stereophile.com n August2019 3stereopreophoipl.ocm l clho
phostereopreoeAmershbut one report that smells reliable says
€390,000. I was told the show’s most
expensive system came in at about €2.
million, give or take, although I didn’t
see or hear it myself.
I’m a middle-class guy who loves
music and listening to it in the best
sound possible. I don’t like the image
of high-end audio as a playground for
billionaires, respect this part of the
industry though I do. It’s not about
that for me.
However—I’ve got to admit—this
stuff is fun to gawk at. Where else can
you hear so much high-end stuff in
one place? And if sales of megabuck
systems help support the industry, I’m
all for it—so long as manufacturers
don’t get distracted from delivering
excellent audio gear at prices accessible
to audiophilia’s middle class, those of
us who live in the real world.
There’s reason to hope, perhaps to
believe, that cost-is-no-object, all-out
assaults on audio’s state of the art serve
to make more affordable systems
better. Both Damon Von Schweikert
and John Devore framed the expensive
gear they presented at the show as an
effort to do that, at least in part; Devore
even suggested, in a comment at stereo-
phile.com, that he doesn’t expect to
make much money from his O/Ref
system: It’s a research project, with the
explicit aim of trickling down to more
affordable models the knowledge
gained and technology invented.^2
In Munich, there were relatively af-
fordable, excellent-sounding offerings
from companies that usually make
more expensive stuff—and not just
loudspeakers. Mark Levinson’s system
included a new SACD player, the
No.5101, which will sell for $5500—
cheap by Levinson standards. Ampli-
fication was provided by Levinson’s$7000 No.5802 integrated ampli-
fier, the all-digital companion to the
No.5805 that graced the cover of the
July issue of Stereophile. I was also taken
with Krell’s $7500 K-300i integrated
amplifier. Elsewhere, on static display,
was the Aesthetix Mimas integrated
amplifier ($7000 plus options), which
JVS reviews in this issue; the elite,
sub-$10K integrated amplifier appears
to be a trend. Even further down
the price ladder, SVS, which can be
counted on to produce low-priced,
high-value speakers, was showing the
new Prime Pinnacle (€899 each and
up), while Pro-Ject showed a tiny $
all-tube, all-discrete, passive-EQ phono
stage with variable gain and flexible
resistive and capacitive loading.
Still, the focus of most rooms I saw
was on megabuck electronics and
speakers.
There’s some irony here. The
acoustics at the High End 2019 venue
were fine—unobjectionable—and yet, a
big, ambitious loudspeaker requires an
ambitious room^3 to perform at its best.
In a trade-show hall such as Munich’s
MOC, the largest, most ambitious
loudspeakers can’t show their real stuff.
And if the loudspeakers can’t sing, nei-
ther can the electronics that back them
up. Munich, then, is about showing off
high-dollar systems—but it’s not about
showing them off at their best.
If you’re serious about auditioning a
pair of very expensive loudspeakers, get
on an airplane and visit the company
or a major hi-fi dealer, one of the
handful with high-end stock and care-
fully tuned listening rooms. Munich
isn’t the place to do it.
Munich, though, on those four days
in spring, is one of the best places in
the world to experience an audio-
induced sense of wonder and awe
(awedio?). Munich is for the rush. n1 Although we’re keeping the memory alive with
our show coverage in this issue.
2 See stereophile.com/
comment/584310#comment-584310.
3 Although not necessarily big. Consider Brian Dam-
kroger’s experience with the huge, megabuck Wilson
WAMM Master Chronosonic, which he describes in
the July issue.B
y the time you read this, Munich’s High End 2019 will be a distant
memory.^1 Yet as I write this, having just returned from Munich, the
experience is fresh in my mind. It’s the most compelling audio topic I
can think of, crying out for commentary.
Munich is to audiophiles—to this one at least—what New York’s 5th Avenue is
to Black Friday shoppers. It’s the audiophile version of flying through a canyon
with a wing suit on. It’s a giant rush, audio cocaine.In early May, over four days, 21,
people visited 551 high-end exhibitors
from 42 countries. According to the
organizers, visitors were up 6.5% over
the previous year. Exhibitors were up
3.8%. More than 500 members of the
audio press attended. (Imagine 500
audio writers all in one place. Scary.)
It’s a vibrant, successful show.
No aspect of our industry/hobby
was unrepresented—neither analog
nor digital, neither monster amps nor
single-ended triodes. One loudspeaker
had 13 drivers (the prototype from
cable company Siltech); other speakers
(by Cube Audio and Manger, among
many others) had just one. Some had
conventional boxes, some looked like
starships or mushrooms—some looked
like something you’d be unlikely to
encounter unless you had partaken of
said mushrooms.
It was a very varied show, but the
overwhelming impression—my over-
whelming impression—was of a venue
ripe with the high end’s highest end.
Von Schweikert’s system featured their
Ultra 9 loudspeakers ($200,000/pair—
one step down from the $300,000/pair
Ultra 11) and VAC’s 450iQ integrated
amplifier ($150,000). It sounded great.
In the Göbel room, which I didn’t
hear, that company’s Divin Noblesse
loudspeakers (€164,000/pair) were
supported by some €300,000 in
electronics from Engstrom and Wadax;
that total doesn’t count the €100,000-
plus vinyl front end. John DeVore,
who is known for loudspeakers at
less stratospheric prices, showed his
new, four-box O/Reference system,
which will retail in the United States
for $85,000 or more, depending on
the wood veneer. TechDAS showed
its new Zero turntable; I don’t know if
a price has been officially announced,Munich!
THIS ISSUE:ShowssuchasMunich’sHighEnd
2019areallabouttheadrenalinerush—and
JimAustinisjustfinewiththat.AS WE
SEE IT
BY JIM AUSTIN