Capital AudioFest 2019

Sort By: Post DateTitle Publish Date
Capital AudioFest 2019
Legacy Audio Studio HD Loudspeakers, Rogue Audio Sphinx v3 amplifier, NAD C658 network player/preamp/DAC
Herb Reichert  |  Nov 06, 2019  |  First Published: Nov 04, 2019  | 
It pleases me beyond words when modestly priced audio components overperform immodestly.
Continue Reading »
Capital AudioFest 2019
Luminous Audio and the Pure Audio Project
Herb Reichert  |  Nov 04, 2019  | 
I mentioned earlier how uncolored, detailed, transparent, and image-specific an open baffle loudspeaker can sound. Unfortunately, not all open baffle speakers are created equal, and making a coherent and musically satisfying open-baffle speaker is much more complex than just bolting a few drivers to a sheet of plywood. The question any loudspeaker designer must ask is, how far should I go? When is done right?
Continue Reading »
Capital AudioFest 2019
Luxman Digital Player, Pre and Power Amplification, Aurender Server, J. Sikora Turntable and Tonearm, Kuzma Tonearm, Koetsu, Ortofon and Grado Cartridges, DeVore Fidelity Speakers, Transparent Cables, Box Racks
Ken Micallef  |  Nov 03, 2019  | 
I’ve known DeVore Fidelity’s John DeVore a long time. Luxman America President Jeff Sigmund, too. I’ve reviewed a few of their products—DeVore and Luxman. These guys are salt of the earth. They’ve got tradition, they love music, they have a desire to create, a desire to serve.
Continue Reading »
Capital AudioFest 2019
MC Audiotech Forty-10 Loudspeakers, VPI HW-40 Turntable, Luminous Audio Arion Phono Preamp, Pass Labs XP22 preamp, Wolf Audio Alpha 3 Music Server, PS Audio DirectStream DAC, Parasound A23 Amplifier, Symposium Foundation Rack
Herb Reichert  |  Nov 05, 2019  |  First Published: Nov 04, 2019  | 
Two friends whose taste and hearing I respect—and who visited every room at this show—told me they thought the $35K/pair MC Audiotech Forty-10 loudspeakers made the best sound at CAF. No question, these almost five-feet tall decorator-friendly midcentury-modern-looking beauties sounded even better they look, and they look very nice.
Continue Reading »
Capital AudioFest 2019
ModWright Ambrose Ai325 Integrated Amplifier, PH9.0 Phono Pre, and modified Pioneer CD Player, Fern & Roby Tredegar Turntable (Schroeder Tonearm, Soundsmith Cartridge) and Raven Loudspeakers, Stereolab/Black Cat Cabling
Herb Reichert  |  Nov 06, 2019  | 
As a reviewer, I’ve been waiting to see a ModWright product that just jumped out of the deck and said, “Herb! Review me.”
Continue Reading »
Capital AudioFest 2019
MoFi Turntable, Cartridge and Phono Stage, Rogue Integrated Amplifier, Heed DAC, Wharfedale speakers, Audience cabling
Ken Micallef  |  Nov 03, 2019  | 
With so many megabuck rooms fattening the floors of CAF 2019, it’s easy to miss the smallish, sub-$10,000 systems making absolutely first rate sound. One such room was manned by MoFi’s Jon Derda: the Tenacious Sound/MoFi/Quad room.
Continue Reading »
Capital AudioFest 2019
Overture Room: Technics’ SL-1000RE-S turntable, Van Den Hul Master Signature Cartridge and Grail SB Phono Preamp, Magico M2 Loudspeakers, Esoteric Grandioso C1 Preamplifier and Grandioso M1 Amplifiers, Shunyata Cables, HRS Racks, Artnovation Room Tuning
Herb Reichert  |  Nov 06, 2019  | 
I saved the Overture room for last because for me and my taste, this room had the best sound at CAF 2019.
Continue Reading »
Capital AudioFest 2019
Raven Audio Amplification and Loudspeakers, Mytek Digital, Soniquil Cables
Ken Micallef  |  Nov 04, 2019  | 
There's a cliché that says that New Yorkers are fond of wearing black. It's a true cliché. But fascination with the dark side isn’t restricted to New Yorkers.
