Who is excited about Capital Audiofest 2023?

I spent over 6 hours there yesterday and am planning on returning tomorrow.  I was surprised by how many good sounding rooms there were this year.  Other speakers not already mentioned included the active ATC SCM50ASL ($22k), Borresen M1 ($100k!), and Heretic AD614 ($7.3k, and very relaxed sound).

 I also got to hear Avantgardes for the first time.  Weird pairing for an efficient horn - dartzeel - and room was way too small, but if you sat in the chair against the wall, it gave you a much better idea of what the Duo GT ($74k) is capable of; I’d rather hear it with tubes though.  

Oh, and the Deja Vu room, with Vu’s Western Electric driven wooden horns, was very nice.  His room last year was disappointing, pretty awful in fact, so it was nice to see a return to form.

Very 1st much smaller Capital Audiofest in the old Rockville mansion venue had a custom Goto horn setup that was outstanding.

Hmmm I missed Avant-garde on the card this year. That would be an attraction for me.

Deja-Vu is usually worth carving out some time. 

Is Vanatoo there this year? Anyone looking for good sound on a thin budget should give a listen. I’ve got my Vanatoos going now that I first discovered at CAF a couple years back. Wowsa! That’s what modern technology done smartly can do that could never have happened even 10 years ago.  Giant killers!

Geez, can’t believe I forgot!  Since I’m a bit of a Triode Wire Labs fan-boy, I had to visit my friend Pete Grzybowski.  He was showing his cables with Living Voice speakers and Border Patrol amp and DAC.  This was one of my favorite rooms, showing what can be done for a reasonable price (vs. all the 6 and 7 figure systems - some of them really did sound amazing, but it would be criminal if they didn’t).