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All man hands were on deck for the US debut of the Italian-made Riviera Labs AFM 100 monoblock power amplifiers, brought to the show by Riviera Labs President of Sales and Marketing Silvio Delfino and Tone Imports' Jonathan Halpern. Also in attendance was Wadax SA's Brandon Lauer and Bending Wave/Göbel Loudspeakers distributor Elliot Goldman.

Hanging at the bar at the Hilton Twinbrook, one hears stories of audio deals gone bad, an actor absconding with a $500,000 system to an unknown Mexican destination, or sordid tales of a peeved player spiting bile at an unknowing colleague. Then there's show organizer Gary Gill, whose upbeat, generous persona is a prime contributor to the success of the Capital Audiofest.

Another valued player, who possesses a sense of inner calm I wish I could generate, is Valve Amplification Company President Kevin Hayes, one of our industry's good guys since his company's founding in 1990.

Not content to consistently produce some of the best sounding rooms at CAF year after year, Harry and Mat Weisfield changed up almost all their ancillary gear from 2022, but the sound remained fantastic.

On A Higher Note’s Philip O’Hanlon is typically seen at shows playing unusual records while entertaining attendees with his charming storytelling and Irish brogue. This was something different.

If you're a fan of my Stereophile scribble, you know I don't consider myself a fan of stuff like DSP processing, digital amplification, spatial reconstruction, or active room correction—all of which play an important role with Bill Dudleston’s Legacy Audio loudspeakers.

The Hear This room included products from Von Schweikert Audio, WestminsterLab, Lampizator, Small Green Computer, Sonore, and MasterBuilt.

Can you judge an exhibitor's products by the music he plays? Perhaps not, but when I walk into a room playing "Hotel California," that mad percussion ditty "Music for Bang, Baa-Room and Harp," 90s grunge (footnote 1), or God No! Jazz at the Pawnshop, it's all I can do to stay put and not scream.