Le Festival Son et Image de Montréal 2006 Show Report
The Home Entertainment and Electronics Show

Report By Rick Becker
Page 5

 

  Raysonic sported a very nice sounding and visually unified system of Chinese origin with the top-loading CD player, CD128 with both Redbook and HDCD, a Sony Transport, 24bit/96kHz sampling, four 6922 tubes in the output stage and a heavy aluminum remote for $1880 CN. The tube integrated amplifier shown here was their SE-30A with 18 watts per channel, Class A, SET with 6 EL-34 tubes for $2680 CN. Blue LEDs were definitely en vogue this year. These were combined with a floorstanding British Living Voice IBX loudspeaker which houses its crossover inside the base of the loudspeaker, rather than having an outboard crossover as with their more expensive OBX model. Note the stunning book matched veneer on these loudspeakers.

 

  

A silver Redpoint turntable formed the front end of another outstanding system. These very highly acclaimed turntables come in a variety of levels and finishes with the price varying accordingly. From there, a Manley Steelhead phono stage fed a VAC preamplifier, which in turn fed the VAC Phi 110/110 stereo amplifier that drove the large floorstanding Hansen loudspeakers. This was their Prince model that retails for $27K US. All but the tweeters and binding posts are made in-house at Hansen for their assault on the state of the art. As you can see in the photo, an unusually large wooden diffusion box was placed between and only a foot behind the front plane of the loudspeakers. Everything here was expensive and first class. While the system was a conglomerate of styles visually, acoustically it worked with synergy and resulted in another of the Best Rooms at the show. Linda caught the beautiful VAC amp in the dark, which is how many of us listen.

 

JM Labs, being a French company, usually has a strong presence at Festival Son Image, but I only saw the smallest monitor from what I thought was their premium Utopia series at this year's show, perhaps because of the small rooms. It is quite possible that it was from their mid-priced Electra series that has benefited from trickle-down technology. The system featured the new dCs CD player with Jeff Rowland preamplifier and small monoblocks with their signature inch-thick sculpted faceplates. These are all heavy hitters and the sound was very, very good.

Escalante Design showed up with their Pinyon monitors and Uinta subwoofer that I reviewed last year. These are among the fastest, most highly focused loudspeakers with conventional drivers in world. Even in this small room, the subwoofer with its built-in parametric equalizer did not overpower the room. An Accuphase CD player was at the front end feeding a Threshold preamplifier and Threshold monoblocks at the time I passed through the room. A pair of Manley Snapper 100-watt tube powered monoblocks had been in use earlier, but I was in the right room at the wrong time. (My personal preference is for tube amplifiers with these loudspeakers). Escalante does very creative designs on the sides of their loudspeakers with metal and special paint finishes. Samples of their paint finishes were present, but what really appealed to me was the new medium bamboo finish that was shown only in their literature. This bamboo veneer is not only unique, but also ecologically friendly. I would have liked to hear their new and reportedly awesome Fremont model…perhaps down the road. It was a pleasure to meet Matt Waldron, president of the company, once again.

It was a rare opportunity for me to hear the Mirage OMD-28 loudspeaker ($10K CN) with its omni-directional tweeter on the sloping top surface. It is a very attractive design. It was equally rare to hear Bryston amplifiers in active duty at Montreal. The new Bryston BP26 preamplifier appeared to have a separate power supply directly below it. The monoblocks were connected to the Mirage with a special single tri-wire cable. And an Arcam FMJ CD player was the source. A new Bryston power conditioner ($2800) was positioned between the monoblocks. Bryston is legendary for their 20-year warrantee policy, which tells you something about their quality record.

The LaHave room was very delightful and full of discoveries. The floorstanding loudspeaker has a triangular cross section and features a coaxial driver near the top. A small port lies about mid-way down on the front. It is actually triple-tone finished with a gloss black front, and solid wood top & bottom caps finished in a glossy light stain. The dark stained sides seemed to be wiped down to reveal more of the unique grain of what was probably a veneer. Driving the LaHave, single wired, was German Omtec 60 watt, Class A monoblocks and an Omtec preamplifier with a separate power supply. The loudspeakers and the monoblocks were on Stillpoints Component Stands and the preamplifier, CD player and turntable were all mounted on a Stillpoints Rack. The music was surprisingly good and in retrospect, I should have stayed in this room longer to fully appreciate the sound.

 

  

In a 10^th Anniversary celebration mode, Verity Audio showcased their Lohengrin flagship loudspeaker ($59K US) in another of the Best Rooms at the show. A front end composed of dCs separates fed a Nagra preamplifier that drove a pair of Wavac HE 833 v1.2 monoblocks. The Lohengrin is a little over 5' tall, with two sections. The upper houses a ribbon tweeter and the dual midrange drivers with a small port on the rear. The self-powered lower section with isobaric drivers houses a large, rear-facing driver and has two large ports down near the floor. The low light level and the gloss black finish of the Lohengrin gave this room an air of elegance, which befitted the very high price of this system.

