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

Room 363  Charisma Audio And Well Tempered Lab
Bernard Li is always happy to see me as I have very favorably reviewed many of his products over many years. He is a low-key importer, distributor, and retailer, as well as a designer of phono cartridges, turntables, and a tonearm.

Sitting atop a mid-level Codia Acoustics Stage 700 rack from South Korea is Bernard's Charisma Audio Musiko Junior turntable ($3550) with the Musiko tonearm ($3750) fitted with a Charisma Signature Two low output MC cartridge ($7435). The Junior keeps the price down with a more traditional-sized plinth with rounded corners. That's a wood veneer on the middle layer of the sandwich plinth. The power supply is external and the belt drive uses a plastic fishline which I've found to be trouble-free. Records overhang the platter slightly to allow the grooves to make full contact with the platter. The unipivot tonearm is stabilized by a ring magnet. The larger size version is my reference turntable, though I'm a bit envious of the finer cartridge Bernard was using here.

On the rack on the right was the Well Tempered Lab Amadeus Junior turntable ($5230) fitted with a Charisma Audio Charm low output MC ($700), another turntable with a fine reputation. Below the Charisma Musiko turntable was an Audio Exklusiv P 2 MM/MC phono stage ($9440) with a wide array of controls on the front panel.

The Kinki Studio Choco Sound EMEI integrated amp ($1882 USD) takes Kinki Studio in a new contemporary design direction that I find quite attractive.

My camera missed the focus on the Audio Space PRE-2 tube preamp with MM/MC phono stage ($5410) but caught it with the new Audio Space NOVA M-34 Mk II monoblocks with EL34 tubes ($6070/pr) below it.

The Capriccio Continuo Admonitor 311 monitors ($8890) mounted on Charisma Audio Cabriolet speaker stands ($1570 per pair) sounded absolutely lovely with fine resolution and inviting bloom making for a very musical presentation from the Charisma analog front end. I could have spent a lot more time in this room.

The Lounge  Gramophone Audio Distribution, E.A.T., And Fyne Audio
Walking around the corner to the corridor with the elevators, I came upon the entryway to the Lounge, a rather large room with a system at each end. At the far end, the music had a very full and dynamic sound coming from Fyne Audio Vintage 15 speakers (~$50k) with a coaxial IsoFlare point source design for the tweeter and mid-bass drivers. A downward-firing Tractrix horn design spreads low frequencies in a 360-degree pattern.

The cabinetry is true high-end furniture grade. The tweeter is a 75mm titanium dome used in the compression driver. With high efficiency (97dB/W/m) dynamics soar and the 8 Ohm resistance makes it eminently suitable for low-power SET tube amps.

Such was not the case here as Gramophone distributes Canor electronics and was using their Precision Tube CD Player CD 1.10 as well as a matching integrated amp to drive the speakers.

The analog front end was an E.A.T. (European Audio Team) Fortissimo, their flagship in a stunning wood plinth and mating power supply with dual motors. To the right of the turntable was one of the EAT tube phono stages with variable load impedance, capacitance, and gain. EAT also makes some very nice tubes in their Czech factory — no need to buy from Russia in some tube types. Off to the side of the table, I caught a glimpse of a Puritan power conditioner.

I've admired the sound and the craftsmanship of this speaker in the past and it keeps on growing on me. Bryan Taylor of Gramophone told me it is selling very well. I could see and hear why this is so.

That's A Wrap For Part Two
This wraps up Level 3 for me near the end of the day on Saturday. I'll have coverage of the Industry Dinner as well as the larger rooms on Level 2, the Lobby Level, and even a few rooms on the Lower Level. My selection of Best Rooms will conclude my coverage of this show — hopefully before I head to Capital Audiofest.

---> Onward to Part 3 of Rick Becker's Toronto Audiofest 2023 Show Report.

---> Back to the main Toronto Audiofest 2023 show report homepage.