HIGH END MUNICH 2022 SHOW REPORT BIRD’S EYE VIEW PART 4

Linette’s part four Bird’s Eye View High End Munich 2022 show report with Kawero and Ypsilon, iFi, Soulution, Wadax and Fono Acoustica, Gauder, Wiener Lautsprecher and Way cables, Grandinote, Ondacustica

Kawero and Ypsilon, Kaiser’s Kawero loudspeaker brand are usually partnered with Kondo Audio Note Japan in the big room at the end of this corridor on 4.1, but Kondo was not at the show, as far as I could see, and the big room at the end had become some kind of home cinema experience with queues down the corridor, so I gave that a miss.

It was fab to see Vincent and Vicky from iFi Audio of the UK, it has been far too long.  The main launch from them was the new top-of-the-line USB model in iFi’s GO Series of ultraportable DAC/headphone amps, the small yet mighty ‘GO bar’ which iFi says is the world’s most powerful headphone amp of its size. There is even a GO bar Anniversary Edition that is 18ct gold-plated (limited to 1000 pieces) it has a copper chassis and enhanced power supply filtering. The iFi GO bar retails at £329. The GO bar Anniversary Edition follows in June, at an RRP of £499.

Swiss brand Soulution had their elegant and minimalistic gear on show.

Wadax, Fono Acoustica and Kharma had a pretty stunning system in this next room. Wadax styling is not for everyone but it really stands out and you know it can be only Wadax. Fono Acoustics make the very high end cables in this system and speakers were from Kharma. It really had the wow factor.

Gauder Akustic

Weiner Lautsprecher and Way Cables. This was another of those ‘breath of fresh air’ rooms. Spacious, chilled (literally, their air con was working at full pelt) I don’t recall what music was playing in there as I was quite frazzled but it just had that feel of a lovely listening room. I was taken by the speakers and we should be seeing a pair here at HiFi Pig Towers soon, Way Cables are a familiar brand to us as they are one of our go-to cable brands at home, they are made by our good friend Miroslav.

Next up were a couple of top floor rooms, owing to meetings and press conferences we kept popping up and down to the top floor, which is where a lot of real high end brands reside. Grandinote are a lovely Italian brand and Massimiliano Magri is a lovely fella, he had his own electronics and Mach speakers playing Mila Leghe (In Fondo Al Mare) by Gianmaria Testa, it sounded fantastic.

Ondacustica of Verona, Italy were showing their open baffle loudspeakers including the Carla Reference Loudspeaker.

Linette Smith

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