Listening Room Confidential

Soulnote A-2 integrated amplifier, front panel — the amplifier that still sounds like a band with the dial at nine o'clock
  • by Jeff

How to Listen

Listening Room Confidential, No. 3. A record chosen by somebody else, a lesson in shutting up, and a few notes on how to listen — at home, with company, and at the Toronto Audiofest, October 16–18 — from a man recently out-listened by someone reading a paperback.

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A bread maker beside a pair of loudspeakers — Canada's September 8 counter-tariffs cover one and not the other
  • by Jeff

Elbows Up, Ears Open

Canada's September 8 counter-tariffs hit smartphones, routers and bread makers — and skipped hi-fi entirely. But American-made audio is getting dearer anyway, and European, British and Japanese gear enters at zero. A distributor on what the customs schedule actually says, the dealer email that got it wrong, and why this is the year to buy from somewhere that isn't charging you for a war.

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Photo of Rick Rubin at Vienna High End 2026
  • by Jeff Wells

Has Hi-Fi Lost the Plot?

Notes from High End Vienna 2026, where Rick Rubin walked a hall devoted to addition: an honest look at an industry climbing the price ladder, the vanishing middle market, and four small brands still colouring outside the lines.

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