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

Part 5    (See Part 5)
Bang & Olufsen   Room 615
I rarely come across Bang & Olufsen at the shows. When I do encounter this Danish company, they typically have a very strong contemporary speaker and this show was no exception. Not only was the visual design extraordinary with the grille in place, but the driver configuration was also quite unusual. This is a company that puts visual design at the forefront, but acoustically, it was also a winner. You can invite both your interior designer and audiophile friends to the same party.

Part 6    (See Part 6)
Audio Thesis   Room 634
Rosso Fiorentino speakers catch my ear every time I encounter them. The Italian flare for design will be an acquired taste for many. What stood out in this room was the typical excellence I've heard from this speaker manufacturer when driven by the new integrated amplifier from Perreaux, available in a series of delightful colors that should appeal to young and old alike. This marks the return of Perreaux from New Zealand after years of absence. The Ever Solo streamer used here is already a hot item and the new Way Cables from Serbia also deserve critical attention.

Wells Audio   Room 637
Jeff Wells had a beautiful sounding rig with his electronics driving Joseph Pulsar2 Graphene monitors set up on the diagonal of the room. I've heard the Pulsars over the years but the Wells Audio tube gear made them sound the best I've ever heard them. The Cardas cabling used here is always a good match with Joseph speakers.

Pro Audio Design   Room 651
Pro Audio Design out of Hanover, MA put together a major presentation of TAD speakers and electronics with TAD's CEO even flying in from Japan for the presentation. They had numerous speakers on display which may have been rotated into service over the weekend, but I heard the Grand Evolution One floorstander that was outstanding. This was likely the first I've ever heard or seen their components which encompass attractive design elements and outstanding acoustical performance.

Clayton Shaw Acoustic Lab   Room 661
Clayton Shaw, who has a history with open baffle speaker designs, reimagined the concept and came up with a fresh look using natural solid wood baffles that are available in a variety of wood species and stains as well as white and black. They were shown in a modest rig with an LTA integrated amp and the new LTA Aero DAC along with an Innuos Zen network streamer, strung together with affordable AntiCables. The Caladan speaker tops out at under $3500 with Gaia feet and shipping included. Orders taken at the show were estimated at shipping in February, so it was very well received.

Part 7    (See Part 7)
Audio Note UK   Room 302
Audio Note UK is another brand with a strong house sound that is very consistent whether you move up or down their product line. The speakers here were near the top at $65k with their field coil drivers and like all their speakers, it is best placed in the corners of the room to reinforce the bass. The tube gear supported both digital and analog playback producing very inviting and relaxing music.

Refined Audio   Room 303
Cube Audio Nenuphar Mini speakers were driven by a First Watt amp from Pass Labs that was fed from a Cen. Grand DSDAC 1.0 that was new to me. An SDtrans384 Transport without a chassis that uses SD cards was also a novelty that may portend a future trend. The full-range single-driver speaker was outstanding, though limited in volume, but for those not wishing to break a lease or wake small children, this was a very high-quality solution.

Philharmonic Audio   Room 306
I praised this room last year with the Philharmonic BMR stand-mounted monitor and this year they brought almost their entire line-up with the ability to switch between several models spread across the front of their room. Moreover, their rig was intentionally low-$ with a Topping D90 DAC, Marantz CD player, a small NAD network streamer, and a "no-name" amp in addition to the speaker switch box. The speakers ranged from $380 to $4500, looked very good, and sounded great. Many others agreed with me as the room was both attentive and packed.

Command AV   Room 307
Joseph Audio made another appearance with the Perspective2 Graphene floorstanders mounted, once again, on the diagonal of the room. A Berkeley Audio Design DAC and Innuos Statement Server were the digital front end and a basic J. Sikora turntable was the analog source. Amplification was by Doshi tube gear and Cardas cabling was used throughout. This was a very well-balanced rig that sounded like it was a lot more expensive than it was, though it certainly was aspirational for most audiophiles.

Blink Audio   Room 310
Even more aspirational than the previous room was the rig from Audio Group Denmark in the room from Blink High End out of Cambridge, MA. It was a rare opportunity to hear the gorgeous Borresen M1 monitors ($100k) driven by expensive Aavik components with Ansuz Acoustic power conditioning, cables, and equipment rack. This was the best I've heard from Audio Group Denmark and it must have been close to the $2M system I didn't get to hear in the Eisenhower room later in the show. The presentation had the very tight, highly resolved house sound I've heard in the past, but taken to a higher level.

MC Audiotech   Room 311
The new TL-12 speaker overcomes the complexity of having to bi-amp that I faced in reviewing their more expensive Forty-10. With 92dB/W/m efficiency, this is a high-quality speaker that can play with either solid-state or low-powered tube amplification. The Ampsandsound tube amps served it very well. It has a very natural, inviting sound that does not exhibit a lot of bloom, so it should play especially well in a very live room.

Border Patrol   Room 316
This was a rare opportunity to hear the flagship speaker from Living Voice from the UK. The lustrous gloss finish on the wood veneer of the speaker and external crossover was as gorgeous as the music itself. The $54k R80 with an efficiency of 93dB/W/m is an easy drive for tube amplifiers. It revealed the full potential of the Border Patrol amplifier and DAC as well as the loom of Triode Wire Labs cables.

Now Listen Here   Room 319
Vandersteen Quatro CT speakers with their M5-HPA monoblocks sang very well here with a Rega Naia turntable feeding into Backert Labs Xphono phono stage and their new top-of-line Rhythm 1.4 tube preamplifier. A Meitner DAC and Innuos server were the digital front end. Transparent power conditioning and cables were used here.

Audio Thesis And Northern Audio   Room 321
This second room by Skip Skipworth of Audio Thesis also featured Rosso Fiorentino with the more expensive Volterra Series 2 speaker featuring unusual Italian styling that underscores the sensuous music it is capable of producing. A Technics turntable and MoFi Master Phono phono stage were the analog front end while a Silent Angel streamer was the digital source. A Norma Audio integrated amp, also from Italy, is an especially compatible amplifier for Rosso Fiorentino speakers — a combination I've admired at several shows.

High Water Sound   Room 323
Jeff Catalano typically puts together an outstanding room at shows featuring the TW Acoustic turntables he imports. Here, TW Acoustic also supplied the phono stage, preamplifier, and monoblocks for an elegant presentation with the somewhat unusual-looking, high-efficiency Cessaro Horn Acoustics speaker which he also imports. High Water Sound rooms are consistently among the very best at shows.

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