Stereophile
New member
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2013
- Messages
- 442
- Thread Author
- #1
<p><img class="story_image" src="http://www.stereophile.com/images/2013CAF%202%20(GT).jpg" /></p> I can see already that this show has something in common with my favorite audio designers, audio dealers, audio writers, and audio enthusiasts: Capital Audiofest is an event with a distinct point of view. That this point of view mirrors my own enthusiasm for vintage gear in particular and relatively affordable, anti-(high-end) establishment gear in general, is icing on the cake.
<p>
That said, it turns out I began my first day at CAF with a somewhat conservative system: a pair of GT Audio Works GTA2 loudspeakers ($6495/pair, above) driven by a pair of very powerful Arion class-D monoblocks ($7500/pair), with a Dodd battery-powered tube preamp ($1750) and Plinius CD 101 CD player (($3300), assembled with various cables from Triode Wire Labs. Though the sound was somewhat skeletal, and left me wishing for a little more timbral flesh on those bass-and-treble bones, an unidentified classical track from the first Philips demo disc was pleasantly compelling, and seemingly free of harshness.
</p><p>
<img src="http://www.stereophile.com/images/2013CAF%203%20(DIY).jpg" width="600" border="0" /></p><p>
Happily, I didn't have to wait long for the weird to kick in. A visit to the room sponsored by the <a href="http://www.dcaudiodiy.com">DC Audio DIY club</a>, offering a rotating line-up of components and systems devised by various members, provided ample evidence of this area's active homebrew scene. During my visit, the system of the moment was built around a pair of Urei 801B full-range drivers on open baffles, created by Roscoe Primrose
[Source: http://www.stereophile.com/content/capital-audiofest-day-one]
<p>
That said, it turns out I began my first day at CAF with a somewhat conservative system: a pair of GT Audio Works GTA2 loudspeakers ($6495/pair, above) driven by a pair of very powerful Arion class-D monoblocks ($7500/pair), with a Dodd battery-powered tube preamp ($1750) and Plinius CD 101 CD player (($3300), assembled with various cables from Triode Wire Labs. Though the sound was somewhat skeletal, and left me wishing for a little more timbral flesh on those bass-and-treble bones, an unidentified classical track from the first Philips demo disc was pleasantly compelling, and seemingly free of harshness.
</p><p>
<img src="http://www.stereophile.com/images/2013CAF%203%20(DIY).jpg" width="600" border="0" /></p><p>
Happily, I didn't have to wait long for the weird to kick in. A visit to the room sponsored by the <a href="http://www.dcaudiodiy.com">DC Audio DIY club</a>, offering a rotating line-up of components and systems devised by various members, provided ample evidence of this area's active homebrew scene. During my visit, the system of the moment was built around a pair of Urei 801B full-range drivers on open baffles, created by Roscoe Primrose
[Source: http://www.stereophile.com/content/capital-audiofest-day-one]