Capital AudioFest Chronicles 2022
Fine music on the 5th floor Part A.
Show Report By By Rick Becker

Room 525 GT Audioworks
I don't usually pick up on tips about great rooms at shows and I rarely give out such tips, say when I'm trapped in an elevator. My mind is just spinning all the time and it takes my photos and video notes to sort the show out. I did hear about the GT Audio Works room beforehand, however, and it lived up to the hype. A cheat sheet was available, so here we go.

The tall GT Audio Works Reference 3 planar ribbon speaker system ($59,900) was both eye and ear-catching. The beautiful woodwork, the floor to nearly ceiling line array, and the open baffle dual-driver subwoofer I mentioned earlier, this time beautifully finished matching the main panels. I would still like a grille on the subs. A skip over to their website will give you links to videos from the show on their Facebook page.

There is still a bit issue with clutter. That's a Richard Gray power conditioner ($3195)and the black cloth ribbons are Magnan Signature speaker cables ($1540) and the Magnan Reference power cables ($2,420).

On the rack, starting at the top is another of those excellent LampizatOr Horizon DACs ($50k). The next item was from WestminsterLab and digitally proclaimed 44.1 so possibly that, too was a DAC. Below that was a Sonore Signature Rendu SE Optical Tier II ($4,800 and likely behind it was a sonicTransporter i9 Optical ($2,999), both of which were from Small Green Computer. Triode Wire Labs supplied a Passion USB cable ($399).

Moving downward, was a Pass Labs XP32 line stage ($18,375) with its two separate power supplies. On the Falken'Ohr 317 Series Baseline amp stand ($7,650) was a pair of WestminsterLab REI Class A monoblock amps ($28k pr.). The Falken equipment rack was $16k.

This was an expensive room but it was an excellent presentation with great resolution, fast dynamics, lots of air, and a finely defined soundscape. It was easy to see why it was a recommended stop at the Hilton.

On the balcony in front of the GT Audioworks room Andrew Gillis of Small Green Computer had set up a table with a co-worker to explain their new Ultimate Optical Bundle which includes a sonicTransporter i9 Optical (Gen 2) Music Server (8TB Drive included) and a Signature Rendu SE Optical Tier II which are Roon 2.0 compatible. There will be a special deal on this bundle on Black Friday, so check out their website.

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