Munich 2023

SteinMusic's apparent paradox, a striking black-and-white equipment array that's on track to win my Looker Award of High End 2023 but that delivered maximally colorful sound, attracted throngs to the company's room. On Sir Simon Rattle's recording of Stravinsky's The Firebird Suite, performed by the City of Birmingham Orchestra, and Musica Nuda's live recording of "I Will Survive," Holger Stein's system delivered an arresting three-dimensional soundstage and marvelous range of colors.

Heading the system was SteinMusic's new Topline Bob L Ultimate speaker ($247,500/pair), a 4-way horn/open-baffle concept with an integrated active subwoofer that uses six 12" drivers per side matched with three 10" drivers, one 4" driver, a 30" horn, and a 1" driver with 8" horn. Other parts of the system included the integrated Highline 120Wpc Amp 2 ($17,950) and every SteinMusic accountrement and cable you can think of.

That may sound flippant, but personal experience has shown that devices including the SteinMusic H2s ($2858/each), Blue Suns Signature ($968/each), and Blue Diamonds ($319/each) have a major effect on three-dimensionality, soundstage, and more. I did not audition the phono section.