In Part One of Copper’s Capital Audiofest show report (issue 213), I noted that overall, I thought the quality and consistency of the sound in the rooms was better than at previous shows I've attended, here and elsewhere. Technologies are improving. Although my entire way of thinking about modern versus vintage gear received a wake up call recently – see my article about the Acoustic Sounds Birth of the Blue Miles Davis listening event elsewhere in this issue.
It’s become impossible for any audio journalist to cover it all – there were about 180 exhibit spaces, and 22 hours of show time – but I did get to see a lot of extremely cool gear. I could kick myself for missing rooms like Volti Audio, Arion/Merrill/Chang Lightspeed, Galle, DartZeel, Dr. Vinyl, MC Audiotech and at least 20 more, and not spending enough time in other rooms to really do them justice. Every other online publication has beaten me to the punch, so I’ll just share some personal observations and feelings.
Stenheim has been raising its profile at shows over the past few years, and their speakers were in a number of rooms at CAF. Alma Music and Audio featured the Stenheim Alumine Five SE ($76,500/pair), complemented by the new Vinnie Rossi Brama Gen2 preamplifier and mono amps ($38,995 and $59,950/pair respectively), with an MSB Cascade DAC ($95,000) Innuos ZENith Next-Gen music server ($19,350), a Gigawatt PC-4 EVO+ power conditioner ($14,500), Kubala-Sosna cables and NEMESIS acoustic panels. The speakers have been upgraded with new binding posts, a machined aluminum base, and a room control panel at the rear of the speaker that allows it to be tailored to adjust for different listening environments. In addition, a grounding post allows the Five SE to be connected to an external grounding system – and I’m becoming more and more convinced of the efficacy of such systems.
The Vinnie Rossi electronics, aside from being some of the most beautifully elegant gear I’ve ever seen, offered a number of Gen2 refinements, such as Western Electric 300B tubes that are horizontally mounted to the circuit board to reduce the length of the signal path, a custom analog signal gauge, and chassis that are machined from solid blocks of aluminum for superior resonance control, shielding and other advantages. The sound was wonderful. A jazz version of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” was pure, spacious, and simply illuminated, with a reach-out-and-touch- it quality to the sound. Interestingly, Stenheim uses different drivers for each of its speakers in order to apply less compensation in the crossovers for each model. It works.
Jacksonville, Florida’s House of Stereo had an incredible display in one of the large rooms at the Twinbrook Hilton show venue, which featured two complete large-scale systems with Focal loudspeakers. One was based around the unique Diva Utopia speakers ($39,999/pair), a wireless powered system with Naim technology including built-in streaming, DSP, room correction, and multiple channels of amplification. The 3-way speakers offer analog as well as digital inputs, and are controllable via phone app. (a VPI Forever Series Model One turntable was connected; this new $5,250 model was introduced at Capital Audiofest.) The Diva Utopia employs a beryllium tweeter and what they call “W”-cone midbass and woofer drivers, and is utterly unique in appearance, covered with a grey felt finish made from sustainable material.
I was really taken by the Diva Utopia’s warm, lush yet detailed sound. Peter Gabriel’s “Playing for Time” had exceptional dynamic impact. This idea of an ultra-high-end, all-in-one speaker system makes a lot of sense to me and I think it would appeal to many customers who don’t want racks of components in their listening rooms, or be bothered by system-setup complexity. In fact, the Diva Utopia might appeal to an entirely new category of customer. I was so taken by the speaker system that I forgot to have a listening session with the imposing $349,999/pair Focal Grand Utopia EM system (in EVO Zircote finish) that was also set up in the room along with T+A electronics, a Wolf Audio Systems Red Wolf 2 SX server ($16,500), REL No. 32 subwoofers ($10,000 each) and Synergistic Research cables and Galileo Powercell SX power conditioner. Well, there’s always Florida Audio Expo.
The new Focal Diva Utopia active wireless loudspeaker system offer an all-in-one high-end audio solution.
I’m getting spoiled by the combination of Alta Audio speakers and Infigo Audio electronics, which include everything you need to enjoy outstanding digital sound in their Method series electronics, including the new IS-1 streamer ($5,000 - $7,000) and MD-1 subwoofer amplifier ($5,000), and Sparkle Series cables. Alta speakers were in a number of rooms, but I only got a chance to spend time in the Alta/Infigo room, which featured the top-of-the-line Aphrodite ($30,000/pair).
