Capital Audiofest 2023 Show Report / Chronicles Part 8
The 3rd Floor Large Rooms Part A
Show Report By Rick Becker

Democracy Room  Command Performance AV
Command Performance AV mounted their rig on the diagonal again, but changed up most of the components. The speakers were Magico's new S3 ($45.5k) and at the front end was a J. Sikora Standard MAX, Special Edition turntable with a KV MAX 12" tonearm ($14.5k) equipped with an Aidas Mammoth Gold cartridge ($8,650). A Doshi Audio Evolution tube phono stage ($21k) completed the analog front end, which was what I heard here.

The photographer in me wants to thank these guys for using spotlights set up on poles at either side of the rig which allowed the seating area to remain dark while the gear was (mostly) well-lighted.

The digital front end was an Aurender N30SA server (to the right of the rack) that fed into a Berkeley Audio Design Alpha USB Series 2 ($2,495) and an Alpha DAC Series 3 ($28k). Amplification was from the new Gryphon Diablo 333 integrated amp ($25k), seen on the floor. Transparent Reference and XL cables were used as well as their Reference Isolator ($7600). The four-shelf EXR stand from HRS was $7,795.

The guy spinning the LPs here was Mathew Cravens who travels to Japan occasionally and flies back with a suitcase full of Japanese-pressed jazz records to sell. I passed by him at a table in the Atrium where he had the bulk of his wares. I picked up a photocopied "business card" slip of paper with "East-West Jazz Connection" and his email address, but I couldn't find an actual website for him.

Mathew, who also seems to be a runner, spun a tune from quiet kenny, by Kenny Dorham on this Japanese pressing. It's not something you're likely to find at a garage sale.

Maco & Viablue
Turning left and heading down the hall toward the Plaza III ballroom, I came upon the first of several tables in the hallway. Being familiar with Acora Acoustic speakers and several open baffle speakers, this granite open baffle speaker stopped me in my tracks. The full-range driver at the top looked very familiar.

A moment later Deborah C. was at my side telling me about her new company, Maco, in Canada. I met Deborah a couple of years ago in Montreal or Toronto when she was displaying Lii open baffle speakers driven by tube amplifiers with excellent results. So, yes, that was a Lii driver from China embedded in a granite baffle sourced in Canada with Viablue cable from Germany. In granite, the Macaria speaker by Maco is $12,932 when configured for the baffle to rest on the floor. Add another $499 for the metal stand which is said to increase the resolution and sense of air.

The speaker is also available in birch plywood ($6,332), Solid walnut or maple ($9,532), or Quartz, such as the one in white above ($12,432). The company is about to launch and is offering a VIP price of 40% off to early adapters who reserve in advance. From what I heard of the Lii open baffle speaker a couple of years ago, I suspect this will be a very impressive speaker.

Vaiblue, a German company that has been around for a couple of decades, makes a wide variety of silver-plated cables as well as offering individual components if you wish to make your own cables. Also seen here are four different sizes of cable lifters that suspend and secure the cable with the use of o-rings. Prices range from $385 for a four-piece set of the small ones to $1190 for an eight-piece set of the largest ones.

Plaza III Room   Arion Audio
In the past couple of Capital shows the Arion Audio room had not sounded all that great to me. There was a lot of confusion with the layout of the rig as I recall. This year it was obvious a lot of care had been taken with the setup and the rig sounded terrific. This was the Apollo 12 system with full DSP and advanced room correction ($59.9k). The Arion Audio Dual-Pack Woofer Package, the two black towers at the outer edges, included two additional woofers and an amplifier for each side ($9,600). Each subwoofer module contains two drivers facing each other with sound emanating from the slots in the front and rear of each unit. While the towers with the AMT drivers appear to be enclosed in a cabinet, these are open baffle speakers. They were fitted with IsoAcoustics Gaia 1 footers ($499/set of four). These line array speakers are available in different heights for those whose ceilings might be lower.

Amplification was by Audio Research with the monoblocks between the speakers, a non-descript DSP unit, placed behind them, and a Synergistic Research PowerCell SX ($10,495) with the blue light further back. A loom of Synergistic Research Foundation SX cables was used throughout the rig, which explains the skinny wire in the photos. I've reviewed this cable, and while it is an excellent cable for its price, I've also reviewed the cable from the Atmosphere Excite SX series above it where the sound quality took a major jump. Perhaps it was the long cable routing in a rig spread out like this that dominated the selection.

Way off to the side was the Titan turntable with rim drive of the lower platter and magnetic drive of the upper platter. The motor drive incorporates an AC power regenerator to eliminate noise on the AC circuit. And the three pedestal pillars incorporate pneumatic air-suspension isolation footers. You can also simultaneously mount three different tonearms on this turntable.

The cartridge was the DS Audio 003 cartridge ($2500) along with its dedicated DS 003 phono stage ($3500). There were several variables to the rig this year, as well as careful attention to detail in setting it up. Whatever the specific cause, or the number of them, the result was well worth the listening.

At the back of the room (near the entrance) was a lone headphone listening system with a Viva tube amplifier and a T+A MP 3100 HV Preamplifier/streamer/DAC with remote control.

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