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

657  Playback Distribution
This was the second room for Playback Distribution. The other was Room 623 in Part 5. There was a conversation going on between the host and a customer but I was still able to appreciate the music of Dave Brubeck, "Take Five," coming from the Vienna Acoustics Mozart SE Signature speakers in cherry finish ($7500 in black, white, or cherry/$8500 in premium rosewood). The large adjustable spikes gave the illusion of a much more expensive speaker. This seems to be an exceptional value in quick passing, not just for the sound quality but also for the style, fit, and finish. This is not the first time this has happened with Vienna Acoustics speakers in my experience.

They were driven by a Java HiFi Carbon Double Shot ($17k) with a GaNFET power amp section. The Carbon finish is new, but as I've said before, the wood finish versions are more elegant and in keeping with the art deco style of this integrated amplifier.

An Esoteric N-05XD network streamer ($11k) was situated below it and a Roon Nucleus was on the bottom shelf of the Quadraspire SVT rack ($550/tier). The turntable here was a TEAC TN-5BB ($1800). An Esprit Volta power strip ($1k) was used along with Esprit cables including Eterna speaker cables ($3,400, 3-meter), Eterna XLR interconnects ($2,800 1.2m), Eureka Phono interconnects ($5,400), and Celeste power cords ($549, 1.5m). These were priced higher than many people might spend on some of these components (such as the turntable) but the resulting sound was quite good.

Shown above is a close-up of the Vienna Acoustics drivers with what appears to be a concave roll on the surround of the mid-woofer.

There is also a new Mozart Infinity model, an active version of this speaker for those who wish to keep their system minimal. Piano black, piano white, and cherry are $15k while the premium rosewood version is $17k.

659  Mytek Audio
When I entered this room I had to ask myself "Where are the speakers?" Finally, it dawned on me that what looked like structural pillars in the room were Sound Lab electrostatic speakers that extended almost to the ceiling. Note the foam baffles against the wall behind them to minimize the back wave. They were positioned along the long wall which meant the seats were only about eight feet in front of the speakers. These speakers should have been in one of the large conference rooms on the 3rd Floor. The rock music that was playing sounded like a live performance in the Rochester (NY) War Memorial, which is to say, pretty bad.

This was unfortunate because these fine speakers are rarely seen (or heard) at shows. Hopefully, they will not be discouraged and try again with their smallest speaker on the short wall of a sleeping room or one of their larger models in a larger room where people can sit a proper distance from them. Enjoy The Music.com has favorably reviewed a couple of their models in the past.

The Mytek gear, the Argent Pur cables, and the Add-Powr Sorcer Apprentice were not the problem. I've heard them elsewhere and they sounded fine.

661  DC HIFI Group
Room 661 was the temporary clubhouse for the DC HiFi Group. They tried to recruit me again this year but the commute is too long and contributes to global warming.

They had some cool stuff here like this $299/pr. monitor from Vinh Vu. I contacted Vinh and he assured me they sound good. They also come fully assembled and finished. Plug 'n play. Not a kit. And they are not in stock either, so you can expect the price to go up when Trump's tariffs go into effect. Don't blame me.

These VTV monoblocks with Purifi Class D amplification look pretty cute, too. From their website:

"VTV Amplifier is a custom builder of the latest generation of Class D amplifiers.  As an authorized dealer for Hypex, PASCAL A/S, and Purifi-Audio, we can customize a design for your specific application.  From the economical, integrated MP series NCore modules, ideal for home theater or multiway speakers to high-end NCore and Purifi-Audio modules suitable for studio monitoring or high-end home systems, we can build the ideal amplification package for you."

VTV is assembled within the USA and the monoblocks start at $745 each, rising with options, but still less than $k each.

On the VTV site, there was a video shot in this room about the Radiant Acoustics Clarity 6.2 monitors from Denmark that came from the mind of Peter Lyngdorf – yes, that Peter, and the speakers are also built in the DALI factory. They aren't cheap at 4k Euros. I didn't get to hear them because the guys in the room had devolved into a loud conversation with another visitor. The guy in this video seems to know what he's talking about and the sound sample he provides at the end strongly suggests this is a very special speaker, though its 85dB/W/m efficiency infers the use of a strong amp (like the VTV monoblocks above.) The speaker has a similar form factor to the Wolf von Langa speaker heard a few doors earlier and the mid-woofer had a similar wrinkled surround.

Moreover, this room illustrates an undercurrent of high-quality sound coming from relatively much more affordable components than we have seen in most other rooms at the show. This bodes well as a portal for newcomers to the hobby.

Part 7 Coming Soon!
That's a wrap on the 6th Floor. Within Part 7, I'll cover the final sleeping rooms on the 3rd Floor before moving on to the big rooms on the 3rd Floor. Keep coming back because there are a lot of great rooms ahead.

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