The characteristic—perhaps I should say inimitable—Vandersteen midrange was in evidence in a system that paired a Brinkmann Audio front end and amplification (detailed below) with Vandersteen ($63,999/pair). The top was quite lively, which made for an extremely exciting listen to an LP of Jeff Beck's extraordinary "Brush with the Blues." Highs were also haunting on the vinyl version of Lou Reed's hilarious (to me) 2003 recording "Vanishing Act." I didn't write down which digital tracks were played, but a return to vinyl with Vanessa Fernandez's "I Want You" revealed that the system also had excellent slam.

Krell had a big display at Munich High End show and seems to be on the brink—or maybe in the midst—of a major new-product and marketing surge. One major recent introduction is the K-300i integrated amplifier

Excellent bass, a somewhat toned-down presentation and somewhat dry midrange, and excellent imaging—the speakers completely disappeared—were the hallmarks of Zellaton Reference Mk II Loudspeakers (2018) (€147,950/pair). As with all our show reports, how much of what I heard was due to electronics previously unknown to me, and whose sound I cannot begin to describe until I hear them in a familiar context, I cannot ascertain.

Given the background noise, it was a little difficult to focus on the music from Yello and Roger Waters of Pink Floyd in the system from Vienna Acoustics and Vincent, but this little system's ability throw a large, ear-catching ambient soundstage was its strong point. Speakers were the Vienna Acoustics Mozart (€1800/pair). Vincent electronics included (I think) the new DAC-7, which handles up to 32/384 and DSD256 and has a tube output stage, along with the SA-T7 preamp (€2499), SP-T700 mono hybrid amplifier (€1999/each), CD-S7 hybrid CD player (€2199), and PHO-701 phono stage (€649). Cables were from Vincent and Pangea.

Raidho Acoustics' new TD1.2 speaker ($24,000/pair), whose unveiling I missed at AXPONA, resurfaced in Munich. Hearing a track from the Ray Brown Trio's Soular Energy led me to write, in my notebook, "Pretty amazing how well these small speakers create such a big soundstage." Transparency around solo instruments and percussion was quite exceptional. Save for a touch of dryness, which could have been room-related, this system sounded excellent.

Thanks to Michael Fremer, whom I ran into at the MOC while we both waited for the show to open on Day 3, I ended up at a private listening session in the PMC room. There, after Michael pulled out his video camera and engaged in a thorough, only-Michael-would-know-enough-to-ask-such-questions Q&A with PMC's Maurice Patist—it will appear at AnalogPlanet.com—we listened to two revivified tracks from Miles Davis's iconic Kind of Blue that have been given the full Dolby Atmos surround treatment.

Having heard at previous shows the pairing of Aavik electronics, Børresen loudspeakers, and Ansuz cabling, I've been trying to find language adequate to describe the quality of its earth-rooted bass and midrange. There's a very special, aged-in-wood component to its bass sound that I find fascinating. Combined with clear highs that, while not shy, are capable of conveying intimacy, the system made Anette Askvik's "Liberty" compelling listening.

The "Ocean Mystery" colored Estelon Forza loudspeaker (€110,000/pair) made quite a statement all by itself. Paired with a Kronos Pro turntable (€37,600) with SCPS1 power supply (€13,500), Black Beauty tonearm (€8400), and ZYX Universe 3 cartridge (€8100); Bassocontinuo racks; Kubala-Sosna Realization cabling; Audes ST-3000 power conditioner (€3900); and Furutech NCF Booster-Signal (€2780), it conveyed electric guitar with natural bite, relayed all instruments except Eugene Istomin's somewhat tinkly piano on the Reference Recordings' LP of Mozart Piano Concerto No.21 with natural timbres and a strong midrange, and, on my Channel Classics SACD of the Mahler Symphony No.2, nailed the great expanse and natural timbres of the Budapest Symphony Orchestra, along with some brightness on top.

Lovely, smooth sound, fine timbres, and a very large soundstage in the nearfield were the hallmarks of a system that was dominated by Vitus Audio's brand new, "hardly broken in" SIA-030 Signature integrated amplifier (€35,000). The SIA-030 has a fully regulated power supply for its output stage and a 22kW transformer, and claims 400,000 microfarads capacitance prior to regulation. It operates in two modes, either 30Wpc class-A or 200Wpc class-AB, and has a volume control that adjusts by 0.5dB steps while using only one resistor in series with the signal.