Thank you for following the development of Lemay Audio. Our presence at Montreal Audiofest 2024 did not go unnoticed. Audiophiles were more numerous than ever, and the members of the audio press who took the time to visit unanimously declared our presentation as one of the best, if not the very best, at Audiofest.
I want to thank all these journalists for lending such a keen ear to a product as exclusive as the Hommage loudspeaker.
On my side, I remain completely impressed by the musicality of the Grimm MU2. With every new track I listen to, it’s a marvel. I never imagined that the sounds of sheet music rustling, chairs, breathing, keys, and pedals could be so audible. I must honestly admit that, for the first time, I’m convinced that nearly everything has been extracted from the signal.
Speaking of the signal, new blind tests confirm that with a speaker as capable as the Hommage, even the slightest signal improvement is easily noticeable.
Take a simple Videotron router, for example. Replace its small external 12V power transformer with an IFI Audio I Power Elite ($450), and the sound becomes more engaging and noticeably smoother. If you want to go further, have us modify the Elite with one of our proprietary cables ($1,450), and it becomes even more musical. Available in 5V, 12V, 15V, and 24V for any device with an external DC power supply.
Next discovery in a few months — we never stop.
Like this single-seater supercar, the Hommage loudspeaker was designed for an uncompromising listening experience from the ideal spot (the sweet spot). A rather selfish proposition, you might say. But the result is intoxicating.
The speakers are optimized for a single ideal listening spot. I like this approach because, between you and me, in this hobby most of us enjoy it alone. If that’s the case, why not go all out to make it the best from that one ideal spot? These three speakers do a few things exceptionally well: accurate tonality, effortless resolution, and a soundstage that truly disappears despite their large size. And if you love classical music, they really convey the full breadth of the orchestra.
By the way, the speaker cables in this room are very interesting. These cables, costing only $1,800, managed to outperform cables priced at $30,000. Yes! I have them at home now!
Robert Schryer | March 31, 2024
All prices are in Canadian dollars.
Another highlight of Montreal Audiofest was the system presented in the Lemay Audio room, which included a pair of Dayton-Wright Hommage 9.3 electrostatic speakers ($68,000), a Tenor Audio 175S 20th Anniversary 175Wpc amplifier ($150,000), and a Grimm Audio MU2 server/streamer/DAC/preamplifier ($23,500). Peripheral products included cables from Silversmith, Inakustik, and Network Acoustics (at various prices), as well as an amplifier stand and a two-shelf Modulum Audio Arkitek series rack ($5,700 and $4,800, respectively). Also on display, on a static stand, were a Baetis Audio Prodigy L2E server ($2,500) and an iFi iDSD NEO 2 DAC ($1,300), both noted on Lemay’s price list as being musically unbeatable at their respective price points.
I want everyone to be able to hear this system to understand just how much information is contained in a recording and how creative, nuanced, continuous, and realistic it can be, even with ordinary FLAC file streams. High-resolution files? Please.
Listening to this system with ordinary 16/44.1 files streamed from Tidal was a revelation, providing on live recordings a vivid sense that I was not only hearing each sound with remarkable precision, but that the performance itself was unfolding in real time before my eyes and ears. Transcendent.
Click on the image below to watch the video
Audiophile, longtime show visitor, and fan of electrostatic speakers. I’ve known about Dayton-Wright for a very long time, but I never had the chance to see or hear them in person. Thanks for the detailed coverage! It was great to hear an explanation of some of the details of this excellent speaker.
Oh my God! It’s like Mozart is IN THE ROOM!
Wow, Jason. An amazing look at something I’ve never seen before. Thank you for this coverage.
François Lemay, founder of Tenor Audio, has taken to building loudspeakers in recent years with designer Jocelyn Jeanson, who was also present at the show, using Dayton-Wright electrostatic panels resurrected from a bygone era. This year, the Dayton-Wright Hommage 9.3 speaker increased from seven to nine panels. Only one is full-range, if I recall correctly, while the others reinforce the bass. The sound here was exceptional, as it has been in previous years when it ranked among the best rooms. The large black components behind the speakers were the power supplies for the electrostatic transducers, which are included in the price of the speakers.
The large speaker in a light gray finish seemed fairly understated, but François showed me photos of a pair ordered in bright red and another pair in the works, using marquetry panels of exotic wood that will undoubtedly be spectacular. The low production volume of these expensive speakers ($68,000 CAD, base price) allows for such customization.
The Tenor amplifier (175S, 20th Anniversary, $150,000) is classic and can also be finished in different ways. I had expected to hear a new supercharged iFi DAC following discussions with François over the past year, but he fell in love with the Grimm Audio MU2 streamer/DAC ($24,000), which outperformed two other well-known high-end DACs during testing. He praised it for its smoothness and lack of grain, and the system indeed sounded very good, though I tend to prefer a tube DAC for the character it brings to the experience.
We all have our favorites. The Fidelium cables—both the wide, gold-colored ribbon speaker cable ($1,800), which has grown in popularity over recent years, and the new interconnects that have just hit the market—were used in this setup. Samples of the new XLR interconnects ($1,500) are already in the hands of reviewers, according to Jeffrey Smith of Silversmith Audio, who was at the show far from his home in Wyoming. The familiar tunes of Eric Clapton, Albert King, and Ricki Lee Jones made it hard to leave the room.
From left to right: François Bernier (proud owner of a pair of Ferrari-red Hommage speakers), Jeff Stacey (owner of a pre-production pair of Hommage speakers), Normand Roy (owner of a pre-production pair of Hommage speakers), Martin Labrecque (member of Tenor Audio, owner of a pair of Hommage 9.4 speakers), Jocelyn Jeanson (sound engineer, owner of a pre-production pair of Hommage speakers and electrostatic subwoofers), François Lemay (Lemay Audio), and Jeffrey Smith (Silversmith Audio Group).
