Hi too all , bonjours a tous

As of this Saturday afternoon, where I will be at the shop till about 1 o'clock, I will be closing the shop all of next week till next Saturday the 18th of September. Both constructions issues at their worse and a terminally ill father are accounting for my 1 week departure. Might as well see my father in Northern Ontario while he still feels human and in good spirits.

Any pending sales, technical issues, and the like have been assured in process while I am gone out of town.

Should you need to chat me up , you may do so till about mid day this Saturday, Chris will be closing the shop alone and will be also to help you as well.

Hence the closure next week is certainly personal one for the "Morin household". Just thought I would let all my bosses know ( that means youuu guys...;-)

Thanks and take care guys.

Luc

9 sept..... 3 pm to 7 pm
11 sept..... 10 am to 3 pm
14 au 17 sept .... CLOSED
18 sept ....10am to 4 pm

LSA 1 statement $2800Aurum montan $10,000

1) HOW TO REACH US HERE . Please remember this one , when visiting us here , you can only have access to Churchill Via Scott street @ this time and NOT by Richmond, see our enlarged map on our new site for directions.

2) Bargains page is now off line.

3) Construction crew are now fully in front of our shop, we will soon decide our options to be announced on our main yellow page

4) Important demonstrations on most of our gear will and can only take place AS OF NOW either on Saturdays or on selected equipments, in my home. The construction issues are now more than 2/3rd on the way to be finished.

5) Not all new gear is seeing formal introductions during the present upheavals on our Street, VDH, Volents as well as several other lines that came in late July will see their intros' delayed till October. However, Advance Acoustic, Aurum, Quadral are now on our floor.

Rega Mira 3 $1495YBA 201 amplifier $1695

[Important note on Linn LP12 repairs]

Naim CD5i $1750YBA cd 201 $1695

[Rega speakers RS-1, RS-3, RS-5, RS-7]

Speakers are a real funny segment of our audio business in general. Most retailers know this and most want to have known names. Names with a lot of reviews....and a, a, a, even then things can get wacky . Most retailers that get into these big names are sometimes under pressure to perform . Things need to move. That the price of getting involved with the beast. We have seen this side of issues , and further we have seen plenty of politics enter the fray. More so then with any other segment of what we sell.

Enter Rega speaker systems. Without a doubt, we are dealing with superior product and British technology.Politics has been none that we know of, few on this side of the pond are aware that once one buys Rega speakers, those speakers stay in that living room for life. Look on the net, they are indded rare too see. And yet the ir reputation is still on the quiet side, still unnervingly under the carpet. Their new Rega RS series take over from the R series. They are British , and yes British homes are tend to be smaller flats than our here . Other than the R-9 ( now discontinued, and at 5,500.00 then ), all are compact. The Rega RS series is deceptively advanced in technology. The RS tweeter has been totally redesigned, Even though it looks like the same as they R series tweeter, I am afraid that you would be mistaken. Fit and finish is limited , but its extraordinarily well made . Its no lesser than any other Brit manufacturer out there. And yes they are made in UK-land. There are a few surprises out on these Rega . First they mate very well with tubes, eloquently so. They are an easy drive. Go extremely well for those that need to replace their speakers and have Naim gear ( very high synergy ratio here ) you must hear these on Naim, they don't take up a lot of room and are not BIG in the BIG sense.

There are few on this side of the pond that are interested in reviewing these ( read the above than equate to huge advertising dollars being thrown the mags way). Some would say , what mags. Either mags are busy reviewing stuff no one knows from fake or so called suppliers, or they are busy taking pics of peoples set ups in their homes. Is our business so down that these guys are must do this. Who knows. But in large part, the public that wants to educate themselves on a products can. It takes little time to figures that the Rega Rs series have some form of greatness printed onto them. For those needing a speaker doing thump a the thump, well, look elsewhere. Some of you were interested in hearing what I said about their sound ( Harbeth meets ProAc ) . For myself , they are more the latter than the former. You could even imagine a bit of PMC speaker midrange clarity. More than several review have placed these with top honors, from the Rs 1's to the RS 7 's. Their sound for us is engagingly immediate, with clarity that makes instrumentations come out alive and vibrant. Some have said that for those that prefer jazz and Chamber music, that one can do no better than the RS 3's and RS 5's. I do see where they are coming from these reviewers. If they are immediate, then dare I say , they are very fast ,perhaps faster than Triangle speakers, in their price point. The magic is in that tweeter that Rega has invested a lot of money on. It went from an average but very good average tweeter then went to an exquisitely sounding and totally redesigned tweeter for the RS series.

