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Toronto Audiofest 2024 Show Report By Rick Becker

MacDonald  Burmester / Hi-Fi Centre
Across the hall, I came upon Anne Bisson performing at a grand piano in the Burmester / Hi-Fi Centre room. I see her often in the halls at shows but rarely stumble on one of her performances. This was a treat!

I hung around while they packed up the PA audio gear and moved the piano to the back of the room. The reward was exceptional music from this all-Burmester rig. They used a touch of chrome bling on each of the pieces here which gave it a rich look for those who need their gear to be seen as well as heard.

This was the 808 Mk 5 preamp and power supply (below). Note the additional controls on top of the preamp.

The speaker, with concealed side-firing woofers, was one of their more expensive models and far more than what was necessary in this size room. I didn't bother with the prices on the main rig but I assure you it was very expensive.

At the back of the room was an eye-catching smaller rig painted in what was likely a Porsche green, given the banner on the wall. The model 232 Integrated amp was $21k USD and the model B38 speakers were $30k USD. This was the second instance of green-painted gear at the show and I know Monitor Audio's flagship Hyphn speaker is also available in green.

Algonquin A  SPL / KEF America / Stable 33.33
It was interesting to hear the KEF Blade One Meta ($35k USD) for the first time. But I was not overly impressed with it being driven by the spl electronics here. It was a decent presentation but not special. Perhaps if they had positioned the speakers at the other end of the room rather than having an open door at the point of reflection to the right side of the rig. Or on the long wall.

Sylvain Pichette's Stable 33.33 turntable was on top of the SolidSteel rack sporting a tonearm that first appeared on the Kronos Audio turntables many years ago. It was fitted with a Dynavector DV20x low-output MC cartridge. Sylvain also offers a variety of record weights ($200 to $280), a record hole reamer, and a transit platter (tray, caddy) for placing your LPs on without setting them directly in contact with a shelf as seen on top of the left monoblock in the rig.

The LP playing was Elvis is Back, an orange disc branded "Wanted In Color" which made me leery of the sound quality. Elvis didn't sound quite like Elvis. Unfortunately, I don't have that LP in my collection to compare with what I heard at the show.

Algonquin D  Simco Audio/Video / Anthem Electronics / Paradigm Electronics
Simco Audio/Video is a retailer and Anthem and Paradigm are under the same umbrella and typically show together. The movie playing here with Lady Gaga in the lead was certainly eye-catching. For decent home theater at reasonable prices, this is a good combination. Word is XXL 96" TVs are hot items these days so you want to have some good sound with it, even if you're not an audiophile.

The Anthem MRX-SLM is a compact, wall-mountable 5.1-channel home theater receiver with HDMI, Dolby Atmos, Bluetooth, and Apple AirPlay. The Founder series is the Paradigm speakers. It sure beats the sound system built into a flat-screen TV.

At the end of the room was an audio-only rig with Paradigm's Persona 7F Aria speaker in blue. There is a bit of a trend in making speakers in colors these days – trickle down from the very high end. At $30k these are not inexpensive, but they are not the very high end either. They were driven by an Anthem preamp and power amp. I didn't hear them at this show, but I've heard this level of Paradigm speaker at other shows driven by both Anthem electronics and on one occasion by higher-level electronics. This top series of Paradigm speakers is worthy of much better electronics. Unfortunately, they are rarely exhibited that way.

The price card illustrates my point. While price is not a guarantee of quality, it is a good leading indicator as this is a pretty competitive industry, by and large.

The Wrap-Up
I still had another couple of hours left on Sunday so I made a complete sweep of the show, sticking my head into each room to be sure I hadn't missed anything important. It also allowed me to compare rooms for the Best Rooms Awards which will come up in Part 7.

On the way out I said goodbye to Sarah Tremblay, thanking her for her hospitality, and asked her to send me a half-dozen of the floor stickers used to keep show-goers on track in the hotel. I need a set to run from my home office to the listening room. No true audiophile should be without a clear path to music.

My selection of Best Rooms at the show and a list of runner-ups will appear in Part 7, to follow shortly.

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