Munich 2025

"What is the most important element in a high-end audio set-up?" As much as the question is asked over and over again, as if it were a requisite baseline test for admission into the Holy Fraternity of the High End, most responses start with the end of the chain rather than with the fundamentals.

It's like asking which comes first, the cart or the horse, while ignoring what's in the cart. For audio, the cargo is music. Without music, there's just noise (as in test signals and chatrooms).

After music come the medium (cart) that contains it, e.g. the file, platter, or disc, and the power (our proverbial horse) that moves it forward. Power is what makes a recording possible. It's also propels the music forward from the source and recording apparatus to our ears. Try listening to your system during a power outage and see how far that gets you.

This year, Stromtank's booth was dominated by an eye-catching, rotating black and red model of its latest product, the mammoth S-6000 Alpha ($85,000). First shown last year in prototype form, the S-6000 Alhpa is intended to power, without compromise, big amplifiers that draw huge amounts of current. In theory, it's the one component that can keep your entire system playing during a power outage. Near it sat a very shiny Stromtank S-2500 Quantum MK-II ($30,000), which was designed to power source devices and whole small or medium-sized systems.