High end Munich 2017

dcc · May 21, 2017

Spending a full day in the middle of a packed crowd is not an activity I am looking for hence my persistent resistance to attend big shows. I however decided to give it a try. So I booked a return flight for just one day. My trip did not start as planned. My early morning flight got cancelled the night before and I was booked on the next flight. I therefore arrived at the show around 11AM instead.

I had a list of booths and rooms I did not want to miss. For the rest, I just followed my instinct. I did not visit all rooms and where there was a huge crowd, I just passed.

Achieving excellent sound at the Munich Show is certainly a daunting exercise and some top brands don’t even dare trying and are just sticking to static display. Soundwise, here are some of the rooms that caught my attention (in no particular order):

The new Wilson Audio’s Alexx were showcased in two rooms. They were driven by big Moons and Nagra HD power amps respectively.

Vandersteen speakers with a full Brinkmann system.

Marteen speakers driven by Nagra. I already heard the same loudspeakers driven by top of the range Jeff Rowlands.

The CH Precision/TechDas/Vivid Audio but why on earth does Mr Hideaki Nishikawa need to start a demo with the soundtrack of the Bodyguard with snap crackle and the pop as backing vocals?

The soundstage produced by the Aries Cerat Symphonia was impressive though the room was rather small. Unfortunately, the Vyger turntable had an issue with its air pump and I could not listen to records. The music server was however highly promising and was supported by a state of the art DAC.

I also liked the full TAD system with the Reference One speakers (no picture).

I much preferred the small Tidal loudspeakers driven by MSB to the big guns Assoluta (no picture). For the latter ones, I must confess that they were playing one of the classical composers whom I tend to compare to Maria Carey (Tchaikovsky).

Two products I would have loved to bring back for an home audition: the CH Precision P1 (no picture) and the D’Agostino phono stages. Though the latter was on static display, Dan was kind enough to explain me in details the features of this beautifully built phono stage.

There were some other interesting phono stages too.

With the matching turntable

I am not sure that Red would marry Blue but it is worth trying.

I also met the guy who influenced my decision to acquire a Brinkmann Balance and a Transfiguration Proteus.

bonzo75 · May 21, 2017

spiritofmusic said:
I remember when I used to look at prices of top of the range Rockports, Wilsons and Kharmas w incredulity
Lord knows what I would have thought had you informed me that just a few yrs later brands like Aries Cerat and Tune Audio would be doing the same
High end prices are a total joke

In most cases, high end sounds are too.

reverendo · May 21, 2017

EuroDriver said:
Greetings from Munich High End

Here is the Aequo Audio, Audiopax, Sound Galleries stand and demo room in Halle 3, K05

View attachment 32546

The setup time was extremely short, but the combination of electronics, acoustic treatment, extremely low distortion and musical speakers, the very best PCM to DSD upsampling software, active grounding blocks, and our prototype active anti-vibration control, with Nagra HD DAC has earned us this

View attachment 32547

Here is the list of equipment starting with the source

Sound Galleries SGM 2015 with Roon and HQ Player
Audiopax Preamp Maggiore L-50 and Maggiore M-50 tube monoblocs
Aequo Ensis hybrid speakers (active woofer)

Tellurium Q cabling

Taiko Audio power conditioner with separate floating balanced power for each consumer
Taiko Audio active ground potential control blocks
Taiko Audio Tana active antivibration platforms for SGM, Nagra HD, and Audiopax M-50

GIK Acoustics room treatment panels

So WBF members in Munich, come and visit, and tells us what you think

Best from Christoph, Emile, Geoffrey and myself, Edward

those speakers look interesting. no info on dealers on the site, though.
I'm a SS guy, but love Audiopax. Great taste. Congrats

microstrip · May 21, 2017

spiritofmusic said:
(...) High end prices are a total joke

IMHO only if you can not understand how good can sound SOTA high end or can't or don´t want to afford them!

Surely some equipment is overpriced and does not deliver performance to cost, but knowledgeable audiophiles know what they pick.

