January 2025
In my November Pulse! column, I made a prediction about the Capital Audiofest, which took place over the weekend of November 8–10 in Rockville, MD, a suburb of Washington, DC. “I can tell you what I’ll hear,” I wrote. “Diana Krall, Sting, Texas Flood by Stevie Ray Vaughan (the Acoustic Sounds reissue), Kind of Blue (Acoustic Sounds again), any number of MoFi titles, and so on.”
Well, I need to eat a little crow here. There were some MoFi and Acoustic Sounds / Analogue Productions titles used as demos, but I didn’t hear any Krall, Sting, or Vaughan, and the Miles Davis track played by one of the exhibitors was “Someday My Prince Will Come.” Even so, my main point still stands: I only heard one recent pop tune, and most of the music I heard would be familiar to high-end audio’s current demographic, which is folks over 50.
That doesn’t mean the Capital Audiofest, also known as Capfest and CAF, was not worth the trip. In fact, I only attended one day; I should have taken at least two in order to see all the exhibitors at the Hilton Rockville that weekend. I also chose to go on the Sunday to interview vendors about their experience at CAF, since the one time I had a multiday pass I found it was less busy on the final day. This year, there were plenty of people still looking at and listening to the impressive systems on display on Sunday, so I spoke briefly to vendors and collected business cards so I could email my questions later.
The Hilton Rockville
I’ve attended Capfest a handful of times since its inception in 2010. It’s the only large-scale audio show of its type in the Northeast and draws people from a large and densely populated section of the country. Gary Gill established the event and continues to organize and oversee it. Gill’s professional background is in managing large-scale construction projects, but he has a long-standing love of audio.
“My interest in audio began in high school, when I saved my lawn-mowing money to purchase my first system,” he told me. “I bought a Harmon Kardon HK 730, JBL 4311 speakers, and a Sony turntable. I couldn’t afford my friend’s father’s Altec VOT speakers and Heathkit tube amp so did the next best thing. Other than that, I had no interest other than wanting great sound. I always knew what great sound was, since I played trombone in band through college and understood how instruments truly sounded.”
Gary Gill (right) with Lou Hinkley, co-organizer of the Southwest Audio Fest and Pacific Audio Fest
Gill’s interest in audio never faded, and after a talk with some like-minded friends he decided to organize an audio show. “Several audiophile buddies and I reminisced about the old audio days in DC,” he recalled. “We said that DC deserves a show. A few scotches and cigars later we all pledged to start one, but as most things go when inebriated, I did it on my own in a 12-room historic building in Rockville, MD. Here we are today with CAF 2024 having nearly 125 rooms and 50-ish booths of gear.
“Since I was not an insider to the industry and no one knew me, initially it was tough to get things rolling, so I went the old-school way and called them up, and emailed manufacturers and retailers from information I found in industry magazines.”
I asked Gill if folks in the industry were immediately receptive. “Hell, no,” he said. “A few local/regional guys did come on board and have been with me since, such as Jeffrey Catalano at High Water Sound, Gary Dews at BorderPatrol, Jeff Fox at Command AV, and Greg Beron at United Home Audio. I also made many great friends along the way who still help since day one, especially Paul Elliott [an audiophile in the DC area who is active in the DC Hi-Fi Group].”
Initially, the show featured a mix of new, used, and vintage gear. “I had to slowly migrate away to all new gear to make it more professional,” Gill told me. “I also had to up the venue quality by going to better hotels. Once I did that, I was able to attract more vendors and increase the diversity of vendors from entry-level to high-end gear, ranging from headphones to speakers, amplifiers, [and] turntables. . . . The show took a couple of years to take shape.”
Vinyl dealers set up their stands in the open atrium area of the Hilton
Gill remained committed to the event during the time it took for word to get out. “It took a while and generally had incremental increases each year. There have been many shows to come and go but I have held steadfast since I had a day job and did this for fun. I lost money for three years, then kind of figured it out. Once people understood that the show was improving and that the demographics are hard to beat, they started coming.”
The Capital Audiofest starts on a Friday, but exhibitors usually arrive and start setting up the previous day. “To do that we employ freight services by RGL to distribute the many pallets of gear to respective rooms,” Gill said. “Some vendors like to get to the hotel and access their rooms on the Tuesday or Wednesday before the show to get their rooms finely tuned and also to take a breather before the masses arrive.”
“We’ve known about Capital Audiofest for a long time,” Steven Cohen, VP of sales for TrueSource Audio, told me. TrueSource is the distributor for G.I.P. Laboratory, the Japanese manufacturer of beautiful and impressive horn speakers and tube gear, and MACTONE, which makes tube amplifiers and preamps. “This was our first time there. We heard from other industry people that it was a good show to attend. It’s most likely we will go every year going forward.”
Cohen found CAF to be an excellent platform to promote the company’s brands: “Both reviewers and general festivalgoers responded very well to the equipment. We were able to make more people aware of our brands and we were able to set up some potential reviews.”
Christopher Hildebrand’s company, Fern & Roby, designs and manufactures speakers, turntables, amps, preamps, and other audio gear in Richmond, VA. “We’ve been exhibiting at CAF since 2015 and have participated every year since I started showing there. I like CAF because it is a local show for me and also because I like the way Gary runs the show. Participation has always been beneficial to me because we connect with clientele, reviewers, and our manufacturing peers.”
