OSCAR CHECKS OUT THE REST OF HALL 3 OF THE MOC AND THEN MOVES UP TO ATRIUM 3

Part two of Oscar Stewart’s coverage of the mahoosive show that is High End Munich covering the rest Hall 3 along with Atrium 3.1. 

Join Oscar for his final snoofle around the MOC in the last part of his High End Munich 2024 report…

OM Speaker / SPEC / SINE

OM Speakers had their Origin floor standing speakers being driven by a SPEC setup including the RMP-DAC3EX, RMP-UB1EX USB Bridge, RPA-MG3000 stereo power amplifier, SINE Gateway power conditioner and Pachankolabs Constellation SE music server. 

PSI Audio 

PSI Audio were showing off their range of active bass traps, they were using a Weiss DAC 502 with a laptop as the source and their own Heritage3 active speakers. Having a background in studio sound allows this system to sound very clean yet it didn’t come across as boring at all, it was a well-balanced system. 

POTAR

POTAR were showing of their Radipotar 360-degree radial speaker which is active and uses a 3-way design. The room was using Viablue cabling throughout, sadly the choice of music didn’t really show off too well what these speakers are likely capable of, and it would have been nice to hear them with something a little more interesting (very soft, female vocal was playing when I went into the demo room). They were using a Cocktail audio streamer and Trinnov DAC/Pre-amplifier. 

AMPHION

Finnish brand Amphion are distributed in the UK bit Bill at Auden Distribution and I’ve been lucky enough to witness them (Amphion speakers, not Bill) in the flesh at a good few events including the North West Audio Show and I’ve always been impressed and mildly shocked at the relatively affordable price point these speakers retail at given their finish and sound quality. 

This year at High End Amphion were showing off the Krypton 3X next to a very interesting mastering setup – the brand are famous for studio speakers as well as speakers used in the home. This mastering setup included Amphion’s Two18, Amp700, and BaseTwo25 with an SPL Mercury Mastering DAC. 

The Krypton 3X speakers were demonstrated using an SPL Director MK2 DAC and pre, ahead of the Performer S800 amplifier, though Amphion’s Argon and Helium speakers were also on display.

 Audio Phonique / Gemstone

Showing off a range of amplifiers, phono stages, DACs and music servers – these products are beautifully crafted and look stunning. Also in this booth was Gemstone from Poland, this company are making speakers with concrete cabinets, these look cool and stand out from your usual boxy wooden cabinets.

Silent Angel / NuPrime

Silent Angel make a range of music servers, power supplies and master clocks whilst NuPrime make DACs, DAC/amp combos, amplifiers, and also streamers. 

SVS

Well-known in the home cinema world SVS are no small company, they have a huge range of active subs as well as a good range of speakers. In their demo room they were showcasing their newest speaker using a stereo setup via an Oppo blu-ray player, Marantz processor and McIntosh amplifier. This was a big sounding room and their new speakers do play very well with normal 2ch stereo listening, sounding open and controlled.

Penaudio

With a strong focus on Scandinavian design philosophy, Penaudio make a range of speakers focussing on natural sound using high quality wood for their cabinets. Each cabinet is hand crafted and these are as much an expression of craftsmanship as they are of audio – sadly they didn’t have a demo setup but I personally love the look of these speakers. 

Solidsteel

Showing off a range of their stands, Solidsteel are a lovely company who build sturdy HiFi furniture that’s built to last and Lin and Stu use their racks in the main system at HiFi PiG Towers.

Audio Analogue

Audio Analogue make amplifiers, they also had a pair of AirTech ATS01 hybrid speakers on their stand. Audio Analogue had a couple of new models at the show including the AA100DM stereo power amp, Maestro 2.0 integrated amplifier and Absolute PA (50w pure Class-A) stereo power amplifier. 

Nagaoka

I’ve personally yet to try a Nagaoka cartridge, but I have heard good things about them. At the show they had a new mono cartridge they were showing off, the MP-Mono. They also had a range of their other cartridges on display. 

T+A

Up to atrium 3.1 now and T+A had a room with a range of their amplifiers, speakers, and headphones. They had their Criterion S and Solitaire S ranges of speakers on display as well as the R series of electronics and the Caruso all-in-one streaming amplifier. 

Constellation Audio

Showing off their new Revelation 2 range in a brand-new champagne finish, Constellation Audio had a Revelation 2 preamp and Revelation 2 stereo power amp driving a pair of Wilson Audio Sasha V speakers. There was also a DCS stack for streaming, the turntable had an EAT cartridge and EAT linear power supply too. Regarding the Revelation 2 series from Constellation Audio, one of the big new features is moving away from linear power supplies to Power Factor Corrected (PFC) switch mode power supplies, this may sound like a step back to some but they believe it will deliver a faster and more dynamic sound. 

