Arcam CDS50 digital audio & network streaming player with SACD/CD player, ($1899), an Arcam ST5 streamer ($1,199), and an Arcam A25 Class G Bluetooth integrated amp ($2399), along with a Thorens TD1601 suspended turntable ($5999) atop the rack.

A pair of Velodyne DW10 subwoofers supplemented the bass and Atlas cables strung it all together.

Revel's all-new dome BE tweeter with protection built into the surrounding waveguide.

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