Capital AudioFest Chronicles 2022
Rick continues with the 6th floor Part B.
Show Report By By Rick Becker

Room 659 Sound Reps, LLC
The cheat sheet for this room proclaimed they were the vinyl revivers but the rig said otherwise. The source was a sonic Transporter i9 Optical ($2,900) with a Sonore Signature Rendu SE Optical Tier II ($4,800). Got that? From there they went to Italy for a Gold Note CD 1000 Deluxe DAC ($5,800), Gold Note PH-1000 preamp ($16k), and Gold Note PA-1175 power amp ($8,300). The speakers were the Sonner Legato Duo in satin black ($9,500) from New Hampshire.

Most of the cabling was from Nordost in Massachusetts. I heard a cover of "Fever" sung by a finger-snapping male vocalist the presented a lot of air and bloom with standup bass providing a very mellow sound. Wish that I could have stayed to hear additional genres in this very nice-sounding rig. Gunawan Surya from Sonner was a gracious host.

Room 661 DC HiFi Group
The hosts of the DC HiFi Group tried their best to get me to sign up for their club but I assured them I was running on empty. It sounds like they have a pretty active group — worth investigating if you live in that area and can handle the traffic. The rig included a pair of DR Audio Works Model 1 ($6,500 — half price) that only needs amplifiers for the bottom boxes and crossovers. It seemed like another project to me, but there are lots of guys out there that savor the challenge. I'm not sure what the deal was with the other gear seen here.

There was a Pear Audio Blue turntable with a DS 003 cartridge and a DS-EQ1 phono stage for it from EMM Labs. A Backert Labs Rhumba 1.3 preamp was in the cabinet along with a pair of Pear Audio monoblocks. A lot of the gear had MOSart Audio vibration-absorbing footers and shelves in this room that incorporates thick layers of cork. I'll say more when I get to the MOSart room on the 5^th Floor.

Much More To Come!
So while I go find the stairway to the 5th Floor, please enjoy the music. I'll be back with more Capital AudioFest 2022 show coverage in a few days.

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