Greg's Exciting Capital Audiofest 2023 Show Report
Bigger, better, bolder, and still my favorite show of the year.
Capital Audiofest 2023 Show Report By Greg Weaver

Room 844 - Perfect8 Technologies
I first heard the Swedish Perfect8 Technologies systems Point MKII Evolution speaker system at CES 2013, where its pairing with a primarily BAlabo system of sources and electronics earned it my designation of the finest sounding system I heard at that year's show.

I soon thereafter had the pleasure of meeting Perfect8 founder and Chief Executive officer Jonas Räntilä at an AXPONA after-hours party, held at the home of our mutual friend Mario Presta. Jonas's products not only sound remarkable, but they have one of the most unique aesthetics I've ever seen from a loudspeaker.

Among the technologies implemented in the Perfect8 product lineup is their use of the proprietary Super Silent Glass (SSG). SSG is a proprietary special glass type that virtually eliminates all vibrations – there is no ringing whatsoever associated with SSG. I know it sounds hard to believe, but Jonas has shown me a video of a glass of water sitting on top of one of his subwoofers and there isn't a trace of vibration transferred to the water in it! And there are measurements on the Perfect8 website should you care to check that out.

The systems in this room included...
Fujitsu Laptop (with BAlabo USB cleanup device) streaming Qobuz – No price given
dCS Vivaldi APex DAC - $46,500
Ypsilon Phaeton Integrated amp - $25,000
Perfect8 The Cube-S - $20,000/pr
Perfect8 The Sub - $20,000
Perfect8 Cables used throughout - currently not for resale
Equitech Power conditioner - S7,000

This comparatively small speaker system delivers a surprising degree of the power, punch, and wallop of the music it is asked to recreate! After some choice selection Jonas shared to highlight the system's capabilities, I asked if we could listen to the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3, with George Vatchnadze at the piano, and the Japan Century Symphony Orchestra under Norichika Iimori, the recording that coincidentally received this year's Los Angeles and Orange County Audiophile Societies award for "Audiophile Recording of the Year: New Issue."

This system is remarkably well integrated, and not only had the ability to reveal a properly sized piano on the stage, with realistic body and bloom, but presented it with an impressive sense of dynamic expressiveness. I was taken by how lucidly it exposed and conveyed the remarkable hues, shades, and power that George's performance can alternately elicit from his piano.

Room 853 – Scott Walker Audio
Sadly, between my hectic schedule and the amount of business being conducted in this room, I only had a few minutes to capture this photo and to chat with Synergistic Research Owner and Lead Designer Ted Denney, about their latest creation, the Synergistic Research Voodoo Streamer/Server, set to be released in Q1 of 2024. Final pricing has not been set, but it is expected to be under $15,000 packaged with their Synergistic power cable, or less than $12,000 if you choose to use your power cable.

The Voodoo may be used as a Roon endpoint or as a separate dedicated streamer, and they have implemented much of the proprietary technology they developed for their own Ethernet router and Ethernet switch, along with some that are crucial to the Galileo PowerCell, into the Voodoo.

I'm hoping that as well as the upcoming audition of the full SRX series of cables and Ground Block system, Ted and Synergistic Vice President, Andy Wiederspahn, may be agreeable to dropping the Voodoo into the mix here at the audio analyst© central. Stay tuned....

Room 708 – Hollis Audio Labs/Danville Signal
First, I have to admit to at least one ulterior motive for visiting this room. I've known Rich Hollis of HAL since the early-mid 1990s when I moved to Southern Maryland to manage a chain of "Olympus Health and Fitness" facilities. Rich was part of a diverse listening group that I was invited to join that was very active during my time living in the Leonardtown, MD area.

Though I had read about the then-new, much talked about, and trendsetting Von Schweikert Research VR-4, it was his pair, in his dedicated listening room, that introduced me to them and started my ongoing VSR/VSA journey back in 1996.

This room featured some creative work by Rich, and the fruits of Danville Signal Processing, Inc., founder Al Clark, as they teamed up to show a very convincing view into what many will choose to see as the future standard in the loudspeaker industry, digital crossover technology.

The system in this room included...
An Intel NUC PC/used to stream Qobuz  - $269
Danville Signal dsp Nexus 2x8 DSP crossover - $3,000
Magnepan MG-10 QR speakers - (Owner's speakers) – no price given
  - wired for biamping with the dspNexus 2x8 DSP crossover
Magna Risers MK7 for the Maggie Panels - $300
Orchard Audio Starkrimson 150W GaN Monoblocks – 2 pair used - $3,199.90.
HAL 4x8in modular Open Baffle Servo subwoofer kits - $5,000/pr.
Two Rythmik Audio HX300PEQ servo amps  - $700/pr.
HAL 4x8in modular Open Baffle Servo subwoofers finished - $8,395/pr.

Rich was using a vintage pair of Maggie MG-10 QR panels he rewired to bypass the internal crossovers to allow for bi-amping with his stack of open baffle servo subwoofers. The dspNexus 2x8 DSP processor and Orchard Audio Starkrimson Monoblock GaN Class D amps were used to drive the panels, with the Rythmik Audio HX300PEQ servo amps were used to drive the subs.

Though he had brought a vintage LINN Sondek LP12/Ittok arm (the dspNexus includes RIAA in DSP for the balanced ADC inputs when that is selected), my listening was exclusively with the NUC streaming Qobuz.

I got to hear many requests, all music I was remarkably familiar with, and I have to admit, this room was more than merely good sounding. There was a surprising coherence to the overall musical tapestry here, one that lent itself to not only a lucid, intelligible, articulate, and inclusive presentation but something that I cannot say of ALL systems I've heard implementing digital crossovers, let alone mixing such diverse and different transducer technologies as planar magnetic and open-baffle dynamic drivers. Kudos to Rich and Al for such an amazing, and affordable, demonstration.

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