Cruisin' 'Round The Capital Audiofest 2023 Show Report
CAF 2023 was an amazing event!
CAF 2023 Show Report By Bob Grossman

Open Baffle Loudspeakers
The open baffle Caladan Speakers costing $2,950 received a worldwide debut at the show. They were quite engaging and bigger in sound than would appear as usual for a speaker of this size and price point. Powered by the Linear Tube Audio Integrated amp costing $7,650 with the Aero DAC selling for $3,600. The allure of affordability for the system continued with the use of budget-priced Anti Cables.

PureAudioProject featured their Trio15 with Coax10 speakers costing $8,650. They used a Pass Labs INT-25 at $7,250 along with the Pass Labs SP-17 phono preamplifier. A VPI Scout turntable was delightful sounding with the Shyla Cartridge. I have reviewed this outstanding cartridge so was impressed with the sounds I heard in the room and knew were possible by using the VPI combination. PureAudioProject was founded in 2013. They have several other possibilities for speaker combinations and sizes using their modular approach.

New Speakers To Me
I have been seeing Fern and Roby products mentioned in the media so was extremely glad to meet up with their designer Christopher Hildebrand. Christopher has beautiful taste and skilled hands in making their distinguished wood and metal-themed products. Their new integrated Amp NO. 2 was introduced for $8,500. It performed very well with their Raven III speakers which cost $8,500. Their room offered an oasis of sophisticated natural elements designs and looks with equipment sitting on a beautiful ash and metal equipment rack.

All the F&R products are handcrafted at their Richmond, Virginia factory showroom. Their lovely-looking and heavy 630-gram brass record weight is now being used in my home upon listening evaluations. I also bought two sets of the Fern & Roby isolation feet to use under my VPI turntable. Although the footers were designed by Christopher to use under the four corners of his Montrose Heirloom Turntable, this set of four footers costing $425 can be used with other critical pieces of equipment to improve isolation and vibration.

I visited the Robin Wyatt room several times to hear the new introduction and premier of the Quad 2812X speakers. This was of particular interest to me since I use Quad 57 and Quad 63 speakers at home. The new Quad models had a robust and powerful sound presentation compared to the older 63s I have at home. Robin had the new Quads volume louder and even louder each time I went into the room.

The speakers were made with a similar look to the older 2812 speakers but now have much heavier new beefed-up frames and internal structure, a larger power supply, and better internal wiring and parts. Their weight has gone from a former lightweight 45 pounds to a heavyweight 70 pounds, yet all the changes are internal and not seen with a different speaker form.

These upgrades were all readily heard but the shocking news was dropping the price of the Quads to a much lower level of $9,999 from the prior list of $14,995. Now who does something like that these days? Robin was also introducing the new Carbon Miyajima cartridge at a lower price point of $3,000 compared to their other premium and renowned lineup of cartridges. The new Quads offered a spectacular impression and improvements for the original Peter Walker design ideas now taken to their ultimate realization.

Other Loudspeakers
The Synergistic Room with the svelte-looking Estelon Speakers and SR products was a beguiling and intoxicating sound to be heard. The Unite Home Audio room with the MBL Audio 101 speakers was always packed and an obvious popularity winner with the after-hours tape demo presentation by Greg Beron. Harry and Mat Weisfeld, the designers and manufacturers of the two tables I own (Aries 3D Special Edition and Classic Direct) had electronics from Audio Research with impressive Acora Acoustic speakers.

It was another wonderful-sounding room with brilliant clarity with extraordinary depth and transparency in the musical sound. Ken Songer returned with his full range wide-band speaker in a beautiful Peruvian walnut cabinet. I reviewed the Songer Audio S1 field coil loudspeaker.

A Tour de Force
Another favorite group of rooms was prepared by Fabio Storelli from Alma Music & Audio in San Diego, CA which has now expanded to have an east coast store in Sterling, VA headed by his business partner Alexandre Siufy. Fabio and Alex created four rooms with remarkably different perspectives of sound presentations, costs, and looks. However, each room was special and had a meaningful musical presentation. The consistent approach and common chain of events tying all their sound together are the incredible cables from Kubala*Sosna. Joe Kubala is the mastermind developer of these cables which appear in many recognized award-winning uses and layouts in showrooms over the years.

