Capital Audio Fest 2016

"Lastly another measure of whether a hifi show was a success is how many LPs I heard that are now on my Need to Get ASAP list"

That's the trend I have notice on my last visit to RMAF and The SHOW.  Believe it or not Vinyl is back.  The future of music has come down to three forms, Vinyl, hard drives and streaming.  I believe the CD format days are numbered.  

I switched to Aurender N10 / Modwright DAC last year and hardly spinned any discs since then.  

I was there just yesterday and really enjoyed it, my very first audio show ever. Favorite rooms for me:

Deja Vu Audio- astonishing Vu’s speakers were just finished Thursday using all vintage Western Electric drivers and sounded fantastic driving by a single 6wpc mono amp.  Sadly I can’t remember the output tube type but the dual blue mercury vapor rectifiers were stunning to see glowing blue! And yes I said a single mono amp, it sounded so good Vu said everyone just assumed it was stereo. Oh and lps spun on a gorgeous Garrard 301 TT, The sound in this room was holographic and my best of the show.

Audio Note- didn’t get to hear the cellist, room was too crowded but listening to the equipment, classic warm rich detailed sound, and quite affordable.

Zu Audio- my first time hearing Zu, driven by all Pass Labs, but a very solid vivid punchy sound. Also the vibe in that room was so chill and relaxed I didn’t want to leave.

Volti/Border Patrol- really nice sound a good balance of detail and warmth and a really tactile sound, highly enjoyable.

Tidal/Bricasti- totally not my cup of tea but I enjoyed way more than I anticipated, plus musical choices in this room were just outstanding! I would say the best digital sound I heard all day, most of my fave rooms had TTs. I wish they had turned the Rel sub off though, integration was really well done I just wanted to hear the speakers on their own.

Classic Audio Reproductions/Atmasphere- tough to argue with Ella and Louis on analog tape, super engaging and live sounding.

All in all a lot of fun though some rooms were disappointing overall it was a good learning experience and lots of great sound.

Yes Audio Note room always seems to be one of my favorites as well.   No difference this time around.

I plan to do some experimentation with corner placement of speakers in a few rooms of my house.

Classic  Audio/Atmasphere was probably the best showcase for gear at the show.   Last time I attended a couple years back they were in a small cramped room that cramped their style as well.   This time around they were in a large ballroom with plenty of space around them, the largest vendor room at the show I think.  Plenty of room to shine.    The RTR tape of Beatles White Album playing when I was there was a lot of fun.    The room was surprisingly empty though considering this was probably the grandest audio treat at the show.

The new Kef Muon flagship models that premiered were impressive as well when I heard them.

My time was limited so I bypassed record vendors and only briefly sampled many setups I wish I had more time to listen to.

Benchmark room was a draw for me in that I had never heard BEnchmark gear and this will likely be my next DAC perhaps sooner rather than later.

Another room I like that I forgot about was Fern and Roby great industrial design and use of natural materials and very solid sound.

berning/voxitive custom horns

To add more info, that room had Linear Tube Audio amps (the boards designed for us by David Berning) and Gary Gill built the horns. That was one room playing CDs, through a modified Icon Audio tube-output CD player, as well as playing vinyl on a Fern & Roby turntable. 

Another interesting experience was hearing the new Volti Rival speaker which uses the same drivers as the Vittora but with a smaller bass reflex cabinet (and smaller price).  I hope this new speaker gives Greg Roberts the commercial success he deserves.

I came in when they were playing Buddy Guy's "Done Got Old" and the room was packed - rightfully so, it sounded incredible. After that, someone requested classical and a selection from the Firebird Suite literally blew into us at the back of the room. Those were the $11k model with the external crossover. I'd love to hear the basic $4k model.