Munich 2024

While the upper floors at High End Munich were densely populated with manufacturer’s full-system demo rooms, smaller but no less worthy players filled stand space in the ground-floor Halles, from Halle 1 to Halle 4. Two such manufacturers were Remton Audio and Fonolab, both from Praque. They brought an array of analog-centric devices that had me drooling.

Alexander Remmer’s Remton Audio had six products on static display, including the 383 tubed phono stage (€1400), 383 MK2 phono stage (€2300), LCR phono stage (€5300), LCR MK2 phono stage (€6300), LCR Balanced phono stage with True Balanced MC transformer (€16,500), and the RHA Tube Headphone Amplifier (€2300).

Remton products seem well-conceived and well-built ... .

... as did the products from Jan Snegov’s Fonolab. Also well-built and sporting unique, egg-shaped control knobs, the Fonolab devices on display included the EQVES stereo MC SUT (€925), Veliferi Series Modular MC/MM/MI SUT/Phono EQ (€3025), Super Qvattvor True Balanced MC SUT (€5600), and Qvattvor 4x4 Symmetrical Balanced Referenced MC SUT.

Each Fonolab piece had an unusual visual appeal, from ‘50s hi-fi control-knob geeky and ham operator chic to modernist faux marble. I’ll take them all!