KeithR · May 21, 2017

Thanks for the all the show feedback, gents. Its great to have such a worldly community at WBF

asiufy · May 21, 2017

Wow, I'm exhausted! Did all 4 days at the MOC + a quick trip to the Hi Fi Deluxe yesterday.
Make no mistake, for my US friends who've been pondering whether the trip is worth it: IT IS. It truly is a pilgrimage, that "gotta do it at least once" kind of thing. Besides, Munich itself is lovely, and there weather is good!
Now, being a newbie to this show, I found the sound to be overall good, with the room intruding often in very noticeable ways, so you could still kinda see/hear what the gear was doing vs what the room was contributing.
Even the tiny booths were sounding good! YG got dealt a tiny, tiny one, and still made do with a Sonja 1.3 on Nagra HD amps. When playing records on the SME 30, it was magical. Less so on the Burmester media player thing.
Had a good listen today to the Aries Cerat booth, and it is indeed impressive. Very cohesive horn sound, even in a small space/short distance.
Seems Munich is horn-land, and I've listened to a few... Unfortunately, Avantgarde decided to go for the schtick with that lame drummer, and when they did play music, it was crap/novelty stuff, not proper music. The big Cessaros were sounding good on (big) classical, but I wish I had returned to hear something different. Tune Audio were OK with classical, a bit thin sounding overall, but then they put "Stairway to Heaven", and I dragged myself back in for a listen. It was fairly good, even though driver integration is not good at all, as you could clearly hear the tweeter going at it, and for a horn that big, it was still very thin on the midbass.
Keith asked me to hear the Thomas Mayer stuff, and at first I only heard his setup with Wolf von Langa. Horrid. The guy put some Kraftwerk in, and it was completely flaccid. Today I found another setup with some big purple horns. Sounded like AM radio. Stuck around for 3 or 4 songs, but couldn't take it anymore...
If anybody has questions or want impressions on specific stuff, ask away...

cheers,
alex

reverendo · May 21, 2017

asiufy said:
Wow, I'm exhausted! Did all 4 days at the MOC + a quick trip to the Hi Fi Deluxe yesterday.
Make no mistake, for my US friends who've been pondering whether the trip is worth it: IT IS. It truly is a pilgrimage, that "gotta do it at least once" kind of thing. Besides, Munich itself is lovely, and there weather is good!
Now, being a newbie to this show, I found the sound to be overall good, with the room intruding often in very noticeable ways, so you could still kinda see/hear what the gear was doing vs what the room was contributing.
Even the tiny booths were sounding good! YG got dealt a tiny, tiny one, and still made do with a Sonja 1.3 on Nagra HD amps. When playing records on the SME 30, it was magical. Less so on the Burmester media player thing.
Had a good listen today to the Aries Cerat booth, and it is indeed impressive. Very cohesive horn sound, even in a small space/short distance.
Seems Munich is horn-land, and I've listened to a few... Unfortunately, Avantgarde decided to go for the schtick with that lame drummer, and when they did play music, it was crap/novelty stuff, not proper music. The big Cessaros were sounding good on (big) classical, but I wish I had returned to hear something different. Tune Audio were OK with classical, a bit thin sounding overall, but then they put "Stairway to Heaven", and I dragged myself back in for a listen. It was fairly good, even though driver integration is not good at all, as you could clearly hear the tweeter going at it, and for a horn that big, it was still very thin on the midbass.
Keith asked me to hear the Thomas Mayer stuff, and at first I only heard his setup with Wolf von Langa. Horrid. The guy put some Kraftwerk in, and it was completely flaccid. Today I found another setup with some big purple horns. Sounded like AM radio. Stuck around for 3 or 4 songs, but couldn't take it anymore...
If anybody has questions or want impressions on specific stuff, ask away...

cheers,
alex

great Alex,
What were your favorite rooms? Any interesting more sanely priced speakers around?
I had planned on going and was all set, but work got in the way.
You mentioned the Boenicke on the other thread. Do you remember what the setup was? Did you get a chance to hear the new Gryphon speakers?

bonzo75 · May 21, 2017

reverendo said:
great Alex,
What were your favorite rooms? Any interesting more sanely priced speakers around?
I had planned on going and was all set, but work got in the way.
You mentioned the Boenicke on the other thread. Do you remember what the setup was? Did you get a chance to hear the new Gryphon speakers?

Stein cone speakers for 10k euro retail. Ask jazzhead as well. Small cones, big sounding. FYI I have heard the standamounts from Gryphon and the Pantheon before