Its down sides, if you guys have big rooms, you guys can do better . Below entry level gear, please do not buy these, they are too revealing. A heavily furnished room , placement will be an issue and lastly, they are not an easy burn in. What you guys might equally not know is this, the RS Regas, I think have more active awards at this time than any other company building comparable products. Without a doubt, those that we have sold and the ones that are to be sold are not likely to be traded in . That is the archilees heel with this speaker lines. And oh by the way, sometime in September /October we will actually play some Naim gear on these....you be the judge.

Audio Note Conquest 300b $14,000Xindak v30 $2000

[So what do you like Lucster ? Its a simple question of sources.....]

Its an easy enough question. Some of our guys here were and are quick too point out what they like. Because I am the front guy in my organization, the public face as it were, some could swear on any bible that I am even quicker. I am afraid that you guys would be mistaken . I agree that I am not afraid too point out what is really good for the price, most people would easily agree that I am but one opinion amongst many. Perhaps I have pointed out a great many classics in the making ( The Linn Ikemi,and the Sim audio I 5 ), 2 of my friends and colleagues at the time , at a show, said that I was brave to state this so publically. That I could loose my credibility by being so public. This was said over 11 or 12 years ago.....get my drift, now do you guys get that if you use your ears instead of your head, you cannot be wrong. Both are known as Classic pieces today.

I use the same philosophy in my home. I am and was part of a Jazz club. Most were die hard analogue freaks. When we would make the rounds into my home , twice a year, I would make it a point to only play digital, sometimes I would play records. The point is that the avowed analogue freaks would go sometimes ape shit and be really really silly boys and enjoy themselves ...well, silly. The other point is that in does not matter what you think is best, or what I think for that matter. The question is this one: Do you like what you are hearing. Before you guys think that I played my 30,000 digital set up, or my other 20,000.00 digital player, well no, my guys went ape shit over sometimes a 2,000.00 cd setup. I was making a point to myself, and fact is , the moment they left I knew that they would not forget those nights BUT they would NONETHELESS not change their minds about digital. Its as if the human mind has a incapacity to reset itself to new discoveries. Hence why I never argue about audio with anyone, why I never never, and I mean never criticize others systems, or am never critical when I listen, unless I am working, well at being" O " so Mr critical.

The love of audio and the hobby is the love of audio and our hobby. I happen to think that DS technologies are leading edge, that they provide more bang for buck than any other digiatl system today. At the level , where the shop specifically operates at , well, DS gear is expensive, sometimes very much so. Does this mean I hate or dislike regular ooooold digital players ( Ta ta I say in my snobish way...those silver diiiiisks are sooooo boring and paaaaasee...), you guys would be dead wrong. Are only expensive players gooooood. I say nooop. I make it a point to listen before I buy any player. If I say I have an issue, then I return it .

I sell what most would call one of the worlds best players out there under 5,000.00. 2 mags this month in Europe called this player just that , and one mag went as far as calling the Rega Saturn ( ON DISPLAY ) the best period. Its Class A rating in Stereophile make us think the same here. Its little brother , the Rega Apollo ( ON DISPLAY ) is equally one of the best out there under 1500.00 . Is one better than the other ....yes , are both good....yes. What about what a lot of folks think that is the best player period. The Naim Nait 5i ( ON DISPLAY ). This is the most reviewed player I believe. Some would say the Naim CD 5x is better still ( in never really stops , does it ). We had before they were discontinued the Linn Majik cd ( 4,200.00 ) ( was on display when available ) , some even called this one a sleeper of a great cd player. I think Linn made a huge mistake in stopping production. Fact is Linn cared little of what we thought, fact is they killed a terrific cd player. Was the Majik player bad....of course not.