Aaron Sherrick is co-owner of Now Listen Here, which has stores in Harrisburg, PA, and Falls Church, VA. Now Listen Here had two listening rooms at CAF and hosted speaker-designer Richard Vandersteen for a question-and-answer session. “The first time I attended the show was in 2017,” Sherrick told me. “I’ve participated in it since 2019, but the original owner of Now Listen Here exhibited in 2015 and 2016 and sponsored a concert in 2017.”
I asked Sherrick what criteria he used for display and demonstration at the show. “There are a lot of variables that factor into our decision,” he responded. “Priority is given to products that are new—especially when they are premieres—as well as brands/lines that are new to our store. Price can be a factor, though in the past two years we’ve chosen to show higher-end systems. Often there are more affordable models in a line than what you’re showing which we can offer to customers that can’t quite swing the system we’re showing. This should go without saying, but we only show systems with components having good synergy.”
Richard Vandersteen answers questions in one of Now Listen Here’s listening rooms
Tim Stinson, owner of Luminous Audio Technology in Richmond, VA, encouraged VPI Industries to be part of Capital Audiofest in 2011. VPI president Mat Weisfeld told me that he and his father, Harry, weren’t particularly interested: “VPI was undergoing significant restructuring after my mom’s passing [co-founder Sheila Weisfeld], and our focus was elsewhere.
“However, the idea of the show sounded fun. So my dad, Harry, and I decided, ‘Business be damned—let’s give it a shot and have a father-son weekend.’ That turned out to be one of the best decisions we made. We had an amazing time and, to our surprise, a very successful event overall. Since then, we’ve kept going back. When Capital Audiofest moved to the Hilton in 2015, we secured our spot in the corner of the hotel and never looked back. Over the years, it’s grown to become the most important and enjoyable U.S. show for VPI. We use it as a platform to announce and launch new products and accessories for the upcoming year, making it a cornerstone of our annual schedule.”
Weisfeld has found that involvement in Capital Audiofest helps generate sales, but VPI’s participation in the show goes beyond marketing: “We always see a noticeable increase in sales from our dealerships following this show, although it might also be due to the timing with the holidays. Even if we didn’t see a direct sales bump, we’d still participate because the experience itself is so valuable. Bringing the VPI crew together, listening to music, and enjoying the event with other members of the industry is incredibly rewarding. It’s about more than just sales—it’s about fostering connections and having a great time doing what we love.”
Now Listen Here’s Sherrick also sees a benefit from exhibiting at Capital Audiofest. “We look at the show as awareness marketing rather than a direct driver of sales,” he said. “We very frequently hear from customers that they’ve seen us at CAF. In addition, networking is always a good thing. Business is relationships, and speaking in person is best. We usually partner with a couple manufacturers and/or distributors for the show, so we get to spend a lot of time with them there.”
Gill schedules several seminars each day at CAF, which take place at the Hilton’s Washington Theater. This year, speakers included Mark Döhmann, who gave a presentation on the Continuum turntable, which he designed; Brian Zolner of Bricasti Design; and engineer/producer Doug Fearn, who lectured about vacuum tubes and microphones. Audio journalist Herb Reichert oversaw a discussion among three DAC manufacturers, and other speakers talked about mastering and manufacture of vinyl, and audiophile record production. Gill schedules five or six seminars for Friday and Saturday, and then a few more for Sunday, which is a shorter day for Capfest.
Capital Audiofest also features live music on Friday and Saturday evenings. Pianist Joe Block performed on Friday in the Washington Theater, and the Hazelrigg Brothers appeared at Olive’s Bar and Lounge at the Hilton on Saturday.
In the Hilton’s atrium area, vinyl collectors could thumb through bins of LPs from several vendors. Other booths in the atrium hosted reps from WAM Engineering (WallyTools analog setup tools), Snake River Audio (cables), and Omega Recording Studios, among many other vendors. Larger rooms on either side of the atrium featured more displays, including a large and impressive layout by Valve Amplification Company.
I realize I’m writing about Capital Audiofest after the fact, and some months before the 2025 show. In contrast to coverage on other sites, I wanted to look at the history of Capfest, and find out why exhibitors have become fond of the show. Gill has worked hard to make Capfest an essential attraction for retailers, manufacturers, and—most importantly—audio enthusiasts.
For many of us in the Northeast, Capital Audiofest is the only way to see and hear demos of great audio gear. The only high-end audio dealer in Harrisburg, PA, where I live, is Now Listen Here. It’s a terrific store, but no one place can present the wide array of choices available to audiophiles. When I explore the many exhibits at Capfest, I always hear audio setups that convey something magical and transporting.
In addition to priming interest for next year’s Capital Audiofest, I wanted to encourage audio enthusiasts who can get to Dallas, TX, to check out the Southwest Audio Fest on March 21–23, 2025. Gary Gill and Lou Hinkley are partners in that show, and for the Pacific Audio Fest in Seattle, WA.
The internet has probably helped audio flourish and reach more customers as traditional retail dwindles. But there’s no substitute for hearing and seeing great audio equipment up close. Twenty-five years ago, there were several audio shops in central PA—four or five in Harrisburg, and probably the same number each in nearby York and Lancaster. Now there are perhaps five among all three cities. Kudos to Gary Gill for remaining true to our hobby and helping us experience it firsthand.
. . . Joseph Taylor
josepht@soundstagenetwork.com