DaveyF · May 21, 2017

asiufy said:
Wow, I'm exhausted! Did all 4 days at the MOC + a quick trip to the Hi Fi Deluxe yesterday.
Make no mistake, for my US friends who've been pondering whether the trip is worth it: IT IS. It truly is a pilgrimage, that "gotta do it at least once" kind of thing. Besides, Munich itself is lovely, and there weather is good!
Now, being a newbie to this show, I found the sound to be overall good, with the room intruding often in very noticeable ways, so you could still kinda see/hear what the gear was doing vs what the room was contributing.
Even the tiny booths were sounding good! YG got dealt a tiny, tiny one, and still made do with a Sonja 1.3 on Nagra HD amps. When playing records on the SME 30, it was magical. Less so on the Burmester media player thing.
Had a good listen today to the Aries Cerat booth, and it is indeed impressive. Very cohesive horn sound, even in a small space/short distance.
Seems Munich is horn-land, and I've listened to a few... Unfortunately, Avantgarde decided to go for the schtick with that lame drummer, and when they did play music, it was crap/novelty stuff, not proper music. The big Cessaros were sounding good on (big) classical, but I wish I had returned to hear something different. Tune Audio were OK with classical, a bit thin sounding overall, but then they put "Stairway to Heaven", and I dragged myself back in for a listen. It was fairly good, even though driver integration is not good at all, as you could clearly hear the tweeter going at it, and for a horn that big, it was still very thin on the midbass.
Keith asked me to hear the Thomas Mayer stuff, and at first I only heard his setup with Wolf von Langa. Horrid. The guy put some Kraftwerk in, and it was completely flaccid. Today I found another setup with some big purple horns. Sounded like AM radio. Stuck around for 3 or 4 songs, but couldn't take it anymore...
If anybody has questions or want impressions on specific stuff, ask away...

cheers,
alex

Hi Alex,

Nice to hear that the show was worth while going to, I figured that would be the case, plus a trip to Munich this time of year is usually a treat.

Did you happen to hear the new Vivid Spirit's with the Tech Das? Also, are any of the better known UK brands represented there...Linn, Harbeth, Sugden, Spendor, Naim?? I get the feeling that these guys skip this show...not sure why, except for cost of room etc,.

Horns and glass enclosed rooms....not my idea of fun, LOL....

reverendo · May 21, 2017

bonzo75 said:
Stein cone speakers for 10k euro retail. Ask jazzhead as well. Small cones, big sounding. FYI I have heard the standamounts from Gryphon and the Pantheon before

maybe my research abilities are failing me, but can't seem to find these Stein speakers. little help?

Are you talking about the Mojo's? I'm not a big fan of the Gryphon speakers, primarily because of cost/benefit, since I believe you can get better for same price. I was just curious if anyone had had the chance to listen to the new Kodo. Just morbid curiosity.

bonzo75 · May 21, 2017

reverendo said:
maybe my research abilities are failing me, but can't seem to find these Stein speakers. little help?
Are you talking about the Mojo's? I'm not a big fan of the Gryphon speakers, primarily because of cost/benefit, since I believe you can get better for same price. I was just curious if anyone had had the chance to listen to the new Kodo. Just morbid curiosity.

I agree with you based on the two Gryphon speakers I heard.

bonzo75 · May 21, 2017

DaveyF said:
Hi Alex,

Nice to hear that the show was worth while going to, I figured that would be the case, plus a trip to Munich this time of year is usually a treat.

Did you happen to hear the new Vivid Spirit's with the Tech Das? Also, are any of the better known UK brands represented there...Linn, Harbeth, Sugden, Spendor, Naim?? I get the feeling that these guys skip this show...not sure why, except for cost of room etc,.

Horns and glass enclosed rooms....not my idea of fun, LOL....

Harbeth, kondo, audionote at Marriott, sugden, and EAR yoshino were there

asiufy · May 21, 2017

reverendo said:
great Alex,
What were your favorite rooms? Any interesting more sanely priced speakers around?
I had planned on going and was all set, but work got in the way.
You mentioned the Boenicke on the other thread. Do you remember what the setup was? Did you get a chance to hear the new Gryphon speakers?

