Part 6: Rooms 637 To 661 At Capital Audiofest 2024
More wonderful music on the 6th floor at CAF 2024.
Capital Audiofest 2024 Show Report By Rick Becker

637  Wells Audio
Continuing on the 6th Floor, I always look forward to seeing and hearing what Jeff Wells is up to. He is an established boutique manufacturer of very high-quality sounding components. The poster by his door gave an inkling of what was inside, but still relied on one of those chessboard codes to get to the price list (QR Code).

Jeff has typically mixed it up by showing with a different speaker at each show, which helps show off what his components can do under differing circumstances. This applies to folks who attend shows year after year but is less relevant to those who only go once a decade.

The Wells Audio room sounded the best I've ever heard this year with the top-of-the-Peaks series Summit speaker from YG Acoustics. This raised my impression of the Peaks series considerably higher than when it was first introduced. Maybe it was the tubes in the Wells DAC that made it sing (versus solid-state gear when I first heard a Peaks speaker.) The Cardas cables have been a constant in the Wells' rigs over the past few years, if not longer. I also noted the banner on the left promoting the three levels of Wells tubed headphone amps.

Most of the Wells components are offered in two or three different performance levels to offer a price range that accommodates more audiophiles. The chassis has been updated recently to give components a cleaner look. Shown here were an integrated amp on top, a DAC in the center, and some Innuos streaming gear on the bottom shelf. At the left, on the floor, was his Looking Glass II power conditioner in Level II configuration which Ron Nagle reviewed in the February 2023 issue. We have reviewed various Wells Audio components over the years.

The music in this room was very clean, airy, and highly resolved, which appealed to my tube-loving heart even though the Majestic integrated is a 150 Watts per channel (Wpc) solid state design. It starts at $6k in Level I form and jumps to $10k and $15k in levels II and III. The Cipher DAC does include tubes plus a wide variety of inputs including I²S. It is offered at levels I and II with prices of $8k and $15k.

The diffuser on the stand behind the speakers was interesting and must contain a lot of fond memories. A quick assessment comes up with close to 300 bottles of wine.

640  IsoAcoustics
The IsoAcoustics room was another demonstration opportunity for those who might question the validity of aftermarket footers for speakers and components. An identical pair of Monitor Audio speakers, one with and one without IsoAcoustics footers, was played with Moon components. The setup allowed switching between speakers with the push of a button. As I've said before, it is easier to quickly grasp the difference if you are permitted to do the switching yourself.

I've reviewed many aftermarket footers over the years and found them to make considerable improvements to resolution though some are more cost-effective than others. Stay tuned to the January 2025 issue for another great one.

IsoAcoustics makes a variety of footers for different weight loads and applications. The one at the top to the left of the hand is specifically designed for subwoofers. IsoAcoustics has also partnered with speaker manufacturers to develop specific footers for their brand while some other manufacturers have gone their own route to develop more novel designs. In any case, using vibration-absorbing footers on speakers, rather than spikes, is a growing trend. And yes, I use a couple of varieties on my speakers as well as when I review speakers.

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