Capital Audio Festival 2024 Days 2 & 3

While most of the luxury speaker brands don't participate in CAF, Stenheim and especially YG Acoustics made points of being seen and heard this year. YG especially made a play for the ears and hearts—not to mention the wallets—of Capital Audio Festival attendees by demoing a wide range of its speakers from the lower priced to the next to the top XX model. Despite the small rooms in which they showed, the sound was exceptional in every room, but for my ears, it was the green Hailey speakers driven by AirTight—shown in the thumbnail— that got my eartention.

The first video I posted concentrated on turntables. This video includes a few but mostly it covers rooms and systems. I spotted one Technics turntable at this show and one Rega—pretty meager representation— and of course VPI was there in force, but Pro-Ject was missing in action, as was Audio-Technica, Fluance, and many other brands. In a crowded, competitive turntable market, particularly at the bottom end, can some of these companies afford to sit out a show like Capital Audio Festival? I guess they figure yes.

You'll see the Italian turntable brand Thuono make its American debut, and Bergmann appeared in more than few rooms where YG was. You'll see a Michell Gyrodec and a Techodec, a few Acoustic Signature 'tables and a few others. I visited Fern & Roby room, GTT Audio, Volti, Audience, Harbeth/Prima Luna, MBL, Voxativ, High Water Sound, Audio Note and many others. Acora introduced a complete new line of lower prices loudspeakers housed in marble rather than granite and conventionally shaped to keep cost down. But they use high quality Accuton ceramic drivers and the one I heard for $7,995 sounded excellent, as did a Marten Audio one similarly priced in another room.

For a solo act at Capitol Audio Festival I think I covered a great deal of territory and a new microphone set up greatly improved the sound. I don't think anyone will have a problem with it. But you can never tell! And you are guaranteed a few laughs! I promise!

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