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Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Falls Church, Virginia, dealer Now Listen Here enjoys an unusual pedigree. By day, part-owner Shayne Tenace (who also runs Tenacious Sound) builds nuclear power plants; a Canadian project currently occupies his time. But by night—watch out—Shayne spins vinyl on the brand new Rega NAIA turntable and Vandersteen Quatro speakers. (Despite his nocturnal preoccupations, his stores maintain regular daylight business hours.) The NAIA had its US debut at the Now Listen Here suite at CAF.

Audio Note’s Adrian Ford-Crush maintains a sweet vinyl stash. So whenever time allows, I hide out in his room and check out the sounds. For this show, all the way from London, Ford-Crush brought Count Basie's fantastic Roulette recording Chairmen of the Board, a Blue Note Classics edition of Hank Mobley’s hard bop treatise No Room for Squares, Cannonball Adderley’s Quintet Plus, and Mad Professor’s 40 Years of Dub.

I ran into Audio Skies' Michael Vamos at the Hilton bar while schmoozing with old friend Michael Lavorgna, editor and owner of the excellent Twittering Machines audio site. (He's also my fashion guru.) Vamos convinced me to check out his room, presented with Baltimore dealer Dr Vinyl, and I was glad I did.

Hanging at the bar at the Hilton Twinbrook, one hears stories of audio deals gone bad, an actor absconding with a $500,000 system to an unknown Mexican destination, or sordid tales of a peeved player spiting bile at an unknowing colleague. Then there's show organizer Gary Gill, whose upbeat, generous persona is a prime contributor to the success of the Capital Audiofest.

Another valued player, who possesses a sense of inner calm I wish I could generate, is Valve Amplification Company President Kevin Hayes, one of our industry's good guys since his company's founding in 1990.

New York City continues to have a rich hi-fi culture, but many of its fabled hi-fi shops have shuttered—think of Lyric Hi-Fi, which played a major role in the development of audio's high end before it closed in 2021. But recently NYC's hi-fi scene has experienced a bit of a renewal, with undertakings aimed at a wider, younger audience. One example is a new, niche audio showroom in SoHo, which opened in September, by former deejay and fashion designer, artist, and current audio craftsman Devon Turnbull.

Not content to consistently produce some of the best sounding rooms at CAF year after year, Harry and Mat Weisfield changed up almost all their ancillary gear from 2022, but the sound remained fantastic.

Always a friendly face, yay, a calming presence as I crawl through show halls, Technics' Bill Voss was on hand to play music and talk shop in a space hosted by Overture Ultimate Home Theater Electronics of Wilmington, Delaware.