Toronto Audiofest 2025: Complete Show Coverage, Biggest Gear Reveals, And Best Demos
What happened, what to buy, special highlights, plus our best audiophile gear picks!
Toronto Audiofest 2025 Show Report By Rick Becker

MACO And Whamerdyne Heavy Industries
While I thought I was getting the most out of the MACO Macaria in my world premiere review, I have to admit it was sounding even better here at the Toronto show, easily falling into the Top Tier group and coming very close to a Best Rooms award. Three significant differences were that I reviewed the polished granite version with the Floating Base rather than the thermal-treated ash plinths with the grounded base, and I drove them with Eddy Wong monoblocks with parallel 300B tubes (as well as several other amps, and bi-amping) rather than these superb Whammerdyne Damn Awesome Monoblocks with parallel 2A3 tubes. And thirdly, I was using the LampizatOr Amber 4 DAC, not the Amber 5 as in this rig.

The speakers remain the same design as when introduced. The birch ply plinth is also available painted.

Armando, the owner and designer, seen in the center, was recovering from a motorcycle crash, and I certainly wished him a speedy and full recovery. He is off to a great start with his Macaria speaker.

I had heard Whammerdyne amps at shows before, but never with speakers with which I was familiar. Here, the MACO speakers were the common denominator. The Damn Awesome Monoblocks ($17.5k USD) put out 9.5 Watts each with their capacitorless topology, which is plenty for the MACOs with 92dB/W/m efficiency. I have not bought into the audiophile myth that more power is always better. Better quality is usually better.

On top of the center rack was the Whammerdyne Circuit Salad 60 wpc hybrid stereo amp with a tube input stage ($4700 USD), which would be a muscle amp in this context. (I didn't hear it in action.) Below it was the new LampizatOr Amber 5 DAC with optional volume control. I've heard that it is a significant upgrade from the Amber 4 model for which I also wrote a world premiere review of the LampizatOr Amber4 stereo DAC / Preamplifier.

I had the pleasure of meeting Garret Lawson from Portland, Oregon, who looks young enough for Whammerdyne to have a long future in the high end and keep Portland weird in the process. Garret bought Whammerdyne from the founder, Pat Hickman, over a year ago, though Pat still remains involved with the company. With the bundle of energy Garret has brought to the company, we can look forward to additional new models in the future.

Hegel Canada

Hegel put together a common-sense system that reminded me of a package deal sold in the 1970s, comprised of a Pioneer receiver, Advent speakers, and a Dual turntable. Back in the day, you couldn't go wrong with this combination. Fast-forward 50 years, adjust for inflation, give credit for the sonic improvement, and you can't go wrong with this system either. The problem is, the MoFi SourcePoint V10 Master Edition speakers ($8k USD) shown here in a very nice walnut finish are not in stock. Hegel's new Prodigy all-in-one ($3800) probably is, so you can at least get started. The MoFi Ultradeck turntable ($1500) is a significant step above entry-level tables, or you may want to save up for something even nicer down the road.

The Hegel Prodigy, with 75 Wpc into 8 Ohms, is built to handle speakers down to 2 Ohms. With an MM phono stage, built-in DAC, a control app, internet radio, and advanced streaming, this one unit should hold you for quite a while without the need for separate components or expensive additional cables. For people who simply want to enjoy their music without becoming addicted to the high end, this rig could be an end game.

Being a tube guy, I haven't been a big fan of Hegel in the past, but the sound quality, flexibility, simplicity,  and the resulting affordability make this an easy recommendation.

Hegel Canada
In a second room, Hegel had all their big guns on silent display. I didn't take a photo, but you can simply go to their website.

Entracte Audio

Angela Gilbert Yeung, the successor to Blue Circle Audio, is a boutique manufacturer who produces a fine line of electronics that has a cult following. Some of their creations extend beyond the ordinary, falling into the realm of art.

I remember being awe-struck by the first pair of Blue Circle Pump amps, maybe 20 years ago, often wishing I had bought a pair for a bedroom system. The early version was only 20 Watts per shoe; this new version will kick serious butt with 70 Watts each. Every aspiring hipster should have a pair. The price?Far less than a Warhol or a Banksy.

The room was drawing a lot of attention, not only for the Angela Gilbert Yeung gear, but for the Fink Team Borg loudspeakers ($46k), which also have quite a reputation. In the back of the room by the front wall were a pair of Fink Team Kim speakers ($18.5k) that were tentatively going to be used in a special 4-speaker stereo presentation—read on.

The small black unit on top was an SCK-4 Shape Control Adjustment unit that allows you to vary the width and depth of the soundstage. It was sitting on an IW95 Interconnect (preamp) that had a variety of tone controls. On the next shelf was the D521 DAC and on the shelf below that was a DELA (Melco) N5 Hi-Res Audio music library/streamer ($11.5k). On the bottom shelf was Angela-Gilbert's XF3500 power conditioner. A pair of AM205 monoblocks were on the wood platforms. There was a card indicating PW62 power cords and a G100 power supply off to the right of the stand.

Fink Team Borg speakers were $46k, but I also noticed Angela-Gilbert's colorful Pie Lee 1024 Funky integrated amplifier on the counter with deep roots in contemporary art. Few audio artisans have dared to venture into the fine art world as deeply as Angela-Gilbert.

Here's the info sheet for the multi-speaker two-channel demonstration that was going to include the Fink Team monitors and the Yeung Pump monoblocks. I wish I had happened by this room when it was active.

Entracteis a Toronto area retailer that works by appointment only and carries some highly respected brands.

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