Ars Aures loudspeakers were driven exceptionally well by a combination of Gill Audio and Art Audio tube electronics. It was a pleasure to meet David Gill again, and make the acquaintance of Lee Landes who imports the Ars Aures from Italy. I've noted Ars Audio in the past, but having read that our own, Rick Jensen, bought a pair of Sensorials ($19K US) for his reference system and gave them a Blue Note Award, I paid even closer attention this time around. The styling and finish of their Sensorial models, which include stand mounted monitors and floorstanders, is as good as it gets, suitable for contemporary, retro-modern or art deco settings. The paint is a way too perfect and glossy for a casual country setting, however. The model that really grabbed my interest was a straightforward block shaped two-way monitor that has yet to be named. It is a $2800 derivative of their $5K F-1 floorstanding model, and doesn't look any less expensive. Driven by the Gill Elise DAC, Gill Alana preamplifier, and the Art Audio Carissa Signature amp with KR 845 output tubes, these new monitors really sing. I listened first to Louis Armstrong on trumpet, then Oscar Peterson on vibraphone. Seen in one photo are the Sensorial on the right, and a more affordable floorstander on the left along with an Art Audio Quartet Monoblock (50 wpc, push-pull) amplifier. In the second photo is the outstanding new monitor that is rear ported and accepts only single wiring.  A more suitable stand in the Italian tradition is under development.  If you look closely, you will see the Blue Shadows interconnects and speaker cables from K Works that boast some interesting technology, including Eichmann Bullet rca's.

 

 

Bruce Jacobs of Audio Design & Marketing put together one of the best real world systems I heard at the show. It featured the Usher S-520 monitors ($400 US). At the front end was an Exemplar dac with a tube output stage ($1695 US) and a handsome sculpted wood front. A $5000 Exemplar CD player was being used as a transport. (This unit was a heavily modified version of a Denon 3910 player that also included a tube output stage). The full function preamp was a Soloist 3 from David Belles ($795 US) and the power amplifier was the Soloist 5, a 65-watt per channel stereo unit for $900 US. This was absolutely killer sound for such a modestly priced rig. Bruce told me that an inexpensive CD player was used as a transport and would have given essentially the same results.

 

The Stillpoints room looked to be the last room of the evening for Linda and me. As you might expect, virtually everything was on either the Stillpoints rack, or their Component Stands, including the David Berning Experimental amplifiers that premiered last year and the Peak Consult Empress loudspeakers that were making their first appearance at Montreal. The Experimental amplifiers are nearing completion and there were stand-up photos of the production chassis leaning up against them on the floor. Seen here on the rack, from the top down are the prototype enclosure for the new Berning tube switching preamplifier, the EMM Labs transport and DAC and the truly unique Berning tube preamplifier that was actually in use, which premiered last year. The Peak Consult loudspeakers have been widely acclaimed over the past year. My previous experience with three different rooms at last year's New York show was mixed, being highly room dependent. Chris Sommovigo, the importer, had his room set up to perfection. Andrew Singer, the New York retailer, struggled with two demonstrations in a difficult, large room. These guys in Montreal got it really right, once again, resulting in another of the Best Rooms at the show. Putting together a system from world-class components doesn't guarantee the audible results will be world class, but this rig had the requisite synergy. If Steve posts the photo large enough, you will see the fine finish on the Peak Consult. This is one of the finest wood finishes in audio today, and my personal favorite. It is also very difficult to photograph and is considerably more elegant in person than shown here. Moreover, it is a speaker for almost all décor.

Glancing down at his tube powered watch; David Berning noticed that it was nearing time for dinner. In addition to being a physicist, engineer, and world-class audio wizard, he is also a life-long bicyclist with a body fat percentage that approaches the total harmonic distortion levels of his audio gear.  Linda and I were honored to have him visit us on his summer vacation last year as he bicycled through the Mid-Atlantic States with a group of friends.

 

Saturday Night

We floated down to the fourth floor to check on the action in the larger conference rooms and ran into a friend who coaxed us into stepping into his large conference room filled with his huge tower loudspeakers. It was too much for us to take on at that hour, so we begged him off, promising to return on Sunday. We had arranged to have dinner with David Berning and another long time audio buddy when we discovered an open buffet for the press and exhibitors that had not been widely publicized. A Canadian beer hit the spot while Linda surfed the buffet for hors d'oeuvres and a sliver of roast beef. Robert Deutch of Stereophile said hello and we chatted about dogs and our mutual fondness for CAT preamplifiers.

Then it was off to the La Piment Rouge, a Chinese restaurant a few blocks away that was a perennial favorite of our friend. I'm here to tell you that when Chinese audio gear gets as good as the Chinese food at this restaurant, the High End is in for a major shakeout. It was absolutely fabulous. Crispy spinach... who would have believed? And to share it with such extraordinary company made it one of those magical moments in my life. No problem figuring out where to eat next year — you're all invited!