I happen to think that the Advance Acoustic MCD 204 ( ON DISPLAY ) player is one of the most well rounded disk players out there ( less than 1,500.00 ). Well, you guys might not know it, but does it follow that the AA is not goooooodly. Nop. Me thinks its as good as the price point will bring you. How about my love of tuners, I happen to think Europeen tuners , specifically the English tuners are the worlds best with the French close behind.

Lucster , which table do you prefer? Do you prefer the Linn LP 12, the Rega P5 , P7 or P9, the Basis 2000 series , the 2200's series, all of which we sell and or we have sold. It does not matter what I like . dare I say it all about what you like. Listen its really just my job to promote, support , stock, and demonstrate the products in a safe and secure environment free of Bull and pretentious postering. We might not stand by in listen to jiberish about what you are hearing, but we will admit that you have the God given right to be wrong. So do we on occassion. So when we say we offer a lot of sources, really, I happen to like them all, and yes on occassion , I like some better than others, so does this mean that mine is better than yours, barring any price pointing considerations. Noppp, just different, but I do like all of what I sell on my floor. Yep , you bet

That kind of Passion has made me find ways of not only supporting the above in a PHYSICAL WAY , but on making certain that you guys can see the above mentionned, touch and hear what I sell, and this is only a glimpse of what we like. So just imagine what else there is too like and love, you bet your boots, lots more.

Cheers to all

Linn Uphorik $3500Xindak LP1 $900

[No one sells more Turntables than us, except for Santa Clause]

Sometimes when we are all off , we all think of what we have done well or not so well. Sometimes we think constructively, some try to think nothing at all. In some moments, sometimes we realize things, a great many things. Some of these things go under the radar. Besides , sometimes we even think about Santa Claus. But when these things go unnoticed , they sometimes bite us on the ass.

Its quite one thing to sell Value-Village Turn Tables and its quite another to sell high end tables. High end analogue, if you know what your talking about can be a very active part of a market for us. We are selling more TT than anyone else. Lp 12's ( formally trained by Linn for Lp 12 's), Rega and others. All are ordered with commensurate fit and finish, all sometimes require a waiting period for delivery, but all of yous' are happy as fiddles when delivery takes place.

We have noticed that some models are more popular ( our Rega P5 in Cherry is very popular ). Each and every Linn Lp 12 must be ordered and sent from Scotland , with desired formats, and all PRECISELY assembled by yours truly. All our TT are PRECISELY adjusted with the best tools available. We actually have 2 very full tool carry cases just for our TT needs. This does NOT count what we have in terms of available tools on our work bench as well. We can afford the best tools, on this count we thrive and you folks keep us busy.

Even tables outside those mentioned above must be assembled ( the Rega TT , not as much ), so this creates new ways of doing things. Remember that all tables costing over 2000.00 and all Tables that are of suspended platter design MUST be HAND delivered into your homes and RE- adjusted yet again. There are a lot of things that go on behind the scenes of our commercial operation that no one could possibly know about other than if you would buy a table from us.

Even a lowly Rega P1 is built to spec by your truly. No tables go under any other hand. Its nice to sell " stuff " , all kind of analogue stuff, but the stuff does not sell itself. And when people find out that when you buy any of our tables, what you folks get is the man behind it, the guy who works on all his table. What outside folks wait for up to 12 or more weeks on occasion for outside analogue bench work ( for those not caring much for the word "Reputation", should see what that word brings me in work on my bench), those that buy our TT wait only days for. There are NO waiting lists for our new Tables as all work is often done within 24 hours after receiving all TT parts from our suppliers. Its that quick.

