Inside CAF 2025 Luxury Hi-Fi Show Part 2 — Capital Audiofest's Large Exhibit Rooms And Lobby Displays
Fresh trends, the hottest audio equipment, and rooms everyone's talking about.
Capital Audiofest 2025 Show Report By Rick Becker

Kirmuss Audio
Charles Kirmuss, Professor of Vinyl Restoration (center) and center of attention wherever he goes, doesn't perform surgery on Sundays, but is always willing to lecture loudly on its virtues. Kevin Jackson, Charles' trusted assistant from the UK (right), was on call for emergency cleaning. Kevin shared that the supply chain from the manufacturer of industrial-grade cavitation machines in China has been restored, and the product is flowing once again.

Fern & Roby
Fern & Roby had a table selling some of their small items and gifts, as well as Black Cat Cables from Mayu Sommovigo.

Wally Tools
J.R. Boisclair of Wally Tools (WAM Engineering, LLC) is another regular on the North American circuit and plans to be in Madrid, Spain, and Vienna, Austria next year, selling and demonstrating their turntable setup and alignment products.

They were offering special pricing at the show. And J.R. has a lot of helpful YouTube videos online, as well.

The DC HiFi Group
The DC HiFi Group was offering goodies with the proceeds going to three rescue organizations for the sterilization and feeding of stray cats and dogs in Peru. 

CD Cellar
CD Cellar had a lot of CDs and LPs in a double-table presentation.

O/ Audio
The Norwegian speaker company with the mysterious name had a contest to see who could pound a nail all the way into this rock-hard stump.

It looks like Trent Suggs was the Friday Champion. I've pounded enough nails in my day to know that if this were an ash stump, it would be no easy task.

ADD-Powr
ADD~Powr is a proprietary technology to improve the sound quality of your system.

Argent Pur
ArgentPur had their silver cables and examples of their GaNFET Class D monoblock and DUO (dual mono) stereo amplifiers on display.

Snake River Audio
I finally overcame my snake-avoidant nature and met Jonny Wilson, who fabricates cables using gold and silver in very rural Idaho. We found common ground in our interest in motorcycles, and I spun a few of my tales about riding through the Pacific NW.

He is currently running a Santa Sale in December, which is a big help, given the dramatic increases in the price of gold and silver. Act quickly, if it's not already too late.

The inner tables of the Atrium floor were largely unmarked.

The Even Hotel
I owe an apology to the two exhibitors in the Even Hotel, where I was staying. I left each morning before they opened, and arrived at night after they closed. The Even is just across the street from the Hilton, but unless you were an experienced NY jaywalker, it was a long walk to cross at the traffic light. In the Flex Room was DreamScapes AV & Kieth Yates Design, and in the Sage/Bamboo Room was Magnepan Inc. Hopefully, other journalists covered the presentations in these large rooms.

Coming Soon: Part 3
Part 3 will have my Best Rooms and Honorable Mention rooms, along with a few reflections on this year's show. I'll be back in a few days to wrap it up in time for most of the holidays.

Enjoy the season.

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