After retrieving our Tracker near the top of the hill, we drove about 15 blocks to our hotel and checked in. It became the re-enactment of Bruce Springsteen's 57 Channels as I tried in vain to find any evidence of the NCAA Basketball tournament. I settled for "Orange County Choppers." What followed that program was almost as absurd: a documentary on the burgeoning profession of home organizers. These are people trained to coach you on how to get rid of all the unused "stuff" in your home. You know — all the stuff you can't bear to part with in your basement, your attic, your garage, your spare bedroom…your listening room. It struck a painful chord in me and Linda wisely held her tongue during the entire show. I've since promised to start cleaning up my home office — just as soon as I've finished this report, and the two equipment reviews in progress, and maybe the ones on the loudspeakers and the DAC I saw at the show…. On the other hand, if I succeed in cleaning up my own act, perhaps I, too, could become one of these professional organizers at an hourly rate of $50 to $150/hour!

 

Sunday Morning

After dropping Linda off at the Sheraton, I drove back up the hill to my favorite parking spot and walked back down to the hotel. We picked up on the 7th floor where we had left off and continued working our way downward.

The Linn room featured the new Artikulat loudspeakers at $48K that had Aktiv drivers powered by individual amplifiers using their Chakra technology. Bass amplifiers were servo controlled. The Unidisk 1.1 ($14K) universal player fed the preamplifier ($12-14K) which puts this rig up in the $75K range. These were the most listenable upper echelon loudspeakers I've heard from Linn in several years, but they are definitely on the Artikulat side of the street. With the metal surrounds on the tweeter and midrange and the silver metal platforms, they call for modern décor.

Ayre electronics were driving a pair of Sonus Faber Amati Aniversario loudspeakers very nicely and I liked the sound here a lot. I've been a fan of Sonus Faber for most of my history with the high end. While the Amati may not be the perfect reviewers' tool, it is certainly a loudspeaker for music lovers and will grace the décor of the finest homes. I didn't notice it in person, but on my video I see what looks to be an extraordinary looking Ayre tuner dialed in to 100.7. I guess I should have been more observant here.

There was a lot of analog being played at Montreal and I heard very sweet sounds in the Codell Audio room with an Origin Live front end with Ortofon Kontrapunk A cartridge driving a Moon I-7 integrated amplifier that powered the Dynaudio Special 25 stand-mounted loudspeakers seen here with the apple on top. I love it! I keep a couple of little Harley Davidsons on top of one of my loudspeakers and an atomic clock on top of the other. As good as this $25K rig was, Isadore Codell insisted that I visit their $4K budget system in the next room. I was glad I did.

 

In a small room they put together one of several killer low price rigs I heard at the show. They had a Naim CD5i player ($1795), Naim Nait 5i integrated amplifier ($1665) and Vandersteen 1C loudspeakers ($1000) packaged together with cables at a Show Special price of $4K CN. For someone thinking of moving up from a boombox, rack system or, dare I suggest... iPod, this may seem like a lot of money, but for anyone already in the High End, this rig represents extreme value. I dropped down to the fourth floor to connect with Linda again in the open lobby with sunlight streaming in. There I found the large space filled with music from B & O where they were giving us their take on the Big Bang theory of the Universe.  The futuristic looking loudspeakers were designed for omni-directional dispersion and contained the amplifiers within.  The tower in the center contains the CD player and can alternately be hung on the wall. Surprisingly, interconnects were wound helically around the power cord en route to the loudspeaker.  I love big sound in big spaces and this $50K rig certainly provided it, captivating not only me, but many other visitors. It was surprisingly good considering all the glass walls in the room it was filling.

 

In another large room I witnessed a pair of Dynaudio C-4 loudspeakers (about $18K) driven by Moon electronics. The Moon gear has moved upstream with their latest series and its faceplates with a curve at each end give us a fresh visual statement.  Dynaudio has a penchant for showing with solid-state gear, and it is very dynamic with muscle amplifiers in large rooms. But the few times I've heard one or two of their smaller loudspeakers driven by tubes suggests that the stairway to heaven might lie in that direction.

It is always exciting to visit the Totem Acoustics space. Not only does it buzz with consumer enthusiasm, but the music is always very well presented and in recent years the space has been decorated with Native American themes. Vince Bruzzese was there as usual with gentle words of wisdom and encouragement for expert and novice alike.  The space this year was divided into two separate parts with a freestanding wall between.  To the left was the 2-chanel presentation with the Totem Wind loudspeaker that had been upgraded to a Series II about a year and a half ago. The electronics on a modest rack between the loudspeakers included an Accuphase CD player and Plinius preamplifier and SA-102 power amplifier — plenty of Class A power there! Vince told me the Winds would also work well with about 80-100 watts of tube power. The Winds are priced at about $7700 US and a lot of that goes into the complex cabinetry with its multiple angles and edges that meet with perfection on the inside as they do on the outside. Real wood veneers and expert workmanship are hallmarks of this fine line that will work in virtually any décor with the selection of an appropriate stain. The Totem line covers a wide portion of the High End, beginning with their high-value Rainmaker model at $900 US, and bridges over to multiple levels of Home Theater loudspeakers that I will touch upon below.

Scandyna who promoted their Podspeakers in a multitude of variations, most of which reminded me of the Michelin tire man, put on a really fun display. The first variations were developed in conjunction with B & W some years ago, but B & W has since bowed out. The large three-way loudspeaker on display was $2500 CN for a pair in, how shall I say it... Ferrari Red?

 

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