Capital Audio Fest 2024 | Michael Fremer Reports

SHOW
by TAS Staff
Nov 29, 2024

Part 1 of Tracking Angle’s Capital Audio Festival 2024 coverage is an hour plus long video mostly highlighting turntables and tonearms but also a few other interesting features including an interview with composer/musician/HD Tracks entrepreneur David Chesky’s 17 year old son Lucca who introduced a new $995/pr loudspeaker.

VPI debuted its new, long awaited Model One turntable and tonearm that takes its design cues from the original HW-19 ‘table. Two Polish turntable manufacturers are now imported to America. In addition to J.Sikora, BennyAudio’s two models are now available in America as is the Perpetuum Ebner line from Germany that made its American debut at the show.

Other turntable brands at the show and in the video: SOTA, Pure Fidelity, SAT, Acoustic Signature, The Wand, AMG, Technics, Pear Audio Blue, Rega, maybe a few others you’ll see close up and personal. There were tonearms from VPI, SAT, Glanz, The Wand, Tru-Glider, Acoustic Signature, and Auris.

Ayre introduced the PX-8, its first new phono preamp in many years. Cost is around $6000 with add on modules for A/D conversion and a DS Audio optical cartridge equalizer circuit. Alexus Audio also introduced a DS Audio equalizer setting in its phono preamp and DS itself debuted the TB-1000 all-tube equalizer.

Sutherland introduced the new TZ Vibe trans-impedance phono preamp selling for $1400 and Belleson introduced its new $3250 Radiance Wi-Fi enabled phono preamp. that features a single input. It’s $8500 Brilliance offers two inputs.

Plenty of good news for vinyl enthusiasts! Curiously, vinyl seller participation was seriously down compared to last year, with many empty tables on the lower level floor. Not sure why.

It’s an hour long video that may tax the minds of short attention span YouTubers so for those, please watch as much as you can absorb at a time. I got a new microphone system and the sound is much improved! Another video coming soon to fill in what’s not here, much of it complete room systems and loudspeakers too.

Tags: TURNTABLE TONEARM CARTRIDGE VIDEO SHOW REPORT CAF LOUDSPEAKER VINYL ANALOG