LATEST ADDITIONS

Munich 2019

The Devore Fidelity Orangutan Reference

Jim Austin May 11, 2019

Why travel all the way from New York City to Munich to hear (and see) a loudspeaker made in Brooklyn? Because it's easier to get from the Munich High End press room to the Devore Fidelity listening room here than it is to get from Manhattan's upper west side to the Brooklyn Naval Yard, where the Devore Orangutan Reference loudspeakers are made.

Munich 2019

New from Cary: DMS-550 and DMS-600 Network Audio Players; SLI-100 Integrated Amplifier

Jim Austin May 11, 2019

On static display: three products from Cary that just started shipping earlier this year.

Munich 2019

Zesto Eros 300 Monoblocks, Merrill-Williams REAL 101.3 Turntable, Verity Amadis S Speakers, Purist Cables, Stillpoints Equipment Supports

Jason Victor Serinus May 10, 2019

The big news in this excellent-sounding system was the two new power cables from Purist Audio Design. First was the Purist Diamond Limited Edition AC Power Cable ($6300/1 meter, with an ultimate length of 1.8 tip to tip). Composed of 10-gauge Nano silver, the cable includes a five-stage filter box intended to counteract RMI and EF from outside forces and the internal workings of equipment. Beneath that baby lies Purist's all-new Diamond Revision Neptune AC Power Cable ($3800/meter), which contains 8-gauge copper wrapped with strands of Nano silver.

Munich 2019

Grand Prix Monza Rack, Apertura Enigma MKII Speakers, Kuzma Tonearm, Fuuga Cartridge

Jason Victor Serinus May 10, 2019

Something really cool happened in the room shared by Grand Prix Audio of the US and Apertura Audio of France. For the first time, I witnessed a rack/support comparison that confirmed for me the importance of both for optimal system performance . . .

Munich 2019

Marten Mingus Orchestra Speakers, Stromtank 2500 Power Conditioner, CH Precision Electronics, Jorma Cabling

Jason Victor Serinus May 10, 2019

Marten, which is currently searching for new distribution in the US, unveiled its new Mingus Orchestra four-way loudspeaker (185,000/pair). Using the same drivers and crossover as their top-of-the-line Supreme 2 (450,000/pair), albeit with fewer bass drivers and a less expensive cabinet, the new Marten sounded superb in the context of a first-rate system.

Munich 2019

EMM Labs NS1 Network Streamer

Jason Victor Serinus May 10, 2019

The new EMM Labs NS1 Network Streamer ($4500the smallest of the three products in the above photo), due in two months, seems to be Ed Meitner's response to the dCS Network Bridge. The NS1 will decode up to 24/192 PCM and DSD 64 and fully unfold MQA, and is a Roon-ready endpoint. In addition, when connected via the company's proprietary Optilink to other EMM Labs products, including the DV2 Integrated Converter that received a rave when I reviewed it for Stereophile, the NS1 can be optically isolated from the network to reduce noise. The NS1's inputs include ethernet and USB; its outputs, in addition to the aforementioned Optilink, include AES and Toslink.

Munich 2019

Nordost QPoint, QSource, and Valhalla 2 Tonearm Cable +

Jason Victor Serinus May 09, 2019

No less than four new Nordost products received their first showing at Munich High End. The Valhalla 2 Tonearm Cable + ($5000), due by early June, is a monofilament design that contains four silver-plated solid-core copper conductors, in a twisted-pair arrangement that creates a left and right channel, each individually wrapped in a silver braided shield to eliminate crosstalk. This cable comes with two detachable silver-plated ground whips designed to enhance grounding and eliminate hum.

Munich 2018

Accustic Arts Power 1 Integrated and Player 1 CD Player/Streaming DAC; Fischer & Fischer 370AMT Loudspeakers

Jim Austin May 09, 2019

I wandered in to the room shared by, among other companies, Accustic Arts and Fischer & Fischer. The news from this room is two new high-value products—by which I mean that they're cheaper than the company's main lines, so there's a good probability that they offer good value. High-end companies trickling down appears to be a Munich High End trend—note, for instance, the Mark Levinson No.5101 SACD player/streaming DAC I wrote about earlier today.

Munich 2019

MSB M500 Monoblocks, Magico M6 Speakers, and Analysis Plus Cables

Jason Victor Serinus May 09, 2019

When I entered the MSB room, a track from the JVC XRCD version of Sonny Rollins's Rollins Plays for Bird was transmitting all of the recording's smooth, warm, and sophisticated elegance. That last word isn't one I use often when describing high-end systems, but that's exactly what I experienced here.

Munich 2019

Auralic Sirius G2 Upsampling Processor

Jason Victor Serinus May 09, 2019

As someone accustomed to thinking of Auralic components as little boxes, the size and casing of their new Sirius G2 upsampling processor ($6000) suggests to me that the company is exploring new territory. It sure sounds that way from this product's description. Due late summer or early fall, the Sirius G2 is intended for placement between a streamer and DACany company's DACand is claimed to upgrade both "the processing power and the original performance envelope" of the DAC. Auralic's press literature says that by handling a DAC's data processing burden, the Sirius G2 "dramatically reduces the amount of distortion and jitter" of a DAC in its sweet spot, regardless of the incoming resolution of the file.