I was impressed by the panels that bonzo mentioned, Audio Exklusiv. With voices, it was "fool you" realistic. Kinda fell apart with bigger stuff, but it was very good overall.
Zellaton room was one of my faves. They were using this unknown (to me) amps/preamp from Japan, YS Sound. Damn if that wasn't the best showing of the Zellatons I've ever heard. Very spacious, with great ambience retrieval. A lot of the rooms suffered from HF suckouts maybe because of all the panels and treatments, but in this room, it was beautiful. DAC was some russian thing I don't remember the name of, and the turntable was a silly monstrosity from Germany.
Both rooms with Marten speakers had Engstrom Eric amps, and that is a very good pairing indeed. The room with the smaller model had the SELECT 2 and vinyl, and is my fave, but the one with the bigger speaker had the TotalDAC, which wasn't bad.
Another horn that caught my ear was the Blumenhofer, with some italian tubes (MasterSound I think). It was a bit glossy overall, but the presence with those speakers is what makes people fall in love with horns. Just damn near perfect.
The Kronos room with CH/Goebel speakers was very good as well. Louis' tube phono adds the much needed warmth to the CH's speed.
I thought that out of the little booths, the YGs had an edge, simply because they are better speakers, and the electronics/source complemented nicely.
Tons of other good rooms, but these are the highlights I guess.
Oh, at the Hi Fi Deluxe, I liked the Alsy Vox panels, hooked up to some weird ****, Audio Concepts I think (I'll post pics later). Those panels were fantastic, a lot like the Audio Exklusiv. JMF Audio was there with their 48k euro transport and 100k euro speakers... Very good stuff indeed, though not so sure about those prices...
Ah, the rest of the questions:
inexpensive stuff that sounded good: Amphion, Kudos, Technics, Audio Physic Codex (new model), and of course, the Boenickes, both the little one as well as the W11. They were being powered by their own integrated amp, and the source was CAD (digital only).
No Gryphon for me, they were only playing for registered guests, and all the invites went before I could get one. I hate this model anyway, so I really didn't bother.

asiufy · May 21, 2017

DaveyF said:
Hi Alex,

Nice to hear that the show was worth while going to, I figured that would be the case, plus a trip to Munich this time of year is usually a treat.

Did you happen to hear the new Vivid Spirit's with the Tech Das? Also, are any of the better known UK brands represented there...Linn, Harbeth, Sugden, Spendor, Naim?? I get the feeling that these guys skip this show...not sure why, except for cost of room etc,.

Horns and glass enclosed rooms....not my idea of fun, LOL....

I did hear the Vivids a few times actually, but only with digital. Electronics were CH. Not among my fave rooms, so I didn't bother asking for vinyl.
Naim was there in force, with Focal. Harbeth had a room, but I don't like their stuff, so I didn't even bother. Sugden was on the ground floor in a little booth, with no active setup.
I missed Linn. I wish they'd work on showing how good the damn Linn Klimax streamer is...

cheers,
alex

Barry2013 · May 21, 2017

A great show as ever.
Tidal impressive as ever if your room is big enough and although the Aries-Cerat system was not properly warmed up when I heard them it was still impressive Great dynamics, speed and immediacy but wondering if they might get a bit fatiguing on an extended listening session.
DCS Rossini player/clock partnered with D'Agostino integrated, Wilsons and Nordost cabling sounded very musical with a soundstage packed with musical information. Two or three Vivaldi integrateds on display but not playing on the Friday.

morricab · May 21, 2017

Hi All,
Just back from 3 days in Munich. I was there for half a day Friday, all day on the crazy packed Saturday and then a couple of hours earlier today to re-hit some highlights and talk to a few people.

I actually saw a lot less of the show overall this year than in the past as I spent more time in rooms I liked and more time talking with people...no problem actually but there were a lot of rooms I just passed on by.

So, for the rooms I did hit my favorites were again pretty much horn but some of the biggest disappointments were also horn.

Odeon's new speaker, while overpriced IMO, was sounding VERY good partnered with New Audio Frontiers and the Aqua Formula DAC. It was well balanced, immediate and coherent. It had a smooth and easy resolution that didn't shout yet gave that dynamic envelope that people crave from horns. Pity it is more than 3x the price of their previous flagship the No. 38. Given that it outperformed everything except perhaps the AC Symphonia, which maxed out is close to the same price, I think it is still "sane" in the insane world of High end pricing.

The Silbatone/Western Electric system was back this year with a vengence! What a system! That speaker is from the time when the best and brightest considered audio a worthy engineering pursuit and it shows. Smooth easy resolution where this speaker was simply loafing no matter what volume level. It had more bass than most of systems they have brought in the past, which gave it a much fuller sound than the last few times out. Wonderful to listen to all day long.

KR Audio with RDAcoustic was also quite good but I think their decision to come with the Voxativ driver instead of the Fostex was a mistake...I felt last year that the Fostex driver worked better in their horn with better punch and bass that offset the slight drop in midrange performance over the Voxativ. People are just getting more and more scared to have anything "affordable" at the show for lack of being taken "seriously".

Last year the Nagra/Wilson system sounded very good...this year with the Alex and HD amps I have to say I was not nearly as impressed as I was with the Alexia and the Classic amps. Funny how that should be but...

Horns by Autotech were showing a new speaker but I didn't really like it much. Their Universum is really good but this new one is pretty average.

