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Montreal Audiofest 2026
Luxury Hi-Fi Audio Show Report
The ultimate audiophile and
music lover experience.
Montreal Audiofest 2026 (Salon Audio Montreal)
returned March
20th through 22nd, bringing Canada's premier high-end audiophile event to the city. Organizers
enjoyed welcoming thousands of music lovers and audiophiles eager to listen, see, and handle cutting-edge audio gear, with over
luxury 300 brands showcased under one roof. The three-day festival was designed for audiophiles, videophiles,
immersivephiles, and curious music lovers seeking modern immersive, hands-on
experiences. As the largest audio event in Canada, the event gathered top distributors, manufacturers, and retailers from the
high-end consumer electronics industry. Attendees joyously explore dedicated demo
listening rooms, vendor booths, and curated exhibits that highlight the latest in
luxurious loudspeakers, top-rated amplifiers, precision Hi-Res Audio DACs, turntables, immersive
headphones & portable audio, plus home A/V systems. The show's scale and industry presence
made it a
must-visit for anyone tracking trends in premium sound and home cinema.
---> Montreal Audiofest 2026 Luxury Hi-Fi Audio Show
Report.
AXPONA 2026 Features Audiophile Gear, Master Classes,
& Seminars
AXPONA 2026 is a three-day high-end audio event for audiophiles and industry insiders, running April 10th through 12th at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center just outside Chicago. AXPONA's programming emphasizes education and community: the schedule featured seminars, master classes, live concerts, and
after-hours events designed to pair technical deep dives with musical experiences. For attendees planning a visit, organizers and reviewers offered practical tips: plan your route through the many exhibit rooms, use the AXPONA app to track
must-hear demos, and expect international brands to debut flagship systems that are best experienced live rather than via specs
alone. Over three days, the AXPONA 2026 show combines a sprawling Expo Hall with many listening rooms, a trade pavilion, live musical performances, and specialty areas such as the Ear Gear Experience, and IASCA car audio showcase.
---> AXPONA
2026 High-End / Luxury Audiophile Show Report.
audioXpress'
May 2026 Issue
Editorial: Hear No Evil
Designing the Dynaco ST-70 Series 3 Vacuum Tube Audio Power Amplifier
The Yin & Yang Circuit
Stabilizing Tube Feedback Amplifiers Without Much Math Part 1—Diagnostic Principles
Rediscovering The EF184: A Surprising MM RIAA Preamplifier
Building a KT170 Class-A Amplifier
Thoughts On Igor Popovich's Audiophile Vacuum Tube Amplifiers Books
Revisiting An Elegant Idea The Augmented Follower
New Expressions For First-Order Filter Phase Response And Group Delay Part 2
Hermon Hosmer Scott
And Much More!
---> audioXpress May 2026
Issue.
Part 5 — Lower Level, And Left
(Outremont / St. Laurent Rooms)
At The Montreal Audiofest 2026 Show
Major demos, new high-end audio tech, and very interesting
audiophile innovation.
Montreal Audiofest Show Report By Rick Becker
In Part 5 we tackle the other
main hallway on the lower level. which is to the right as you come down the
escalator. I'll first go down the Outremont rooms. which are large, but not as
large as the St. Laurent rooms. Straight ahead and off to the right as you come down the
escalator was the long counter full of Audio-Technica Canada headphones Sorry
about the soft focus. I was in a hurry to get a shot off before someone else
walked in front of me on this busy thoroughfare between the two main corridors.
A l arge poster listed all of the products on display at the show with Show
Special pricing that would save you from $10 to $700. depending on the item. The AT-LPA2 acrylic turntable with dust cover and separate
power supply, for example, was marked down to $2000. a saving of $700. making
this a very attractive package for the price, even at full markup. As eye-catching as this McLaren sports car was the coffee and
snack counter just to the right drew a much bigger crowd.
---> Part 5 — Lower Level, And Left (Outremont / St. Laurent Rooms) At The Montreal Audiofest 2026
Show.
Jury Rules Live Nation And Ticketmaster Illegally Monopolized U.S. Ticketing Market
A Manhattan federal jury found that Live Nation Entertainment and its Ticketmaster subsidiary illegally monopolized the U.S. ticketing market, delivering a landmark verdict on Wednesday, April
15 (2026). A nine-member jury in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York returned the verdict after a
five-week trial that featured testimony from dozens of witnesses and four days of deliberations. The case was brought by a coalition of state attorneys general that continued the litigation after the U.S. Department of Justice reached a separate settlement with Live Nation in March. Jurors found that Ticketmaster
"willfully acquired or maintained monopoly power" in primary ticketing for major concert venues and that Live Nation monopolized the market for large amphitheaters through exclusionary conduct, including restrictive venue agreements and tying practices that disadvantaged rivals. The verdict form indicated consumers in 22 states and the District of Columbia were overcharged by an average of $1.72 per ticket from May 2020 through
2024.
