Plurison, Canadian distributor for Cambridge Audio, Focal JMlab, Rega, YBA and Mordaunt-Short among other brands, prominently displayed a new addition to their brand portfolio at this year’s show called Micromega. The Micromega component line-up consists of integrated amps, CD players, preamps, power amps and a wireless DAC. All components are designed and manufactured in France. There are three levels of integrated amps including the IA-60 (60 watts per channel, $1295), IA-100 (100 watts per channel, $1895) and IA-180 (180 watts per channel, $2795). A matching CD player is available for each integrated amp, with a matching price. The PA-20 preamp retails for $2295, while the PW-250 (250 watts per channel) and PW-400 (400 watts per channel) power amps retail for $2295 and $3395 respectively. All Micromega amplifiers use class D amplification. The WM-10 wireless DAC has a suggested price of $1695. Each component comes in a solidly built, compact and very sleek looking enclosure available in a choice of black or silver. Look out for a review of a couple of these components in an upcoming issue of CANADA HiFi. In an adjoining room, the combination of Focal JMlab speakers and Micromega components sounded delightful. Our June/July 2010 issue will feature a review of the Focal JMlab 1008 Be bookshelf speakers.
Allan Feldstein, previously with Klipsch Canada, launched a new distribution company called Audioscape about a year ago and had an impressive line-up of speakers, tube amplifiers, cables and turntables on display in his room. Brands distributed in Canada by his new company include PrimaLuna, Mystere, Usher, JPSLabs, Nottingham Analogue Studio, Dual and Opus3 Continuo. The PrimaLuna and Mystere brands, designed in the US and built in China, span many different models and varying price ranges. Turntable maker Nottingham Analogue is one of the favourites among analog enthusiasts yet has never really had a presence in Canada – hopefully Audioscape will change that.
Kevro International, importer of Monitor Audio, Tributaries and Myryad, was demonstrating the new Monitor Audio Apex lifestyle speaker series. The series consists of three models: a bookshelf speaker, a centre channel and a subwoofer. A 5.1-channel system retails for $4500, but can also be built for as little as $3500 if you opt out for one of the more affordable RadiusHD series subwoofers. The speaker enclosures are built out of die cast aluminium and are of substantial weight. The drivers uses in this series are the same as in the popular Monitor Audio Silver speaker range. The bookshelf speakers come with a table top stand, can be stand mounted and wall mounted (on matching speaker stands, sold separately). I listened to a quick Transformers demo and was very satisfied with the clean, dynamic and powerful sound that came from these compact speakers. The subwoofer accompanied the on-screen action with a clean but powerful bottom end. These would be a great match for condo dwellers looking to get higher quality sound out of attractive speakers which won’t clutter up their space.
