Question 1

What are the best listening rooms at Capital Audio Fest in this video?

Accepted Answer

I’m touring the rooms that were getting the most buzz—systems that delivered that “sit down and don’t move” kind of sound. One of the big standouts is a room built around Martin MInkus Quintet Statement Edition V2 speakers with a very serious analog chain. The point of the video is hearing how these top rooms actually perform, not just listing gear.

Question 2

What turntable setup was featured at Capital Audio Fest?

Accepted Answer

The analog rig I highlight is the J.Sikora Standard Max Supreme, which had just won an Analog Product of the Year award. It’s paired with the KV12 Max tonearm—KV because it’s a rolled Kevlar tube arm. At the end of that arm is the IDIS Violet Gold cartridge with a stone body, made in Lithuania.

Question 3

What speakers were used in the standout room you visited?

Accepted Answer

They were running Martin MInkus Quintets—the Statement Edition, V2. In that room, the speakers were cabled with Transparent, and specifically the XL level throughout the system. It’s the kind of setup where everything is clearly chosen to keep the chain clean and consistent.

Question 4

What phono stage was used with the J.Sikora analog rig?

Accepted Answer

From the cartridge, they were going into an Evolution phono stage. I love that it’s made in Charlottesville, Virginia—always cool seeing great audio built locally. The whole room was very proud of the analog front end, and it showed in the demo.

Question 5

What Griffin Audio gear was shown at Capital Audio Fest?

Accepted Answer

They had the Griffin Essence preamplifier on display, and they were also showing the Griffin Antileon Revelation as a US debut at the show. The amps were sitting on the Griffin stand, and power was being handled by the Griffin PowerZone doing optimization behind the scenes. It’s a full “front to back” kind of Griffin presentation.

Question 6

What digital streamer and DAC were used in the system?

Accepted Answer

On the digital side, they were using the Roon N50 three-box solution as the front end. From there it went into a Berkeley Reference Alpha 3P DAC, plus the Berkeley Reference Alpha USB. It’s a very “no excuses” digital chain meant to match the level of the analog rig.

Question 7

How big is Capital Audio Fest and what was the attendance like?

Accepted Answer

Gary mentioned Friday was the busiest Friday they’ve seen, and they were expecting more of the same on day two. The show had over 120 rooms and they were expecting around 5,000 people. There’s also a big home theater presence, including multiple major rooms across the street and several in the Hilton.

Question 8

What were the Latvian speakers and design features mentioned in the video?

Accepted Answer

One room was showcasing loudspeakers from Latvia (Contra 100 stand mounts and Contra 200F floorstanders) with a big emphasis on design and room interaction. They talked about no visible screws, a waveguide to widen high frequencies, and tuning bass behavior to play nicer with typical room modes. The goal was a wide stage and clean playback even at higher SPL.

Inside the BEST Listening Rooms at Capital Audio Fest

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