On The Road to the Capitol Audio Fest in DC

Gary Gill’s Capitol Audiofest is happening in Washington DC this weekend from July 25-27 at the Sheraton Hotel in Silver Spring, MD…and once more I’m packing up a couple of suitcases and heading east. My Southwest flight departs at 10:05 am tomorrow, stops in New Orleans, Louisiana before arriving at Baltimore Washington International at around 8 pm. It would be a lot easier to fly directly to Washington DC but the cost of checked bags makes Southwest the airline of choice when I have to bring a complete Blu-ray playback setup AND all of the associated products. Thankfully, I don’t have to sprint back to Los Angeles on Sunday evening to make it home in time to teach a class on Monday morning, so things are a little more relaxed than usual. Summertime for a university professor is a great time.

The Capitol Audio Fest is one of the smaller shows that I attend but it attracts a good size crowd. If you’re an audiophile in DC or Mid Atlantic region of the country, it’s definitely worth making the trip to see the latest high-end audio gear, purchase the latest high-end software, attend a seminar or two AND hear live performances that have become a feature of the event. Gary and the rest of the musicians provide multiple live “mini concerts”. They are always interesting and showcase a wide variety of music types. Last year, my son was with me on the trip and that was his favorite part.

As usual, I will be presenting a couple of seminars. The online schedule is a little vague but I know that I’m speaking on Friday and Saturday…just not sure of the exact times. As soon as I find out the exact times and the location, I’ll post them. My topics this year are “2104: Is This The Year of High-Resolution Audio?” and “Definitions, Digital Downloads, Devices and A New Direction”, which will focus on the exciting (and some frustrating) things that are happening in the world of HRA or as I’ve renamed it “Ultra HD-Audio”. If you can make it to one of my sessions, I’d love to see you there. If you can’t make it…please make sure to come by the sales table and say hello.

I’ll have my usual setup in the Magnolia Ballroom. I always bring a rig to play my Blu-ray Samplers, which are available for only $10 at the show or free with a purchase (That’s 41 real Ultra HD-Audio tracks, three mixes, HD-Video and more!). I’m going to bring a couple of pairs of Oppo PM-1 headphones, a Benchmark DAC2 HGC and the Smyth Research “Room Realizer” as well as lots of great discs to sell. For those of you who haven’t heard what a real “Ultra HD-Audio” track sounds like, you’re in for a high fidelity treat. For those of you who already know our products, please come by and check out some of our latest offerings.