Toronto Audiofest 2023 Show Report
Part 4... The Second Floor Booths And Rooms
Show Report By Rick Becker

Bristol B  Motet Distribution
Bristol B was divided into two areas with a curtain separating the two systems presented. Deep into the room (and out of sight from the doorway) was a rig with PS Audio's Aspen FR20 speakers that I heard at Axpona, along with the Aspen FR30. My previous exposure to both models had been problematic due to room shape or setup compromises, both at Montreal and at Axpona. I'm always willing to give a company another shot and I'm happy to report the FR20 sounded very good at Toronto. There was a major difference here, however.

Atop the rack was a Lumin T3 streamer ($7500) feeding a PS Audio DirectStream DAC Mk II ($11k) that led to an Accuphase C-2300 balanced preamp ($15k), which handed off to a large Accuphase A80 stereo Class A power amp that is rated at 65 Watts into 8 Ohms, 130 Watts into 4 Ohms, 260 Watts into 2 Ohms, and an outstanding 520 Watts into 1 Ohm. A pair of PS Audio PowerPlant 20 regenerators ($14,700 each) were used for no other reasons than they had them and they liked the balanced visual appearance of the rig. Kimber Kable was used throughout as it was earlier this year in Montreal, and the FR20 was bi-wired.

It seems 130 Watts was plenty for these 4 Ohm speakers in a room of this volume, even including the space beyond the partition and this was a lot less power than was used in my previous exposure to the Aspen speakers, though they were in larger rooms. There was impressive resolution from top to bottom, great transparency, speed, and dynamics, though not quite as dynamic as the Coherent towers in the previous room. It's a long way from 87dB to 100dB /W/m sensitivity, after all, and PS Audio is married to primarily solid-state electronics, so they are not looking to build highly efficient speakers.

A live version of "Keith Don't Go" by Nils Lofgren was played (on Tidal FLAC 44.1 kHz) that didn't reveal quite the inner detail and room tone that I've heard on more expensive systems, but for $19k USD, $26k CDN, this is a strong contender with a contemporary design. The question remains, were my previous disappointments due to the room, the PS Audio electronics, or the setup?  On the flip side of that question is my perception of this being the best presentation of Accuphase amps I've heard in recent years. There is a lot to be said about system synergy.

On the other side of the curtain was a more modest rig... or two, depending on when you dropped by. The people at Motet were diligent at rotating from this front room set-up and the Accuphase/FR20 rig further in. I had to drop back multiple times to get a second listen to the FR20 speaker.

System B, as it was called listed an Audio Note UK Cobra integrated tube amp with 28 Wpc ($8k) which I didn't get to hear. A pair of PMC speakers included the Prodigy 1 stand-mounted monitors ($2500) and the Prodigy 5 floorstanders ($4k) with identical drivers. A PS Audio Gold Stellar DAC ($5600) was always in use, and there was a PS Audio Gold Stellar preamp ($5600) that fed a pair of silver monoblocks that was not documented. The front end was listed as a PS Audio Airlens Streamer ($3k) and there was likely a Stellar power conditioner, also in black on the lower shelf.

In the several times I visited this room and heard this system, I always felt it was a respectable sounding rig at its reasonable price. Given the number of people who were listening intently, I was not alone in that thought.

The cutaways of each model illustrated the complexity of the build of each model, hence the price difference. Above is the Prodigy 5, and the Prodigy 1 cutaway can be seen on a component rack within the previous photo. Of course, the price of decent stands narrows the price gap.

Knightsbridge  Motet Distribution
Motet also exhibited in the Knightsbridge room which was right next door to Bristol B. It is a small room — even smaller than the sleeping rooms in the hotel, but its proximity no doubt helped their staffing and logistics. It was also a perfect room to set up a smaller system.

A pair of Triangle CometeEz passive two-way monitors ($1600, the smaller speaker on the right) alternated with Triangle BR03 BT two-way active (amplified) speakers ($1k, the larger speaker on the left) with Bluetooth streaming capability. The BR03 is also available as a passive speaker without Bluetooth for a much lower price. I'm not sure which speaker I heard here, but I recall that the music was very decent.

My good audio buddy had mentioned the Eversolo DMP-A6 streamer to me as being a hot item these days and I recalled seeing one here. The price sheet lists the standard model at $1300, and the Master Edition with an upgraded clock and analog section at $2k, which is what the unit in the room was labeled.

The Audio Note UK Vindicator stereo power amp, rated at 3.5 Watts per channel (yes, you read that correctly) was listed at $7k. You can credit the Psvane 2A3B vacuum tubes for the "very decent sound" here. This room revealed the importance of the first Watt of power as well as the reality that you don't need massive amounts of power for small speakers in small rooms at reasonable listening levels. As I think back to the plastic tube-powered table radio I had as a boy, it probably had a mere Watt to drive the small wide-band driver.

An Audio Note UK M2 phono preamp was listed at $9k on the price sheet, but I don't recall seeing it... or a turntable, either. It was a rather dark room, which put the focus on the music.

Mayfair  Gershman Acoustics, Cardas Audio, Eon Art Canada, And Oracle Audio
I always expect great music when I enter a room and see Gershman Acoustics speakers... and I usually receive it. Over the years Eli Gershman has varied his presentations with different electronics and front ends, but in recent years with more expensive models, he has teamed up with Stephane Hautcoeur of Eon Art for electronics and Jacques Reindeau of Oracle for turntables and CD players.

This year they put me in a cathedral with an organ requiem playing through the 30th Anniversary edition of the Black Swan speaker ($80k USD). It was strange to see it in gloss white though the finish revealed the intricacy of the design much more clearly than piano gloss black. This speaker has been around a long time, and undoubtedly updated periodically. It is clearly a final destination speaker as it is not something a reviewer (or anyone else) could casually move from time to time. It is two pieces with the tweeter and midrange being housed in a separate chassis that overhangs the large woofer chassis without touching it.

Gershman had joined numerous top-flight speaker manufacturers in developing a vibration-absorbing footer to replace the traditional spike footers. A total of eight are needed for each speaker. I've reviewed an aftermarket version from Stack Audio (Review in the December issue) on several different expensive speakers and I am convinced of the benefit of this type of design — not only on joisted wood floors but concrete floors as well.

Jacques Reindeau was cueing LPs on his gorgeous Oracle suspended turntable equipped with the new arm I saw in prototype form at Montreal and again in polished form at Axpona. It incorporates silicone damping as well as a built-in auto-lift trigger to avoid wear on the cartridge at the end of a record. This turntable is a classic that has been refined over many decades. I didn't catch the cartridge being used, but the phono stage was a pair of Phasemation EA-550 Phono Amplifiers — presumably separate units for left and right channels as is the practice in the ultra-high end in Europe. There appeared to be duplicate Eon Art integrated amplifiers used in the same way. Eli is partial to Cardas wiring and they were in use here this time, too.

Jacques honored me by switching to his equally attractive CD player to play a few segments from my compilation CD. (Oracle also makes a CD transport.) It was one of those "best-ever" experiences with Shakey Horton wailing on the harmonica with folk blues in the 1970s. (Our musical tastes do not overlap, and I didn't have an LP with me on this trip.) Next time I'll throw an LP in my briefcase, Jacques. Be ready.

Part 5 Coming Very Soon!
That wraps up my part 4, the 2nd floor rooms and booths. There were a lot of exciting things to see on the Lobby Level and the Lower Level, so come back for Part 5 next week. And I'll also have my list of the Best Rooms to announce.

---> Onward to Part 5 of Rick Becker's Toronto Audiofest 2023 Show Report.

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