Capital AudioFest 2021

In the third floor Eisenhower room, Valerio Cora brought his Acora Acoustics SRC-2 Loudspeakers ($37,000/pair) joined to the Transrotor Massimo turntable ($16,800) equipped with the Transrotor SME tonearm ($4300), the Dynavector DRT XV-1t cartridge ($9450). The Massimo was also equipped with a secondary arm, the Charisma Musiko ($2500) armed (as it were) with the Charisma Signature One cartridge ($3800).

Phono preamplification duties were handled by an Audio Research Ref PH10 ($33,000), from which the output passed to an Audio Research Ref 10 preamplifier ($33,000) and then on to a pair of Audio Research 750SE monoblock power amps ($75,000/pair). Streaming and digital duties were fulfilled by an Aurender N30SA network player ($24,000) feeding an Esoteric Grandioso K1X CD player ($37,000). Cardas Audio supplied the cabling: Cardas Clear Beyond ICs ($4250 per 1m pair), Cardas Clear speaker cables ($9220 for a 2m pair), and Cardas Clear Beyond XL power cords ($2750 per 1.5m run). Also in use were two Cardas Nautilus power strips and Cardas Multiblock cable lifters.

The Acora speakers' Ontario-made cabinets are constructed of granite with no internal bracing: Why would granite cabinets need bracing?. The Acora Acoustics SRC-2 is a bass-reflex design with a 1" Beryllium-dome tweeter and two modified Scanspeak 7" paper-cone woofers. Claimed sensitivity is 92.5dB (rated at 4 ohms). The reported frequency range is 29Hz–30kHz. The SRC-2 stands 43" high, 14" deep, and 18” wide. Each speaker weighs a knees-crushing 244lb.

Playing Gary Karr’s Adagio D'albinoni (Firebird) and The O-Zone Percussion Group’s The Percussion Record (Clearaudio), Cora’s SRC-2 Loudspeakers imbued the music with super-fast transients, superb dynamics, good body, liquid treble, and taut bass notes that had depth and authority. I placed my finger on the granite front baffle closest to the woofer and felt nothing. This is one of most live-sounding speakers I’ve heard at a show.

The Acora Acoustics speakers (aided by this extraordinary ARC system) cast a very wide soundstage. The experience was enhanced when vocalist Anne Bisson performed to her own pre-recorded music as a teaser to her latest album, Keys To My Heart.