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Capital Audiofest 2021 kicked off this morning with a heady air of excitement coursing through the sold-out host venue, the Twinbrook Hilton in Rockville, Maryland.

By 9 am, a line was forming at the registration booth. Show director Gary Gill busily checked in show attendees and aligned press folk with their pens, badges, hand sanitizer, and directory.

There were no reserved tickets: It’s first come, first served. Parking at the Hilton was packed, but the hotel across the street appeared to have more parking space.

Even before the 10 am start time, the…

Gayle Sanders, founder of MartinLogan, brought Bethel Connecticut–based Eikon Audio’s line of loudspeakers and electronics to Capital Audiofest’s Lincoln room, the gear arranged into two systems.

The Image1 System included the Eikontrol System Control Module (specifically the Eikontrol2, a prototype, which when ready will be Bluetooth equipped and a Roon Ready endpoint) and a pair of Image1 floorstanding loudspeakers connected with balanced Eikontrol interconnects. This system is priced at $25,000 in standard veneer, $19,000 in painted black or white. Eikon refers to the active…

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…

GT Audioworks presented their Reference 3 Planar Ribbon Speakers ($49,000/pair), which debuted in January 2021.

Described thusly at the GT Audioworks website—“Full range planar driver, 72" x 10", Ribbon tweeter, 72" x1/2," [at] 4 ohms, 92dB, 40Hz--30kHz,” with an active, optional subwoofer (60Hz—15Hz)—these large planar speakers and subwoofer columns were driven by Pass Laboratories XA160.8 monoblocks ($27,300/pair). Preamplification duties were performed by the Pass Laboratories XP-32 preamp ($17,500). A VPI HW-40 Direct Drive turntable played vinyl into a Pass Laboratories…

When I walked into the Volti Audio/Border Patrol Audio/Triode Wire Labs’ room, Volti’s head honcho Greg Roberts said, “Ken, remove that mask.” I did as the man asked, as all present were vaccinated, and accepted a happy hour drink from Triode Wire Labs’ Pete Grzybowski. I saw Border Patrol’s Gary Dewes smile, and knew I was with friends.

I use and have favorably reviewed these mens’ products. But that doesn’t stop me from marveling when I hear the exceptional sound this trio perpetually brings to shows.

Here at the Capital Audiofest, the complete system consisted of an…

Treehaus Audiolab's Richard Pinto likes field coil speakers, tube-rectified power supplies, and 300B power tubes. All are present in products enjoying their debut at Capital Audiofest 2021.

Based in Southport, Connecticut, Treehaus Audiolab showed three new products: an open-baffle loudspeaker called the Phantom of Luxury ($24,000/pair), the Treehaus Audiolab preamplifier ($16,000), and the Treehaus Audiolab power amplifier ($16,000).

To play records, Pinto used a Micro Seiki BL-91 turntable with a Hana ML cart on a Fidelity Research FR-64S tonearm. The phono…

Nothing soothes the frayed nerves of this CAF reporter like an Audio Note UK system, which consistently provide some of the most human, sweet, natural sounding hi-fi equipment at shows year in and year out.

Hosted this year by local dealer Déjà Vu Audio and chief technician, Pierse Chaisson, Audio Note played CDs by Vivaldi and vinyl from Johnny Cash, leaving me feeling blissed out and satisfied,a meditative sonic peace injection.

Spinning vinyl was an Audio Note TT-3 turntable with the power supply upgrade ($9412.89), with an Audio Note Arm 3 ($2465.52) and the…

I walked into the unassuming Fern & Roby Audio/Modwright Instruments room and spied, sitting in a chair with Leica camera in hand, Twittering Machines’ editor/CEO, Michael Lavorgna. Michael and I go back to the days of Quartz glass, Coke in bottles, and 6Moons.com, from whence we both came. Michael smiled and directed me toward the Fern & Roby beer coasters, beige cork jobs each with an illustrated tube (and noted tube type).

When you drink too much [editor's note: or just enough], the tube glow will light your way.

The Fern & Roby Audio system boasted…

My first night here at the Hilton, loud music pumped from the room next to mine. At 11:45pm and it was still blasting, interrupting my much-needed beauty sleep. Several calls later, the volume from the adjacent Daedalus Audio room went down, and I was down for the count.

That experience didn’t dissuade me from walking into that room the following morning and enjoying some excellent sounds. Linear Tube Audio’s Nicholas Tolson was there, running a system consisting of the Daedalus Audio Muse Studio floorstanding loudspeakers ($11,850/pair, 95.5dB/W/m into 6 ohms), DiD SPK…

Campbell, California’s Jeff Wells released his Wells Audio Cipher Level II Tube DAC early last year, but the product debut was sidelined by the pandemic. Jeff chose the Capital Audiofest to premiere the Cipher ($13,000) alongside his Wells Audio Innamorata Level II stereo amplifiers ($15,000 each; two were in the system), Wells Audio Commander Level III Preamplifier ($18,000), Wells Audio Looking Glass II power conditioner ($2500), and Wells Audio Headtrip Headphone Amplifier ($7500).

An Innous Zenith Mk3 Music Server ($4695) was at one end of the rig and TAD Evolution One ($30,…