Show Reports

Welcome back to my multi-part series on my experiences at Toronto Audiofest 2025 (a.k.a. TAF 2025), where audiophiles and audiofilles alike gathered at the Westin Hotel in T.O. over the long weekend of October 17-19, 2025, to see and hear all the latest cool gear. Let’s get right back to it!

TAKUMI / AUDIO EDEN / ALTITUDO AUDIO
I was excited to see the gorgeous setup in Room 219 that was presented by Audio Eden. In this space, I was introduced to the first of two Takumi TT Level 2.1 DC turntables, the second of which I’d experience in another room. (More on that in a bit.) This particular Takumi TT Level 2.1 DC table will be available by the end of this year, so I am grateful I got the chance to hear it (and more than once!) at TAF 2025.

The Audio Eden room featured the Takumi table’s crystal-clear acrylic platter residing on a Harmonic Resolution System (HRS) EXRD-1942-3V gear rack in silver ($16,475). Of course, the Kharma Elegance dB7 Signature speakers (Lamborghini Orange) are the stars of the system, but honorable mention goes to the rest of it, which was comprised of a Mark Levinson 5206 preamp ($15,500), 5302 power amp ($15,500), and S101 streaming SACD player/DAC ($9,250), Lumin U2X streaming transport ($13,000), Synergystic Research PowerCell 12 UEF SE power conditioner ($9,500), and Nordost Valhalla cabling.

The only downside to this glorious setup was the cartridge, a cheap but cheerful Audio-Technica AT3600L ($40). The A-T cart worked well enough, but upon listening to Analogue Productions’ 2012 200g version of Shelby Lynne’s 2008 release Just a Little Lovin’ LP (AP/Lost Highway B0016322-01), there was a, well, flatness to the sound that didn’t seem to complement the rest of the incredible system around it. Not to worry, though, as David Geist of Tri-Cell Enterprises told me he had another system with the very same Takumi turntable and a much better matched cartridge up in Room 321, hosted by Altitudo Audio. 

So, of course, you know I headed right on up there — and that’s where I got a much better idea of what that Takumi table could sound like, this time having been fitted with a Takumi Shiro 2.6mV low-output MC cartridge and paired with a Lab12 Melto1 phono preamp ($5,400), Trilogy 914 preamp ($19,000), and a pair of Trilogy 994 monoblocks amps ($16,000 ea).

Settled into an HRS EXRD-1942-3V-100-08 silver stand with CAR ground and noise control ($16,500), this system was thoughtfully connected with OePhi speaker cables ($7,000), and completed with Wireworld Gold Eclipse Jumpers. Rounding out this impressive setup was a choice of speakers between Audio Physic Avanti ($13,900), Hartley Reference ($6,865), and Audiovector R8 Arreté ($92,000) models.

It was the latter, Arreté members of that speaker list that was running when I first heard the Takumi table in the Altitudo room. Listening to John Scofield’s “Do I Like Eddie” (LP1, Side A, Track 2), from 2024’s 180g DMM 45rpm Favorites by Transrotor-High End Turntables Since 1971 2LP set featuring various artists (in-akustik INAK 78191 2LP) was a pleasant surprise.

The flatness I had heard in the previous room was gone, instead replaced with lively layered sound. For a not-so-super-expensive turntable, the tick-tick-tick of hi-hats was crisp and distinct. Horns, organ, and guitar were cleanly separated, and I saw the nodding of heads in the room engaging in the music. I went back to this room a couple of times later, and was not disappointed. Thank you ever so much to David Geist and Leonid Yamborko for their kind attention! 

J.SIKORA / BLISS AUDIO
And then, I ended up in the Bliss Audio space, where J.Sikora was premiering their new Aspire turntable with carbon-fiber tonearm ($13,600) and Aidas Trustone Violet Gold MC cartridge ($11,200) in tow. Not only did they have that beautiful table on display, but they also showed the CS Port TAT1 M2 turntable ($42,950) with CS Port Linear tonearm AFU1-2 ($13,850) and Etsuro Cobalt Blue MC cartridge ($6,300). The latter setup was supported by the CS Port C3EQM2 phono preamp with battery-powered options ($18,250) and a CS Port CMT1 step-up transformer ($2,350).

Originally, the J.Sikora KV12 Max tonearm ($22,000) and Etsuro Bordeaux MC cartridge ($9,635) were installed on that table, but the choice had been made to remove it for aesthetics. And it’s quite okay that a second tonearm wasn’t in place, as this room sounded fantastic. The system was well-complemented by a Pilium Leonidas integrated amp ($71,000), Wadax Studio Player disc player ($57,500), Synergistic Research Ethernet/Network Switch UEF ($3,200), and Audio Solution Figaro M2 Custom ART Martini Racing Finish speakers ($20,570).

Doing the heavy lifting here were the Graphite Audio Premium Isolation accessories ($300) and Graphite Audio Isolation Platform ($3,365), and Ictra Design Silencer platforms ($7,900) on Ictra Design amp stands and racks ($12,500). Behind the scenes, WAY Mind and Intuition X Ethernet cables ($2,962), along with Hemingway Audio and Luna cables ($1,450), provided the perfectly neutral platform for the music to shine through.

Danny Labrecque, designer of the Montreal-based Luna cables, cued up a fantastic album from the Canadian folk-rock band, Foxwarren. I hadn’t heard their self-titled album released in 2018 by Anti- (87653-1) prior to this session, but listening to the opening track “To Be” (Side A, Track 1) made me wonder why I didn’t have it on my radar. The beautiful harmony sections and acoustic guitar ringing ever so slightly gave this listener a soft, dreamy place to listen to the lyrics and connect with the feeling of isolation and loneliness. And then the electric guitar bit in, and I was hooked. 

I did circle back to the Bliss room a couple of times, and was quite pleased to later hear “Oh My Sweet Carolina” (Side 1, Track 1) from Ryan Adams’ 2015 Pax Americana/Blue Note LP, Ten Songs From Live at Carnegie Hall (B002275501). I watched the couple in front of me sharing a sweet moment while they were immersed in the music and reveled in the deep emotional connection this incredible system makes possible. From the clearly heard inhales in between lines of lyrics to soft fingerpicking of an acoustic guitar, it was magical. Even the subtle sound of something being dropped in the background just before the first harmonica solo comes in reminded the audience that Ten Songs was indeed a live recording.

A huge thank you to Dragan Reljic from Bliss Acoustics and Danny Labrecque of Luna Cables for such an amazing experience.  

Part 3 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.