The Listening Room/Fidelity Imports/Titan Audio/Michell Engineering/Soul Note/Perlisten/Innuos/AudioQuest

The Listening Room/Fidelity Imports/Titan Audio/Michell Engineering/Soul Note/Perlisten/Innuos/AudioQuest

The Listening Room and Perlisten Audio's Erik Wiederhotlz assembled a fine-sounding room, its front end including the revised Michell Orbe SE Turntable with an inverted, oil-circulating main bearing, freestanding motor, and massive platter ($6999 w/o tonearm; $8495 w/Technoarm 2), Innuos Statement Music Sever and Streamer, Soul Note D2 DAC ($8999), Soul Note E2 MM/MC Phono Equalizer ($8999), and Soul Note S3 SACD player ($19,999). Amplification consisted of more Soul Note!

Command Performance AV/Gryphon/Marten/J.Sikora/Lyra/Doshi/Aurender/Berkeley Audio Design

Command Performance AV/Gryphon/Marten/J.Sikora/Lyra/Doshi/Aurender/Berkeley Audio Design

Jeff Fox and Jessie Bentley of Falls Church, Virginia's Command Performance AV graciously opened their room to me, pre-showtime. I chose their vinyl copy of trumpeter Erik Truffaz's 2000 album, The Mask, for play on their J. Sikora Reference turntable, ($47,000; gloss finish with Reference power supply), and its new J. Sikora KV Max Zirconium Series 9" tonearm (TBA), a CAF world premiere, running a Lyra Atlas Lambda SL cartridge ($11,995).

High Water Sound/Codia Acoustics/TW-Acustic/Zen Sati/New Audio Frontiers/Horning Hybrid Systems

High Water Sound/Codia Acoustics/TW-Acustic/Zen Sati/New Audio Frontiers/Horning Hybrid Systems

High Water Sound's Jeffrey Catalano is a an evolved being, existing on a higher plane, his rooms part meditation, part deep music immersion seminar, part discovery/journey. Year after year, Jeff assembles some of the best-sounding rooms you'll ever hear at any show. And often with equipment as unique and revelatory as Jeffrey himself.

This year at CAF was no different, Jeff's system and choice of vinyl inspiring, calming/stunning, informing and educational.

Robyatt/VPI/Miyajima/DNM Design/Finley Audio

Robyatt/VPI/Miyajima/DNM Design/Finley Audio

Robin Wyatt's Robyatt room wins my early, best sound of show. Playing recordings I thought I knew well, as well as those I'd never heard, his exacting, tonally true, vivid, physical, natural and extremely transparent system left my jaw on the floor and other's mouths agape.

The Vinyl Revivers/Black Ice/Klipsch/Ortofon/Pro-Ject/Audio Desk System

The Vinyl Revivers/Black Ice/Klipsch/Ortofon/Pro-Ject/Audio Desk System

Black Ice amplification joined with Klipsch speakers and a Pro-Ject turntable to create a high-octane rig that played contemporary pop, rock, and blues like Stevie Ray Vaughan riffing with '90s German techno.

Alta Audio/Infigo Audio

Alta Audio/Infigo Audio

I scrambled into the room shared by Infigo Audio and Alta Audio where Alta Audio's Michael Levy was introducing his new Titanium Hestia II floorstanders ($37,500/pair). I always dig Hans Looman's Infigo amplifiers; Hans always plays cool and unusual music, and his amps are small beasts of potent power, snap-crackling dynamics, and surprisingly large, super-scaled soundstages.

Bache Audio & Alexus Audio from Brooklyn

Bache Audio & Alexus Audio from Brooklyn

I have to admit, at past shows, Bache Audio's Greg Belman has urged me to visit his and Alex Choren's shared Alexus Audio room, and I've begged off, "too busy" the usual lame excuse. But this time I didn't and damn! I was glad I made it into this small oasis of good music and excellent high-fidelity reproduction.
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