FIND OUT HOW THE FIRST CTHFE EVENT WENT EARLIER THIS MONTH

The first Cape Town High Fidelity Experience took place on the 15th of October. The venue was the Cellars Hohnenhort Hotel in Constantia, located on the Eastern slope of Table Mountain in South Africa.

Organisers Airmusic wanted to demonstrate that the main aim of good HiFi equipment is to play all types of music and not only the typical audiophile recordings. Therefore extensive playlists were created, covering a broad range of music genres from classical and jazz to electronic and hip-hop. Slots dedicated to each of these genres formed the backbone of the events of the day. Qobuz was used to stream, but vinyl was also used in one of the rooms.

NOT YOUR TYPICAL HIFI SHOW

After the drought of events brought about by Covid, Cape Townians were keen to meet up again and attendance was above the expectations of the organisers. Specific effort was also made by the organisers to attract not only the die-hard enthusiasts but also music lovers that they thought would not typically attend HIFI shows. The diversity of people at the event was encouraging, say the organisers, from other HiFi retailers to partners of enthusiasts as well as young millennials. Many of the guests stayed for the whole day and moved from one room and system to the next. Later in the afternoon, requests were entertained by the hosts in the rooms and festivities were reluctantly ended by the end of the day.

The three rooms each had a different concept around which the rooms and systems were curated.

ROOM FRIENDLY AND GOOD LOOKING

In the first room, the largest space, the idea was to showcase how a music system can fill the space with realistic levels of playback through medium-sized speakers that are still room friendly and not only sound good but look the part as well.

The Rosso Fiorentino Volterra, a 2.5-way floorstander, was used along with its smaller sibling the Fiesole (2-way standmount speaker). Xavian’s top of the range bookshelf, the Orfeo, also was demoed in this room. Amplification was provided by an Accuphase E-480 integrated amplifier and the Norma Audio SC-2LN/PA150 pre-power combination. For good measure and as a counterpoint to the solid-state amplifiers, the Jadis I35 (fitted with KT120 valves) was thrown into the mix to illustrate the virtues of Class A valve amplification. The source was a Holo Spring 3 Level 2 DAC and a Mac Mini running Audirvana. The nifty WiiM served as transport. Cables were mainly from the Cardas range. The organisers tell us that rock, jazz, and classical music was heard flowing from this room throughout the day and guests were nailed to their chairs.  Min Jun Sung’s Air on a G String and The XX’s -A Violent Noise were tracks that seems to be well received and even some dubstep music was requested later in the afternoon and aficionados of this genre were amazed to hear this kind of music on a very good HiFi system.

EASY TO DRIVE LOUDSPEAKERS

In the second room, the concept that was used to curate the room was around easy-to-drive speakers coupled with low to medium-powered amplification.

The Living Voice A25R was the anchor for most of the day, but the ProAc Response D2R was also used from time to time. Amplification was provided by the Pathos TT hybrid with its 35 single-ended watts and timeless industrial design, a Jadis Orchestra Black fitted with El34 output valves and the diminutive Shindo Montille CV391. A Holo May KTE DAC served as a source, together with a vinyl set-up that consisted of a Dr Feickert Volare deck, fitted with an Origin Silver tonearm and Hana SL cartridge. A Fezz phono stage completed this analogue set-up. The cables used were from the Cardas range and interchanged with the Auditorium 23 range from Germany. Memorable music moments were, say the organisers, the fabulous electronic soundscapes created by talented local musician Felix Laband, various jazz and classical cuts as well as the surprising ease and raw rendition of Smoke on the Water from the live playlist.

AFFORDABLE HIFI

The third room was curated to prove that you don’t have to break the bank to enjoy music at home. In this room, Poland made a strong statement that it should be taken seriously as a birthplace of very good HiFi equipment. (Something HiFi Pig has said for many years!)

Airmusic says that they were very excited to launch the Pylon Audio speaker range as well as the Fezz Audio range of electronics. The AAdac from Audio Analogue was fed by the WiiM mini streamer (also used in other rooms at times). The Moonriver 404 Signature integrated amplifier and the Audio Analogue Puccini Anniversary amplifier were also used from time to time. The fresh-of-the-shelf Pylon Jade 20 made a positive impression with their vintage looks and driven by the Fezz Torus sounded solid, though the organisers noted that they probably require a large room and careful setup to show their true colours. The Pylon Diamond 18 standmount speakers might be the sweet spot in the range. They got the thumbs up from many of the guests. In a similar vein, the entry-level Opal Monitors pushed the value curve with their sound. For good measure and to showcase the Torus 5060 solid-state amplifier with its built-in Wolfson DAC is, it was also paired with the ProAc Tablette 10 Signature mini monitors. Musically hits as indicated by guests include the XX’s A Violent Noise and Elvis’ rendition of Fever.

CAPE TOWN HIFI EXPERIENCE 2022

The CTHFE 2022 Organising team said “guests clearly enjoyed the day out, and the hotel’s setting and facilities complimented the fine music and equipment on show. Friends were made, and music was shared and appreciated. Everyone agreed that the experience was fresh and invigorating for all involved”. They are looking forward to organising another event in 2023.

The organisers also mentioned that there were many involved to make this day such a success; from sponsors to the Hotel and staff for which no request was too much to handle, right up to the couriers that were used to transport the equipment. The Hotel even sent a bottle of Champagne to other guests in the luxury establishment just to make sure that the music would not be seen as a nuisance, which it certainly wasn’t.  A lucky guest won an Ifi Streamer as well.

With thanks to Stefan Botes of Airmusic.

Read more HiFi Pig HiFi Show Reports here