Capital Audio Fest 2019

Didn't see a thread yet for this show so figured it couldn't hurt to start one. I'll be there on Saturday 11/1 and it'll be my first audio show of any kind so I'm pretty psyched. Any tips from past attendees? What are you excited to see this year?

 

If you really want to hear something in particular, show up early in the day (Friday has lower attendance) so you can get a good seat, and you can get them to play something you brought along for auditioning (music on a drive or CD). Your should map out the rooms you want to hit early. After that, wander around and enjoy. The arrangement at that hotel is very odd and somewhat confusing, so don't be embarrassed if you find yourself lost at times. If you plan to buy records, or used CDs or used gear, it the vendors in the atrium first so you are not left looking at unwanted leftovers. Some vendors replenish stock, so if the vendor interests you, ask them if they have other stuff not yet on display; you might get lucky.

Shows are an opportunity to dip your toes into things you normally don't experience, so, for example, even if you are not a headphone person, go to the headphone room and try something out.

Always keep in mind that show conditions are tough. If a system does not sound good, it does not mean that ANY of the components in that system are not good. If, however, a system sounds good, then you know that the components in that system are at least capable of sounding good. I try to keep that in mind and I focus on what systems sound good rather than checking things off a list because the show system happened to sound bad. As a general rule at this venue, the big conference rooms are quite acoustically challenging and may not sound that good, the small hotel rooms generally sound better.

When listening to speakers, at some point listen to them from fairly close up. Nearfield listening reduces the contribution of the room and makes it easier to hear the intrinsic qualities of the speaker.

The restaurant in the hotel is not that good, but, don't let that tempt you to look for food elsewhere unless you plan to drive. I could not find anything decent walking around that particular part of Rockville. If you are there for just one day, there is not enough time to really see everything, so you don't want to waste too much time looking for grub.

 

Once again, I’m going to try to make it. It would be my first audio show.

However, I’m a little nervous about hearing what I’m missing. I’m not in the financial position for a big change right now.

 

Haven't been to a show before, but think I will go Saturday.

 

I'll be there Friday and Saturday and already have a list of what I'm planning on getting to first. This is the first year I'll be spending the night so I'm interested to see what happens at some of the evening events.

 

I work in one of the buildings across the street from the venue. I normally telework on Fridays, so naturally I am taking the day off so that I can drive to Rockville anyhow. Eh. At least I don't have to worry about parking....

 

Greg from GT Audio Works should be there again this year - he built my speakers for me a couple of years ago and they sound great! I did not get the massive tower of subs you see in this video, opting for just a stack of two drivers, which is plenty for my listening room. If anyone stops in, tell Greg that Scott says hello!

 

I live right around the corner and will finally be in town this year! See you Friday and Saturday. Really looking forward to the evening UHA analog events and Friday night's Ziggy Stardust Mofi presentation through a $1.5 million system with Greg Weaver.

 

What's the deal with this? I didn't see anything about that on the schedule.

 

Enjoy the Music After-Hours Event! – Capital Audiofest

 

Is it worth goin on Sunday?

 

Yes, Sunday is a good day to go; the crowd is smaller than on Saturday. The hours, however, are shorter and few exhibitors will be open after posted hours. By Sunday, some setups that were not optimized (e.g., poor placement of speakers) might actually have been improved as compared to Friday.

 

Thanks Professor. I was going to start a thread too. Was hoping we could get the local forum members together for a few minutes to meet and maybe plan some future gatherings. Let me know if anyone is up for meeting in the Fern & Roby room around 2:00 or 3:00 Saturday. If anyone is looking to trade LP's, just talk audio or just spin some LP's you've brought with you, I'm sure Christopher would welcome us.

 

Not to spoil your enthusiasm, but the sound quality of the $1.5M system last year and the year before was a total bust. Yes, it was very big, very loud, and just generally over the top. It also sounded nothing like real music. Last year I made a point of going by that room repeatedly to see if the sound improved as everything settled in. Nope.

Later on I was absolutely flabbergasted to read comments by e-zine “reviewers” including Greg Weaver that were gushing with praise for the sound of that system. My take-away was simple—either these guys don’t go to concerts or they were moonstruck by all the high-priced equipment. You know, if it’s that expensive, it MUST be good. Unfortunately it wasn’t.

 

Thanks!

 

I looked at the list of exhibits and I don’t see Deja Vu Audio. They were there last year no?

 

DejaVu was there last year. They have had one or two rooms at every CAF since I started attending. BUT not this year. I have no idea why they decided not to participate this year. Hopefully this is just a one-year blip.

 

Vinyl marketplace is seductive. Rent a U-Haul and have a blast!

 

The Deja Vu store is just a short distance around the beltway from the show (Tyson's Corner), so anyone in town to see the show can go to the store and hear their utterly unique setups. My other favorite store Command AV has a room at the show, and the shop is not that far away too.

 

Anyone up for some vinyl swapping at the show? I have about 15,000 LP's many available to trade. Post here or PM with your wants to set something up.

 

Ah, I see. I think I hear what ur sayin’ - go with the king size during pregame. Noted!

 

Thanks

 

cool. I’ll swing by there room. Thanks

 

Heading out to the venue now!

 

So I didn’t hit every room but I really enjoyed these:
- Lampizator and AudioNec in Rm 526
- LKV in Rm 534
- KEF Blades in the Adams room on 3rd floor