And need it be said that if anything goes wrong with your babies, we don't go crying to our suppliers for parts and help. We piss on those fires on the spot. We are happy to do that. But to say that we discount all those sales....oh well, sorry for the let down, we don't. And there is a lot of folks that agree with the way things are done here. And let it be said that I lied, delivery is not FREE , but it does cost a nice bottle of red that we must shared once the Table are installed. Don't worry I don't stay long, I down everything I drink ....;-). Still a little pissed at Santa , he gives his TT for free.

The great many TT sales are not done in a vacuum, nor are they done with no back bone, I assure you all. Appreciate serving you all, the pleasure is truly ours.

Lucster

Advance MDA 503 $1600Audio Note DAC 3 $8900

[Advance Acoustic Black series]

Our client base has , we all know now fully taken advantage of this wonderful French line. The reasons are plenty. The performance ratio of B/S ( black and silver ) AA does help in making this line a easy shoe in , in peoples hearts. A while back I was chatting about the black series from AA. There was a delay with this series. Since we cannot deliver, we removed nearly all marketing. Things should be soon established. The entire series is being replenished, and the MAP 101 althought new out of the marketing has already received several awards by journalists. The 101 is chiiip chiiip chiiip as Sam tellig would say, 700.00 CDN dollars. What one gets is close to 20 pounds of metal...a phono stage (m/m), remote , more than 90 DB SN ratio ( impressive ), and the 101 exudes a pristine , detailed but very controlled sonics. Its robust sounding, and its no accident why its getting the attention so soon out of the gate. 4 of the 5 reviews call this AA 101 amp an untouchable ( un incontournable ), with little to compromise on. A leader in its class, think about guys, all this praise in only less than 6 months into the market. Its what most would call , true entry level high end for those that want quality.

Its paired Cd player, is called the MCD 200. Its seems even more so an understatement in quality. Its a perfect counterbalance to its 101 brother. Very dynamic , sweet , nimble and open sounding , you get a lot of space between notes. Sometime we do things for labour of love at this level. When it comes to the amps, AA places itself squarely in competition with the Rega Brio and the Rega Apollo. The Rega Brio has a lot of history on its side. The Rega is more expensive both ways, but the Brio is clearly for those analogue Connoisseurs outthere that are willing to forgo remote for what is the best phono stage available inside an Int amp anyyyywhere under say 1200.00 or so dollars. So is the Rega really its competitor, maybe not.

End result here is this . The AA black gear is as impressive as anything I have seen. They will be on demo , and yes for those thinking hard , way too hard, we should be able to deliver for those wishing to buy.Its really that simple.

[Van den Hull]

Now that the cat is out of the bag, and that of course , your subserviant natured audio dealer has let you guys know what is now on display on our floor, there are several models that we will start with. SP could not have passed one of the fave Interconnect cables outthere. Dont get me wrong , let us not play the if " you like this more than that , than "that" means its inferior" Wrong.

It is true that even audio guys that like a lot out there , can have a small penchants for something. The VDH First Ultimate II is one of these.Its sounds uncannily like Cardas Golden Reference at more than 3 times the price. The 1'st dare I say was even more expensive 10 or so years ago ( between 600.00 and 700.00 then ). Its smooth as all hell, its a very "quiet cable, and some would say a little boring, I would disagree with that. If you guys are looking at something in the same vein butwith more "there there-ness, then look no further than the VDH Orchid. The 100.00 more buys you more a sense of transpancy. You still do not lose that VDH majic.

The VDH 102 III sold by car loads here , but we sold more Revelation and Revolution speaker cable than anyone else in North America then , we know this for a fact. But we decide to see where VDH has taken this technology up a notch but down in price. The VDH Breeze speaker cable plays with a full arsenal of VDH qualities ( superior staging capabilities, smooth but well extended, prodigious bass output, a quality that is true of the entire line up, flexibility, and lets us not forget textured and very rich . Timbraly VDH is for those that prefer their music somewhat rich and velvety. The VDH CS 122 and D 352 are still selling well and are known as classics. The 122 is and still is the Kimbers TC's competitor, another classic ( The new Kimbers TC are no longer inexpensive and further have been totally revised, and hence have also went up a notch in performance and price, of course we sell that to ).

