Munich 2024

Out the hotel door and fully caffeinated, I was blown away by the looks, construction, and performance of Zavfino turntables and tonearms. As 1877Phono Zavfino, the company has for years supplied internal wire to major manufacturers; the brand also offers interconnects, speakers, and power cords to the public.

Check out the stunning lines and construction of Zavfino turntables and tonearms. That this brand is largely unknown to the US is an audio crime.

The Munich display included the sleek Copperhead-X Turntable with Aeshna Carbon Tonearm (€5600 to €6200 depending on options), the new ZV8-X Turntable (€6100 to €6700, depending on options), and the ZV11X Titan with tonearm (€12,260/€14,000). Zavfino’s entry-level The Coy Art Series XB Turntable with Aeshna Carbon Tonearm was not shown, but it looks interesting at the website.

Zavfino’s Will Tremblett showed me around the turntables. B.audio’s Sebastian and Cedric Bermann gave me the rundown on the electronics, including the b.audio B.dpr EX DAC/Streamer/Server/Preamp (€19,990) and the class-AB, push-pull B.amp Mono Monaural Power Amplifier (€27,990), which is specified to output 300Wpc into 8 ohms, 500Wpc into 4 ohms. Loudspeakers were the Made-in-Poland Intrada Josquin bass-reflex three-ways (€17,850/pair).

This setup only confirmed my slack-jawed wonder that so many exceptional brands remain unavailable in the US. Read it and weep.