Capital Audiofest 2025 opened with a familiar face but an unfamiliar scale. Founded and still owned by Gary Gill, CAF has called the Hilton in Rockville, Maryland, home since 2015; it's the show's third venue. Fifteen years in, after a COVID interruption and steady, year-over-year expansion, Capital Audiofest is now one of the key stops on the US hi-fi show circuit. This year it is as big as ever, consuming the Hilton and spilling over into the hotel across the street. I dropped by on day one to take a look and shoot some videos plus photos.
The night before the show, Stereophile's Ken Micallef sat down with Gill, who was in good spirits despite the only partially controlled chaos that comes with opening a show of this size. Gill calls himself the show's "organizer" and "worker bee," but his responsibilities also run to founder, CEO, and traffic cop. Before running audio shows, he spent three decades in construction management, handling budgeting, purchasing, contracts, and logistics.
By Gill's count, last year's Capital Audiofest hosted 125 rooms and 40 booths. For 2025, he reports 122 rooms and 60 booths, give or take, with more exhibitors sharing rooms and more booths lining the hallway toward the Plaza Ballrooms. Exhibitor pricing was kept flat this year. That stability is notable in what Gill describes as a "tough year" economically, with tariffs, taxes, and rising parts costs hitting small manufacturers hard. "These are small businesses," he noted. Keeping show costs steady is one way he tries to support the companies that fill the rooms.
Gill expects a modest increase in attendance over 2024.
The Hilton's lobby sets the tone. Bins of LPs invite two-handed record flipping that never seems to slow down. Nearby tables and vendor booths offer a mix of components, accessories, and impulse-buy items, things you can handle, compare, and carry out the door. New this year, a free photo booth stands near the registration desk, intended to inject a bit of fun and generate shareable images for social media.
Another change is right at the entrance. Gill has cordoned off an area with a series of with stanchions where exhibitors can place "primo products" so that every attendee walks past them in full light. You see a statement speaker, amp, or headphone system from nearly all sides, with a sign pointing you to the exhibitor's room. It gives manufacturers a visibility boost and lets them show gear that isn't necessarily set up and playing upstairs.
But the real action, as always, is in the rooms. Capital Audiofest long ago outgrew the feel of a local gathering. 2025 continues that trend. Floors of the Hilton and the EVEN Hotel across the street are given over to two-channel systems of every size, shape, and price, plus a handful of high-performance home-theater setups and dedicated headphone spaces. Variety is part of the appeal at a show this size: modest systems playing real-world music in one room, six-figure "statement" rigs in the next. Gill noted that most exhibitors aspire to the larger rooms, both for perception and foot traffic, but the smaller spaces can be just as revealing when they're set up right.
CAF's scale also shows up in the hardware being wheeled in. Gill mentioned at least one $300,000 turntable on display this year (Wilson-Benesch), along with high-ticket speakers and tube amplifiers from several exhibitors. That sits alongside the vintage sensibility that helped shape his own tastes: Before he ran shows, Gill was a "vintage guy," into classic Quads, Altec Lansing, JBLs, and classic tube electronics: Fisher, EICO. That mix of old-school and state-of-the-art is very much in evidence at Capital Audiofest.
The show is not just about listening rooms, however. Live music remains part of the identity. For 2025, Gill has booked the long-running blues band The Nighthawks for an "almost unplugged" set in the hotel's Olive's Bar, with minimal amplification. It's a tight space, but that's part of the vibe: people talking, drinking, and hearing live blues a few feet away from where they just auditioned a six-figure system. On Saturday night, a gypsy-jazz group called Ultrafaux takes over the bar, bringing Django Reinhardt–style jazz with a lineup of violin, two guitars, and double bass. Sponsors from the audio industry are underwriting both nights, keeping the connection between the listening rooms and live music front and center.
Gill speaks candidly about learning from other show organizers. He cites inspiration from the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, AXPONA, and the Florida International Audio Expo, among others, whether it's graphics, logistics, or exhibitor support. Capital Audiofest was an early adopter of things like on-site wine and beer tastings, which run Friday and Saturday near registration, giving attendees one more reason to linger and talk while they plan their next lap through the rooms; that's been picked up by other shows.
If there is a theme this year, Gill said, it is gratitude. After the disruptions of COVID and years of economic uncertainty, he says what matters most is seeing attendees and exhibitors relaxed, smiling. For attendees, the expansion into the EVEN Hotel across the street is a sign of how the show keeps growing. If you're planning to hit everything, you'll need all three days and comfortable shoes.
Stereophile's Ken Micallef is handling the main coverage of Capital Audiofest 2025, with detailed room reports to follow. I'll be supplementing that coverage with additional videos and notes from the show floor. Our Capital Audiofest reports begin rolling out shortly.
But the real action, as always, is in the rooms. Capital Audiofest long ago outgrew the feel of a local gathering. 2025 continues that trend. Floors of the Hilton and the EVEN Hotel across the street are given over to two-channel systems of every size, shape, and price, plus a handful of high-performance home-theater setups and dedicated headphone spaces. Variety is part of the appeal at a show this size: modest systems playing real-world music in one room, six-figure "statement" rigs in the next. Gill noted that most exhibitors aspire to the larger rooms, both for perception and foot traffic, but the smaller spaces can be just as revealing when they're set up right.
