The"new" look Capitole

There is NOONE who has heard this player unless they were at the Montreal show.Period!Whatever your friend in Asia heard was not the the"new" Capitole,because not even GM new there was going to be a replacement.There is no dealer I am aware of that has heard it either unless they were in Canada between the 21st and 24th of March.From what I have been told,it does sound better than the current version and should be a winner.We all are going to have to wait until they are a reality and then all comments will be reality instead of speculation.

There is NOONE who has heard this player unless they were at the Montreal show.Period!Whatever your friend in Asia heard was not the the"new" Capitole,because not even GM new there was going to be a replacement.There is no dealer I am aware of that has heard it either unless they were in Canada between the 21st and 24th of March.From what I have been told,it does sound better than the current version and should be a winner.We all are going to have to wait until they are a reality and then all comments will be reality instead of speculation.

Lordgorian: Would you like to clarify again?

Lorgorian: I was at CES in January and there was NO prototype at the show. As the #1 dealer for Audio Aero in the US, I would have known about it. The model at the show is the Capitole that has been available for the past 8+ months. I am sorry, but your friend is not being honest with you, or he has the Capitlole confused with some other player.

I wish you the best with the Capitole you are about to receive. It is (IMHO) TERRIFIC!!! Email me when you receive it and I will share a few tricks with you for improving the sound.

I confronted my friend about the issue that there are no Capitoles in Asia and he told me that he heard a prototype player at CES in january. Just to clarify things. The prototype obviously wont sound as good as the production models but he still stands by his word and prefers the old one. My old Capitole will be arriving shortly.

Id like to apologise for my ad on audiogon which advertised the new MkII Capitole for sale. After receiving several emails from enlightened individuals, and from an angry manufacturer, it seems i was wrong. The guy who sold it to me last week (i actually bought two of these players from him at a great price) told me it was a MkII when in fact it was not (he told me it was a brand new version, so its probably my fault for assuming it was a MkII). I just saw the pic of the MkII this morning and it doesnt look like my units. I thought the changes were purely internal, which led to my mistake. I have removed the ad and will post a new ad with the correct title and description later on in the day.

Cheers

Dovetail.I would contact your dealer as this is a defect in the piece.It is the first time I have heard of this problem with the current version.This has been a trait of the new versions,and is the cause of the delay in release.IF your dealer will not help contact GM youself.They are very cooperative,and I am sure will respond to your problem in a timely fashion.

I own the current (gold knob) version of the Audio Aero Capitole 24/192 CD Player that I purchased in January 2002. I regularly experience what I believe to be a static charge problem which causes the player to output only static noise through the loudspeakers. Raising the player to the highest rack position and using humidifiers has helped but not eliminated the problem which happens on average 3-5 times per week. The player can be reset to work normally by turning it off, unplugging it and starting it back up, but it's a real pain! I would say the sound is the best I've heard but the build quality is poor compared to most players in its price range. Anyone else have this problem with the old version 24/192 Capitole CD Player?

There is no Capitole in Asia nor are there any for sale from France.As Jtinn mentioned
there are only five in existence.He is also
correct on approximate shipping time and
unfortunately it has made some of my clients
rather upset.From talking to GM the new version is
much better than the current version and other
than a glitch in the Anagram chip(static charge
due to bad grounding) has met all the
expaectations.GM's philosophy is to release the
product as a perfect piece without any
glitches.Considering the price point,I would have
to agree with them.

There are currently only 5 "New" Capitoles in existence. One of them is in Switzerland at Anagram, 2 of the prototypes are in Canada and the other 2 are in the Audio Aero factory.

The new Capitoles are delayed for a few more weeks (last minute software improvements). Unfortunate as it may be, it will be worth the wait. I have this information directly from Audio Aero.

Sattothestars: Please post when the new one will ship if you are able to find this out from GM. thanks very much.

The current("old") Capiotle has 2 volume controls.The one run from the remote is digital,and the one externally is analog.Most people keep the digital volume all the way up,and make the ajustment via the analog control usualy around 12 oclock.

The new Captitole has one volume control via the remote or front panel but is in the analog domain.From all reports from Montreal it seems that is is superior to the current version.Highly unlikely you will have one by Friday as there are on 3 in the Canada and they are from the show.Should get a reasonable time frame form GM today as to when the new ones will ship.

My friend who heard it lives in Asia and is a distributor for audio aero. He received his new generation aero a little while ago. That is how he heard it. Just to clarify.... For those that have heard it please comment on its new abilities. Thanks

Is the old capitole's volume control remote controlled? Also has anyone made a comparison between the old and the new capitole yet? I am going to buy one this friday and i need to know which one to get.... Thanks

Hopefully, with an increase of the list price to almost $9,000-(US), which is about a 33% raise, the remote control unit will look nicer than if it came from a $99- Samsung! Happy Tunes!

