Show Reports

Besides the crisp mornings, vibrant turning leaves, apple picking, fall fairs, pumpkin spice, and Canadian Thanksgiving, October in Ontario also brings us the Toronto Audiofest (a.k.a. TAF), where audiophiles and audiofilles alike gather at the Westin Hotel, which is located right next door to YYZ. (#IFKYK — that’s the official code for Toronto Pearson Airport.)

And so it was on that recent, long October 17-19, 2025 weekend when my non-audiophile partner and I made the lovely road trip to Toronto from our own Ontario homebase. Full disclosure, I detest driving the 401 into T.O. — so we instead cruised backroads lined with fields, livestock, and glorious forests painted red and gold while jamming along to some choice classic rock offerings. Upon our properly zen-sounds-fueled arrival in Toronto, we got settled into the Westin in preparation for the big TAF 2025 show.  

This year, TAF hosted 106 exhibitors representing 255 brands dispersed across five floors of the venue. Sarah Tremblay and Michel Plante have been the brains and beauty behind TAF for its previous six editions. This year was a little bit different, however, with Tremblay overseeing the show operations and Plante focusing on his role with Stéréogroup, a Canadian Rega distributor. 

Tremblay didn’t tackle her TAF role alone, mind you. She made sure to surround herself with some equally wonderful folks who are extensions of her crystal-clear vision for the show — including her lovely daughter Alex, who was manning the busy registration desk, and her son Dylan, whom I never encountered without a smile or a kind word.

In all fairness, Tremblay is no stranger to the audio industry, having been part of it since 2003. She has been co-organizing the Montreal Audiofest (MAF) since 2007, and together with Plante, founded TAF and PMA Magazine. She also was instrumental in establishing the audiofilles space at MAF, a fun and safe place for female audiophiles to share their passion for music and gear. Rocking my Audiofilles t-shirt with pride at TAF, I spoke to a couple of my fellow audiofilles at the show, and connected with other women in the industry. We all agreed that it is a wonderful thing indeed to have a smart, funny, inherently kind, and bilingual Canadian woman like Tremblay in charge of this important audio show —  and I’m more than happy to report that she and her incredible team effectively ran this year’s TAF like a well-oiled machine. 

Meanwhile, Plante was the first person we ran into upon walking into the Westin, and I accepted his warm greeting in the form of a gigantic hug as a great omen for the fantastic weekend ahead. All told, I came across 19 systems featuring turntables in the Westin and was able to listen to 17 of them firsthand — so it’s quite safe to say that TAF 2025 was a great show for those of us who love hearing said turntables playing lots of vinyl, sweet vinyl. 

And with that important preamble out of the way, let’s get right into the show! 

REGA / STÉRÉOGROUP
Visitors entering the venue from the main doors were greeted by a static display of Rega turntables, phono preamps, speakers, amps, and accessories. This busy hub was manned by Plante and his enthusiastic crew from the aforementioned Stéréogroup, all of whom were duly decked out oh-so-appropriately in matching hockey jerseys.

In that brightly lit and always hopping space, eight Rega turntables — including a Planar 1 ($699-899), Planar 2 ($999), Planar 3 ($1,499-2,199), Planar 3 RS ($2,299), Planar 6 ($2,599-$4,199), Planar 8 ($4,699-6,999), Planar 10 ($8,999-$14,999), and Naia ($19,999-25,999) were set up, all of them with the appropriate respective power supplies.

Also on display were Rega integrated amps, such as the Brio Mk7 ($1,599), Aethos ($6,999), Elex MK4 ($2,699), Elicit MK5 ($4,699) and Osiris ($16,999), as well as Rega phono preamps like the Aura MC Reference ($9,499), Fono MC MK4 ($699), Fono MM MK5 ($499), and Fono Mini A2D MK2 ($299).

Additionally, Rega Aya floorstanding speakers ($2,999), Kyte bookshelf speakers ($1,099), and multiple accessories such as interconnects, cartridges from the entry-level Carbon ($99) to the ND7 ($999), cartridge torque, 45rpm center adaptor, and tracking force gauge were available for perusal. (There were also a couple of Rega tables doing their thing in Room 363, but I will save talking about them for now.) 

Also in the lobby was a great display featuring Gerry Dubé’s collection of Beatles memorabilia and related instruments. For those who admire The Fab Four, it was a great offering that included some beautiful Gibson, Epiphone, Rickenbacker, Fender, and Gretsch guitars in stellar condition, as well as Vox and Fender amps and a complete drum set. Here, I saw lots of visitors enjoying this collection and speaking to its curator. If you want to learn more about this collection, go here to see it all for yourself.

MOFI ELECTRONICS / VINYL SOUND
There were many Canadian premieres to talk about from TAF 2025, but I’m going to begin with one of my favorites. To that end, TAF marked the Canadian premiere of the MoFi Electronics Fender American Vintage turntable with Ultra Gold MC cartridge and 10-inch Ultra tonearm ($5,795) as paired with a MoFi Masterphono phono preamp ($8,995), all of it presented by MoFi guru Rich Zidel in the MoFi/Vinyl Sound setup that was in Room 349. I’ve always loved seeing and hearing Zidel’s enthusiasm for great-sounding music, as he always packs a terrific record selection for show demos.

The system in Room 349 also included a gorgeous pair of Castle Windsor Duke speakers with stands ($8,995), HiFi Rose RS151 high-performance network streamer ($7,995), Quad 33 preamp and 303 power amp ($2,195 each), IsoTek V5 Electra System Link power conditioner ($2,495), and Furutech Evolution II speaker cables, with the balance of the system beautifully displayed on a Solidsteel HF-5 high-end audio rack ($6,199). This setup could have easily knocked your socks off with its clean, lively power!

On my first of several visits to Zidel’s space, he cued up Analogue Productions’ recent, and most excellent, 180g 45rpm 2LP edition of Phil Collins’ February 1981 breakout solo album, Face Value (Analogue Productions/Atlantic APA 003-45). I enjoyed the precision and power that brought Collins’ drums to life during “In the Air Tonight” (LP1, Side 1, Track 1), but soon thereafter, Zidel discovered a glitch in his system. Fortunately, this was early on in the show, and he quickly rectified the issue.

Upon my next visit to the room, I really got to hear the full detailed separation on Chris Jones’ 2003 Roadhouses & Automobiles release, via its 2016 180g 45rpm 2LP edition (Stockfisch SFR 357-8027.1 C+P). During this playback/demo, the emotional connection to the lyrics shone through with the soft inhales and delicate fingerpicking, giving this playback the lifelike sound it deserves. There was a great balance between the resonance of the heartfelt main vocals, plaintive slide guitar, and background vocals.

Special thanks to Zidel personally for introducing me to this fantastic album, and for his diligence in giving visitors the best musical experience — and occasional dance party!

Part 2 of my experiences at TAF 2025 will be posting soon!

If you want to check out McKellar’s TAF 2025 turntables teaser reel, go here.