There are still more models that are now in, but all will be on our floor. What aboutthe VDH Wave Interconnect, a new classic that has merited its name for the last 5 years. What else can we say. We will also have later in September more VDH products, espescially those that are more expensive, further we are infinitly still more intouch with this level of VDH cables . But our next shipment will also include VDH power cords , that we equally like a quite a lot. We will look forward to speaking about this company, we hope for a long long time.

now on display

[Aurums Montans]

Maybe this construction thing is not necessarily bad thing . For one thing it allowed us here the time to deal with a very vibrant activity level. It also allowed us to think where to start with our new lines ups.

The Aurum /Quadral line up is a German company. They are not new on the scene. The cabinetry they have is very reminiscent of the other German brand, Elac. We were taken aback with the Platinum M series. This line up is not so physically small. The Chromium series, again exuding that ribbon tweeter is hard to deny. But we are from from being Donald Trump, our budgets are not limitless. Just like you , we live in a real world with limits. But where do we go. I sent more mails to these guys with intentions then any other guys I deal with. They put up with my barrage... barely. Somewhere in there , sure there is passion, sure there is fun but also there are obligations and duties and yes sometimes even a lot of strategy.

Here comes in Aurum.

The Aurum series that start at somewhere 2,500.00 for their smallest monitor to 30,000.00 for their statement pairs. After a protracted analysis, we decided to do a 2 fold attack on this line up.Still very aggressive because we still have other great line ups to work with that are already here. Of course, now you guys know that the Platimums are in ( its that floor stander on our main page that looks like a Burmeister speaker), and yes the M4's are also to come in as well., but the Aurums took a page from me. Where do we start. We decided to put this to bed and ordered a pair of Aurums Montans. Where as the M series ordered start at the 4,000 to 5,500 ish mark for floorstanders, our Aurums Montans' , depending on fit and finish start at 10,000.00 pair. Where as a lot of folks, staff and ex staff were really taken aback by the sheer magnitude of musicality of that line up, I was quietly on the side lines observing and playing the business man, oh so smart allicky Lucster. Then a sample of Montans, that quite a few of y'as at the Montreal show asked and yes, even begged the guys to bring me, those Aurum guys did bring to Ottawa for ME to hear, well, in effect , the Aurums Montans did ME in.

There is a another story behind this, but needless to say, it is the Montans more than any other speaker at the shop in a long time that made me have a rethink on this exquisite line when things went south with one of my other great master lucster plans this summer. So in a sense, I cannot take credit, it will be my fabulous client base that will need to take credit on this one. Introductions are being handled as we speak. We will not dem these at home as these are indeed a big speaker to dem. Or we may have to till the end of September, we do not know yet. But in many ways, the fact that I am listening too a lot more rock and pop than ever before, is taking off my hat to this very model. More models to follow.

Formal introductions to follow, read one of our paragraphs on our site re this, but yes a pair of Aurum Montans will be in on our floor as usual. We will hope to have these playing in the sooner than later category . Thanks for the heads up guys.... and yes they are greaaaaat.

Happy holidays

[What we have going in starting September/October and beyond]

No one can say we rest and do nothing here ...albeit the prevailing theory is that we do nothing but rest and procrea....I mean recreate.

We are indeed here right before place our " gone fishing sign " on our door, but before, we try to think hard , way to hard. With the multiple of new things at the shop, September is likely be the month where we see an evening of great gear being played in tandem.

From the Rega P7 ( no officilal introduction yet of our P7 !!), with Xindak phono to boot. ( the latter Xindak may become one of the most reverrred piece we are likely to sell in the forseeable future, and this at less than 1,000.00 ) Do not take us lightly on the latter. Its a giant killer, and will hope that the Vinyl guys that care for the medium will oblige themselves with a demo. Of course all our tube dems are done with STOCK tubes, no funny stuff behind the scenes or under the hood.