As far as I know there is only one Prestige and I have not heard it.With the introduction of the new capitole(which was received very well at the Montreal show.www.soundstagelive.com or www.enjoythemusic.com)I think it will also be revamped up to the standard of the newest Capitole.From talking to Global Marketing the Prestige will probably not show up to late summer early fall.Audo Aero will be releasing a new Preamp with or without digital DAC sometime in June.I have the original preamp which is a Hybrid,(was not released in this country)and must say it is one of the best I have heard.I will be able to make a more intelligent evaluation of the new Capitole tomorow or Wednesday compared to the older current version.From everyone I have talked to it appears they have a winner.An expensive one at that.

Sattothestars: Given that the Prestige will be "every bit as good on Redbook" as the new Capitole, can you tell me roughly how much the price of the Prestige is going to be? I'm also quite curious how you know that the Prestige Redbook will be as good. Has Audio Aero said this? Is there another reason to believe this? Thanks.

lordgorian: your friend's comments are similar to this march '01 review (soundstage) that compared the original capitole against the newer (but not the newest) 24/192 version: http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/audioaero_capitole24192.htm

are you sure he's not a little confused by the fact that there are now 3 versions of the capitole? assuming he's a us dealer, it seems unlikely that he's gotten the new capitole yet, let alone had time to compare it to the old version.

tim: your "reliable sources" sound vaguely familiar too...nevermind...

I've heard from a reliable source that the new capitole was updated with the assistance of top Bose engineer's, I am sure the results are going to be GREAT! ;)

Tim

OK guys don't start flaming, it was a joke

Lordgorian: There are only two Capitoles in North America and they arrived yesterday. Both are in Montreal and certainly your source is mistaken. The word is there are dramatic improvements. The bass is much better, more transparency and resolution and no loss of the wonderful musicality the previous version has.

I ordered 22 and most of them are sold. I highly doubt there would be a dealer who would get one before me or any of the other dealers. They will all ship at the same time.

Best Regards,

Jonathan

Interesting that this dealer has heard the new Capitole since none came into the country other than 3 for the Montreal show and they were shipped directly there from France.Globe Audio had not heard it until yesterday for the first time.Considering they are the distributor you would figure they would had heard it first before any dealer.From talking to Jim at Globe Marketing he had only heard a prototype and that was 1 week ago.Personaly I would not listen to anyone until it is in hand which will be for some of us dealers Tuesday of next week.Once we have it, than reliable comments can and will be made.

FWIW, I have two of the new version Capitoles on order. One is already sold, the other is to become a demo unit. My older version demo unit is already spoken for. It has been a very well received product for whomever I have played it for.

As to the volume control on the old version, I agree that it does have an impact on the sound. When using the Captiole as a CD player, I found that I preferred the sound at about 1 to 2 O Clock on the volume control. The older version also benefited from a set of walker audio Valid Point and resonance control discs under the player, the use of a good power cord (my preference is for the Cardas Golden Reference power cord - I've also heard the one of the better Shunyata cords work well on the player). Also the player responded well to (thin) damping discs placed on top of the CD.

Happy Listening
Rich Brkich

I agree with Mike. The Capitole's weakness seems to be the volume control - which ironically is the big draw to this player for many folks. I didn't try the Capitole with attenuators but thought it sounded best running through a good preamp.

Ral, i tend to agree with your comments regarding the slightly "euphonic" nature of the Capitole when i compared it to my Linn CD-12. the slightly "tubey" sound added bloom and layering at the expense of detail and texture.

the main culpret here seemed to be the volume control on the "old" Capitole. when i used the Capitole volume control "all the way open" and instead attenuated with my Placette RVC the detail and texture increased closer to my CD-12 at the expense of some bloom and layering. this indicated to me that the volume control on the "old" Capitole is somewhat "colored" (a bad thing to me but maybe not to everyone in every system)......the question is "is the volume control in the "new" Capitole more neutral?

if the new Capitole has a more neutral volume control many that need or like the "color" of the "old" Capitole volume control for proper tonal balance in their system may prefer the "old".

i have been told that some 192/24 Capitole owners have "bypassed" the internal volume control and improved the performance by adding an RCA output before the volume control......this lines up with my experience. if you do the math Audio Aero can't put a world class volume control in this machine.

i do think the "old" 192/24 Capitole is maybe the 2nd best cd player i have ever heard in any case.

I wonder if the dealer that Lordgorian described simply prefers a classic tube sound (as found in the "earlier" 24/192 Capitole), since he thinks the new Capitole is more detailed but "less natural". IMO the earlier version is a bit too euphonic, and could actually use more detail in the sense of greater transparency, extended top end, and tighter bass. Of course, in their attempts to add all this, Audio Aero may have screwed up a very nice player.... but I haven't heard the new version... have only auditioned the "earlier" 24/192 (in home).

I heard from someone who has been doing extensive comparisons between the two capitoles that the old one is actually slightly better. Now i am kinda skeptical but what he says is that the new version presents more detail but is also more mechanical sounding and less natural. The older one has more bloom and ease but presents slightly less detail. For 2000.00 dollars more i expected the new one to render the old one obsolete. This person also does sell audio aero and he is a dealer so he is not biased towards another company has anyone heard anything else about the new player. I'm about to buy one and im not sure which version to get, but right now im leaning towards the older model. Thanks

Sat- you're right. I spoke to Globe recently- the first North American shipment is spoken for. Now- that doesn't necessarily mean they are all SOLD (to consumers), however maybe dealers such as yourself have just bought them all up, knowing they will sell...

