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Munich 2018

More Munich from Herb Reichert

Herb Reichert May 16, 2018

Look at this photo of Cessaro Horn Acoustics' beautiful-in-color 5-way "Zeta" lautsprecher. Can you imagine it sitting in your listening room? I could, and I'd be proud to own itif only I didn't live in a one-bedroom Brooklyn apartment and write reviews for a living. The Zetas are new, and cost between 320,00 and 460,000 Euros/pair, whichdon't laughI think seems like a bargain for all the hardware and good sound a buyer would receive.

Munich 2018

Art's Last Afternoon at High End 2018

Art Dudley May 15, 2018

2018 marks the 100th year of business for Danish cartridge manufacturer Ortofon A/Sthe actual birthday is October 9thso it came as no surprise that Ortofon's head of product development, Leif Johannsen (on the right in the photo above, next to Lou Dorio of the company's American subsidiary, Ortofon Inc.) cooked up three special, limited-edition products to celebrate the milestone: the anachronistic and ostensibly DJ-friendly moving-magnet Concorde Century; the ultra-high-end MC Century; and the cartridge that most appealed to me, the SPU Century (estimated price: 5000).

Munich 2018

Saturday in Munich with Art, Part One

Art Dudley May 15, 2018

Since Herb Reichert and I were booked to fly back to New York on Sunday, Saturday was to be my last day at High End 2018which is to say, Saturday was my Sunday: a day of moving along smartly, covering as many rooms and booths as possible, and listening only briefly.

Wouldn't you know it that my first stop of the day, at the room sponsored by German loudspeaker manufacturer Zellaton, was one that discouraged drive-by reporting

Munich 2018

Herb's Second Report from Munich

Herb Reichert May 15, 2018

In the primary Living Voice room (there were two) I found the Vox Olympian & Vox Elysian loudspeakers (851,200/pair Euros in Macassar Ebony & Amboyna Burl with figured Eucalyptus wood), partnered with vintage Kondo electronics via both digital and analog sources. For analog, there was the Grand Prix Audio Monaco 2.0 turntable with a Kuzma 4-point tonearm, and a Fuuga MC cartridge (45,419 Euro total) connected via a Living Voice step-up transformer (6812 Euros) to a SJS enhanced model 3 phono-amplifier voiced for Living Voice (15,896 Euros).

Munich 2018

Art's Friday in Munich, Part Two

Art Dudley May 14, 2018

Reminders were everywhere that the High End show, which takes place in a 30,000-square-meter convention center, differs from the hotel-centric North American norm in its preponderance of silent displayssilent, but seldom inconspicuous. A fine example was the room occupied by the 33.3-year-old Danish firm Gryphon Audio Designs, which used the occasion to display their 93.5"-tall, 2002-lb (net weight), twin-tower Kodo loudspeaker system (price on request). The Kodowhich, when I visited, enjoyed tremendous popularity as a selfie propis a four-way design, specified as reaching from 16Hz to 25kHz.

News

The June Issue . . .

Stereophile Staff May 14, 2018

. . . is here and Art Dudley feels that in the age of streaming, there is still life in the CD medium, as typified by Rega's new Apollo player. Art's enthusiastic review is joined by reviews of EgglestonWorks' 20th anniversary Viginti speaker; Bryston's BP17³ preamplifer; Rogers High Fidelity's single-ended 65V-1 amplifier; the NOS Formula xHD DAC from Italian company Aqua Acoustic; and comparisons between preamplifiers from Ayre and PS Audio.

Munich 2018

Herb's First Morning in Munich

Herb Reichert May 14, 2018

So, folks, here are a couple things you need to understand about Munich High End 2018:

As a rule, Europe brings to audio a different aesthetic and perspective than Americathey are way less into giant, million-dollar, solid-state amplifiers and way more into low-power tube amps. And . . . they are definitely into horn loudspeakers in a way that most Americans cannot fathom.

Munich 2018

Art's Friday in Munich, Part One

Art Dudley May 12, 2018

Friday's weather was no less spectacular than Thursday'syet from the moment I arrived there, the MOC was mobbed with attendees who weren't at all bashful about spending the day indoors. Perhaps the interior sunniness of the glass-and-steel structure helped: I would certainly chafe at spending such a beautiful day roaming the dark halls of some glum hotel.

Whatever the reason, I couldn't shake the impression that a lot of audio enthusiasts didn't show up for work on Friday.

Munich 2018

Art's Thursday in Munich, Part Two

Art Dudley May 11, 2018

Scheduled to ship in early autumn, the Hegel 590 ($12,000) is poised to become the Norwegian company's new flagship integrated amplifier. With a power supply 50% larger than that of Hegel's previous top-of-the-line integrated (the H360), the 590 operates in class-AB, delivering 301Wpc. Driving a pair of KEF Blade loudspeakers (ca $30,000/pair), a pre-production Hegel 590 sounded amazinga really good sense of musical drive, plus a tonal balance that was neither dull nor overly crispon a digital file of Shelby Lynne performing the Nick Cave song "Into My Arms."

Munich 2018

Art's Thursday in Munich, Part One

Art Dudley May 11, 2018

Everything you've heard is true. Lufthansa really is among the world's finest airlines. (I say that as an uncomfortable and often unwilling traveler who has had nothing but perfect flights on Lufthansa), Munich is one of the cleanest, most attractive, and most easily traveled cities in Europe. And Munich High End is, without a doubt and by a stunning margin, the greatest audio show on Earth, period. Nothing I could saynothingcan prepare you for the sheer scale of the venue, the number and variety of exhibits, the quality of those exhibits, and the exciting, carnival-like vibe of Munich High End: It must be experienced.