Ken Micallef

This is the CAF room that all my audio running buddies and even non-buddies told me about: Songer Audio.

I strolled in and took a seat in front of a LampizatOr Atlantic 3 TRP DAC ($7325), an Innuos Statement Next-Gen Server & Streamer ($25,000), and Phoenix NET Network Switch ($4349). These components fed a Whammerdyne Heavy Industries DGA-Ultra 2A3 Integrated Amplifier ($5995). Whammerdyne Heavy Industries sounds like a Roadrunner cartoon company gone wrong, but I stayed put.

Voxativ's Inés Adler and Christopher Owens are never caught dead empty-handed at shows. This puts me in a state of expectant glee, as their sound, regardless of genre, always resolves itself into something joyful. Even my neurotic hotel-hall dashes, pad and pen in hand, are washed away in Voxativ’s sonic tide.

Ofra Gershman brought her 30th anniversary Black Swan Speakers ($95,000/pair) to CAF, that feature the company’s patented “Separate Sub Alignment System,” which physically separates the tweeter and midrange from the woofer.

The high-end audio world, with its shiny boxes and astronomical price tags, often gets a bad rap. People dismiss it as a playground for the wealthy, a place where form trumps function. But Jeff Fox, the mastermind behind Command Performance AV, isn’t buying it. He’s here to prove that high-end audio isn’t just about showing off; it’s about experiencing the blood, guts, and beauty of music. If the prices start to rise, at least you were warned.