46 Australian Hi-Fi ˹˹˹ƖŘˁʊǒǔǞƖƋɁȧ
SHOW REP T
By Jason Kennedy
T
he High End show in Munich is
beginning to dominate the audio
calendar, its scale and the ability
to attract visitors from across the
globe mean it is the place to be if
you want to make a mark in the hi-fi business
today. The sheer quantity of excessive kit
can be snow blinding, and there are all those
people in the industry to talk to, but if you
take your time it’s possible to find new com-ponents that really do push the state of the
art rather than the art of marketing. Here are
some of the more interesting new products I
found at Bavaria’s finest audio jamboree.
Aries Cerat builds price-no-object valve
electronics and horn loudspeakers in Cyprus
and sees no need for restraint when it comes
to quantities of chassis. The single-ended
Achilleas Legend Series power amplifiers
consist of six cases with 813 valves drivingan 813 output stage, the 300kg per channel
weight is nearly as hefty as the €250,000
price. The brand launched the Helene DAC
with eight R2R ladder converters and a single
ended valve output at an almost affordable
€12,800, and in just one box.
Wharfedale and Mission designer Peter
Comeau had been very busy finalising
three new ranges to finish for this show.
Wharfedale has two new flagship models in
the Elysian 2 and 4; these have AMT planar
tweeters designed in the US and mid and bass
drivers that were designed in collaboration
with Scanspeak. Both models have slot ports
and wide baffles for ‘free and easy energy flow
and good dynamics’. The Elysian 2 (£5,000)
standmount was making some nice noises on
the end of Audiolab electronics and a Lumin
streamer, the Elysian 4 (£7,500) was happy
just to hear its 93dBSPL sensitivity and 22Hz
bass extension discussed.
Evo4 is a step up from the Diamond range
and combines an AMT tweeter with dome
midrange in the bigger models. It was nice to
see the revived Wharfedale Linton on dem,
this classic has apparently proved very popu-
lar and it’s not hard to see why.
Also under Comeau’s command are the
Mission ZX models, these have a ring radiator
tweeter and comprise two standmounts
(ZX-1, ZX-2), three floorstanders (ZX-3, ZX-4,
ZX-5) and a centre-channel speaker (ZX-C1);
no prices have been announced as yet.High End 2019
1,500 horsepower, a $2.6
million price tag, two
ƧŭŢŢěƛŭijČðƓċŭŢǠċƓě̶
aluminum, titanium, glass,
and leather plus Accuton
diamond tweeters mean
the Bugatti Chiron would
make a great Christmas
present for any audiophile