Third Floor Part 2: The Toronto Audiofest 2024 Show
Enjoying great tunes on the third floor.
Toronto Audiofest 2024 Show Report By Rick Becker

360  Synergistic Research / Tri-Cell Enterprises
Sliding into the next Tri-Cell room, co-sponsored by Synergistic Research, I found Ted Denney, owner and wizard of Synergistic performing multiple demonstrations of the tweaks in this system. Before he changed a single thing, I noticed the music in this room had considerably better resolution, spatiality, and air than the previous room even though the Kharma Elegance DB9 Signature from their entry-level series was only half the price ($56k) of the ones in the previous room. His first demonstration was of the Vibratron ($4k USD) where you see Ted removing the section with the acoustic resonators. I immediately noticed the drop in sound quality because I've reviewed it and continue to use it in my rig.

When he replaced the resonators, the music came back to life again. And so it was with the MiG SX footers ($995/set of 3) under the Synergistic Research Voodoo server ($15k w/Euphoria power cord, Master fuse, and MiG 3.0 footers.) I have a set of the MiG SX footers, too. Finally, he turned off the FEQ Carbon towers ($1695 USD), a third-generation, two-channel acoustic field generator that establishes two distinct acoustic environments. Each of these made a distinct and significant improvement to the music at a cost far less than the difference in the cost of the speakers in these two rooms. Did I mention the HFT speaker kits on the Kharma speakers in this room, too? Ted Denney is known for putting on a clinic in acoustic tuning at shows. If you ever get a chance to partake in one, just do it.

Other stuff in the room? HRS equipment racks. Playback Designs SACD/CD player (middle shelf on the left), Aesthetix Calypso preamp (bottom left) with a Tranquility Pod Carbon ($895 USD), an improved version of one I reviewed years ago.

On the rack on the right was a Galileo SX Mk II Ground Block ($8k USD, bundled with an Atmosphere Euphoria SX power cable) on top. Three Synergistic items that might have been their Ethernet Switch UEF ($2295 USD), Network Router UEF ($2995 USD), and Linear Power Supply UEF ($2295 USD) were on the middle shelf. And on the bottom shelf was an Aesthetix Atlas stereo power amp with 200Wpc into 8 Ohms, and 400Wpc into 4 Ohms.

Most eye-catching for me was their new PowerCell 14 ($14k USD, bundled with an Atmosphere SX Euphoria AC Cable) which Ted said incorporates a very large portion of the technology in their upcoming new flagship power conditioner at a small fraction of the price. I recently reviewed their new PowerCell 8 SX and gave it a Blue Note Award. I can only imagine how much better the 14 might be at about triple the cost.

Also interesting was the first time I had seen the Synergistic Black Box stacked two high – the latest trick from Ted Denney? So it took a lot of Synergistic gear to make this room outperform the previous one that had a speaker that cost almost twice as much. The takeaway here is there is probably a lot more quality in the gear you already own that could be liberated for a lot less money than replacing it with more expensive components. I can't wait to see the rabbits he pulls out of the hat at Capital Audiofest.

363  Charisma Audio
Walking into the Charisma Audio room I was greeted by Bernard Li's personal Studer A810 and Revox PR99 Mk III R2R tape decks which he used as his music source. BTW, I learned Revox will soon put out a new B77 MK III Stereo Tape Recorder for about $16k USD.

The rig itself was embedded in a restful Zen setting with lots of plants in front of a serene mural of nature at sunrise.

Bernard manufactures a tonearm and turntable under the Charisma Audio brand name, both of which I have reviewed and now own. However, he chose to use the more expensive Well Tempered Lab Amadeus 254 GT turntable ($11,520) with his Charisma Audio YYZ low output MC cartridge ($10,815). I've reviewed a couple of his more affordable cartridges and they are a very good value. His Charisma Audio Musiko tonearm cable ($725, 1.5m) beat out a more expensive cable from a major manufacturer to earn a position in my system.

On the shelf below was the power supply for the turntable, sitting on top of the Well Tempered Lab Bill's Phono MM/MC phono stage ($3680). Below that was an Audio Exklussiv P112 hybrid integrated amp ($11,730) and on the bottom shelf was a GigaWatt PC3 Evo+ power conditioner with an LC-2 EVO power cord ($8,030 for both).

The rack was from Tiglon, a new manufacturer Bernard is importing, and it was impressive looking. The four-tier rack was $3,830. It is made in Japan and uses magnesium pillars. Magnesium is also used in the shielding of the company's cables which included their TPL-2000SP speaker cable ($3,250, 3m) and TPl-2000 RCA interconnects ($1,900, 1.5m).

The speaker was Charisma Audio's new Caprisse which will be priced around $8,500. It was designed by a famous Italian driver and speaker designer Joseph Szall. He also designs for Sonus Faber, Triangle, Apertura, and Audiomaster 21. The Caprisse speakers will be manufactured in Canada. Since Mr. Szall lacks the requisite marketing skills, Bernard has taken this speaker on under the Charisma Audio brand name. It sounds quite good and features a ring-radiator tweeter from SB Acoustic and an unusual mid-woofer with no dust cap. The cone of the mid-woofer is a composite of aluminum, paper, and foam. The cabinet is finished in a lustrous piano gloss black. The Charisma Audio Cabriolet speaker stands were suitably elegant at $1,570.

On silent display (as it should be) was a new Wonder Audio Labs LP/CD Demagnetizer ($1,095), which is considerably less than other brands. The dual spindle works with both formats and there are two demagnetizing units – one on each side of the spindle in the rectangular chassis.

That wraps up the third Floor. In Part 4 I will drop down to the second Floor and get into some rooms that were larger than the sleeping rooms. Keep checking back as there is still much more to come. Hopefully, I'll finish before it's time to head to Capital Audiofest 2024 show.

---> Onward to Part 4 of Rick Becker's Toronto Audiofest 2024 Show Report.

---> Back to the main Toronto Audiofest 2024 show report homepage.