I confess – I was too wrapped up in listening to take notes, which I guess has become a habit when I listen to Alta and Infigo speakers and electronics. (Or maybe that's an excuse for being too lazy.) I am a sucker for ribbon tweeters, especially when they’re as refined as Alta's. The handout I got from the booth spells out the details: The Aphrodite employs a titanium-former 10-inch woofer and 8-3/4-inch lower midrange driver, two “hex cone” 6-inch upper midrange driver, and that lovely ribbon tweeter. The woofer is loaded into Alta’s patented XTL transmission line, designed for extended bass and lowered distortion. Infigo Audio components offer a substantial amount of proprietary technologies, from amplification that goes down to DC, to low-temperature Class A bias circuitry, to calibration of the individual chips in the Method 4 DAC for better performance.
The Alta Audio Aphrodite speakers and Infigo Audio electronics worked well together. The electronics look striking in person with their distinctive logos and illumination.
The $999/pair Chesky Audio LC1 speakers made such a splash with their Capital Audiofest debut that you’ve probably already heard about them via social media, or every other website that does show reports before I do. The hoopla was deserved. These small (8 by 10 by 10-inch) speakers feature a 3D-printed cabinet (with what I think is a very cool graphic flanking the tweeter; props to Lucca Chesky for doing something different) housing a 1-inch dome tweeter and 6.5-inch woofer/midrange driver flanked by dual 8-inch subwoofers. The cabinet is said to be of a “multi-layer, high-mass, non-resonant” design. Well, they sounded terrific. Not “good for the money” or “good for their size,” but terrific, period. In fact, they delivered some of the best sound at the show, with surprising room-filling bass, exceptional imaging and soundstage capability, and a natural tonal balance. As I’ve said previously, I don’t buy into the tired truism that the high-end audio industry will age out (though there certainly a lot of graybeards at the show). Products like the LC1 are proof.
Chesky's new LC1 speakers were a sensation at Capital Audiofest.
West Seneca, New York retailer Vinyl Sound had a retro-flavored room, featuring Tannoy loudspeakers and Accuphase electronics, though the components are all recent models. There was just something warm and inviting about seeing those old school-looking Tannoy Stirling iii LZ Limited Edition speakers ($6,250/each), SGM Super Gold Monitor speakers ($2,995/each), and the Tannoy Prestige GR SuperTweeters ($2,195/each), which are indisputably the coolest-looking tweeters on planet Earth. The Accuphase E-800 and E-5000 integrated amplifiers ($19,975 and $18,975 respectively) reflected the retro-modern look with their thick gold faceplates and big meters. The system also included a Transrotor Dark Star turntable ($5,490), Shelter Harmony cartridge ($4,900), HiFi Rose streamer ($4,995), ISOTEK Aquarius System Link power conditioner (($2,995), and Furutech cables and accessories.
The Vinyl Sound room had a retro appeal with modern components.
The Tannoy SuperTweeter, atop the Tannoy Stirling iii LZ Limited Edition speakers.
This system simply made music. It was inviting and comforting, and I’m not going to pick it apart by going through the usual audiophile checklist. It made me think – in a way, who cares if a system is “accurate” or not? Does the system make you want to listen? Does it make you happy?
Which leads to some other random thoughts:
In speaking with Ken Stevens of Convergent Audio Technology, he suggested that Harry Pearson’s concepts of components having a yin or yang character should be revived. It’s a more useful concept than just calling a component “dark” or “bright,” and instead we should consider a component as having much more complex attributes. In addition, and as a corollary of the yin and yang idea, Ken felt that system synergy is of utmost importance, and that this idea may not be as acknowledged as it should be today.
I agree…system synergy is important, and I don’t claim to fully understand why some components work well together and complement each other, and some just…don’t. It’s more than just a question of tonal balance or impedances or using tube preamps with solid-state amps or cables as part of the amp-cable-speaker chain, or any number of other things. Maybe there are people who think we’ve figured out everything in audio, and all you need are good measurements. I’m not one of those people.
The older I get, the more I have sinus problems, and good and bad hearing days. Though many writers and industry people have hammered home the point, some of us still tend to be unaware of how important the room is in determining the sound of an audio system. Well, how about the effect of ourselves on the sound of an audio system? Maybe there are days when we “have it,” and days that we don’t, when it comes to hearing. Seems obvious, but I want to think about this further. A corollary: anyone who listens professionally knows that you get ear fatigue after a while. Luckily at audio shows you get to take listening breaks just by the fact that you have to go from one room to another. That said, by 5:00 Saturday my right ear was literally crackling. Happily, it was nothing a dinner break at Smash Burger couldn’t fix.
Let me once again shout this from the rooftops: you can not make definitive judgments about sound quality at shows! I thought a few of the speakers I’d heard were a little light in the bass, and I know from previous shows and dealer events that that is most certainly NOT the case. So, I’m not mentioning that in any of my room descriptions, lest anyone read them and think, “oh, those speakers don’t have good bass.” Your sound is only as good as your room!
