Must See Best Hi-Fi — Best Of Capital Audiofest 2025 Blue Note Award Winners And Honorable Mentions
 Capital Audiofest 2025 Part 3 showcases the finest luxury home audio gear, plus notable honorable mentions.
Capital Audiofest 2025 Show Report By Rick Becker

  Enjoy the Music.com's highly desirable Best Of Capital Audiofest 2025 Award is not a race, with first, second, and third place finishers, but rather a celebration of the heights achieved by the industry at a given show. Shows are a place to improve your listening skills and learn what products and tweaks push the envelope of what is possible at many price points. Moreover, since your own listening room at home does not likely resemble the rooms at a hotel, you have to translate what you've heard at a show to fit your own room and the lifestyle implications for your particular situation.

I reviewed my findings from almost all the rooms at the show and made a list of 44 impressive rooms I considered contenders. That's over a third of all the rooms and a good reason to celebrate the vitality of the industry. Hopefully, the economy will reward the efforts of so many manufacturers, distributors, and retailers in the coming year.

While I fretted over how to select the Best Rooms, it was actually very easy. I set the bar very high and came out with a list of 13 rooms I was extremely confident in naming. This also left me with a vision of how to approach the remaining contenders. It meant more work for me, but it may be of more value to you.

Best Of CAF 2025 Blue Note Awards
Here, in the order in which they appeared in my show report, from the top floor down, are what I felt, using my own particular values, limitations, and the luck of what music was playing at the brief time I visited, were the Best Rooms. They are linked to the page on which they appeared in Parts 1 & 2 if you want to revisit my original comments. You may have to scroll down a bit to find them.

High Water Sound (Room 819
Jeff Catalano has a knack for bringing together world-class brands from Europe to create fresh presentations at the highest level, year after year.
See their CAF 2025 coverage here.

Perfect8 And Advanced Custom Acoustics (836)
The world-class speakers from Perfect8 with glass enclosures, this year supported with a system from Triangle Art, have amazed me for several years in a row.
See their CAF 2025 coverage here.

Alma Audio, Von Schweikert Audio, And Vinnie Rossi (850)
I covered this room here in Part 1  and revisited it here in Part 2. While combining two of the most respected brands in the high end might seem an obvious path to success, Alma Audio drew together a superb supporting cast that had no weaknesses.
See their CAF 2025 coverage here and here.

Luxury Audio Group (855)
Aldo Fillipelli scaled down his masterful presentation at Chicago to fit a smaller room with outstanding results.
See their CAF 2025 coverage here.

NOLA Speakers (707)
NOLA Speakers downsized from the huge Regency room and delivered the level of sound quality that their hybrid open baffle speaker is famous for, with support from Western Electric amplifiers.
See their CAF 2025 coverage here.

Jaguar Audio (723)
Jaguar Audio, from Seattle, WA, featured the ‘less expensive' of two fabulous turntables from Klaudio. The cartridge and phono stage were from Phasemation, and amplification was by Vitus Audio. The rest of the rig's highly notable components can all be seen on the price list in the link.
See their CAF 2025 coverage here.

Master Artist Audio (633)
Shown in systems with Burmester electronics, this speaker company is bursting onto the scene with very high quality and lots of potential for customization to fit your décor.
See their CAF 2025 coverage here and here.

Odyssey Audio (Montrose)
The candle-lit atmosphere may have focused people's attention on the music in this room, but it was the sound quality that kept them listening. The word was out about this room, and it drew a full house. In a show full of aspirational systems, the Odyssey room stood out as a real value.
See their CAF 2025 coverage here.

Gershman Acoustics (Madison)
I've been raving about the performance of Gershman Acoustics at the Canadian shows for years. Finally, in a large room and with their newest speaker, they have not just reached, but surpassed those presentations here in the US, along with a stellar supporting cast.
See their CAF 2025 coverage here.

The Voice That Is (Wilson)
Tidal Audio has been at the pinnacle of high end audio, and Doug White has been giving us world-class presentations year after year.
See their CAF 2025 coverage here.

20/20 Evolution Systems And Truitt Physics (Monroe)
Having the opportunity to hear the Kharma Exquisite Midi Grand Signature towers driven by Conrad-Johnson amplifiers and world-class front ends was like a trip to the Munich show, without the hassle of flying.
See their CAF 2025 coverage here.

Now Listen Here (Executive Lounge)
With Acora speakers from their entry-level series, VAC amplification from their mid-level series, and other supporting gear that was priced far below top-shelf components, Now Listen Here put together an aspirational system that could appeal to far more people than most of the other Best Rooms on this list.
See their CAF 2025 coverage here.

Valve Amplification Company (VAC) And Acora Acoustics (Potomac)
With the outstanding VAC amplification and the flagship speaker from Acora Acoustics, this combination has been drawing accolades for years, yet it was not the most expensive system at the show.
See their CAF 2025 coverage here.

---> Onward To Capital Audiofest 2025 Honorable Mentions.

---> Back to our Capital Audiofest 2025 report homepage.