Part 8: Capital Audiofest 2024 Large Rooms Part 1
Lovely sounds at CAF 2024's large exhibit rooms.
Capital Audiofest 2024 Show Report By Rick Becker

Democracy   Command Performance AV, Mytek, And J. Sikora
When I first visited the Command Performance AV room I was treated to a performance by Anne Bisson. I stayed for one song as I wasn't sure how long Anne would be performing. I returned later when I could photograph the gear and get a listen to the new Audiovector speaker.

When I returned they had a funky dude with a red wig touting the new Audiovector Trapeze Reimagined speaker I was excited to hear as it conjured up images of what an avant-garde JBL L100 might look like if they decided to try something different. The Trapeze is considerably larger than that JBL speaker, being a floorstander, and it is also four times the cost at $20k. Fit and finish are first rate as you would expect from this Danish company. 

On top of the HRS rack was an additional HRS platform for the J. Sikora Reference turntable with two arms from Poland. I didn't recognize the cartridges.

Below the turntable were a black and a silver unit from Doshi, probably a preamp and maybe a phono stage. And various Doshi boxes stacked on the bottom shelf, likely power supplies. Doshi tube monoblocks were on each side of the rack on their own HRS amp stands – the most expensive ones.

I've heard similar rigs with different speakers from Command Performance AV set up on the diagonal in this room before and they always sounded very good. This one was good, too, but with an exception. The Trapeze speaker was clean and had good resolution, but the soundstage was ambiguous and the lower midrange and bass seemed to be coming from the speakers themselves, rather than from the soundstage outside the cabinets. Hopefully, reviewers of this speaker will pay close attention to this in the future. I could be wrong, but that's what I heard.

Taking a left turn at the end of this hallway toward the other large rooms I encountered Victor Kung of VK Music in British Columbia Canada He was hosting a couple of tables filled with Elekit amplifiers and various other audio products he sells to patrons of the DIY saint. At some shows, he exhibits in a room where he can set up an active rig, but passing by his tables on several occasions I saw him enjoying engagement with customers where he can talk without interrupting people listening to the music. I've encountered Victor at the Canadian shows for well over a decade and we always share a respectful smile.

With a zig and a zag, I encountered this L-shaped table with Mytek gear, a Consonus speaker, and a Technics reel-to-reel tape deck. I saw this hybrid speaker with an active subwoofer and open-baffle drivers here last year in an active rig and spoke with one of the principals who said they were planning some significant revisions to the attachment of the open-baffle upper section. I was hoping to hear the revised speaker further down the hall, but didn't realize while I was there they did not have a room this year. This was a promising design, so I hope I come across them again.

---> Next Page.