Munich High End 2011

At first, I didn’t know what was going on. I only noticed a very large crowd of people, all seemingly fascinated by what was standing before them.

I walked into the room, found a place along the back wall, and then saw what all the fuss was about: Massive creatures from Japan’s GIP driven by wild and wonderful Silbatone amplification. I think dCS source components and an Artemis Labs turntable by Frank Schroder were also part of the zaniness.

I spoke a bit with Silbatone’s JC Morrison.

I didn’t really understand anything he said.

But everything he said seemed really cool.

I did catch:

“I’m afraid to say how much this amplifier costs. It’s $80,000 or $100,000. We’re not really trying to sell anything here. There’s not a market for any of this stuff. This is educational; we’re just trying to educate. Everything we’ve done here is really fun.”

At this point, Morrison got into some of the more technical aspects of the design. He glowed with enthusiasm. Part of the amplifier, he explained, actually has to be grown—like pearls in oysters, or something. (But not actually pearls in oysters.)

And then:

“It’s all a labor of love and absurdity. In the twilight of the tube era, this is a very sweet [kiss] to the world.”

(He didn’t actually say “kiss.”)