Pacific Audio Fest 2022 Fab 5 Picks
Greg Weaver chooses the Best Of PAF 2022.
Show Report By Greg Weaver

  And now, my final report on this initial and exciting new show in the Pacific Northwest. Today I reveal my "Fab Five," my choice of the five most authentically musical systems presented in Seattle.

Five
Room 2108 on the first floor of Wing Two, sponsored by Maryland's Linear Tube Audio, was the same size as most of the more typical hotel rooms on these floors, at 15' 4" wide by 21' deep and 8' high, and it was an absolute sonic treat!

The source here was the Kitsune Hi-Fi Tuned Edition of the very popular two-chassis HoloAudio May DAC. The KTE modifications offer hand-picked DAC modules, better caps, enhanced shielding, audiophile fuses, etc., and raise the stock price by $1,400 to $5,598.

The Linear Tube Audio Z40+ Integrated Amplifier ($7,650), which incorporates their ZOTL40+ Reference power amplifier (as mentioned when covering room 1375 in Part Two of my report) with up to 50 Wpc, a Berning-designed preamplifier, and LTA's digital control system in a Fern & Roby-designed case, provided a single-component solution that looks as fabulous as it sounds.

Loudspeakers were the Spatial Audio Lab X4 Premium Open Baffle Loudspeakers ($8,500/pr. with the new machined aluminum Gaia II footers) and is a passive two-and-one-half-way, dynamic dipolar radiator. The new footers are said to offer increased performance, including notable improvement in the bass.

Everything was connected with ANTICABLES, including the new Level 4.2 FLEX speaker cables ($1,040/pr.), new Level 5.3 XLR interconnects ($900/pr.), as well as the Level 3.3 USB cable ($290) and Level 3 Power Cords ($330).

This system presented with an unexpected degree of naturalness, punctuated by great spatial representation, both image specificity and staging, with vivid tonality, appreciable body and bloom, and a dynamic involvement that offered up a surprisingly superb sense of scaling. Essentially, this system committed no egregious sins of commission that could conspire to significantly damage the overall remarkably musical sonic tapestry. It was without question the most musically engaging room showing a complete system, sources, electronics, cables, and speakers, all-in, for under $25,000

---> Next Page.