Part 4: Capital Audiofest 2024 7th Floor Rooms 736 to 761
Listening to luxurious stereo systems at CAF 2024.
Capital Audiofest 2024 Show Report By Rick Becker

749  Theoretica Applied Physics
The Theoretica Applied Physics room always draws customers who are curious about the BACCH-SP.  Reading a review is not the same as experiencing it. I've stopped into this room every time I come across it but never quite "gotten" the experience although I understand what the system is designed to do. It needs to be tuned to a specific seat and for the height of the person sitting in that seat. It takes a few minutes to tune it so you can imagine not everyone gets to experience the custom-tuned sweet spot. At the last show, I grabbed the sweet spot, but it had been tuned for a much taller person, so I didn't get the full effect.

This time I was fortunate to grab the sweet spot after it had been tuned for someone close to my height. I had also just experienced several pieces of music while sitting off-center which Dr. Choueiri then re-played for me. Wow! It clicked in with all its three-dimensional glory. It's a spatial change – not a huge "Oh, Wow!" like a major speaker upgrade. You get the same excellent tonal balance from the JanZen Valentina A8 speaker he was using but the music takes on greater spatiality, particularly in the vertical dimension when the music calls for it. The soundstage becomes more 'real' or believable, releasing the energy or effort your brain requires to process or 'figure out' the various instruments' locations.

Consequently, I felt I was more 'there' with the music. The BACCH-SP also allows for head tracking and is said to be the most advanced room-correction device available today, but that goes beyond my drive-by visit to the room at this show.

In the past, I've compared it with the effect of the Synergistic Research Vibratron (which I enjoy at home) but it is quite different. For me, the Vibratron brings the illusion of the reality of the recorded space into the space between the plane of the speakers and the listening chair. The BACCH-SP device makes the recorded space more real but the music remains largely at a distance, behind the plane of the speakers. It is a subtle difference… and makes me wonder what would happen if you used both devices. Maybe you could shake hands with the chorus members in the cacophony of voices recording he plays.

Dr. Edgar Choueiri of Theoretica Applied Physics, Princeton, New Jersey.

Suite 750  The Listening Room
Minimal and affordable, this would be the Magnepan LRS+ ($995) with stands ($299) supplemented with a REL T-series subwoofer and driven by a Primare all-in-one. How's that for guesswork?

Suite 751  The Listening Room
The music got a little heavier here with Perlisten floorstanders supplemented with Perlisten subs that put out a tight disco beat. From the top down on the rack were a Michell Audio turntable, Aurender server, Audia Flight preamp, and power amp.

753  The Listening Room
Joni Mitchell was sounding very fine with the Opera speakers in this room.

I believe this was a Unison Research integrated tube amp.

755 The Listening Room
The Diptyque DP160 Mk II ($30k) from France sounded the best of all The Listening Rooms. I've heard Diptyque speakers sound outstanding at the Canadian shows. The show price was $24k for the speakers as an open-box special. Sensitivity was 87dB/W/m with a 6 Ohm impedance. You would need a very decent tube amp to drive it with tubes.

I didn't recognize the turntable brand, though I've seen it before. That was a Primare Pre 35 preamp and CD 35 below it streaming Qobuz. Primare power amps were below that.

757  Nordost
Using Simaudio Moon preamp and power amp to drive a modest pair of Raidho speakers (if you can call any pair of Raidho speakers modest), they were doing a cable comparison demonstration with Nordost cables. This was an excellent rig capable of revealing even subtle differences between cables. If you've never experienced such a demo, I highly recommend it. Good power cables can make even vintage gear sound significantly better, often at a much lower cost than upgrading the component.

759  Harmonia Distribution
I had forgotten how sweet British monitors could sound but Harmonia Distribution from the LA area set me straight with a pair of Harbeth P3ESR XD bookshelf speakers perched upon the new Nelson bass extender & stand solution ($3190, in black only.) The Nelson bass extender works with all the BBC LS3/5A speakers. It includes an active DSP bass extension with a Harbeth 5" drive unit and a 50w Class D power amp with adjustable level control. It runs from 35 to 75 Hz and has a height of 28.7". Unfortunately, the soft electric blues music playing at the time didn't have any deep bass to show off the potential of the Nelson, but what I heard was very good.

The speakers are $2990 in Cherry, or $1390 in oak, walnut, rosewood, black ash, or silver willow. Splurge and go for the finish your heart desires because you will likely keep these for a very long time. While the sensitivity is only 83dB/W/m, they sounded very fine with a PrimaLuna EVO 300 hybrid power amp driving them. That was a PrimaLuna preamp up above and a Grimm MU2 streamer / DAC flowing the Qobuz. And speaking of Qobuz, where was David Solomon? At the Toronto show I was crossing paths with him every hour and I haven't seen him once yet.

Not to be overlooked on silent display was a gorgeous Pathos hybrid integrated amp from Italy. Style matters.

761  Sound Insight
Sound Insight is a brick-and-mortar store on Long Island and it seems to be focused more on home theater. The rig here was a mystery to me, though those large speakers must have been very efficient to be driven by the 300B monoblocks. The monoblocks were reminiscent of an architecture Rogue Audio used quite a while ago but they were not Rogue amps.

The dearth of information on many rooms on this floor was pathetic, considering what it cost to rent the space, deliver the product, set it up, tear it down, and hopefully take it back without damaging it. Better promotion at the show might result in not having to take it home at all. Wouldn't that be nice?

More Capital Audiofest 2024 Show Coverage Coming Soon!
That's it for the 7th Floor. Just in time to settle down for a few days of gratitude, turkey, and left-over turkey. But fear not; there are still 65 more rooms to cover with plenty of highlights. Keep checking back.

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