Publisher Profile

2012 TAVES Coverage

Sept 28-30, 2012

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As with all other audio shows I have attended in the past, I have always attended them with a group of audiophiles to make the event into a day of fun for the boys rather than just routine show reporting. At this year’s Toronto Audio and Video Entertainment show, I attended the show together with ten guys from Greater Toronto Area Audiophile Club, and we spent some great times together on the show floor, as well as some of the finest restaurants in Toronto.

Of all the cities in Canada, Toronto has the highest GDP and one of the highest per capita income which makes the city ideal for a major show event. It is also the home to many vibrant audiophile groups with some of the nicest systems in Canada. The TAVES is fast becoming a major attraction for some of the finest names in audio, and with the potential for growth for years to come.

After its successful debut in 2011, TAVES delivered another successful show with a notable increase in the number of exhibitors as well as attendees. The show occupied the main floor of the King Edward hotel, the 2nd floor, the 7the floor as well as the 8th floor which is a new edition for additional exhibitors.

(Richard H. Mak of Dagogo.com, Lawrence Lock of Dagogo.com & HI FI Review Magazine, together with Darren Censuello of Avatar Acoustics, and members of the GTA Audiophile Club at Jacob’s Steak House in Toronto.)

(Richard H. Mak of Dagogo.com, Lawrence Lock of Dagogo.com & HI FI Review Magazine, together with Darren Censuello of Avatar Acoustics, and members of the GTA Audiophile Club at Jacob’s Steak House in Toronto.)

Porsche Canada

Porche at TAVES

As we entered into the front lobby of the hotel, we were greeted by a charcoal grey Porsche 911 Carrera S featuring the Burmester system, sponsored by Porsche Canada.

The Carrera S may look small in the grand lobby, little do people realize the amount of trouble the organizers had to go through in order to bring the car into the lobby. I managed to get a shot of car as they were driving it in. Notice there was less than an inch of clearance on each side, if it was Carrera 4 or Turbo with the wide body, they would not have been able to bring it in.

Porche driving inside TAVES

Blueberry Hill Audio, ZYX Cartridges

We began the show at 9 am (before the official opening at 10 am) with a private session organized by Marlen Mogliever of Blueberry Hill Audio for the GTA Audiophile Club.

Marlen is an industry veteran who is more into audio as a hobby rather than a business. As promised in the 2011 show, Marlen delivered his new speaker design called Rhapsody in 4D ($25,000), which has gone from a prototype to an actual model. Also new for 2012, is the smaller sized version called the Nocturne 3D ($15,000). Both speakers are modular, full range, bipolar and adjustable speaker systems with self powered servo woofers. The Rhapsody in 4D employs 8” full range drivers, with an active 800-watt amplifier. The Nocturne employs 6.5” full range drivers, with an active 600W internal amp.

During the demo, Marlen played the Nocturne for us through a ZYX 4D Cartridge ($4,580) and the Rossner & Sohn KLM-15 turntable ($6,500).

Speaker designs which utilize full frequency single drivers usually have one weakness, the bass frequency is usually weak and often does not integrate well with the rest of the frequencies. Marlen seems to have overcome this problem as the Nocturne is remarkably coherent with no apparent gaps between frequencies.

The Nocturne has the rare ability to combine the sweet coherent sound of full range single drivers, with a rock solid bass which are normally associated with full range multiple driver speakers. If you are in the market for single driver full ranger speaker systems, the Nocturne sits high on my recommended list.

Blueberry room at TAVES

Rossner & Sohn KLM-15 Turntable, shown with ZYX 4D Cartridge

Rossner & Sohn KLM-15 Turntable, shown with ZYX 4D Cartridge

New for 2012, Nocture Speaker, priced at $14,995.00

New for 2012, Nocture Speaker, priced at $14,995.00

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