Capital AudioFest 2013

Veteran manufacturers and rookie enthusiasts fueled increased industry participation at the fourth annual Capital Audio Fest held this past weekend, July 26th-28th at the the Silver Spring, Maryland Sheraton Hotel.

I've chosen to limit coverage to Cap Fest analog gear, but there was plenty of good sound at the show and plenty of awful sound too. I'll skip the awful and the great, making an exception for the Odyssey Audio room. The gentleman responsible, Klaus Bunge, is an industry veteran I've known for decades. He helped establish in America, the high price, high performance Symphonic Line brand.

Robyatt Audio debuted the new retro-looking Miyajima Labs EC 5 all-tube line/phono preamp featuring two independently loadable transformer-based MC inputs, one MM input and five line inputs.

In the Magnolia Ballroom at Capital Audiofest 2013, along with a great selection of used vinyl, Bob Ratcliff, the inventor of the Ultrasonic V-8 ultrasonic record cleaning machine demonstrated how it works. The device consists of a square stainless steel vat filled with heated distilled water, some isopropyl alcohol and a few drops of Photoflo, which acts as a surfactant into which is placed an ultrasonic element associated with a 7 micron filtered circulation pump.