Capital Audiofest

Capital Audiofest · « **on:** 15 May 2010, 04:24 pm »

Dont forget to attend the 1st Annual Capital Audiofest located in the Baltimore/Washington DC Metro area. www.capitalaudiofest.com
Hope to see you there!

Phil A · « **Reply #1 on:** 15 May 2010, 05:04 pm »

I've posted about it in other places (and also let a couple of friends in the business know about it if they wanted to exhibit) and have gotten questions as to admission cost, etc. I didn't see anything on the website.

panomaniac · « **Reply #2 on:** 4 Jun 2010, 05:35 pm »

I think I'll be there on Saturday. See you there!

HAL · « **Reply #3 on:** 11 Jun 2010, 12:46 pm »

Hope to be there today!

Big Red Machine · « **Reply #4 on:** 11 Jun 2010, 12:54 pm »

Quote from: HAL on 11 Jun 2010, 12:46 pm

Hope to be there today!

Hey bud, have fun!!

HAL · « **Reply #5 on:** 11 Jun 2010, 01:24 pm »

Thanks Pete! Will try to have lots of fun today! WOOHOO!

HAL · « **Reply #6 on:** 12 Jun 2010, 02:30 pm »

Was able to attend the CAF yesterday. Had fun hearing the setups!

Will post some pictures of the event after I get home. Forgot my memory card adaptor.

Media ranged from 1/4" tape to vinyl to CD to music servers. All the different setups were sounding pretty good for the first day of a show.

The admission is $10 for the day. From my count about 16 different interesting systems to hear.

If you can, it is worth the time to attend and give some new things a listen. Hopefully this will become an annual event and grow!

panomaniac · « **Reply #7 on:** 13 Jun 2010, 03:33 am »

I was there today. Nice show. Lot's of good systems, top notch stuff.

The Glenview mansion makes for a delightful venue. Like listening to music a real living room. Nice high ceilings, too.

Just got back from the jazz concert. It was kicking! Funny, nobody was playing their systems as loud as the jazz quartet tonight. Fun to have the direct reference. And Gary Gill, the event organizer even sat in on trombone for 2 songs. That was cool.

I'll go again tomorrow.

panomaniac · « **Reply #8 on:** 13 Jun 2010, 03:55 am »

Here is a photo of the band.

From left to right. Nasar Abadey on drums, Antonio Parker on alto sax, James King on bass, Allyn Johnson on electric piano and Gary Gill on trombone

John in d.c. · « **Reply #9 on:** 18 Jun 2010, 02:22 pm »

I attended the audio show, my first . . .
I found it illuminating and am surprised no one here, really, is talking about the equipment they heard.
Here's what I got:
The MBL setup, even with the fancy reel-to-reel, was a sham. The pre-amp alone was $24,000. The sound on the system was awful. Great looking stuff, and a total joke. Disappointing to say the least.
Jeff Joseph was a treat to meet. He didn't care that the Pulsars w/ Manley tube gear were in this tiny little room. And you know what? It sounded fine. $7,000+ for the speakers? I haven't decided yet.
His Pearls ($28,000) playing with stunning Luxman equipment were in the best of all rooms. I spent much time in there. When the media was right (like the Mobile Fidelity Art Pepper vinyl release), it was so fine your jaw dropped. When there was a fair amount of compression in the media (I brought some Josh Todd for testing), the system did not present well, or, should I say, forgivingly. That's a lesson for Redbook and rock players right there. Perfection requires perfect source material, and many of us play regular commercial fare.
The Cathedral horn speakers, made from old, found stuff, had their drawbacks, but for me had the second most realistic presentation after the Pearls when I played the American Jazz Orchestra through them. You could sense where everyone was sitting. They threw a monstrously huge, vivid soundstage. Thrilling in a big room.
The Living Voice speakers room also was a contender for high honors and sounded fabulous no matter what we threw on in there. Much of the other equipment I heard was victim of poor setup. Maybe they fixed it as the weekend went by. Some of it was just fancy looking expense stuff that sounded bad. Sonist, I'm sorry to say, sounded horrible. In rooms like these, three minutes, tops, was all you needed.
Can't wait for next year's show!
p.s. -- next year pour 12 ounces of beer, not 10 ounces, for a $3 cup. Thank you.

panomaniac · « **Reply #10 on:** 18 Jun 2010, 09:03 pm »

No, come on John, tell us what you really thought!

I agree with you on the Pearls, probably my favorites there. And the little Pulsars were good, too. I say so in my up coming article for www.hifizine.com

Disagree with you on the sound of the MBLs. I've heard them 2 or 3 times before and not liked them, but at this show they did well. But when I heard them they were playing some rather nice classical and opera pieces that are well suited to the big, open sound. Didn't hear them with "smaller" music.

I liked the Cathedral speakers too. He did a good job with the horns. Not crazy about the Utah woofer, tho.

Yes, prices are crazy, but that's the world of high end audio. And why I build almost all my stuff.

John in d.c. · « **Reply #11 on:** 19 Jun 2010, 12:50 am »

Yeah, I guess I threw down hard there, eh, panomaniac? It's ok -- opinion never hurt anyone.
A little more on the MBL's. The guy controlling the rig wanted us to hear through the reel-to-reel. Yes, I'll admit, it did sound very good the way he wanted it, but I said, "Can we play something I brought?" and he looked and got nervous, "A CD?"
Um, yes, a CD. Imagine!
It sounded terrible, and it was his player, not mine. In the real world, no one is playing through reel-to-reel in their homes. No one.
Again, it sounded good when he played it, but I can't imagine laying out $80,000 or whatever and then having no room to play my music. I have more than a thousand albums and a thousand CDs. It's audiophile 180-gram down to second or third hand rummage finds.
A rig has to sound very real on the best media but also play regular old vinyl and Redbook CDs without making the listener cringe.
It's about ecstacy and value -- in that order.

