Capital AudioFest Chronicles 2022
3rd Floor Meeting Rooms, Atrium, Plus The Best Rooms At CAF 2022!
CAF 2022 Show Report By Rick Becker

Association for Recorded Sound Collections ARSC
Off in the corner was the Association for Recorded Sound Collections, an interesting group based in the Washington, DC area. It was all I could do, but bite my tongue to keep from telling the gentleman how many LPs I have. Had he known, he never would have let me get away. But DC is a long commute for me.

Wally Tools
J.R. Boisclair was manning his Wally Tools table, going one-on-one with interested folks. It's amazing how he keeps coming up with more tools as well as refining older ones. His Wallyscope v2 camera/microscope contraption is fascinating. There should be one in the tool rental department of every Home Depot in America. Turntable set-up is becoming an art that requires a very specialized engineering degree. Walking by his table makes me feel like such a novice. It's embarrassing.

J.R. is becoming quite the road warrior with WAM Engineering going on the road to Houston, San Antonio, and Boston, offering clinics at dealers or audio clubs as well as booking private turntable optimization in the immediate area in those cities.

Just Audio
The guys at Just Audio stopped me in my tracks with this stack of vintage Pioneer separates. How I used to lust over this stuff when I was a young dude. And today there is a whole cult of enthusiasts with the skill to rehab and tweak this old gear to the max. I remember visiting Todd Kuban of AmCan Audio in Chicago and being blown away by his restored vintage rig. The prices here at Just Audio were not cheap, indicative of the collector value of the coveted gear.

This Kenwood AM/FM stereo receiver was in near-mint condition with its wood chassis. The "model Nine G" threw me, though. The guy explained that the series was marketed only in certain parts of the country... or maybe in Japan?

Also getting attention at the Just Audio table was this Blue Hawaii electrostatic headphone amplifier with Mullard tubes and green anodized faceplate and accents. Very cool.

iSonic
Jerry Fan of Isonic was busy explaining their record-cleaning machines.

Audio Ultra
Edward DeVito in the white shirt is the founder of Audio Ultra in Sumner, WA. His company has three facets. First, they design and fine-tune home systems on-site. Second, they are a retailer of very fine audio components. And third, what caught my attention here, they offer "proprietary industrial-grade Performance Series Power Distribution products [to] deliver more electrical current to components while lowering overall impedance."

In addition to offering power supply products, they offer consultation and supervision of installation both locally in Washington state, and remotely, across the country. These are the guys you want to see before you begin a major high-end dedicated listening room or home theater project. Having explored his website, I look forward to exploring the products on display behind him in the photo.

The big S 1000 Stromtank unit below the Stromtank audio grade distribution bar he is holding, is designed to allow you to listen to music off-grid. Tom Lyle reviewed the S 2500 Stromtank for Enjoy the Music.com in 2018. And the round silver pod with two orange lights on top is a whole-house surge protector that sells for about $1000 if you happen to live on Thunder Road. And the guy in the Hawaiian shirt? Don't you recognize an audiophile when you see one?

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