The Prestige is a universal player.DVD SACD,CD and
will be every bit as good on redbook as the
Capitole.The Capitole is a Redbook cd player
although it will allow DSD decoding like DCS
and Accuphase.Since there are only(that I am aware of) 2 DSD transports
available currently this is pretty much a non
issue. The Prestige release is still to be
determined and would expect sometime late
summer.There will be 5 "new look" Capitoles at the
Montreal show.From the folks at Global Marketing
they say it is actualy superior to the current
model.First shipment is due tomorow,has to clear
customs,have the Montreal show 22nd through the
24th and realisticaly after the 25th is when we
dealers will get them. Assuming all pieces are
shipped they will have none left as they are
already backordered for the second shipment.

Sattothestars: why two new players? Will the redbook on the Prestige not be as good? If it's as good, I would assume the Prestige will be considerably more money. Yes? Thanks.

Sutts, yes, I am in Ottawa and am about to unload "possibly" a Levinson 36S DAC and looking at the Capitole as an option..Will be at the Montreal Show next Friday, hopefully they will have one there !

Matt

No not Canadien.I am a dealer for Audio Aero and other numerous brands.I am in Eastern Long Island New York.In a way I agree with you that I hope they have not priced themselves out of the HI end market and to the 'niche" area,as their price point of 6800.00 was certainly in line.The bottom line is everything I have heard and have on the floor from Audio Aero(including their Capitole Amp)is without question some of the best gear I have ever sold and owned.

"Sattothestars"is short for satellite to the stars.When I first started I installed BUGS(big ugly satellite dishes)for many movie stars here in the Hamptons,thus the name.Remember those?

Mzn50- who are you? Fellow Canadian??

Sattothestars (always wondered what that moniker meant by the way)- you seem to know a lot about Audio Aero- just a fan, or a dealer too??

Anyways, I can't justify $6,000 extra for (slightly?) better sound- it is really getting esoteric at that point... I will be happily keeping mine- plus the gold/black matches perfectly with the chassis of my GTA Solo 300B modded monoblocks! Too busy enjoyin' the new Coincident Super Eclipses too. Later.

The list on the new Capitole is 8895.00.With the demand being so high I am sure if you sold the "old"model privately you probably would get more money toward the new piece.The current Captiole is certainly no slouch by any means.

This blind date is not very pretty but I hear she puts out !!!

Sutts, sounds like they are crediting you "x" amount toward the purchase of the new one, I heard they are looking at $12K.

The new Cap will not be cheap either. I live less than an hour's drive from the North American Distributor here in Ontario, Canada (where I bought my current Cap 24/192. I asked about trade-in, and they want my machine + another $6k CDN (~ $4k USD) for the new one! (that's one hell of an upgrade cost...)

Heck, I'm disappointed. Was going to get one for my basement set up but it doesn't match my Dynaco ST70.

Sincerely, I remain

YES...Thanks very much to Buckingham for posting the photo. I appreciated it....even though it was kind of like a blind date...Didn't know what she'd look like, but when I saw her, boy was I disappointed. Just another example that dollars don't equate to beauty, even in CD players.

Good point Bwhite,but is does not have the full decoding software to utilize the STARS and Anagram chipsets to their full potential.Only Audio Aero has the rights to that.

I would like to thank Buckingham for posting the picture of the Captiole for me for members to view.

Good Post Gerryn - I might add, the AudioMeca Mephisto will cost about $2,000 less than the Audio Aero Capitole.

IMHO, the new Capitole IS uglier than the original. On the older model, at least you had knobs that added some interest to the look of the front panel. Now, with no knobs, it looks very, very plain and frankly, very boring. However, the looks are only a small part of the overall story. The sound should be stunning, even if the look is far from that.

It's too bad the "designers" at Audio Aero cannot take some design clues from their French competitors at Audiomeca. Now, there's a tremendous looking player!

It is a top loader,and uses the puck.The Prestige(I believe that is the name,cannot really remember)is the front loader,which a universal SACD,DVD,CD player.

The new version may be uglier than the old one and that is saying something. Since it looks like you load the CD on top of the player, will it still require a puck? I was told that it was going to be a front loader.

Sean, just throw some HTML in your post and you can add whatever you want.

Hope there is alot of good on the inside for your $8800.00?

Okay... What about something like this?

WOW !!! Not only is that stuff "neat-o", i'd like to know how you guys are uploading pics and links ??? I know that Audiogon was working on such things, but was not aware that they had completed this upgrade. Sean
>

I was hoping they would build something like this with a French twist:

Hey guys, I uploaded the picture of the new Capitole.

AUDIO AERO CAPITOLE - NEW MODEL

Scroll to the bottom of the page once you're there.

Eric

Please let me know the picture to : gendut3@hotmail.com !

Thanks

Sattothestars, if you email it to me I could upload it to my server for everyone to see!!!!!