Ken Micallef

Just 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.

Benny Audio, founded in 2017 and based in Gliwice, Poland, produces massive turntables that recall TechDas and Acoustic Signature. BA’s flagship Odyssey model, including 14" tonearm with direct wiring and power supply (€24,000), drew every eye in their Munich room as it spun vinyl with muscularity and deep-earth, saturated tone.

While the upper floors at High End Munich were densely populated with manufacturer’s full-system demo rooms, smaller but no less worthy players filled stand space in the ground-floor Halles, from Halle 1 to Halle 4. Two such manufacturers were Remton Audio and Fonolab, both from Praque. They brought an array of analog-centric devices that had me drooling.

Zeiler Audio’s Ralf Zeiler took a stellar rig to AXPONA. I was very curious to hear his room at High End Munich.

Gryphon Audio supercharged HIGH END Munich 2024, Atrium 4.1, Room E120, presenting the world premieres of three products: Gryphon’s Apollo Supreme Reference Turntable with Apollo 12.1" DLC Tonearm, and new Black Diamond DLC Supreme Reference MC Cartridge with DLC ("Diamond-Like Carbon) coating ($149,800 total including cartridge).

Big components need a big room and a big man to explain it. Nick Döhmann talked turkey and then some regarding his new Döhmann Helix One Mk3 turntable ($70,000) with a new 10.5” Supatrac Nighthawk tonearm (£12,500), and Air Tight Opus 1 cartridge.

“Dear Ken,” wrote Thuono Audio’s Eleonora Bonollo, “you are welcome to come to our stand in Halle 2 n. G05, where I can show you our turntables and tonearms.”