Capital Audiofest (CAF) 2017 & CanMania Show Report
ModWright Instruments, OPPO, WyWires And Daedalus
CAF 2017 Show Report By Kemper Holt

  I ducked into this room quite often in my travels at CAF and each time I heard music that made me want to slow down and settle in. These guys have formed a show bond that brings them and their gear together for terrific sounding rooms. This time I heard more detail and better/tighter bass than ever before. Alison Krauss' New Favorite album was wonderfully open, big stage, her voice focused and dead center displayed small intonations easily, and the instruments spread across the wide stage were properly placed and very clear. Rickie Lee Jones was sultry and the band complemented her nicely.

Lou Hinkley, head of Daedalus always plays a favorite of mine, Jesse Colin Young's "Ridgetop" which I've heard at least five times at shows, but here I thought it was the finest showing. His voice showed more emotion and the band seemed to have more detail or clarity, and the saxophone had perfect bite and cut through the mix sounding live in the room. The new 10" driver Lou is using has elevated the bass region giving plucked bass and percussion a tighter and more driving presence really drawing you in to the music. The sound here was relaxed, organic, and inviting, plenty of information and never bright or glaring. Lou pulled out a 45 RPM version of Stevie Ray Vaughn's "Tin Pan Ally" and I was treated to a slice of SRV in concert, guitar dynamics, soulful singing, and a sense of being at a live concert. The sweet spot in this system was a little wider than many rooms making it easier for more than one person to have the best experience. In my opinion this was the best sounding room these manufacturers have assembled, congratulations.

Anchoring the room was Lou's Daedalus Apollo 11 speakers ($22,800) made from solid (not MDF w/veneer) hardwoods with beautiful inlays sporting a 96dB sensitivity allowing compatibility with any amp culture from SET to SS. Dan Wright's ModWright Instruments contributed a pair of Ambrose A30 Class A tube mono amplifiers ($16,000) Ambrose One balanced reference tube preamp ($12,000) PH 150 tube phono stage ($7,900) ModWright Tube Modified OPPO UPD-205 ($2,500 for mod only) and an OPPO Sonica DAC also modded my ModWright ($2,500 for mod only). Alex Sventitsky's WyWires supplied all the cabling from his Diamond, Silver, and Platinum lines for speaker, interconnects, power cords, digital, and a WyWires/Daedalus Power Broker AC distribution center.

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