Capital Audiofest

DC-area dealer Command Performance A/V had a number of rooms at CAF 2018 and my favorite was the one with Doshi and DeVore in it.

When you walk around a hifi show, especially the Capital Audiofest, you can’t help but be struck by difference. There are more means toward our ends than anyone has the time to get to know well. Ideally we find things we like living with and […]

Gryphon Audio and retailer 20/20 Evolution shared room 523 along with guest tape spinner Philip O’Hanlon of On A Higher Note, Gryphon’s US Distributor. Philip reeled out Lee Morgan’s The Sidewinder and I had to resist the urge to get up and move to that […]

I said to myself at the beginning of CAF 2018, Self, you’re going in every room. And I (almost) did. That being the case, I think the best way to share that experience is with pictures. Up top is the “Virtues of Vintage” crew—Art Dudley […]

Rob Robinson of Channel D is a man on a mission(s)—one of said missions is to help you rip your vinyl, metadata and all. His Pure Vinyl software has the ability to automagically add your LP’s metadata using an internet db lookup “using only the […]

You have to ask yourself— how can a DAC be controversial? You have to ask because a DAC can’t be controversial any more than a spoon can be controversial—people make things controversial when they try to impose their opinion so forcefully in order to make […]

When I stopped in in the IMC Audio room, the music selections were being selected and explained to two little girls. One was sitting next to me and her friend was standing alongside her friend.  The girls were told, “There’s a nine-year-old girl singing on […]

During the “Virtues of Vintage” seminar, Blackie Pagano suggested that the hifi industry has forgotten how to market. I tend to agree although there are a few outliers like Richmond, VA-based Fern  & Roby. Just take one look at their room and the products in […]

The Zu Audio Omen Dirty Weekend [Mk.II] speakers (the smaller one) cost $999.99, shipping included. From what my ears and eyes tell me, that’s a screaming good deal.

“Stacked Quads.” is what someone said when they walked into the Emia Labs room at CAF 2018. That’s like looking at the Mona Lisa and saying, “A nose.”

“See if you know who this is.” said Gamut‘s US distributor Michael Vamos as he put a record on the Pear Audio Kid Thomas turntable. Miles’y trumpet, ethereal keys, bowed double bass, over-driven harmonica. . .”What is this?” I thought to myself. I don’t know […]

The streaming DAC strikes me as a very smart way to approach networked audio. What is a streaming DAC? A DAC with an Ethernet connection which allows you to play music from streaming services and your digital music library. Some streaming DACs, like Mytek’s new […]

Excitement is a terrible thing to waste. I just saw and heard the KEF LSX speakers ($1,099.99/pair) and ran across the street to my hotel to tell you about them. OK, I didn’t really run but I walked really fast.