Grimm's new MU2 music streamer/DAC/analog preamplifier ($18,000; below), which will start shipping in October or November, is already back-ordered. The unit boasts the company's FPGA-based discrete Major D/A converter, a relay-based analog volume control, AES, S/PDIF, and optical digital inputs, and XLR and RCA analog inputs. Outputs are analog XLR and RCA, along with a headphone output. "All…
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Quite the well-conceived display, don't you think? I have to say the same about the sound, one of whose high points, on Gabriel Rios's "Swing Low," was a wonderfully large and captivating soundstage.
Despite the ton of equipment from Burmester and others shown in the photo, the YG Acoustics set-up I heard involved just two speakers and a single control module. That's because the company's Vantage 3 Live active loudspeaker system ($65,600/pair), which contains amplification by Bel Canto as well as optimized DSP, a digital preamplifier, and a phono stage, is pretty much all-in-one.
The Vantage 3 Live contains three 700W amplifiers, one for each driver; each has been optimized for its particular driver. The Vantage 3 Live even comes with its own 25' ST optical fiber cables which…
Estelon's new entry-level Aura loudspeaker ($19,900/pair) is as notable for its sound and unique design as for its departure from premium pricing. Every driver in the Aura, from the Scanspeak 1" soft-dome tweeter to its two 5" SB Acoustics mid-woofers and 10" Faital woofer, is new.
Allied with the excellent Moon 860A v2 monoblocks that I've reviewed; Moon 740P preamp; Moon 820S external power supply; dCS's superb Rossini CD/SACD transport, which JA1 reviewed; dCS Rossini Apex DAC with Rossini Master Clock, all of which I've reviewed; and Crystal and Siltech cabling, the Estelon…
Of the fraction of rooms and booths I was able to cover at Munich High End 2023—the "I wish I could have" list is at least as long as that of the exhibits I enjoyed—Rockport Technologies' triumphant meeting of its Orion loudspeaker ($133,000/pair–$143,000/pair with the custom finish shown) with Absolare's Altius phonostage ($52,000), Eternum preamplifier ($85,000, below), and Hybrid Altius monoblocks ($120,000/pair) was an unqualified triumph. There was, of course, far more in the system than those four components, but what's most important is the effect of the music on visitors. As Absolare'…
For years, David Chesky has kept me abreast of developments and updates to Princeton Professor Edgar Y. Choueiri's BACCH-SP Adio System. Happily, the word is out. When I entered the room, none other than Stereophile's Alex Halberstadt was sitting in the prime seat, receiving all the benefits of the fully-loaded BACCH-SP system ($37,780).
As Choueiri subsequently explained via email, "The BACCH-SP (where the 'SP' stands for stereo purifier) is a digital audio processor that yields 3D imaging from stereo recordings by allowing the listener to perceive the spatial cues that exist in…
First introduced at a show in August 2019, not long before COVID-related supply shortages put a major damper on new product releases, Zellaton's 3-way Plural Evo loudspeaker (69,950/pair) is finally available. One main goal of the design, according to company president Michael Schwab, is to minimize the impact of the sound of the speaker's materials on the music.
Unique to Zellaton is a cabinet whose midrange section is open in the back (above), and whose bottom is also open on the inside-facing side of the speaker. Both openings are designed to eliminate any possibility of…
MBL's Chief Engineer, Jürgen Reis (below), also records Cologne's famed period-instrument ensemble, Concerto Köln. It was thus only fitting that two musicians from the ensemble, bassist Jean-Michel Forêt and violoncellist Alexander Scherf (who is also music director of Concerto Köln), visited the MBL room at Munich High End to play some music, talk music history, and enable comparison of live vs. reproduced sound.
Given the damped nature of MBL's large room and the live acoustic favored for the ensemble's CD, however, comparison wasn't in the least bit fair. Nonetheless, thanks…
If you're looking for a simple-to-set-up, active floorstander, Vienna Acoustics brand new Mozart Infinity Active (12,000/pair and available in a few weeks) might just fit the bill. On Jason Mraz's "I Won't Give Up," the Mozart Infinity Active stuck to its guns and delivered nice, colorful, large, and solid hi-fi sound.
Piotr Cholewa, Chief Engineer of Vienna Acoustics, and Maria Gansterer, daughter of company founder Peter Gansterer, explained that his first challenge was to find the right combination of streamer—he chose one from Streamer Ltd. of Austria—and drivers. Development of the…
"What's in a number?" you may ask. In the case of InnuOS2.4, the latest update to music server company Innuos' own streaming software announced at Munich High End, a lot. As in:
1: The ability to multi-select tracks from multiple albums and create and name your own compilation.
2: For consistency's sake, you can rename and merge artists and change names in all your files. For example, if you have files identified by "The Beatles," "Beatles," and (goddess forbid), "beatles," you can merge them all.
3: You can filter artists according to genre. For example, you can display all…
There was a lot to take in in the Nordost room at Munich High End. Building upon the upgraded QB8 Mark III AC Distribution Unit ($2300), which I described after it first appeared at AXPONA 2023 in Chicago, the company previewed the QBase Reference, aka the QB10 ($18,000), which is expected in the late summer or early fall. Equipped with 10 outlets and a 20-amp IEC, the QBase Reference includes heavy-grade wire and traces capable of supporting high-current amplifiers. Think of it as a fully maxed out, 32A-capable power distribution unit.
The QBase Reference/QB10 also incorporates two…