Every time I hear a Rogers or Rogers-derivative LS3/5A loudspeaker like the Falcon Acoustics Gold Badge version that Fidelis Audio showed ($3,950/each), I fall in love with the sound, though by nature they’ll never do “big.” How does this little thing sound like magic? They remind me that there’s more to a speaker than specs and measurements. Obvious, I know, but sometimes I get lost in the rabbit hole of reading online reviews and think I can get a sense of what a speaker sounds like from looking at graphs. I can’t.
Every room I heard that had a LampizatOr DAC sounded good. I don’t think this is a coincidence.
I wish I had a chance to listen to the JansZen Valentina A8-SE hybrid electrostatic loudspeakers, which enable the listener to choose between directive and omnidirectional dispersion by means of built-in active electronics. I've been impressed by DSP-driven demos of loudspeaker directivity in the past.
For those who think cables don’t make a difference, the demo in the M101 room might have changed your mind.
And for those who think cables are snake oil, a look in the Wireworld room would show how much design effort and use of sophisticated materials goes into products like their new Series 10 cables. This stuff ain’t cheap to make and a lot of engineering thought went into them and the other cables and accessories in Wireworld’s very comprehensive lineup. Ditto for companies like Furutech, AudioQuest, Kimber, and the list goes on. I’ll leave the endless debates about cable pricing to the internet denizens who will never let the subject go. Everyone’s entitled to their opinion.
As usual, VPI was everywhere (well, in 10 rooms), with a number of exhibitors using their turntables, from the elegant, classic-looking Forever Series Model One to the striking Avenger Direct Statement turntable, shown in red, white (silver), and blue at one of VPI’s rooms along with the debut of the Avenger Phono stage and S-Tonearm. The new Vanquish Stand really complements the look of the Avenger turntable and proved that even equipment stands can have stylish design.
Back to the show:
Cambridge Audio showed their new EX series. A rep at the booth told me the EXN-100 wireless music streamer ($1,799) is flying off the shelves. I’ve always liked their combination of reasonable prices, great looks, and fine sound. I own a Dac Magic 100 and at $249, it’s a ridiculously good overachiever.
The Synergistic Research room, co-sponsored by Scott Walker Audio, had a dizzying array of products, from items like the Voodoo Streamer Server ($14,995) and SRX PowerCell power conditioner ($59,995, which featured selectable colors of illumination said to affect the sound), to the Vibratron ($3,995), a tall, antenna-looking device that looked like something out of a 1950s science fiction movie. According to the company, the Vibratron “is a handmade multi-frequency resonator which anchors the focal point of your sound field to your listening room, expanding and clarifying your listening experience.” Arnold Martinez gave those of us in the room a demo of these and other products, and for me the differences in the sound quality with the devices in and out of the system were easily heard. Others in the room shared my sonic impressions. I’ll leave it to others to try to explain what’s going on with these and some of their more esoteric products like their carbon fiber AC outlet covers.
Convergent Audio Technology once again demoed in a very large room with some no-holds-barred gear, like their SL1 Legend aGS Extreme $99,995 preamp and JL7SE THE STATEMENT aGS Extreme $249,990/pair power amplifier. Clarisys Audio Studio+ full-range ribbon loudspeakers ($69,000/pair), were in the system, and my all-too-brief listen made me think that I’d never heard this combination of components sound better.
Arnold Martinez of Synergistic Research taking the Vibratron in and out of the system.
Convergent Audio Technology had a large room with an eye-popping array of gear including the Clarisys Audio Studio+ full-range ribbon loudspeakers.
ATC specializes in active loudspeakers, and their implementation simply works. They’ve got it down – but I didn’t realize they’ve had 50 years to get things down. They commemorated the milestone with a series of 50th anniversary limited edition products including the SCM20ASL active loudspeaker ($13,999/pair) and C4 Sub Mk2 subwoofer ($9,999), limited to 150 pairs and 20 units, respectively. They sounded good, and look stunning in the ATC company’s signature dark blue finish. (The C4 Sub Mk2 is also available in standard finishes for $5,999.) ATC’s CDA2 MkII CD player/preamp/DAC provided the music.
My mind was blown by the Thuono Audio/Grandinote/Kimber Kable room. As I mentioned in Part One of my show report, I thought I’d suffered enough hearing loss that I couldn’t hear layered depth anymore. Well, no. In this room featuring Italian manufacturers, which showed a Thuono Audio turntable system and cables, and Grandinote Mach 8XL speakers powered by a Solo integrated amplifier, the image specificity, layered depth, scale, and ability of the sound to extend beyond the room was, in the true sense of the word, incredible.
A Thuono Audio TH350 turntable served as the source, paired with a Thuono TH12 tonearm and Lyra Kleos cartridge. A magnetic suspension system isolates the platter and tonearm from external vibrations, part of the many refinements that went into the well-thought-out and absolutely gorgeous turntable.
The superb Thuono Audio/Grandinote/Kimber Kable room.
