Capital AudioFest 2022

Steve Jain, Managing Director & cofounder of New Jersey's Fidelity Imports had [edit] six rooms (!) at CAF, all packed with enough hi-fi goodness to make my North Carolina grandmother give-me-my-inheritance-now to buy more gear!

My CAF running buddy (and superior artist, journalist, and fine fellow), Michael Lavorgna, of must-read audio site TwitteringMachines.com, corralled me (after two refreshing Sazeracs) into the Fidelity Imports room, where the French-made Diptyque DP107 speakers ($7999/pair) were making fast, streamlined, thrilling music. The 86dB/W/m, 6 ohm Diptyque DP107 is an isodynamic design, using a PPBM—Push Pull Bipolar Magnet—architecture. Steve showed me a photo of the Diptyque's internal construction—state of the art electronics and assemblage.

"This new Diptyque DP107 model was born after 10 years of research and development," states the website. "They are composed of a bass-medium membrane of 0.198m^² operating on our exclusive PPBM technology and a ribbon tweeter with neodymium magnets 45cm long. Its mechanical sandwich structure is extremely rigid and guarantees the absence of coloring sound. The speaker's steel and oak stand resumes the design of the old ribbon microphones, it brings great rigidity to the set and the ability to adjust the tilt according to the listening point."

The strips of these panel speakers literally moved in the zone generated by the 319Wpc into 6 ohms Cyrus Mono Signature amplifiers ($3999/pair). The sound was immediate and extremely focused (playing Bill Callahan); and by turns, exceptionally resolving on the new Giles Martin remix of Revolver, where Ringo's cymbals on "Taxman" had more texture, body, and decay than on my home rig. "Eleanor Rigby" was equally precise and airy.

An Innuos Zen Streamer provided source; a Cyrus Pre XR preamplifier ($5499) also served.