Forums https://www.decware.com/cgi-bin/yabb22/YaBB.pl AUDIO FORUMS >> General Discussion and Support >> Capital Audio Fest, 2023 https://www.decware.com/cgi-bin/yabb22/YaBB.pl?num=1699662058 Message started by Kamran on 11/11/23 at 00:20:58

Title: Capital Audio Fest, 2023 Post by Kamran on 11/11/23 at 00:20:58 Starting the thread for this year‘s fest for anyone who gets to attend to share their collective thoughts in one place. I plan on going there for one day tomorrow. Some of the things I look forward to include checking out Caladan speakers by Clayton, pure audio project trios with their new 10 inch coaxial drivers, all the various rooms including youTuber OCD Mikey (I recall he’s bringing a few SET tube amps). Speaking of YouTubers, audiophiles junkie and Jay’s audio lab are already here today covering in case anyone is interested. I thought the following video by audiophile junkie might be of interest to tech members: https://youtu.be/sTuO4cuapiw?si=S3xvh-SRQnpuBDgx Color me intrigued but I’m also surprised that audiophile junkie was not familiar with Lii Audio/Song drivers. These are not unknown drivers on YouTube. Thought that was weird for a person as knowledgeable as Jason and also into open baffles.

Title: Re: Capital Audio Fest, 2023 Post by Kamran on 11/11/23 at 01:22:04 This is OCD Mikey’s room as covered today by Audiophile Junkie. Looking forward to checking out his brand spanking new Jeff Rowland amp, Fischer & Fischer Slate speakers and Playback Design DAC. Seem to be well received today. https://youtu.be/1QP8L2q-BAE?si=r2bWhHBuOoB4lIVF

Title: Re: Capital Audio Fest, 2023 Post by Kamran on 11/12/23 at 16:03:22 I had a good time yesterday at the event.  Spent 5 hours and change visiting a few rooms and speaking to few manufacturers and vendors…and unashamedly, taking selfies with some of the YouTube stars including Jay’s Audiolab and Audiophile Junkie.  I also saw Cheap Audio Man for a brief second—as I was getting off an elevator, he was getting in and I was like why does this guy look familiar, and then it hit me! By that time, the door had closed and I wasn’t going to stalk him to see which level he was going to, lol.  Also saw Dr. Weaver and Michael Lavorgna talking to each other outside the hotel. First, I’ll say that Caladan Speakers by Clayton Shaw sounded excellent.  I also had a fantastic discussion with Clayton outside his room for a good 20 min.  He’s overloaded with orders—if you were to order one today—you’re looking at a Feb delivery.  The woofers are from a Spanish manufacturer—all assembled on a fully robotic line with no little to no human interaction.  Not sure if that is a good or a bad thing, but Clayton is really happy with them and they do down to 25Hz.   Sharing a picture and video below; https://share.icloud.com/photos/08f9URE4bI1IkzmZJa44CIoGg

Title: Re: Capital Audio Fest, 2023 Post by Kamran on 11/12/23 at 16:08:47 1927 Era WE Horn Driver on display in the lobby.

Title: Re: Capital Audio Fest, 2023 Post by Kamran on 11/12/23 at 16:19:43 OCD Mikey’s room with Fischer & Fischer Slate speakers and playback designs DAC ($23K!) and streamer.  I think the big ones were playing when I was there and at that moment in time and track, it sounded a tad boomy to me even with his tube traps.  Didn’t spend enough time in the room to form a better opinion.

Title: Re: Capital Audio Fest, 2023 Post by Kamran on 11/12/23 at 16:29:35 The VPI room with Audio Research monoblocks and Acora Acoustics speakers was really good. Audiophile Junkie covered this room in this video. https://youtu.be/cGSlQaYX3_w?si=mHhgx_OoJmwoe-zR

Title: Re: Capital Audio Fest, 2023 Post by Kamran on 11/12/23 at 16:32:42 Von Schweikert Audio’s new VR-55 speaker paired with a Lampizator DAC was another standout.

