Stereophile awarded Atelier Audio Best Sound of the Show 2026.

I heard both digital and analog setups here in the Atelier Audio room at Montreal Audiofest 2026, and analog edged out digital in image palpability, tactility, texture, resolution, lifelike presence, and, most of all, tone. I’d go so far as to say it delivered the best tone I heard at the show. My goodness, that sax. Those vocals. The double bass. I couldn’t remember hearing them depicted so deep, exposed, and lifelike—and that extends to the recoding space, which was tangibly recreated, down to the volume of air inside the room and the instrument’s proximity to walls. The presentation brimmed with life force and real-time presence.

This room had the Best Sound of the Show for me, hands down. (Ken Micallef, who has a pair of Voxativ Ampeggio speakers on loan at home, liked it too.)