Getting a sneak peak at Capital Audiofest is much like sneaking into a big concert prior to the event.
There’s a mix of a fly-on-the-wall element to it as the exhibitors are still setting up their rooms and
displays. Frantic unboxing and running about for some and laid back relaxed for others. I had the
opportunity to sneak into both of the Now Listen Here rooms as the finishing touches were being completed.
Words and Photos by Graig Neville
What excited me personally was getting a first listen to the Rega Naia + Aphelion 2 in the Now Listen Here room. The Naia is the newest stallion in the Rega stable, being the immediate successor to the Naiad reference table. Aaron Sherrick was making final tweaks to the tracking force and loading into the Backert Labs Rhumba Xphono. The Vandersteen Quatro CT, driven by the m5-HPA amps and a Backert Labs Rhythm 1.4, was transformative. Hearing the impact of these minor adjustments appealed to my engineer brain.
Tweaks to the character and texture of the bass, midrange clarity, and treble sparkle were all part of that formula in pursuit of the best possible sound. The final results sounded great despite the challenging shape and size of Now Listen Here’s hotel room. The Quatro CTs resolved the microdetails as adjustments were made, giving us sonic surprises. Vandersteen is known for bass, but in this room setup, with this gear, the midrange and treble were fantastically uncharacteristic, forgoing the typical Vandersteen warmth up top and offering up sparkle.
I will definitely circle back to the Now Listen Here room later in the show to see if it improves as the show goes on. As far as I know this Naia is one of two currently in the country, and Rega is taking orders with the Aphelion 2 cart installed. The table is $12,995 and the cartridge is $4,000. You can learn more about the impregnated carbon fiber tour de force Naia here.
Supporting gear in the Now Listen Here room included the Meitner MA3 DAC, Innous ZENith, Transparent PowerWave X, Premium power cords and Ultra interconnects.
In Now Here This’ “Executive Lounge,” the Joseph Audio Pearl Graphene speakers were being driven by the new EMM Labs MTRS Stereo amp ($65,000) were sounding sublime with an open an spacious sound giving the Rodrigo e Gabriella music great body and precise imaging. Supporting gear included EMM Labs PRE, DAC2, and DS-EQ1 optical phono equalizer. Vinyl duties were by Pure Fidelity Horizon with Origin Live Illustrious SE tone arm and DS Audio W3 optical cartridge. Digital included an Innous PULSAR and ZEN while power duties fell to ISOL-8 SubStation HC and LCX. Everything came together with the Finley Audio Cirrus cables (speaker, interconnects, and power). Besides have comfy chairs and couches I’m sure the Executive Lounge will be heavily attended.
If you haven’t had an opportunity to here DS Audio’s optical cart you should check one out. It’s unlike any other cartridge that I’ve heard. The DS Audio eschews a typical phono preamp as it’s mode of operation is completely different. EMM Labs and Meitner offer alternatives to DS Audio’s equalizer.
