Capital Audiofest 2023 Show Report / Chronicles Part 2
The 8th Floor Part B
Show Report By Rick Becker

Room 841  Alma Audio
This first (of 4) room from Alma Music & Audio, with retail stores in San Diego, CA, and Sterling, VA, sounded very good with a Vinnie Rossi Brama Integrated ($39k) driving QLN Signature speakers in walnut burl high gloss veneer ($26k, with stands). I'm gaining more and more respect for this fine line from Sweden.

On top of the rack was the new Merason DAC1 Mk II ($8500), followed below by the Innuos Pulse streamer ($3800) and PhoenixNET USB Network Switch ($4349) with an AB-Tech Klar USB cable ($1350). Kubala-Sosna cables did the rest. The Finite Elemente Pagode Signature Mk II (E12) rack was $4750 as configured.

The Qlm speaker was simply gorgeous, though they have a walnut matt finish if you need something less stunning.

Room 844  Perfect 8 Technologies
Breaking up the sequence of ALMA rooms in this hallway was Perfect 8 Technologies with another stunning speaker with a completely different aesthetic. We've seen glass speakers before, but this was the finest-sounding one I've ever heard. The soundstage was as transparent as the cabinet and the music hung in the air in the room with excellent resolution. (Note the thin un-shielded copper speaker cables.) Unusual were the front and rear-facing drivers augmented by a smaller side-firing driver.

For deeper notes, there was a subwoofer that also had front and rear firing drivers. The price for the monitor and subwoofer package was $40k, which didn't surprise me.

The rack carried over the glass theme with thick shelves supporting a dCS Vivaldi Apex DAC on top. In the middle was a Ypsilon Electronics Phaethon integrated amplifier from Greece. It is a hybrid design with tube input and driver stages, followed by a solid-state third gain stage. All with a very readable LDC display and a full-function remote control. On the bottom shelf was an Equitech 2RQ power conditioner. Color this expensive. For that matter, I expect the entire room was expensive but sometimes that's what you have to spend for exquisite sound. I'll let you decide how practical all this glass is for your house. A tip of the hat to Jonas Rantila of Perfect 8 for the help here.

Room 845  Alma Audio
Getting back to the ALMA rooms, this was my highly anticipated introduction to the new Estelon Aura speaker ($20k). It was powered by a darTZeel LHC 208 Mk II integrated amp ($25,310) with a Phoenix NET network switch ($4349). Kubala-Sosna cables were used here as well. I bumped into Joe Kubala at the show at some point but failed to get a photo of him.

I wouldn't put it past Swiss engineers to come up with a special vibration-absorbing shipping crate that doubles as an amp stand, but the aesthetic doesn't work with the Estelon speaker.

The Beatles poster is an acoustic panel from Nemesis ($799 each). I like the size and the use of artwork. I'm not sure if you can supply your graphics, but give them a shout.

Unfortunately, I wasn't overwhelmed by the Aura speaker. Perhaps it was because my previous experience with Estelon was with their outstanding Extreme speaker, which was rather like an aircraft carrier task force than a mere flagship. Perhaps it was just not a good match with the darTZeel. Every other Estelon I've heard has been very, very good, if not outstanding. With 90dB/W/m sensitivity and 4 Ohm impedance with a 2 Ohm minimum at 58Hz, it needs a serious amplifier. I'll look forward to another opportunity to hear it.

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