My Exciting First Foray At CAF 2024
Attending my first Capital Audiofest proved to be awe-inspiring.
Capital Audiofest 2024 Show Report By Brett Rudolph

  November is a beautiful time of year in the northeastern United States, especially this year. The leaves are finally turning, the weather is relatively mild, and people realize there will be a winter. Rockville, Maryland, audiophiles and music lovers gathered from November 8th – 10th to attend the largest audiophile event in the northeast USA, the 13th Annual Capital Audiofest. The Capital Audiofest is a melting pot of people, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers. Individuals can interact with everyone, listen to systems they might not usually hear, check gear they don't normally have the opportunity to see, and even ask a question or two.

There are lectures on various topics and entertainment both during the day and at night, offering attendees all sorts of mediums and additional ways to interact and network with others.

Personally, for whatever reason, I never had the opportunity to attend the Capital Audiofest, so this was my first foray into this exciting world. I can honestly say it was a very positive and musically inspiring experience. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. The attendees were there to have a good time, meet new people, and genuinely enjoy the music. It is a wonderfully refreshing change from some of my experiences many years ago. It is good to see many youthful attendees too.

The following are my impressions of some of the rooms I saw throughout my adventures:

Day One
814 – Caprese Audio
Caprice Audio showed their new Contessa. A new tweak that helps tune your audio system. It consists of a central module that connects to the system through a set of cables built for a user's system individually by the manufacturer. Together, these work to balance and tune the system astoundingly. In the short time I took to listen, it was one of the majors that stood out for the show.

851 – ATC Loudspeakers
Loudspeaker Technology had one of the loudest rooms on the 8th floor, which is saying a lot since it seemed no one cared much about anyone's ears, including their own. However, in the smaller room with its two-way bookshelf speaker, the ATC SCN40 sounded highly substantial. There was enough of everything to be involved, and it was pretty impressive on music like Pink Floyd. Add their C1 Sub Mk2 to that, and you will have a speaker system.

In their second room, they had their SCM20ASL tower speakers. They are a tower speaker that sounds more refined than their SCN40s. They are certainly more accessible to the eyes. However, you can get the SCN40s in different finishes; they also meet various needs.

857 – JansZen Audio
JansZen had their latest Valentina – A8 – SE ($147500) on display in their room. The new version of the speaker features multiple inputs, including digital, Wi-Fi, and ApplePlay. Two internal 500-Watt amplifiers power the speaker itself. These power both electrostatic panels and woofers mounted in the case.

Additionally, the DSP takes care of room correction and can switch between standard mode and omnidirectional mode, which is supposed to take care of indirect sound to keep it from over-brightening reproduction. It is a unique speaker with great sound in a neat package if that's what you need or want.

859 – Chesky Audio
Lucca Chesky introduced his first loudspeaker, the Chesky Audio LC1 monitor. The room was nothing more than Lucca, his sub $1000 speakers, and the system he used, mainly Mytek. The speakers are pretty no-frills black bookshelf speakers, but the sound is impressive. They have great bass and midrange from what I got to hear, and for the price, they are a definite find. They are again a real standout at the show.

725 – Next Level Hifi / Aavik
Next Level Hifi had an impressive Aavik system in their room. They put on a planned presentation that took the attendee through several different kinds of music to highlight their abilities on other abilities. The resolution was spectacular, and one could hardly wait for further detail as they sat and listened while the music played on. Indeed, the individual notes were easy to pick out, and the vocals were awe-inspiring. The music was a bit loud for me, but it showcased how loud everything could play without even the slightest degradation.

I happened to get a chance to get back to this room on the second day when it wasn't so crowded in the morning. The music was lower, and the system seemed to take on an even more refined note. Earlier, I thought that perhaps it was a bit over-analytical, but that seemed to disappear. Additionally, there appeared to be even greater detail than earlier, perhaps due to the newness of all the equipment at the show.

710 – Innovo Audio Designs
Innovo showcased their new TL10 speakers. These speakers are all you need if you are looking for a beautiful self-contained system. They are hand-built and fully powered with built-in Class D amplification. The setup was simple: two speakers with a video monitor between them. It was all you needed to spotlight just how good they could be at what they could do. Regardless of what type of musical selection is sent to the speakers, they seem to take it and reproduce it effortlessly. There wasn't anywhere you might think that perhaps this all-in-one design suffered from just that, being an all-in-one design.

Just as impressive is that Innovo chose to take the plunge and put a video screen between the speakers. They decided on a moderately tricky movie to show, and then away it went. The track they chose had a great deal of motion. Through it, all the speakers can keep the characters in their place. During these events, they were supposed to be, and most important, the viewer riveted to the action. Regardless of the volume, there was plenty of power and even more energy. A speaker would be easily at home in a listening or entertainment room. Though perhaps not in the league of the highest level of audiophile speakers, it certainly is a speaker that changes the rules for active speakers in a lifestyle environment. It is one of my favorites from the show.

706 / 707 – Black Ice And Zu Audio
The Zu Audio Method is the newest loudspeaker from the company. Paired with a compliment of Black Ice amplification components, they rocked the room. Unfortunately, getting too much of a read on them was challenging as the room was incredibly crowded and dark. However, it was easy to tell that they were effortlessly able to produce strands of dance and alternative music that were being thrown at them while I was sitting in attendance. It was one of the most crowded rooms on the floor when I arrived, and it remained that way when I tried to return later in the afternoon.

Featuring Black Ice components and the Zu Audio Soul 6 room 707, it was on fire with Sean doing his average show DJ'ing gig. He does an outstanding job spinning records and answering questions about the speakers or forwarding questions about Black Ice to his counterparts. The Soul 6 speakers and the Black Ice tubed system he used were just the thing to keep up with his somewhat eclectic tastes. I've always been a fan of Zu's simplistic approach to design, and the Soul 6 speakers are the perfect example of this. They might be simple to look at, but their sound is anything but. A few minutes of listening to the show will tell you that. On top of that, as far as I know, Zu Audio is one of the easiest companies to work with when it comes to custom finishes. It might cost more, but they are pretty agreeable.

Time For Some Refreshments
After finishing the top two floors of the show, I felt like I had taken a drink from a garden hose. There were so many systems, components, and speakers that I wasn't sure what to do next. I had been told this was a big show with many things to see. Still, the experience was even more exhilarating than expected. The show started at 10am in the morning and it was now 2pm in the afternoon. While I thank my son for taking all the pictures, there was still a great deal of work to be done, and it seemed like there was too little time to get it done.

The show had also gotten substantially more crowded as the day had worn on as predicted; at least some things never change. So, after deciding that lunch or any food could wait until after the show, it was time to move on to floor 6. The goal for day 1 was to finish the upper floors and as much else as possible. 

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