Inside CAF 2025 Luxury Hi-Fi Show Part 1 — Capital Audiofest's Top Floors With 84 Rooms
New trends you need to know about, the latest audio gear, and not to be missed rooms!
Capital Audiofest 2025 Show Report By Rick Becker

Dreamscapes AV, Esoteric, And Aretai
Dreamscapes AV presented a rack full of Esoteric electronics driving an Aretai 100S monitor, and a 200F floorstander. It is a rather unusual combination, as the speakers are relatively more affordable than the Esoteric line. The music was quite good.

Aretai is from Latvia, one of our NATO partners, and it has received support from the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia, and is co-funded by the European Union (EU). They have a unique design theme and have sounded great every time I've heard them.

Esoteric, from Japan, is an elite brand, well known and respected. Their sculpted faceplates have become even more three-dimensional, reflecting the high prices this brand commands. This was the world premiere of the Grandioso N1 network streamer and DAC, seen here in the middle of the rack.

The published photo may not reveal the fine etched lines that grace the faceplates, adding subtle texture to the draped folds.

Off to the side of the system was this clear diffuser, which I had first noticed a couple of years ago at AXPONA on silent display in the marketplace.

Forte Distribution
My camera accidentally focused on the folks in front of me, but you get the idea, here.

On top of the Stillpoints rack was the EverSolo DMP-A10 DAC/streamer ($4k) with a window displaying tubes inside. It was followed by other EverSolo gear that didn't correlate with the handout I had.

The Mon Acoustic VC1 monitors ($6,600) sounded very good the last time I heard them, but were even better here. I noticed that instead of using the ball-bearing isolation engineered into the speaker and stand, they have substituted high-quality footers from Stillpoints.

At the end of the day I shuffled off to the Fish Grill down the street, hoping for a great seafood dinner, this being Friday. Unfortunately, it was a new fast-food chain from the West Coast. As my friend Mark Porzilli, an admitted foodie, has told me, food tends to get worse as you move from the East Coast to the West. On the West Coast, fine food restaurants don't last, he says, because people out there prefer fast food. Being this close to the Chesapeake Bay, you would think there would be a great seafood restaurant in Rockville, but I couldn't find one. And I was too tired to drive to Baltimore. Lots of Asian restaurants from the Pacific rim, though.

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