Toronto Audiofest 2023 Show Report
Part 2... The Third Floor
Show Report By Rick Becker

Room 336  Paradigm Electronics And Anthem AV
Anthem and Paradigm are sister companies and in their first room, they featured a slightly more modest system featuring the Anthem STR integrated amp ($6k) driving a pair of stand-mounted Paradigm 40B monitors ($2,900) from the Founders series supplemented with an X10 subwoofer ($1350) from their entry-level Defiance series.

Room 337  Paradigm Electronics And Anthem AV
In their second room, they went upscale a bit using the same STR integrated amp to drive a floorstanding Paradigm speaker from their Founder series. That amp puts out serious power with 200 Wpc into 8 Ohms, 400 Wpc into 4 Ohms, and 550 Wpc into 2 Ohms. Once again, a subwoofer was used to augment the bass.

Room 339  Bowers & Wilkins And Classé
A Classé Delta preamp fed a pair of Classé Delta monoblocks that drove a pair of B&W 805 Signature monitors ($16k) in a stunning burl veneer. I find the current generation of B&W speakers much improved over previous ones and this room was a good example of why that is. Good resolution and fine bloom.

Room 341  Bowers, Wilkins And Marantz, And Kimber Kable
A more modest floorstander, the B&W 603 ($3300), was paired with a Marantz integrated amp and streamer along with a Torus RM Series power conditioner. Kimber Kable was used to wire the system.

Room 343  Denon And Definitive Technology
Massimo Consumer put together a similar rig with Denon and Definitive Technology Dymension DM 70 speakers with a rear tweeter (and attenuator) along with adjustable powered subwoofers. Kimber Kable was in use here as well. It was good to hear this and the previous rooms which emphasized more entry-level products. They not only attracted a lot of listeners but also a younger crowd that included women.

Denon also featured a trio of turntables including the DP3000NE Black ($3300) shown at the near end of the table. The next turntable back was the DP400 White for a more modest $649. That was followed by the DP300f Black at $559. And at the far end was an assortment of Denon phono cartridges including their very popular and affordable DL-103 model. Also shown were the DL-301 MkII moving coil, and DL-110 moving coil.

Room 345  Masimo's Headphones Lounge
Massimo Consumer's third room was a dedicated headphone lounge. Not being a headphone aficionado, I grabbed a photo and moved on. Headphones were in evidence not only in the hotel rooms but also in the hallways and larger rooms throughout the show. If this was your game, you had to do some exploring — which is kind of the theme of the show to begin with.

The guy with the orange bowtie was wearing a new B&W McLaren over-ear noise-canceling wireless headphone that sells for $799 USD.

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