by Robert Schryer – PMA MagazineAll prices listed in CA$.At every Toronto Audiofest, EQ Audio Video hosts the same room and it’s easily the biggest one at the show—it’s the size of a palatial Austrian ballroom—which the retailer subdivides into several closed-off demos that play at different times. EQ Audio Video owner Ed O’Herlihy knows how to put demos together so they always sound impressive, and this year I got to hear two of the best systems, not only in the EQ room, but at the entire show.The first system I heard was centered around Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista electronics, including a 300Wpc, fully balanced PAS power amplifier and PAS PSU ($36,999), a PRE preamplifier and PSU ($33,999), and an M6X DAC ($3399). At the end of the chain was a pair of Focal Scala Utopia EVO three-way speakers (23,999– $34,499/each), while Audience was the brand of choice for cabling and power conditioning. Also in the system, but not in use when I visited, was a gorgeous-looking Musical Fidelity M8xTT belt-drive turntable ($10,899 – $13,499) fitted with a Grado Lineage Series Aeon3 cartridge ($7,995), along with two phono stages: the Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista Vinyl 2 (14,299 – $14,999) and the M6X ($2999).This system delivered sound that was stunningly spacious, impactful, dynamic, fleshed-out, 3D-like bulging, with a soundstage as big as a city. The system also showed it could do nuance, texture, and microdynamic tactility, as well as reproduce vocals with eerie presence, as demonstrated on a FLAC file of Peter Gabriel’s “Mercy Street.”The second system was configured with gear from distributor/exporter Audio Group Denmark. It showcased a pair of full range (down to 30Hz), over 5′ tall Borresen X6 floorstanding loudspeakers ($30,000), and, sitting on a modular Naim Fraim Lite equipment rack, an Axxess Forte 3 streaming amplifier ($15,000), an Ansuz PowerSwitch A3 Ethernet switch ($5,400), and an Ansuz Mainz8 A3 power distributor ($5,000).On “Jazz Variants” by the O-Zone Percussion Group (If you don’t know it, I suggest you check it out), the music was dynamic as all get out, producing air-exploding drum whacks and drum-bass beats, and a richly varied color palette of vibrant xylophone notes that travelled in an arc in front of me that extended way beyond the speakers. The levels of transparency, in-room extension, and timbre this track delivered though this system were top-notch.I also listened to “The Curse” by Agnes Obel, an acoustic track with violins and melancholic vocals that, according to Ed, made about 50 visitors cry at the show when they heard it over this system. I didn’t cry, but the music did pull at my heartstrings, with sound that was richly resonant, timbrally faithful, and dynamically nuanced. Obel’s vocals were expressive, close-up explicit, and brimming with humanity.Retailing for a total price of roughly $55,000, this system was one of the best bargains at the show.