Chuck's Capital Audiofest 2025 Review: The Most Memorable Must-Hear System Demos And Stereo Setups
Inside CAF 2025's best demos with new gear, listening notes, and a few surprise standouts!
Capital Audiofest 2025 Show Report By Chuck Bruce

  Capital Audiofest 2025 opened with an energetic pulse of innovation and craftsmanship, where manufacturers and boutique builders alike unveiled fresh takes on loudspeaker design, amplification, and source components. From compact two-way standmounts that surprised with full-range authority to sprawling open-baffle floorstanders that painted orchestral scale, the show offered a rare opportunity to hear how modern materials, refined crossovers, and careful cabinet engineering translate into musical realism. Attendees moved room to room, discovering bold new introductions—vacuum tube and solid-state amplification, steerable mid / tweeter loudspeaker modules, horn-loaded high-sensitivity designs—large mega-driver floorstanding loudspeakers... and the thoughtful system pairings that let each component reveal its strengths.

Beyond the typical headline gear here on Enjoy the Music.com's CAF 2025 show report, CAF was notable for its variety of signal chains and listening philosophies: vacuum tube and solid-state amplification sat side by side, high-resolution lossless streamers and meticulously set up analog turntables both served as primary sources, and many rooms demonstrated how matching sensitivity, impedance, and tonal character can make or break a demo. Presenters dialed in placement, room treatment, and cabling to coax the most lifelike performances from their systems, and the result was a parade of demos that ranged from intimate, voice-forward presentations to thunderous, room-filling crescendos. The weekend rewarded curious listeners with unexpected standouts and repeatable lessons in system synergy—perfect preparation for many music lovers who were happily listening, and... enjoy the music!

Gershman Acoustics new multi-way Symphoria mid-tower reference loudspeaker with steerable mid/tweeter module is a striking new multi-way mid-tower loudspeaker that pairs a heavy, inert main cabinet with an isolated, steerable midrange / tweeter module perched atop the enclosure. The top module featured a dedicated midrange compression driver and a concentric tweeter array on a decoupled sub-chassis, allowing on-the-fly toe-in and vertical dispersion control for precise imaging and room-tuning. Gershman wants Enjoy the Music.com global readership to know that the system's crossover is described as a steep-slope, very significant time-aligned design, with precision point-to-point wiring, premium polypropylene, and air-core inductors for low distortion and coherent phase response.

Digital front end was a LampizatOr Aphrodite Tube DAC feeding a Gulfstream network streamer; the DAC handled both PCM and DSD files up to lossless high-resolution rates and the benefit of vacuum tubes before the analog chain. The preamplification was a VAC Master Tube Preamp with balanced I/O and tube rectification, while power came from a pair of VAC Master 300 Mk2 tube monoblocks, each rated to deliver robust single-ended triode warmth with ample current for demanding loads. Cabling and power conditioning were high-end silver and cryo-treated runs that preserved transient detail.

On music, the system produced an almost uncanny sense of scale: tight, textured bass, a midrange that placed vocalists and solo instruments with uncanny solidity, and a treble that was airy without glare. The steerable module allowed the presenter to collapse or widen the soundstage, revealing inner detail or a more enveloping hall ambience as required. Dynamics were immediate and natural, with microdynamics and decay cues that made small studio recordings sound palpably alive.

Joseph Audio Pulsar 2 Graphene two-way standmount monitor loudspeaker was on demo, their compact cabinets bristling with advanced materials, including a Graphene-reinforced mid/bass cone and a precision-damped alloy tweeter. The crossover employs their highly-regarded infinite slope for a natural tonal balance. There's a well-behaved impedance of 8 Ohms (minimum 7), making them easy to drive with modest tube amps.

The loudspeakers were partnered with a handcrafted Doshi tube electronics stack, featuring a tube preamp with selectable gain stages and a pair of Doshi push-pull tube power amps using NOS output tubes. The Doshi gear emphasized low feedback, direct-coupled signal paths, and point-to-point wiring, delivering a warm, harmonically rich mid-band and a relaxed top end that complemented the Pulsar 2's clarity. Interconnects were Cardas Audio Clear Beyond.

The combination produced full-range musicality that belied the speakers' size: authoritative midbass, articulate mids, and a smooth, extended treble that never sounded etched. Imaging was precise and intimate, with excellent transient snap and a natural decay on acoustic instruments. The room required no subwoofer—the Pulsar 2's low-frequency extension and the Doshi amps' control delivered satisfying weight and pace on orchestral and jazz tracks alike.

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