Continue Reading »
Capital AudioFest 2019
Rooms Vs. Vinyl
Ken Micallef  |  Nov 01, 2019  | 
I had woken up not long before, fallen out of bed, and descended the hotel stairs to the Atrium—to the sight of what appeared to be many tens of thousands of vinyl records. I had dragged myself away and met Herb Reichert for breakfast, where we made plans for Stereophile’s coverage of Capital AudioFest 2019. But the vinyl kept drawing me back.
Continue Reading »
Capital AudioFest 2019
Spatial M3 Sapphire Loudspeakers, Linear Tube Audio Z10 Integrated Amplifier, Lampizator Amber 3 DAC, Anticables
Herb Reichert  |  Nov 04, 2019  | 
My three-day reconnaissance suggests that Mark Schneider and his company, Linear Tube Audio, scored big at CAF, downstairs in the Headphone Lounge and with a room I and many showgoers thought was a candidate for Best Sound at Show.
Continue Reading »
Capital AudioFest 2019
Tekton Moab, McGary Audio SA-2 Integrated Amplifier, Exogal Comet DAC and Ion Power DAC, Anticables
Herb Reichert  |  Nov 06, 2019  | 
I like speakers with dark wood finishes. My friend Sphere loves speakers painted red. My partner “bb” prefers blue ones that match her room. Tekton Design makes speakers in these and many other colors and finishes. Tekton speakers, though, also have many tweeters, which gives them a distinctive look.
Continue Reading »
Capital AudioFest 2019
The 2019 Capital Audiofest Is Underway!
Herb Reichert  |  Nov 01, 2019  | 
It was 77 degrees on October 31 and the weather on the drive down reminded me of an amplifier I once owned: dark, gray, and dry. The weather app on my phone said there were tornado warnings for the Washington, DC, area, but that could not diminish my excitement about going to Capital Audiofest at the Hilton Hotel in Rockville Maryland.
Continue Reading »
Capital AudioFest 2019
The American Sound Rooms: Wadax Electronics, Avantgarde Loudspeakers, Transparent Cabling
Herb Reichert  |  Nov 06, 2019  | 
American Sound distribution presented three rooms featuring Avantgarde horn loudspeakers, and, in the two rooms I visited, Wadax digital products.
Continue Reading »
Capital AudioFest 2019
Triangle Signature Delta Loudspeakers, Tsakiridis Orpheus Monoblock Amplifiers, Alexander Line Stage, and Zeuss Phono Preamp, Soulines Kubrick DCX turntable with SME Tonearm, Cabling by Analysis Plus
Herb Reichert  |  Nov 05, 2019  | 
Every time I encounter a system with Triangle speakers, I stop and take serious notice of their refined but lively sound. As I did Sunday in the room sponsored by The Antal Audio Group.
Continue Reading »
Capital AudioFest 2019
VAC Statement 452iQ power amplifiers and Statement Line and Phono Preamps; Von Schweikert Ultra 11 Loudspeakers, Kronos Pro Turntable and Black Beauty Tonearm, Airtight Opus One Cartridge, Masterbuilt Ultra Cables, and Critical Mass Stands
Herb Reichert  |  Nov 03, 2019  | 
Walk through the glass entrance doors, then twenty paces straight ahead, and you find yourself standing at the lip of a dizzying precipice, with a full panoramic view of the Rockville Hilton’s vast LP-filled atrium. To your right is a spectacularly lit glass wall that measures about 25’ high by 75’ wide. Above the glass is a giant banner baring the turquoise Valve Amplification Company’s logo: VAC. Standing in front of the wall are groups of urbane sophisticates: handsome men in suits, beautiful women, bright-eyed children. This envy-inspiring display is assembled by The Audio Company out of Marietta, GA; who describe themselves as “purveyors of hi-end luxury audio.”
Continue Reading »

Pages

X