Best Of Capital Audiofest 2023
Capital Audiofest Report / Chronicles Part 11
Show Report By Rick Becker

Part 1   (See Part 1)
Treehaus Audiolab   Room 812
Rich Pinto went far beyond his previous efforts with an outstanding open baffle speaker design with field coil drivers powered by Treehaus amplification and a loom of Iconoclast cables.

Hear This   Room 819
Von Schweikert moved the expensive VR-55 upstairs into this small room powered by Westminster Lab amplification that is imported by Hear This. A LampizatOr Horizon DAC was at the front end along with a Small Green Computer server.

Pure Audio Project   Room 825
Ze'ev Schlik put together a very open-sounding rig at a very reasonable price with his open baffle speakers driven by a Pass INT-25 integrated amp and phono stage with a VPI turntable at the front end, all strung together with Silversmith Fidelium cables.

Bricasti Design   Room 828

Bricasti electronics did a superb job of driving Tidal's entry-level Piano speakers. The DAC with variable output was used to drive the M28 Special monoblocks directly.

AV Luxury Group   Room 832
Powering Raidho TD3.2 speakers with Margules tube amplification featuring some new refinements, they achieved one of the most transparent 'You-are-there' presentations at the show.

Part 2   (See Part 2)
Perfect 8 Technologies   Room 844
With stand-mounted monitors and a subwoofer made with glass, Perfect 8 produced crystal clear sound that hung in the air. A dCS Vivaldi Apex DAC and Ypsilon Phaethon integrated amp were key supporting components in this outstanding rig.

Alma Audio   Room 849
This was my first exposure to the new series of YG speakers designed under the new leadership and it was the best I've ever heard from the company. The entry-level Carmel 3 floorstander was driven by a Vinnie Rossi preamp and power amp with an MSB DAC and Innuos PhoenixNET network switch, all strung together with a loom of Kubala-Sosna cables.

Scott Walker Audio And Synergistic Research   Room 853
The new item here was the Synergistic Research Voodoo server, but that will have to fall into the hands of someone into streaming for review. Otherwise, this room exhibited the same excellent sound as previous shows, except I was more attuned to its outstanding ability to project sound out into the room courtesy of the Vibratron space needle which I have recently reviewed. Once you have experienced what this accessory can do, almost all other rooms sound recessed.

Part 3   (See Part 3)
GTT Audio & Video   Room 715
The fourth generation Vivid Audio Giya was the first of the large Giya models that I've heard in years. It sounded very special driven by the new MolaMola Perca stereo amps used for vertical bi-amp'ing. A Grimm Audio MU1 streamer was at the front end, feeding a DAC built into the MolaMola line stage. Kubala-Sosna cables strung everything together in this very fine-sounding rig put together by Bill Parish.

Robyatt Audio   Room 719
Rob Wyatt treated us to the new Quad ESL 2812X speaker, $5k less expensive than the original model. It was driven by the new Java HiFi Double Shot integrated amp with Mid-Century Modern styling brought over from New Zealand by Martin Bell, founder of Java HiFi. A Michell Gyro SE turntable was at the front end, equipped with a Miyajima cartridge and step-up transformer. The rig was strung with a loom of Finley Audio cables and cable risers. The new $10k price of the Quad ESL 2812X makes it accessible to many more audiophiles.

Voxativ   Room 723
Voxativ used their T-211 integrated tube amp to drive their unusually shaped horn-loaded single-driver speaker. It was a very elegant presentation accompanied by a Weiss DAC502. The system delivered another 'You-are-there' performance with plenty of dynamics from the efficient speakers. The design of the Voxativ amp and speakers was extraordinary.

Part 4    (See Part 4)
Songer Audio   Room 740
Ken Songer had another very fine presentation this year at CAF with his high-efficiency single-driver speaker driven by a Trafomatic Rhapsody tube amp. A spectacular new Poseidon DAC from LampizatOr that replaces twelve other models in their line-up was simply stunning.

Triangle Art   Room 741
The Triangle Art room is outstanding year after year. You have to ask each time if there is anything new in the system. And it almost doesn't matter which of the three turntables he shows is playing. When you reach this level of consistent excellence it's difficult to notice small differences from one show to the next.

AGD Productions   Room 744
Alberto Guerra has been upgrading the power 'tubes' in his GaNFET Class D amplifiers over the years and he has been diversifying his model range to include more affordable products. Yet, the house sound stays the same, just getting better. He presented with the Ocean Way monitors again this year which works well in the small rooms at shows. He also introduced his new flagship Solo monoblocks which put out 550 watts into 4 Ohms and deliver 50A peak output, putting AGD into a new power bracket.

Theoretica Applied Physics   Room 749
Professor Edgar Choueiri presented his novel technology that eliminates cross-talk from the right speaker to the left ear and vice versa. I had a much better experience this year even though I wasn't in the sweet spot with the system tuned specifically to my ears. It achieves its goal and the effect improves the spatiality of the soundstage, but at a dear cost. Also notable were the JansZen speakers which, on their own, produce a very holographic soundscape for a moderate price.

Audio Group Denmark   Room 750
Audio Group Denmark appeared in three different rooms. I did not hear the $2M rig in the large Eisenhower room on the 3^rd Floor where a second, much more affordable rig was playing when I visited. Their new flagship speaker in that room was a work of art. What impressed me very highly upstairs was a more affordable Borresen X2 speaker driven by more affordable products from the new Axxess line. It is the same house sound, now more affordable and accessible to more people.

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