Aleksander is known by a lot of people in town.   As the moderator of the Yahoo Toronto Audiophile forum, he has been in the Toronto audiophile scene much longer than many people, including myself. 

I have been to Alex's place on more than a few occasions.  I must say, they have all been enjoyable.   I cannot recall an evening which I did not enjoy the music, the fine wine, or the pleasure of his company.    The wealth of knowledge which he possess on music and audio, will reward every visitor who spent time with him in his dedicated audio room.

There is something very special about Alex's system.    If it is not one of the best sounding setup which I have heard in all of Toronto, it will be certainly be on the top of my favorite list.

 The system is not the most expensive I have seen, it is probably not the most detailed or the most dynamic.  But taken as a 

 whole, the system delivers a magical synergy which makes you just want to tap your feet.     Every time when I walk

 into his room, I just want to sit down and enjoy the music.    I can still recall the holographic image of Ella Fitzgerald singing 10

 feet in front of me, or the tune of Pete Seeger's Guantanamera where I was literally taken back to the Carnegie Hall of 1955.  

 There is much to be said about the liveliness of his setup.       

 My friend Peter considers it to be the finest he has heard in Toronto.  In Peter's own words:

       "You forget you're listing to 2 channel reproduction.   The sound is "toe tapping', involving, and vividly holographic.  

         The sound is not perfect, and there are many things which i can pick on.  But I say this because LIVE MUSIC

         is also not perfect.  The sound of Alex's system is alive and engaging, this is something which you will not find

         in demo rooms or in studios. It is something which I have been trying to, but unable to attain."

 As the tunes of fine music play well into the night, another thought came to my mind.  

 I have met many audiophiles (including myself) who have burdened themselves with the many distractions of this hobby.  Some 

 are preoccupied with forever wanting to squeeze the very last bit of high fidelity out of their system.   Others are worried about

 what their peers will think when they visit.   Some spend hours on the internet reading reviews or engaging themselves with

 heated debates trashing either vinyl or digital.   Not to mention those who are forever tweaking with their isolation cones, ebony

 blocks, demagnetizers or moving speaker positions, or worrying about their cartridge being 0.3 mm off the axis.   How about the

 ego maniacs who are eager to show off their knowledge on the subject by constantly criticizing ?   "Your trebles are too high,

 the bass is too much, the violins have no texture, the piano has no resonance, the pizza has no sauce ........"

 Alex has been able to achieve a fine balance between the purist of audio excellence through his equipment, while maintaining a

 firm focus on the goal of this hobby, that is to enjoy music in itself.     Judging by looks of his setup, you can tell that time has

 been spent on doing the "audiophile things" (note the turntable butcher block, the room treatments, or the cable risers).  Yet 

 those things are never the focus of his hobby, they are only means to a better end.    The priorities are with listening to music,

 and the pleasurable company of others.