Munich High End 2011

And just as suddenly as we arrived in Munich—just as we were beginning to feel comfortable and alive—it was, unfortunately, time to leave Munich. Rosemarie and I loved the city, the people, the food, and the hi-fi.

The M.O.C. proved to be an outstanding venue for presenting hi-fi in the best possible light, creating an atmosphere that invited attendees to linger, relax, enjoy. Though the weekend’s weather was absolutely glorious, people from all over the world decided to spend it indoors, with music and sound and gear.

Some stats and trivia: This was the 30th High End hi-fi show. During the shows four days, 337 exhibitors from 29 countries presented their special products to 14,079 visitors. According to a report from Renate Paxa, public relations manager for the High End Society, the number of exhibitors at this year’s show increased by 30% over last year’s total, with a strong increase in international brands: “The proportion of non-German exhibitors reached almost 50% and increased by 46% in comparison to the previous year.”

The most widely represented European nations among exhibitors were Germany, Denmark, France, the UK, Italy, and Switzerland. Overseas exhibitors included the United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and China.

Kurt Hecker, chairman of the High End Society, commented: “Over the past 30 years, the High End has developed into the most important trade fair for high-end consumer electronics in the world. The High End 2011 has done justice to these high expectations in every regard.”

In addition, a total of 437 national and international journalists attended the 2011 Munich High End Show. Rosemarie and I consider ourselves lucky to be included among that number. To all those we met during our all too brief visit: Thank you for sharing your time with us. It was a pleasure. And to all those we missed: We are sorry, and we’ll hope to catch up with you next time.