The Mach 8XL have eight “unfiltered and un-equalized” woofers – which means no crossover is used (there’s a high-pass capacitor for the tweeter). The woofers flank a 1-inch horn compression tweeter. The slim towers stand about 69 inches high. The Solo amp has a distinctive large illuminated front panel (adjustable for color) and delivers 60 watts per channel with a wideband frequency response from 2 Hz to 240 kHz, and is a Class A zero feedback design. Volume adjustment is accomplished using two resistor arrays in parallel, controlled by reed relays with contacts that operate in a vacuum, said by Grandinote to be the best-possible type of electrical contact. Each transistor uses its own power supply.
The Yello cut they played sounded astounding, and so did the jazz version of “The Pink Panther” theme from STS Digital. This was the first time Thuono Audio and Grandinote exhibited at Capital Audiofest, partnered with Kimber Kable. I hope it won’t be the last.
I didn’t get to hear all of the many rooms with YG Acoustics loudspeakers, but the one I went to that had Vinnie Rossi electronics was outstanding. Everything just sounded right – the tonality, spaciousness, depth, instrumental timbre, and air. I confess, it was one of the rooms where I just forgot to be a journalist again and just got lost in the sound.
I did the same thing in the Amped America room, which also featured Acoustique Quality Passion Fever speakers. Leonard Cohen was captivating. The Amped gear, as I’ve noted in previous show reports, is Class D, not crazily priced (the AAP-1 preamplifier retails for $3,000), with an inviting tonal balance and as my notes stated, “beautiful” overall sound. When I told Amped's Boris Meltsner that the system just "sounded like music," he gave me an intense look and rather emphatically stated, "well of course it does!"
Amped up and ready: Amped America electronics and Acoustique Quality loudspeakers.
The spirit of Leonard Cohen must have been in the air, because he also sounded wonderful in retailer Now Listen Here’s big room (they also had a smaller suite) featuring Vandersteen Audio KENTO Carbon speakers ($47,000/pair), and the company’s new M5-HPA mono amps ($21,000), and L5-ACC preamp ($15,000). The analog front end included a Pure Fidelity Symphony turntable ($21,995), DS Audio W3 optical cartridge ($5,000), the new EMM Labe DS-EQ1 V2 optical equalizer for the cartridge ($12,500). Digital music was supplied by an Innuos ZEN NG server ($12,000) and Bel Canto Design Black DAC ($40,000), all connected with AudioQuest cable and fed by AudioQuest Niagara 7000 and 5000 power conditioners. I was in a rush as it was at the end of my day so I only got a brief impression, but the sound was super-clean with great presence on Cohen’s acoustic guitar, and super-solid center imaging – his voice was more focused on this system than anywhere else I’d heard it.
Scot Markwell of Elite Audio/Visual Distribution was getting some of the best sound I’ve heard from his favored Chapman Audio T-7 loudspeakers ($17,995/pair) that he's used at many shows, which were complemented by dual REL S/3 powered subwoofers ($1,999/each). If it ain’t broke, why fix it? (Heck, I’ve had an Audible Illusions Modulus 3 preamp since about 1995.) Scot pointed out that one of the advantages of using the REL subs in an exhibit room is that you can keep their output limited so as not to overload the room and get true, clean bass down to 30 Hz. The analog front end consisted of a Kuzma Stabi R turntable ($13,634), Kuzma Safir 9 tonearm ($23,140) and Kuzma CAR-40 MC cartridge ($3848), going into a Manley Labs Steelhead tube phono stage ($10,899) and Jumbo Shrimp line stage (4,999).
A big part of the sound had to have been from having the Allnic Audio A-2000 25th Anniversary tube stereo power amp ($9,900) in the system, which was a great match with the Chapman Audio speakers (again, synergy is important). Analog is alive and well, as evidenced by more great turntable setups than I could count (I’ll leave that to Michael Fremer), like this one. Just as my friend Jay and I were about to leave the room, Scot put on Genesis’ The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway LP – and then we weren’t going anywhere. It’s not the greatest recording in the world, but it sounded captivating on this system. And that’s what high-end audio is all about.
Accuphase integrated amps, preamps and power amps were featured in a number of rooms. Here's the E-800 integrated.
Geshelli Labs had a row of rooms, each with a different decor reflecting a different retro decade. I think this might have been the 1970 or 1980s one but you know what they say: if you remember the 1970s you didn't live through them! The rooms also featured the show debut of MACO loudspeakers and speakers from Neil Blanchard Designs.
VPI had a strong presence at Capital Audiofest. Here's one of their listening rooms with Audio Research electronics and Pure Audio Project loudspeakers.
Turntables abounded at the show. Here's the Thuono Audio TH350 turntable with the Grandinote Solo integrated amp.
If you must, do it at home!
