Part 7: Rooms 301 To 325 On The Third Floor
Thrilling stereo systems on the third floor.
Capital Audiofest 2024 Show Report By Rick Becker

305  Command Performance AV
My apologies for the absence of photos of this room. My video notes show a Marten two-way stand-mounted monitor being driven by a Gryphon 300 integrated amp. On top of the rack was a SOTA turntable spinning uselessly while music was streamed through an Aurender. A Transparent PowerWave power conditioner was beside the rack.

The big news was a sheet announcing the SOTA Diamond, claiming to be "the most extreme expression of the State of the Art in turntable manufacturing." It is said to be coming in 2025 with an estimated price of $125k.

308  Philharmonic Audio & Alexis Sonus
The Philharmonic Audio room amazes me year after year. This year they were only showing three models, leaving out two small two-way monitors ($380, $850) and the center channel ($1400 to $1500), presumably to keep the presentation simple and the crowd flowing through. You will notice the unusual midrange driver common to all three speakers. It is the Balanced Mode Radiator with wide dispersion from which models get their name. The two on the left use the same RAAL ribbon tweeter while the third speaker in dark veneer uses an AMT (air motion tweeter). All three models feature a secondorder crossover and the two floorstanders were on IsoAcoustics footers. From the left were the BMR monitor ($1800 to $2200), the BMR tower ($4100 to 4400), and the HT (Home Theater) tower ($4300 to $4500).

The other host of this room was Alexis Sonus who seemed to offer a variety of exotic finishes on the Philharmonic Audio speakers at somewhat higher prices. Check out the two websites and contact each of them if you're interested.

The BMR monitor with the 6" ceramic woofer is killer. The price range is for two versions of this speaker – one with a rectangular footprint and the other with curved vertical edges and horizontally wrapped veneer, as shown. Curved edges are the coolest and this speaker is so good that you will likely keep it a long time. I listened to all three models this year as I lucked out by arriving after the herd had been thinned. The floorstanders are very good too, but the monitor, for around $2k, is such a good-sounding speaker and so good looking.

That the rig on the Pangea rack was so modest enhances the value of the speakers even more. On top of the rack was a custom switching preamp to facilitate listening to one or another speaker along with a Topping DAC. The only amps were the Orchard Audio Starkrimson Mono Ultra Premium Monoblocks ($5k/pr). The thin unit was a Panasonic (DVD player?). Chances are the speakers will sound even better with upscale equipment.

309  MC Audiotech
Mark Conti and Paul Paddock have done it again! They've come up with a smaller room-friendly and spouse-friendly model by distilling their TL-12 model ($30k) even further. The new TL-8 stands a modest 37" tall and is easy to move around at 55 lbs. Yet despite its size, they claim it can play quite loud.

Using just a single blade of their proprietary driver design, crossed over at 475Hz to an 8" woofer in a transmission line, the TL-8 ($15k to $17k, depending on veneer and options) manages 91dB/W/m efficiency at 8 Ohms. Those are vents on both sides behind the top driver allowing it to operate as a di-pole. The front grilles do not need to be removed to achieve excellent sound quality, a feature that protects the drivers, maintains the looks of the speaker, and raises the spousal acceptance factor. Being a boutique manufacturer, you can have the speaker finished in a choice of veneer to work nicely with your décor. Auditions are available by appointment just outside Philadelphia.

From the top down was an LTA Aero DAC, an LTA Z40 Integrated amp, and a Wolf server.

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