Capital Audiofest 2023 Show Report / Chronicles Part 5
The 6th Floor Part A
Show Report By Rick Becker

Room 630 Fidelity Imports & The Listening Room
This room was more interesting than most along this hallway, though we still had the same cables and rack.

At the front end was a Mitchell Gyro SE turntable with T-8 tonearm ($7k) connected to a Gold Note PH-10 phono preamp ($2k) with its PSU-10 separate power supply ($1199). The amp was a Triode TRV-88XR integrated ($4799) with 35 Wpc.

The rig really got interesting with the Lowther speakers. This is a brand that dates back almost 90 years to 1934. It was in 1930 that Paul Voigt developed the first high-quality full-range driver. In 1934 he joined with O.P. Lowther to create Lowther speakers which were a major influence on Paul Klipsch's famous corner horn speakers. Lowther was very big among the DIY crowd and had slowly faded from the scene in recent decades, though I remember hearing some speakers with their drivers at the Montreal shows back in the mid-1990s and early 2000s. Typically, they are horn-based speakers that thrive on low-powered tube amps. The Edilia has an efficiency of 95dB/W/m, so at reasonable levels, it could be driven by a 2A3 tube amp.

I encountered Malcolm Williamson from Lowther in England who explained that the Edilia model playing here was a quarter-wave Voigt horn with a chamber shaped like an airplane wing running from the bottom front to the top and back down to exit out the bottom. It uses a PM7A alnico full-range driver at the top and a modified DX2 bass driver at the bottom. The bass can be adjusted for your room with an L-Pad attenuator on the bass driver.

The Edilia is made to order and can be finished in a number of premium veneers. The script on the whizzer cone is blurred because the speaker was playing music at the time. Being a full-range driver, the music was phase coherent. It was a real delight to listen to some Miles Davis and Vanessa Fernandez on LP in this room.

Lowther also makes a field coil driver and offers build plans and kit packages for the home builders out there. Above is a photo from their catalog that illustrates the internal folded horn of one of their designs. Ah, if only my wife hadn't cleaned out the garage and sold off my table saw. I can smell the fresh sawdust this very moment.

Suite 632 Fidelity Imports & The Listening Room
Moving on, Fidelity Imports put together a minimalist system with Magnepan 2.7i speakers ($6k) and an Audia Flight FLS 10 integrated ($13k, plus $2k for DAC, and $1299 for phono). It was a treat to hear a Magnepan speaker at this show. The usual NEO/QED/Titan gear was here again.

Room 633 Fidelity Imports & The Listening Room
In their 9th and final room, Fidelity Imports displayed a Perlisten S7t Limited Edition speaker (~$30k — the glare on the photo obscured the exact price). This has been a rising star on the audiophile scene and unfortunately, this small room did not do it justice. Last year, I believe, the standard version was shown in a much larger room on the 3rd floor.

The turntable was a Michell Orbe SE with TecnoArm2 ($11k) with Michell Levis Feet ($750). The cartridge was a Mitchell Cusis S ($2k) which sits in the middle of their 4-cartridge series. It is an MC with a Shibata stylus on a Boron cantilever and an Acetyl body.

Below the turntable was an Audia Flight FLS 1 preamp ($7499, plus DAC $2k, and Phono stage $1299). Below that was an Audia Flight FLS4 stereo amp ($10k). On the lowest shelf was an Innuos Music Server & Streamer. Their usual brand of rack, cables, and distribution box completed the rig.

More CAF 2023 Show Coverage Coming Soon!
Part 5 puts me halfway around the 6th Floor and most likely halfway through these Capital Audiofest Chronicles. As I've said before, the big rooms and my nomination of the Best Rooms at the show will come at the end. I hope you can hang with me over the next couple of weeks. There is obviously lots more to come.

---> Onward to Part 6 of Rick Becker's Capital Audiofest 2023 report.

---> Back to the main Capital Audiofest 2023 show report homepage.