This review page is supported in part by the sponsors whose ad banners are displayed below Another Plurison room that fascinated Patrick featured Martin Logan’s new Montis hybrid electrostatic loudspeakers ($9.995) fed by Micromega’s AS-400 AirStream amp with built-in DAC. This was the first time Patrick had seen and heard an electrostatic speaker. The expression on his face when he noticed he could see right through them was priceless. I was surprised by how musical this simple system sounded especially since all playback was streamed wirelessly. We didn’t hear one dropout or any ticks or pops at all. I was also impressed with how well the AS-400 drove the Loggies with their reportedly nasty impedance curve. While Monarchy Audio’s tiny room looked more like Patrick’s bedroom—minus the clothes strewn across the floor—than some fussy audiophile’s sonic temple, it certainly sounded pretty darn good especially given how the source was a cheap DVD player. However it was feeding Monarchy Audio’s NM24 tube DAC/preamp ($1.590) via a DIP classic/upsampler combo ($399) which in turn fed a pair of SE100 Mk II monos ($1.179). Speakers were Lenehan Audio S2 monitors. Patrick was impressed with the bass coming from this small system although it was getting lots of help from the effects of boundary reinforcement. I liked it too. Again not a big complex expensive system that sounded great and a lot better than many other more expensive rooms. According to Patrick "those little amps and speakers sounded awesome." We were both disappointed with the Focal/Devialet room which sounded inversely proportional to cost. Frederic was right on the money when he described it as "disincarnate, fleshless and soulless". But there were several awful rooms. I only singled this one out as it was—I believe—the most expensive of those. It was curious to note Patrick’s reaction when we entered poor-sounding rooms. Sometimes we nearly tripped over each other in a race to exit. After attending several shows over the years I remain astonished by how some exhibitors feel compelled to cram as much stuff into a small room including the largest speakers they can find, then proceed to blast gawdawful audiophile crap to jet-engine levels. Why? The Audio Note UK room was a nice little oasis of pleasant stress-free musicality. AN’s speaker placement might look weird but it seems to work well even if the sonic effects of corner placement would probably get to me over time. Audio Note’s pricing scheme generally strikes me as a little over the top—especially their CD players—but I have to admit this room almost made me forget. What this space lacked in modern technology of USB sticks, wireless streaming etc. it more than made up for in musical purity. That is far more important to me than modern conveniences but even Patrick admitted to liking the sound and simplicity of this system. New cable companies spring up like dandelions these days. We get more solicitations from cable firms than any other component category. Therefore it’s difficult to stand out. It's something Audio Sensibility’s Steven Huang admitted. But a couple of things did stand out here. While Steven uses cryogenically treated continuous cast Ohno copper in the majority of his products, they don’t cost a proverbial arm and leg. He also uses proprietary CNC-produced connector shells constructed of non-magnetic 303 stainless steel. The shells are precisely machined to match each cable diameter for optimum mechanical integrity and damping. Pictured is a close-up of the connector used in Steven’s power cables. It looks far sturdier than the usual aftermarket poly AC plug. Patrick thought the prices were pretty reasonable especially compared to the MIT cables in my listening room. My son and I also quite enjoyed the Coherent Loudspeakers room which had Frank Fazzalari’s most recent design featuring a beautiful real wood finish and coaxial driver. This was a very relaxing yet captivating room with the pleasant directness, immediacy and coherence one usually hears with good single-driver speakers. I’ve heard a number of Frank’s speakers over the years and they are certainly worth checking out if you’re into that single-driver crossoverless thang. Gotta update that website though, Frank. In the Tri-Cell room Patrick enjoyed not only the sounds emanating from Joseph Audio’s Pulsar speakers and Accustic Arts components but loved the look of the monitors. They were indeed gorgeous to both eye and ear. In another Tri-Cell room we dug more Accustic Arts gear driving Vandersteen Quatros. You’d certainly never confuse the Vandies' sonic character with other time-coherent speakers like Thiel or Green Mountain Audio yet they all possess a beguiling easy-flowing musicality that seems to be a trademark of such designs. We both thought the Bryston/PMC room was one of the better ones. Patrick was intrigued with the BDP-1 digital player playing tunes via a USB stick and USB hard drive. Patrick even took an over-the-shoulder shot of Bryston’s James Tanner running the show via an iPad. All in all TAVES was a promising show. Patrick thoroughly enjoyed himself as did I. With the retail audio market all but gone, how else can one see and hear hifi equipment not to mention talk to the folks who design and build it other than at a show? I truly hope this was the start of an annual tradition as with Montreal’s Festival Son & Image; and that next year more manufacturers and distributors will participate. The greater Toronto area has the highest population in Canada and is practically on the US border. I see no reason why this can’t turn into a spectacular annual event. Well done to the show organizers. See you next year!