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

Room 855  ampsandsound
I had a much more favorable impression of the ampsandsound room this year, probably because they spaced the Acora QRC 2-way floorstanders ($28k) on the long wall of the room. I've paid close attention to Acora speakers since they burst upon the scene and they love lots of space between them and lots of air around them. As good as this room sounded, it would have been better in a larger room. With their inert synthetic quartz cabinets, they are just slightly less exquisite than their black granite predecessors which remain in the line at a $7k premium. The equipment racks seen here were also by Acora at $8k each.

New in this room was the ampsandsound Yellowstone preamp ($35k) with exposed tubes on the left side revealing the inclusion of a phono stage.

The architecture is very distinct and the bold lettering contributes to their effort to develop their brand.

The Arches monoblocks ($50k/pair) placed directly on the floor would have likely performed better if they had been on stands and aftermarket footers, I have to think. They are built with 10 Ga. structural steel and weigh about 100 pounds each so maybe they feel otherwise. In any case, leaving them that vulnerable to a vacuum cleaner raises my anxiety, to say the least. Little pawn-like figures near the corners of the tube deck suggest the availability of a tube cage for those who need such protection.

And the power switch was thoughtfully located at the right front corner as this amp has a significant footprint. That was a VPI Avenger direct drive turntable ($36k) and an Aurender A20 streamer ($14k) at the front end. All of the cabling was Cardas Clear — a commonality among many fine-sounding rooms at the show.

Ampsandsound appears to be a high-quality boutique firm, different, but not unlike Fern & Roby, Treehaus Audiolab, or Triode Labs. The Arches is their flagship amp and they have other lower power amps as well as one for headphones, if that's your game. After hearing this room I will be paying more attention to them in the future.

Room 857  Endow Audio
I first encountered the Endow speakers at a show earlier this year and was very impressed with them. I wrote: "The ‘horn' unit has a ring of identical dynamic drivers as well as an identical driver inside the horn facing the listener. With all the reflected sound from the ring of drivers, there was no 'cupped-hands' sound as you might expect from the horn." Well, apparently I was mistaken as the tweeter inside the horn is a 22mm textile dome, while the 9 drivers around the outside of the horn are 1.5" wide-band drivers. Both of their rooms drew a lot of attention, though only a handful of rooms at the show were as packed as so many were at a show earlier this year.

I complimented them on their excellent signage in my event review and they continued with their large posters along with the show and room number highly visible here at CAF. This is so helpful for anyone taking a photo of their rigs.

I also suggested the speaker might have more appeal with a wood finish rather than the all-black look…and look how nice that turned out for them! The horn arrangement is a unique and effective way to create a more omni-directional speaker.

This was the Bravura 7.2 monitor, still priced at $6900, powered by a Black Ice tube amp and offered in a package deal ($8811) at a 5% discount for the speaker, Audio Envy speaker cable tuned for this speaker and the amplifier. A similar package was offered with a Starkrimson Duo B7 amp from Oak Orchard for those who prefer solid-state electronics. Being a tube guy, I would nudge you toward the Black Ice amp as an easy way to experience tubes at a low entry price. The 18 Wpc was plenty for this monitor with only 84dB/W/m efficiency and 4 Ohm impedance.

--- Next Page.