On the digital side, we have an equally giant killer that entered the foray just 4 or so weeks ago. This Advance Acoustic DAC and transport, is extremely substantial. Like the Xindak phono , we sell them as quickly as they arrive AND NO WE DONT ORDER THEM ONE AT A TIME, and no we even order more than 2 at a time try more at a time ( no guff guys ask the guys that sell them to us , double dare you guys man...what to make me, you talking to meee ....shaaaaat up Luc, Ok ok, cant help my self mates ). And for as much as the Alchies are us DAC combo is great, its in the sound . That sound makes bloody great music. Granted , its not for Ottawa used guys , or for the Garage sale individuals looking for something for nothing, but for those that care tremoundouly about the highest rez music WITHOUT going in Linn DS territory, I stand by what I say.

On the speaker end , well by that time we very well might have some real big bruisers as speakers. Those that demand to tad everything under the sun , will not be disappointed with Volent speakers. I admit like all power houses , they are horrible to burn in, They go from a delight too listen too ...to let me shoot my ears off in an hours time. But even not burnt in , when they play good , they play majical. The proof is in the pudding.its' an easy find here. The furniture grade finish is stunning ( 15 coats of varnish, rare and exotic wood, piano finish , the world most advance driver technology etc ), the sound even provides more.

Like I say, the above is easy. But I admit to equally having been wallopped by the Quadrals Platinum M 5 series. As full range as they come. Yet again , fit and finish is exemplary. Of course , far from being small , these need room. There is something that I like tremounsly here with these. Its quite unique, and yes very special for me here , the owner of Stereo Passion. Even with their not so small size , they play about twice as big as they are. Do they go as stated down to 23 HZ, well if they dont, it aint that far from the mark. There is a special quality to the midrange as well. I can go on and on , but these will be playing.

And yes there is one company missing in there , and you guys have been well on putting then on the map here in Canada. Without a doubt , if would be a shame to not include them in here somewhere. Ottawa has chosen to place the LSA Statement series really up there. We have had a really hard time not selling our STM 1 's, and yes might as well put our STM 2's in there. Because we cannot always sell our floors, we have decided to not to sell out floor ever again, till death do us part. As I am writing this, it dawns on me that the LSA are somewhat of a cross breed of both the above , too some extent. Thought our 1's will be well played by then , our 2's might not serious burn in issues here like dont believe the 100 hours you read about.....try at least 5 times that !!!!). That is why we might play these seperatly. We know their amps are very big, not for everyone ( I use a variation of the LSA amp at my place), if there is anything that you guys could give me hell for is this one....perhaps and for the money, thought far from inexpensive, their amps provide a superb delivery of finesse, detail, and dynamics. They can be for those that like their sound cooler....but no review call these amps as cold. They are extremely tube tweekable , and one can make this amps go to warm and nearly fuzzy if they want to ( maybe a tad too dramatic, but I hope you guys get my drift ).

We equally are keeping one surprise for ourselves and from you I might add. Not all can be said here but the surprise is well worth it.

Without a doubt , we will be demo-ing our VDH cables all accross the board . Of special interest will be that VDH 1 st Ultimate series II, and yes we will have lots more. We dont think we can do all in one week end, but late summer promises to be active and exciting with loads of new gear, at all levels. Some of the most expensive gear, we will reserve the right to communicate with our active client base. And then we will see how construction should be at in September. That may be all we may do and it will depend on how just rudely busy you guys keep us going. But as far as I know, this has rarely stopped us.

We will let you guys know far in advance when we will do this, and yet again , refreshments on the house. But later this year 2010 we will display our more exotic and higher end gear. We have yet to figure out where, when and how. Let us say that we will know more as we expect Churchill to be shiny and new after November. Read below paragraph on this issue, but until this is over , we cannot entertain other events at this time.

This is but a glimpse of what we have on our floor , and without a doubt, without your support and kindness/ friendships this activity would be next to impossible to sustain. When you guys support us, we reciprocate and we invest in our own back yard. The pleasure and priviledge is ours to have, we are lucky guys.

Thanks you all kindly, all of you

Stereo Passion