Being an audio reporter definitely has its perks—like when you're in a spacious Munich room, listening to top-tier systems deliver music with astonishing scale and precision.
Managing director Robert Sikora of J. Sikora, the Polish turntable manufacturer, showed two products, including the Standard Max Supreme ($33,800, all prices approximate when converted from Euros) with a KV9 Max tonearm ($10,800) and a DS Audio Grand Master cartridge ($15,000). I also took in the world premiere of the J. Sikora Aspire ($6400) with a KV9 tonearm ($4600) and DS Audio DS-W3 cartridge ($10,000).
Amplification included EMM Labs PRE preamplifier ($25,000) and EMM Labs MTRX2 V2 monoblock amplifiers ($115,000/pair), which drove EgglestonWorks Andra 5 loudspeakers ($19,000/pair).
The system also included an EMM Labs DS-EQ1 V2 Optical Equalizer ($12,500), a Meitner DS-EQ2 Optical Equalizer ($5000), and a Meitner preamplifier ($7500). All components were wired with Kimber Kable.
Roxy Music's Avalon materialized in a way that was atmospheric, sleek, and luminescent. A jazz-pop recording by Fourplay sounded exceptionally clear and sweetly layered. An unidentified guitar-and-vocal track was strikingly physical and exhibited fine texture. Despite the system's size, it sounded anything but lumbering, easily laying bare all manner of subtle details.
The system also included an EMM Labs DS-EQ1 V2 Optical Equalizer ($12,500), a Meitner DS-EQ2 Optical Equalizer ($5000), and a Meitner preamplifier ($7500). All components were wired with Kimber Kable.
Roxy Music's Avalon materialized in a way that was atmospheric, sleek, and luminescent. A jazz-pop recording by Fourplay sounded exceptionally clear and sweetly layered. An unidentified guitar-and-vocal track was strikingly physical and exhibited fine texture. Despite the system's size, it sounded anything but lumbering, easily laying bare all manner of subtle details. 
