Forget best sound of show, for sheer emotional delivery, timbral clarity, dynamic agility, and, yes, the highest fidelity, the Audio Note system may have been the best hi-fi I have ever heard. It was one of those magical moments that we audiophiles put up with all of the hassles for.Forget best sound of show, for sheer emotional delivery, timbral clarity, dynamic agility, and, yes, the highest fidelity, the Audio Note system may have been the best hi-fi I have ever heard. It was one of those magical moments that we audiophiles put up with all of the hassles for.
After the Audio Note demo. the rest was noise, so I quit on a winner. Not many people who come to Vegas can say that.

— Wes Phillips (Stereophile) about our room at CES 2009

Sometimes you have to take time to listen to what’s not there.

laasSo when I sat down to take in the room that Neli, and Mike Davis of Audio Federation, now out of Palo Alta, California had put together, what wasn’t there made it one of the sweetest setups at the Los Angeles Audio Show for me. There was absolutely no treble glare of any kind, regardless of the material I heard being played while I was in the room, which varied from classical, to jazz, to alt-rock to electronic. There was no one-note bass, or boominess despite the usual stepped-ceiling hotel room dimensions. There was no note smearing on complex instrumental, vocal or electronically-created synth passages. And, most importantly to me, there was no artificiality to the reproduction, there was only an open, organic, and highly dynamic presentation with real frequency cohesion, and none of the disconnect between upper/mid/bass crossover response that always ends up plaguing a number of rooms at any show.

This was a real standout at the show for me, with a chilled-out atmosphere that was all about the music. The fact that the AN UK gear and Acapella amp, and speakers were simply, visually stunning gave me a quiet assurance that they would fit into any room’s decor as well. A point sometimes lost on many looking to buy larger horn-based systems in my experience. The High Cellini’s not only sounded the part, but looked it too.

-– Rafe Arnott (co-editor Part Time Audiophile, now editor of InnerFidelity and AudioStream) about our room at the LA Show 2017

In case I haven’t made it clear, Neli and Mike made this entire odyssey a pleasure. Their attention to detail, communications, responsiveness, and overall attitude were exemplary. Both Mike and Neli are a bit obsessive about the equipment they sell because they want to ensure that they’re able to cover their customers long-term. And that certainly suits me and my approach to my system.

— Santa Fe, NM

 The final part of my show report reveals the final two awards nomination, namely “Best System Performance” and the “Ultimate Cost No Object Design.” Both recipients come from the same room which were in Boardroom V.The final part of my show report reveals the final two awards nomination, namely “Best System Performance” and the “Ultimate Cost No Object Design.” Both recipients come from the same room which were in Boardroom V.
…Acapella’s High Cellini speakers for me were the best speakers at this show and I spent several hours after closing hours listening to them on Saturday. Frankly, these were rather easily the best sound at this show.

– Richard Austen (Dagogo) about our room at CAS 2018

IMHO there isn’t a more knowledgeable female audiophile than Neli with an amazing ear as well.

— Steve Williams aka oneobgyn (founder What’s Best Forum)

I heard two marvelous demonstrations of horn loudspeakers. The first was the Atlas from Germany’s Acapella Audio Arts, an $85,250 speaker with a horn-loaded midrange and Acapella’s ion plasma tweeter. The treble had the unmistakable ethereal quality of the massless ion driver, and the speaker’s dynamic verve was stunning. Denver retailer Audio Federation put on the demo with Acapella’s own amplification and Audio Note electronics and DAC.

— Robert Harley (editor The Absolute Sound) about our room at Newport 2015

Audio Federation put together an incredible sounding room with super luxury products from the U.K (This is not Audio Note, Kondo). If it wasn’t for Stereo Times publisher, Clement Perry, I wouldn’t have known that Audio Note U.K could sound this good. I’ve listened on two occasions prior to this at trade shows and I wasn’t too impressed, especially given the exorbitant prices, but this time it was very different. I was shocked at how good it sounded but it should considering its cost (over $400k yup, you’re reading that right)! Audio Federation put together an incredible sounding room with super luxury products from the U.K (This is not Audio Note, Kondo). If it wasn’t for Stereo Times publisher, Clement Perry, I wouldn’t have known that Audio Note U.K could sound this good. I’ve listened on two occasions prior to this at trade shows and I wasn’t too impressed, especially given the exorbitant prices, but this time it was very different. I was shocked at how good it sounded but it should considering its cost (over $400k yup, you’re reading that right)!

…The system sounded remarkably pure, natural and rendered the music with such lifelike instrumental detail that it left my head spinning.

(Stereotimes) about our room at CES 2011

Excellent show coverage, opinion, and, as I put it, a murderer’s row of high-end audio kit

Top 20 Best HiFi Media Award

The Audio Federation, a store in Boulder, Colorado [now in Palo Alto, CA], had one of the best-sounding systems at the Fest. In fact, it was one of the best-sounding systems I have ever heard anywhere.

…The sound was both musically riveting and exceedingly impressive from a hi-fi viewpoint, quite an accomplishment.

— Vade Forrester (Soundstage Ultra) about our room at RMAF 2004