Agree about the Utah woofer. A little tweaking and that guy is really on to something, though.

Phil A · « **Reply #12 on:** 19 Jun 2010, 04:33 am »

I enjoyed the show. I didn't think much of the MBLs, especially given the price point. I've only gone to United Audio once and was very unimpressed (and took the ride just to go there so it was 3+ hours back and forth). A friend of mine bought a relatively inexpensive Jolida amp from the owner's home in Northern, VA (evidently advertises that way on Audiogon) and was promised the manual so he could set it up (the bias) and they never responded to many contacts. He ended up going to Deja Vu and getting a meter and it was done. I've heard a similar story from someone else. They tend to carry things that are depending on how one looks at it, limited distribution with minimal support and a good chance of being a future doorstop or on the cutting edge. I talked to the owner when I went and was not impressed. I thought the MBL stuff was beautifully built though. Very high quality in that regard. With many things it was hard to tell given the rooms. I went to the NY Home Entertainment show about 7-8 years back and that was on a much bigger scale and the rooms allowed one to get a better sense of what the speakers and electronics can do. With high end audio you are going to get stuff some people love and some people don't care for. It's nice to have choices.

John in d.c. · « **Reply #13 on:** 19 Jun 2010, 12:55 pm »

Hey, since you brought up the Jolida stuff, I thought I'd post my rig.

Jolida 502B w/ mods from Underwood HiFi, power tubes are Golden Lion
Rotel RCD-971 with zap filter and XO Clock from LC Audio, as well as vampire plugs added
Thorens TD-318 MKII w/ Grado Sonata
Acoustic Signature Tango phono pre
Straightwire Rhadsody S speaker cable
Joseph Audio RM25si MKII speakers

By the way, some might ask what the zap filter does: "This module takes over all functions from the DAC chip to the output plugs, both RCA and true balanced XLR outputs. The analog signal processing is a . . . non feedback single end class A operation and filter caps in MICA / silver quality."

I didn't listen to the Jolida stuff at the show, but, damn, that gal in the skintights working with them was on fire.

Phil A · « **Reply #14 on:** 19 Jun 2010, 02:24 pm »

Quote from: John in d.c. on 19 Jun 2010, 12:55 pm

I didn't listen to the Jolida stuff at the show, but, damn, that gal in the skintights working with them was on fire.

The highs were very smooth as well

panomaniac · « **Reply #15 on:** 19 Jun 2010, 09:36 pm »

Crickey! How did I miss her?

I guess since I was not shopping, I just listened without regard to price. Not going to let a $45K amplifier price tag get in the way of my enjoyment, you know. Just didn't care about price since I was only there for fun.

I liked the rooms. So much better than the typical hotel rooms that so many audio shows are squeezed into.

Phil A · « **Reply #16 on:** 20 Jun 2010, 02:13 pm »

It's the first picture on United Audio's website down a bit on the page - http://www.unitedhomeproducts.com/

You mean you see only the (audio) equipment?

Phil A · « **Reply #17 on:** 20 Jun 2010, 02:15 pm »

Quote from: panomaniac on 19 Jun 2010, 09:36 pm

Crickey! How did I miss her?

I guess since I was not shopping, I just listened without regard to price. Not going to let a $45K amplifier price tag get in the way of my enjoyment, you know. Just didn't care about price since I was only there for fun.

I liked the rooms. So much better than the typical hotel rooms that so many audio shows are squeezed into.

Quick question - want to make sure your eye sight is functioning OK - do you just see the speakers in this ad?

http://www.glacieraudio.com/new%20Glacier%20Audio%20Site/ads%20review%20event%20folder/Ads-jpegs/AD_ST-feb-testimon.jpg

HAL · « **Reply #18 on:** 20 Jun 2010, 02:46 pm »

When the Gilmore speaker came out, she was at CES for the introduction.

MLS · « **Reply #19 on:** 20 Jun 2010, 03:00 pm »

I was there on Friday. My favorite was the Joseph Audio Pulsars with the Manley and Bel Canto gear.
Yes the room was small but I was impressed with what the little Pulsars could do. I thought they were very well balanced and sounded just right to me. I was not able to enjoy the Luxman and Joseph Audio Pearl set up because some one was listening to the Pulsars at an elevated level in the adjacent room and we were listening to some vinyl with a soft passage and the Pearls woofers were pumping with subsonic input. And it was really hot in that room.

The big MBL rig sounded really big and airy with the RR machine but I think the MBL speakers sound best with orchestral music because of the omni-directional configuration but lack the focus needed for the type of music I would listen to. Also I do not have the means to buy equipment at that level and I am cheap. YMMV.

Personally I prefer simple, inexpensive gear that performs above its price point. I would get more enjoyment out of the little Jolida FX-10 and a pair of bookshelf speakers for less than 1K than the big MBL rig.

All in all I enjoyed the show and like the venue but I think they should schedule it when the temperature is more in the 50's or 60's because Class A circuitry and a barely adequate AC system on the second floor are a poor match. And yes serve me a beer in a 12 oz cup.

Scott