Capital AudioFest Chronicles 2022
Beautiful sounds on the 5th Floor Part B.
Show Report By Rick Becker

Room 545 Haniwa
The Haniwa room was repetitive of previous shows, but I noticed their speaker was supplemented with a Sony subwoofer in this show. The single-driver speakers are DSP controlled for phase correction. Haniwa's The Player turntable with HTAM01 tonearm was priced at $11k and something called the HCTR-C0 Mk II Current Loop Turnkey Kit (0.2 Ohms) was priced at $12k.

They claim the system runs 20Hz to 20kHz with the speaker system coming in at $12k also. I also noted an array of their fine phono cartridges on display, but there was no literature to clue me in on the different models.

Room 549 Theoretica Applied Physics And JansZen Loudspeakers
Theoretica Applied Physics did not ring a single bell from my past, but upon entering I spotted the familiar JansZen Valentina A8-SE speaker I had seen at the Axpona show earlier this year. In referring to that report, I saw that Theoretica Applied Physics was there, too, along with the BACCH-SP that was sitting front and center on a glass amp stand. I had the same problem in Chicago that I had here in Rockville — the room was packed and I couldn't get a seat. No wonder David Janszen was out roaming the halls!

The sound here was not only familiar but even better than I remembered from Axpona. I'll steal from that earlier show report;

"The JansZen Valentina A8-SE speaker is an electrostatic hybrid, non-dipole, active, tri-amped speaker with analog and digital inputs, with remote selection of either omni-directional or controlled dispersion, and priced under $15k. Non-omni-directional versions are available as either active or passive speakers for just under $10k. That's a lot to unpack, but the 'non-dipole' indicates the electrostatic panels are not open on the backside. The 'hybrid' points to the dynamic drivers above and below the electrostatic panels that appear to be mounted on a flat plane on the baffle. The 'tri-amplified' approach of the active versions is a trend that has been growing in recent years. A 3.5" full-range speaker is mounted on each side and the back. A slight time delay is said to help create the sound signature of Boston Symphony Hall."

What has come to the surface since Axpona is a review of the Theoretica Applied Physics BACCH-SP by Andrew Quint in the December 2022 issue of The Absolute Sound. An authorized pre-print was available at the Capital show. The adio is described as a "preamp / processor and DAC with crosstalk-cancellation filter and head-tracking capability." These guys are from Princeton, NJ, so what do you expect? Apparently, this $23,800 base ($27,800 as loaded) "toy" is a significant part of the holographic presentation coming from the JansZen speakers. I'll urge you to read the review if you're at all interested.

If the BACCH-SP is beyond your means, I would still urge you to consider the Valentina in one of its several forms — it's available passive (for less than $10k) as well as active (for less than $15k), and with or without the surround speakers on the side and back of the cabinet. Given that the electrostatic driver in the mid-section of the speaker, like the dynamic drivers, is enclosed by the cabinet, there is no dipole back wave, thereby allowing you to place it closer to the front wall. These are made to order, so you can also specify optional finishes. Next time I come across this room, I'm going to have to pull rank and get a seat for optimal listening... for at least a couple of minutes.

Suite 550 Fyssion
While I was expecting another high-tech room, given the exhibitor with the name of Fyssion, I wasn't quite sure what to make of this room. I felt right at home with these gentlemen from Boone, North Carolina. I used to drive through Boone after bicycling up (and down) Mt. Mitchell after working three long days at the furniture show twice a year in High Point, NC. These guys had authentic NC accents and from looking at their speakers, I suspect they had deep roots in the furniture industry back in the day.

With maybe a half dozen different models randomly placed around the room and accessed through a patch panel, I wasn't sure how seriously to take this presentation. Their patented technology, ARIA, stands for Audio Recover Imaging Amplifier and is a "hybrid design employing internal mechanical and electrical diaphragms that boosts an audio speaker's performance level beyond its normal limits with ease." I humbly consulted my inner Art Dudley and wished them well. I'll let you draw your own conclusions, but I can assure you that if these speakers get shelf space in the gift shop of Cracker Barrel restaurants, these entrepreneurs will be laughing all the way to the bank.

---> Next Page.