---> Jury Rules Live Nation And Ticketmaster Illegally Monopolized U.S. Ticketing Market. 
Southwest Audio Fest 2026: Show Dates, Tickets, And Highlights
The Southwest Audio Fest returns to Dallas this summer, running July 23rd through 25th at the Sheraton Downtown, with organizers shifting the schedule to a Thursday to Saturday format to replace the traditional Sunday session.
This new schedule brings more people in a day early, and gives everyone a chance to pack up and enjoy their Sunday. Programming for the three-day festival emphasizes extended, reference-level listening sessions and curated manufacturer suites, alongside informative seminars and moderated panels. Attendees can expect product launches, evening listening parties, and a vinyl, CD,
tweaks, reel-to-reel, etc marketplace aimed at serious audiophiles and music lovers. Exhibitors will span the full spectrum of high-fidelity gear, from floorstanding loudspeakers and boutique amplifiers to turntables, DACs, streamers, and room-treatment solutions, all demonstrated in purpose-tuned rooms to allow realistic auditions. Single-day tickets and multi-day passes are available through the festival site, with advance purchase recommended for popular demos.
---> Southwest Audio Fest 2026: Show Dates, Tickets, And Highlights.
World Premiere Review!
Heartsound Audio Holostage Review: Scientific Voodoo Or Genuine Upgrade?
Hands-on evaluation of sonic impact, transformative sound, and where Holostage fits in your audiophile journey.
Review By Rick Becker
It was pure chance that I stumbled upon Heartsound
Audio's Holostage to review here at Enjoy the Music.com. I'm not an avid reader of audio
blogs, but occasionally an
e-mail
with a Weekly Recap of the Audiogon Discussion Forum will slip past my email
filters. The subject was actually the Nirvana
Chronos, which I had previously
heard at AXPONA in 2025 and subsequently reviewed very
favorably. People
wanted to know if the Heartsound Holostage was similar or as good, since it was
considerably less expensive. I fired off an inquiry. Kristine Tetrault, founder of the company in 2021, replied
shortly with an offer to send me a review sample. The Holostage is sold in sets
of four blocks for $1000. It arrived via Priority Mail from Concord, NH, which
is too far inland to catch any scent of saltwater. Inside the Flat Rate USPS box
was a black cardboard box of the kind you might expect a gift from Macy's to
be wrapped.
--->
Heartsound Audio Holostage Review: Scientific Voodoo Or Genuine Upgrade?
MooVu DIY Loudspeaker Review — Big Bass, Easy Build, Great Value
Construct, listen, love — a gateway to DIY audio'phile hobbying fun.
Review By Brett And Dylan Rudolph
Last
year at the Capital Audio Fest, I saw Vinh Vu, principal at Ginkgo Audio,
sitting at his booth with his MooVu speakers. I was fascinated by these $815-ish
Do-It-Yourself (DIY) speakers, which he explained to me were his latest
brainchild. So, while I had no real time to do more than look at them, we
chatted a little longer and then put a pin on it, thinking we would come back to
it later. There is one thing that you need to know about
Vinh, and it is absolutely to his credit: he is very organized. Shortly before
the end of the year, he called to ask if I was interested in reviewing the MooVu
speakers. While I have many strengths in this world, one of them is not the
ability to work with my hands, which, coupled with my current vision issues,
leaves me unable to review things such as this; however, my son Dylan was
absolutely thrilled to help with this review. So, we set up for the second
weekend in January for Vinh to come and show us both how to build speakers and
put the MooVus together.
---> MooVu DIY Loudspeaker Review — Big Bass, Easy Build, Great
Value.
Sneak Peek World Premiere Review!
Audio Research I/70 Fully Loaded Integrated Vacuum Tube
Amplifier Reviewed
In-depth review of Audio Research's
fully-loaded I/70 integrated stereo unit including the
optional Hi-Res Audio DAC and MM/MC phono stage: performance, design, and reference-level listening notes.
Review By Ron Nagle
I can trace my interest in high-end audio back to the 1970s, long before the
internet, and the 1995 launch of Enjoy the Music.com. Before we discuss
today's review of Audio Research's impressive I/70 vacuum tube integrated
amplifier, let us step back to the very beginnings. My first serious Audio
Research audio components, as back then, I recall vacuum tubes versus
transistors controversy was still raging on. That was when some audio wags
predicted the death of vacuum tube audio. I credit Audio Research and the late
Harry Pearson as the two stalwarts that fended off the Japanese avalanche of
cheaper transistor-powered audio components at the time. And that was the time when the shifting public interest was to
transistor audio. Audio Research Corporation (ARC) was founded by William Zane
Johnson in 1970 and was originally located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They are
one of the longest U.S. companies of vacuum tube-powered high-end audio
equipment for audiophiles and music lovers still in operation.
--->
Audio Research I/70 Fully Loaded Integrated Vacuum Tube Amplifier Reviewed.
Discover more hi-fi reviews and expert articles within our Review Magazine.
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