Capital AudioFest Chronicles 2022
Fine music on the 5th floor Part A.
Show Report By By Rick Becker

Room 521 SOTA
A pair of SOTA turntables were on display in a rig that also featured amplification by Gryphon (preamp and stereo power amp) and a REL S/812 subwoofer to supplement the two-way monitors.

On the left was the Series Quasar or "Quay" turntable (~$3k). Below it on the rack with rounded corners on the faceplate was a new MC / MM phono stage that will be coming out shortly at $300.

Room 523 Voxativ
Voxativ, from Berlin, Germany, had a popular room with an intricate three-box speaker design, model 9.88 which is identical to the 9.87 model that has been around a few years with just the middle module added to make it the 9.88. The lowest chassis housed a pair of 12" woofers facing each other with openings on the front and back, powered by a 200W Class A/B amp. The middle unit was ported and looked to contain the crossover unit. The upper chassis seemed to be an open baffle design but was identified as having an 8" full-range driver in a back-loaded horn design.

The three units, coupled with thin spikes seemed a bit precarious, but then, my equipment rack has spiked shelves and it is very stable. I didn't try to rock this tower. The 9.87 version was highly acclaimed and this sounded very good here, but I'm not sure what the middle section added besides a bit of anxiety.

The T805 SET integrated amp was uber-elegant and put out 30 Wpc in Class A with KT66 tubes, not 805. Weighing 120 pounds, this is definitely in the Beast Class. A Weiss DAC502 was in use here.

The complete system in the room had a $130k price tag but was being offered at 30% off as a show special, likely because the speaker had the original "9.87" emblem on the front. A deal like this would make the trip to this show well worth your while, assuming you could drive or ship it home.

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