Absolare and the Lyra speaker from Rockport were ok. The Rockport speaker is simply not worth $172K...sorry its not. The sound in that room was not great as the price would dictate. It was ok.

Magico and Spectral = cold dead fish

Soulution and ?? (remind me) = cold dead metallic fish

Tune Audio. This was a horn that did not work, IMO. It was veiled in the mids and thin while the tweeter sounded poorly integrated and the bass was wooly. Proof that horn design is very much an art form because I really like the Anima and suspect that the little Prime would work great in a modest room. I give them credit for a very bold design and ambitious execution but...it simply didn't work sonically.

Cessaro = perpetual disappointment. Powered subs the size of a small car and the bass still had no guts. Small sounding as well.

Aries Cerat was pretty astounding for dynamics and coherence. A flamingo piece with foot stomps was like a jackhammer to the guts. There was only one thing keeping this system from blowing all else away and that was where you had to sit in the front row suffered from a bass suckout and there was only one seat in the row behind where the sound really gelled. So, this means most people heard it too leaned out. Resolution, timing, dynamics, tonal shading etc. all first rate.

Living Voice/Kondo/Canary. Not as good as in the past but still a big slice of realism. Some people told me that it sounds too beautiful but to my ears it sounds like instruments in real space. Images were not as tightly focused as in the past, requiring dead on sweet spot to get best sound. It is a full sound but the micro to macro is superb and there is still that "breath of life" to it that I need.

CH precision and Wilson Benesch: Someone please tell me what the fascination is with this brand of electronics?? It is not as Soulless as Soulution but it is bland bland bland. Wilson Benesch is also not a favorite as it tends to sound rather dead dynamically but this was pretty lifeless listening. With all due respect to Gian et. al I don't get what you guys are hearing there.

At the Hifi Deluxe show the Acapella room was quite good. I still don't get how their moderately sized hybrid integrated can go for 95K euro when the huge Campanile MkII is more like 65K.

FM acoustics demonstrated their insanely priced gear and I can say it did dynamics well but it sounded pushed and the highs were wiry and thin. Not worth the nutso money.

Zanden had a good sounding room with the Kroma speakers, which were also nutty priced for a pretty conventional design. It was full, rich, detailed and dynamic...pretty nice and probably one of the best conventional speaker setups I heard.

Audio Note gave a pretty good showing but it was pretty rolled off in the highs. With analog it was a lot better and the Meishu Phono Silver seems to be a pretty good integrated...makes we want to give it a go in my own system.

Finally, I had a good time hanging with Christoph, David (Acousticsguru) and others. I also got to meet Stavros in person again and I got to meet another forum member 853guy who was really great to get to know and joined us for some fine Indian dining Saturday evening.

morricab · May 21, 2017

Forgot the Boenickes...I still love his little ones the best. He greeted me warmly (great guy who I have known for about 10 years now) and we asked to hear the little ones and damn if they don't sound great. Always a winner room proving that you can get big sound from small packages...loved it.

morricab · May 21, 2017

Also forgot the Avantgarde Trio with 6 hornsubs!! Wow! Dynamics to burn and good coherence where I was in the back of the room. However, if they would simply pair these with SOTA tube amps I think the sound could be WAY better. Their own SS amps are ok, but there is a hardness and lack of timbre correctness that tells me there is room to improve on the electronics end.

I think I could make this system sound VERY VERY good...

Steve Williams · May 21, 2017

morricab said:
Also forgot the Avantgarde Trio with 6 hornsubs!! Wow! Dynamics to burn and good coherence where I was in the back of the room. However, if they would simply pair these with SOTA tube amps I think the sound could be WAY better. Their own SS amps are ok, but there is a hardness and lack of timbre correctness that tells me there is room to improve on the electronics end.

I think I could make this system sound VERY VERY good...

I'm always interested in everyone's Best In Show. Do you have one?

bonzo75 · May 21, 2017

morricab said:
Hi All,
Just back from 3 days in Munich. I was there for half a day Friday, all day on the crazy packed Saturday and then a couple of hours earlier today to re-hit some highlights and talk to a few people.

I actually saw a lot less of the show overall this year than in the past as I spent more time in rooms I liked and more time talking with people...no problem actually but there were a lot of rooms I just passed on by.

So, for the rooms I did hit my favorites were again pretty much horn but some of the biggest disappointments were also horn.