Title: Re: Capital Audio Fest, 2023 Post by Kamran on 11/12/23 at 16:49:38 https://youtu.be/q6WpqnZ6VyI?si=t5igQxyUPp0Yig26 Saw Audiophile Junkie making his video in the Songer Audio Room.  First he was standing to the side and I was behind him and then when the sweet spot opened up, he sat down and was I right next to him.  Then I introduced myself outside the room, had a nice chat, took a selfie, and he took me to the Bacch room and introduced me to Edgar. I had mentioned earlier in the forum that I met Edgar over a decade ago at an event in Princeton.  Well he recognized me too!  While he was off by a few years, he nailed the event and said that he rarely forgets a face.  The demo was very impressive and I kept looking at my right and left for hidden speakers! Edgar lives close by so I may go checkout his rig in the future.

Title: Re: Capital Audio Fest, 2023 Post by Kamran on 11/12/23 at 17:02:13 Had a good listen to the PAP Trio with their coaxial driver.  Really enjoyed the presentation.  Since Dominique Fils-Aimé’s song ‘Birds’ had been playing in the Caladan room (and most other rooms), I asked Ze’ev (the owner) to play it here too for comparison.  He more than obliged and played the same song on Vinyl and digital for an extra comparison between the two formats.  It was a superb presentation and the vinyl version won hands down.  We are all awed. And he wasn’t using mediocre digital gear either—a combo of Pass Labs amplification and Denfrips flagship Terminator DAC.  Really wanted to hear the Voxativ drivers, so Ze’ev asked me to visit their dedicated room to get an idea of German drivers’ sound signature. Here’s a pic I took and a video that Audiophile Junkie made yesterday, with Ze’ev giving an excellent presentation. https://youtu.be/3l3myAMaO68?si=c9xiPHsNAAeK9Ooy

Title: Re: Capital Audio Fest, 2023 Post by Kamran on 11/12/23 at 17:12:21 Here’s the Voxativ room.  This is their AC 1.9 driver used in their rekindled Ampeggio speaker in a full range single driver configuration, that they are re-introducing after many years.  This speaker used to be $25-$30K and is now being sold for $12K!  Anyways, it was another standout presentation and I had a great chat with the designer of the driver, who was also in the room.  They also told me to give Ze’ev a hard time for not showcasing their AC 1.6 driver with his PAP speakers.  They also assured me the sound signature of the AC 1.9 and AC 1.6 was almost identical.

Title: Re: Capital Audio Fest, 2023 Post by CAJames on 11/12/23 at 17:35:24 Thanks for the updates Kamran. Way back in the day, when I still lived in LA my buddy and I went to one of the early audio shows, it may have been run by Stereophile but I don't remember the name. And I was just overwhelmed by all the people, and a lot of really mediocre sound from (at the time) really expensive gear. And I've never felt the need to actually attend another one of these events even though I'm (academically) interested in all the latest tech. Which is just a roundabout way of saying, for me at least, your write up is better than being there.

Title: Re: Capital Audio Fest, 2023 Post by GroovySauce on 11/12/23 at 18:58:32 Thank you for the write up Kamran.

Title: Re: Capital Audio Fest, 2023 Post by Donnie on 11/12/23 at 20:23:22 I went to a show once and everything was hunky dory, just listening to different things and enjoying myself. Then all of a sudden I had a thought that freaked me out. Since all of the rooms were in hotel, I started thinking what was the most perverted thing that had went on in those rooms. I'm pretty sure I saw Shetland Pony hoof marks on the ceiling in one room. Now you will never be able to get that image out of your head the next time you go to one of these shows! You're welcome.

Title: Re: Capital Audio Fest, 2023 Post by Kamran on 11/12/23 at 20:24:57 Thx GS and CAJames.  I get it, these events can be a bit overwhelming with the crowds and all.  After spending 5 hrs, I was ready to go home.  That said, I find attending these shows akin to cleansing the palette with respect to the audio bubble I live in, discover what’s going on in the industry, and to seize the opportunity to have enlightening discussions with experts/designers/manufacturers to add to my body of audio knowledge.  I will have more to say about the sound at the show vs. sound at home in a different post. LOL Donnie!

