Although the California Audio Show is admittedly a small, regional show, there was still plenty to look at for the attendees on Day 1. It was a beautiful day in Oakland, CA, and there was a steady crowd. So, here’s a look at just a few rooms.
Audio Federation
There was a chair waiting for some lucky listener in this room that featured the Acapella Audio Arts Campanile Loudspeakers. Audio Note UK provided electronics and the digital source. Audio Federation has recently relocated to Palo Alto from Boulder. Welcome to the Bay area!
Audio Note UK / True Sound
This all Audio Note UK system was put together by Peter Qvortrup, founder of Audio Note UK, and Nick Gowan, True Sound Dealer. It sounded great, and we hope to have more time to listen.
AudioVision SF
This San Francisco dealer was strutting their stuff a source from Naim and Focal speakers. We are looking forward to visiting them tomorrow for a listen.
Bernhagen-Porter
The $50K Berhagen-Porter 10/12 semi-active speaker system was the star of the show in this room which also featured Marchand electronics a Bricasti Design DAC and Audio Reference cables.
Bricasti Designs / Tidal
The gorgeous Tidal Contriva speakers at $65K per pair were complemented by the Bricasti electronics.
Aurender
A quartet of well-known brands combined in this room with the prototype speakers from Aurender, the source from Berkeley Audio Design, amps from Constellation Audio and power conditioning and cables from Shunyata Research.
Margules Audio
The theme for speakers at this show seemed to be gorgeous wooden cabinet fronts like these on the Margules Audio Orpheus speakers. Everything in this room was from Margules, and it was well worth a listen.
Tim Marutani Consulting
These MartinLogan electrostatic speakers with Doshi and Berkeley Audio Design made for very solid sound. We spent some time here listening and enjoying this system.
Old Forge Audio
Making the most of a bad situation, David Cope’s system still sounded very good. UPS lost a good portion of David’s system, and the turntable foot was broken during shipping. Speaker stands went missing. These SoundKaos Vox 3F speakers still sounded sweet, but they do look much better on their own stands.
Whammerdyne/PureAudioProject
Simple but simply some of the best sound on day one. This combination of Whammerdyne electronics and PureAudioProject Classic 15 Loudspeakers paired well. With a digital source, this system deserved some listening time, and we enjoyed it.
The Acappela Campanile has to be heard to be believed. The sound stage was incredible. SoundKaos Vox 3 was the most impressive bookshelf speaker I’ve heard. Really clear highs and mids with tight punchy bass. The Wilson Benesch and Aurender floorstanding speakers were very impressive. I am glad I went. Was able to hear speakers that I normally can’t audition. However, it just made me want to buy more audio gear.
We agree with you. Definitely some quality stuff.