In addition to these cables which bring a balance of musical sounds and performance with equipment and speakers, Fabio and Alex had new acoustical room treatments and products from a Brazilian company called Nemesis. The acoustician Tom Andugar was at the show for Alma Music which is the new USA representative for this company that has been around for decades doing commercial studio work and other high-end home installations. Their Decorac Broadband acoustical panel can use any high-resolution picture to create a transparent image cover to their underlying inner membranes. Their innovative diaphragmatic acoustical devices optimize and perfect space and results.

The QLN Signature Walnut Burl Piano Speakers at $26,000 offer stunning musical sounds and were just as much a favorite to hear again this year as I remember being impressed at the previous show. Using a Vinnie Rossi Brama Integrated amp ($38,995) with Innuos Pulse Streamer and Phoenix USB had these sounds being sweet, organic, rich, and a presentation with immersivity involving emotionally.

The YG Acoustics Carmel 3 Speakers ($28,900) had a streamlined contemporary and modern look in minimalist sleek polished aluminum. This room was set up with a different Vinnie Rossi combination of a Brama stereo amplifier ($33,995) and the Brama Pre ($33,995) with a $44,000 MSB Premier Digital Director. The sound portrayed a delicacy of fast rhythm and pace with clarity and details abound! I thought it was a delightful portrayal of possibilities for a person looking for an elegant and understated contemporary fashionable look while achieving excellence in performance and sound.

The Estelon Aura Speakers ($19,995) are another contemporary design statement offering a more unique look and setting with their cast forms and shape which enable their drivers to disperse and project sound quite widely into the room. The downward-facing bass driver is clear and deep although invisible to the eyes. The room set up with the darTZeel LHC-208 mk2 Integrated Amp ($25,3120) was as dazzling to hear as looking at the amp's distinctive gold and red trim with the unique form of the Estelon Speakers.

I can easily imagine an interior designer or architect celebrating and finding it a welcoming project proposal if an audiophile asked them to create an incredibly special listening room décor and living room setup with products having the caliber and achievements with this fit and finish along with the acoustical panels enabling room treatments using any images to compliment everything.

The Boenicke W13 SE+ Speakers ($57,000) are the culmination of the myriad lineup of ranges, speaker cost designs, and forms offered by Sven Boenicke. These strikingly unusual wood cabinets feature two drivers facing the front along with a rear-firing tweeter and two sideway-positioned 13" bass drivers. The speakers use proprietary designs for their 6" wood mid-driver and unusual 3" wide-bander with a unique electromechanical parallel spiral resonator. Using impeccably made and styled Nagra Classic preamp and amplifiers and a separate power supply, the Nagra electronics cost combination is $75,000.

The MSB Select Director and Innous Statement server supplied the music source. Everything was breathtakingly presented and assembled with the Kubala*Sosna cables and a YG equipment rack. Fabio was playing Mi Buenos Aires Querido with Daniel Barenboim, Rodolfo Mederos, and Hector Console. The sound was gorgeous, lush yet revealing of all the musical details. I asked to hear Edna Vazquez Bésame Mucho and was treated to what could arguably have been the best sound at the show. I was further musically engaged with Ben Webster playing sax which had me feeling he was in the room. Their speed, resolution, and sense of proportions were able to recreate an authentic-sounding performance of Chopin sounding like a Steinway was nearby. Either of their stores will surely be a welcome destination. 

Summary
Overall, CAP 2023 was an amazing event! I imagine next year the show will be even bigger and sprawling with more rooms. The dates of CAF 2024 have already been announced. I highly recommend planning to spend a long November weekend at the show. The variety of equipment, displays, and sounds cannot be beat. There is no audio store that can provide this variety of equipment in various configurations. It is just not possible to get the same experience and excitement from reading about audio equipment. You need to see and hear it to appreciate the unique and exceptional quality of the different equipment.

I could make a case that the CJ room with Kharma Speakers or the Nagra and Boenicke Speakers were the two best-sounding rooms for my taste and style, yet they were different too. I could easily devote many hours, days, and years enjoying music with either of those setups. Although I have owned and reviewed a variety of equipment over the years, it is always fun and educational to see how many things have evolved and developed, how many new introductions continue to come along, and of course to see old friends.

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