Title: Re: Capital Audio Fest, 2023 Post by Kamran on 11/12/23 at 20:35:21 Met Sean Casey from Zu Audio in his room.  Cool dude and very laid back vibe.  He just brought with him a bunch of records from different genre’s so couldn’t take specific requests.  The Definition 6 speakers were playing.  Didn’t stay long enough to form an opinion one way or another.

Title: Re: Capital Audio Fest, 2023 Post by Kamran on 11/12/23 at 20:36:59 One of the prettiest setups at the show.  Was only there long enough to grab this pic.

Title: Re: Capital Audio Fest, 2023 Post by Geno on 11/12/23 at 21:15:49 Thanks for your efforts, Kamran. Pretty awesome stuff!!!

Title: Re: Capital Audio Fest, 2023 Post by HockessinKid on 11/12/23 at 23:04:18 Kudos Kamran. I've attended CAF a couple times in the past, it can overwhelm the senses at times. Looks like you sought out a few rooms which is the best approach IMHO. I'm still amazed at so many rooms that sounded so lousy. Just doesn't seem like the best approach given the cost of many uber systems you see/hear at an audio show. HK

Title: Re: Capital Audio Fest, 2023 Post by Kamran on 11/13/23 at 00:52:28 Thanks Geno. Thanks HK—Yes, my plan (unlike last year), was to visit specific rooms and keep my sanity in check.  You and CAJames have now both touched on mediocre sounding but uber priced gear at these shows. I don’t disagree, but will expand on my experience in a separate post.

Title: Re: Capital Audio Fest, 2023 Post by Lazlo Hollyfeld on 11/13/23 at 19:11:22 Agreed that CAF can be more than a bit overwhelming! And man, was there so much expensive stuff that just sounded shrill. My wife and I attended (her first show), and she quickly pointed out just how fatiguing the high end was in many of the rooms. I don't know if this was an artifact of the rooms or the gear or the music choices, but it did grind on us both a bit. It was fun talking to a couple of the youtubers like Randy and Sean Casey from Zu was incredibly gracious with his time.  I'm the proud owner of a set of Zu Dirty Weekend 6 Supremes and just love them.  Knowing it's hard to make direct comparisons, I think the DW6 definitely outshines the DWX, especially on the low end (as to be expected given the cabinets), I prefer the DW6 over the Soul 6 as well. The 6 sounded a notch less "musical" to me (for whatever that means).  The Def 6 sounded more like my DW6 than the DWX did, oddly. I expected more from them given they cost 10x as much as my DW6.

Title: Re: Capital Audio Fest, 2023 Post by Kamran on 11/14/23 at 20:34:25 TrackingAngle interviews Clayton Shaw: https://youtu.be/pG-HN3hl7JI?si=Cb8CUrE9Smpce8pG

Title: Re: Capital Audio Fest, 2023 Post by Kamran on 11/16/23 at 18:27:11 Oh, I didn’t realize Steve G was also there! Here is his show report – looks like he’s going to get the Caladans in for review which is exciting! https://youtu.be/nOLLRXt8FIk?si=EqUXqjqhPqx3QfFo I also realized (after watching Steve’s video) that I didn’t share the pictures of the Vivid Audio and Bayz Audio rooms. I’ll try to get to that later.

Title: Re: Capital Audio Fest, 2023 Post by Palomino on 12/08/23 at 00:40:14 Thanks for the rundown K. I go to Axpona each year and it always surprises me how bad some of the rooms sound.  That said, in recent years, the number of rooms with sound treatments has increased. I don't know how long the price will remain low on those Caladan spearkers but those peaked my interest.  I watched an youtube review (sorry forget who it was) and they were very high on them.

Title: Re: Capital Audio Fest, 2023 Post by Nishant on 01/12/24 at 20:16:58 Great write up.  I was there, lot of great setups and also a lot of duds!  Ran into Chris briefly. Also ran into Cheapaudioman, we chatted for a minute but he was looking at his phone the whole time so I took the hint!

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