Odeon's new speaker, while overpriced IMO, was sounding VERY good partnered with New Audio Frontiers and the Aqua Formula DAC. It was well balanced, immediate and coherent. It had a smooth and easy resolution that didn't shout yet gave that dynamic envelope that people crave from horns. Pity it is more than 3x the price of their previous flagship the No. 38. Given that it outperformed everything except perhaps the AC Symphonia, which maxed out is close to the same price, I think it is still "sane" in the insane world of High end pricing.

The Silbatone/Western Electric system was back this year with a vengence! What a system! That speaker is from the time when the best and brightest considered audio a worthy engineering pursuit and it shows. Smooth easy resolution where this speaker was simply loafing no matter what volume level. It had more bass than most of systems they have brought in the past, which gave it a much fuller sound than the last few times out. Wonderful to listen to all day long.

KR Audio with RDAcoustic was also quite good but I think their decision to come with the Voxativ driver instead of the Fostex was a mistake...I felt last year that the Fostex driver worked better in their horn with better punch and bass that offset the slight drop in midrange performance over the Voxativ. People are just getting more and more scared to have anything "affordable" at the show for lack of being taken "seriously".

Last year the Nagra/Wilson system sounded very good...this year with the Alex and HD amps I have to say I was not nearly as impressed as I was with the Alexia and the Classic amps. Funny how that should be but...

Horns by Autotech were showing a new speaker but I didn't really like it much. Their Universum is really good but this new one is pretty average.

Absolare and the Lyra speaker from Rockport were ok. The Rockport speaker is simply not worth $172K...sorry its not. The sound in that room was not great as the price would dictate. It was ok.

Magico and Spectral = cold dead fish

Soulution and ?? (remind me) = cold dead metallic fish

Tune Audio. This was a horn that did not work, IMO. It was veiled in the mids and thin while the tweeter sounded poorly integrated and the bass was wooly. Proof that horn design is very much an art form because I really like the Anima and suspect that the little Prime would work great in a modest room. I give them credit for a very bold design and ambitious execution but...it simply didn't work sonically.

Cessaro = perpetual disappointment. Powered subs the size of a small car and the bass still had no guts. Small sounding as well.

Aries Cerat was pretty astounding for dynamics and coherence. A flamingo piece with foot stomps was like a jackhammer to the guts. There was only one thing keeping this system from blowing all else away and that was where you had to sit in the front row suffered from a bass suckout and there was only one seat in the row behind where the sound really gelled. So, this means most people heard it too leaned out. Resolution, timing, dynamics, tonal shading etc. all first rate.

Living Voice/Kondo/Canary. Not as good as in the past but still a big slice of realism. Some people told me that it sounds too beautiful but to my ears it sounds like instruments in real space. Images were not as tightly focused as in the past, requiring dead on sweet spot to get best sound. It is a full sound but the micro to macro is superb and there is still that "breath of life" to it that I need.

CH precision and Wilson Benesch: Someone please tell me what the fascination is with this brand of electronics?? It is not as Soulless as Soulution but it is bland bland bland. Wilson Benesch is also not a favorite as it tends to sound rather dead dynamically but this was pretty lifeless listening. With all due respect to Gian et. al I don't get what you guys are hearing there.

At the Hifi Deluxe show the Acapella room was quite good. I still don't get how their moderately sized hybrid integrated can go for 95K euro when the huge Campanile MkII is more like 65K.

FM acoustics demonstrated their insanely priced gear and I can say it did dynamics well but it sounded pushed and the highs were wiry and thin. Not worth the nutso money.

Zanden had a good sounding room with the Kroma speakers, which were also nutty priced for a pretty conventional design. It was full, rich, detailed and dynamic...pretty nice and probably one of the best conventional speaker setups I heard.

Audio Note gave a pretty good showing but it was pretty rolled off in the highs. With analog it was a lot better and the Meishu Phono Silver seems to be a pretty good integrated...makes we want to give it a go in my own system.

Finally, I had a good time hanging with Christoph, David (Acousticsguru) and others. I also got to meet Stavros in person again and I got to meet another forum member 853guy who was really great to get to know and joined us for some fine Indian dining Saturday evening.

Sorry, we disagree. I lived in Munich for 6 months and there is no good Indian dining there, though it might be a matter of taste

High end Munich 2017

VIP/Donor

Member Sponsor

Well-Known Member

VIP/Donor

VIP/Donor

Industry Expert/VIP Donor

Well-Known Member

Member Sponsor

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Member Sponsor

Member Sponsor

Industry Expert/VIP Donor

Industry Expert/VIP Donor

VIP/Donor

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator

Member Sponsor

Similar threads