PMC

If you want a deeper dive into the new active Twenty5i series, check out Stu’s interview with PMC’s Oliver. But enjoy these photos of the room which included their entry level Prodigy speakers, the new Active Twenty5i series and Fenestria speakers. The Active twenty5 24i speakers that were playing really do showcase how good active speakers can be, they were using an AVM pre-amplifier and the speakers throw out a punchy and wide sound that kicks hard when needed yet is always controlled and detailed (a benefit of direct coupling the amps to the drivers). PMC have done a really good job of making an active module for their speakers that perfectly compliments their sound, with a set of these I cannot see many people missing their old separates setup, that’s for sure.  

Burmester 

I sadly didn’t get a chance to hear this system, but Burmester had an excellent static display showing off their luxury audio products. Stu and Lin did a factory visit not too long ago and they really do make some fantastic audio products.

DALI / NAD

In the first room Dali, NAD and Bluesound had a range of their products on static display including the new NAD C379 streaming amplifier, new Dali Rubikore series and the Bluesound Power Node. In the main demo room, they had the NAD M66 / M23 stack with an AudioQuest PowerQuest 707 mains conditioner powering the new Dali Rubikore 8 floorstanding speakers. This new range uses their Clarity Cone SMC drivers as well as a new low-loss dome tweeter that doesn’t require ferrofluid. These are very reasonably priced speakers for what they offer and the Rubikore 8 has no issues filling a larger room with excellent audio, it’s nice to see new tech trickling down to their more budget offerings.

Canton

Keen to show off their Reference series of speakers Canton had a range on display as well as a demo setup using the Reference GS Edition speakers, AVM CS 8.3 Black Edition streamer/cd player and Ovation MA 8.3 monoblock amplifiers. I only managed a brief listen at low levels yet there was still a ton of detail on offer with an effortless and natural sound that projected far beyond the speakers. 

DCS / Nordost / VPI / Western Electric / Wilson Audio / VTL 

Occupying the end space was a large room split into 3 main demo setups along with static displays from other brands. Western Electric had a range of their amplifiers along with a deconstructed 300B valve (the geek in me loves this kind of thing). Velodyne had some subs on display, Krell and Nordost also had static displays as well. Wilson Audio were showing off their new re-envisioned Watt Puppy which is based on their classic speaker of the same name. 

System one had the TuneTot speakers, Loke subwoofer, DCS Lina combo (DAC/Master Clock), Dan D’Agostino Pendulum integrated amp, Stromtank S2500 and Nordost Red Dawn cable. 

System two had the Wilson Audio Sasha V speakers with the dCS Rossini Apex Player/Master clock, VTS TL7.5 Series III Reference pre-amp, VPI Avenger Direct Turntable, VTL MB-450 Series III Signature monoblocks and Nordost Valhalla 2 speaker cables.

System 3 was the “cost no object” setup with Wilson Audio Chronosonic XVX speakers, Stromtank S-5000 HighPowers MK-11, VPI Titan Direct turntable, dCS Vivaldi Apex DAC + Upsampler + master clock, Dan D’Agostino Relentless 800 monoblocks, Relentless Pre-amplifier, VTL TP-6.5 Series II Signature phono pre-amplifier and Nordost Odin speaker cables. 

Vicoustic / Perlisten / Trinnov / Meridian / Velodyne / Krell / Dan D’Agostino

Meridian had a few models on display including their new wireless lifestyle speaker, the Ellipse. The main demo system though consisted of the Perlisten S7t Limited Edition speakers, Stromtank S-4000 Pro Power, VPI Avenger turntable, dCS Bartok Apex, Dan D’agostino MxV integrated amplifier and Nordost Tyr 2 speaker cables. 

This room was sort of an extension of the previous and had a Velodyne demo area which was a ticketed event, they were demoing their new series of subs and you could feel the bass from outside the room with ease (I did feel sorry for the TAD room next door as the sound bleed was quite bad). 

There were also Krell and Dan D’Agostino models on static display around this room. 

TAD

TAD had the D1000tx, C1000 and M1000 models on display along with their The Grand Evolution One floorstanding speakers (which look gorgeous). The main demo system though, had The Reference One speakers in Emerald Black finish (Pommele Sapele wood) – these look stunning in the flesh and there are a lot of technical details about these speakers listed on TAD’s website. They were using their M700 monoblocks, a D700 CD/SACD/DAC and C700 pre-amplifier to power them, sadly the bass from the Velodyne demo overwhelmed the sound of this room otherwise I’m sure it would have been an amazing setup.

Peak Consult

There was a good range of Peak Consult speakers on display as you entered this room, the main setup consisted of the Dragon Legacy speakers, The Gryphon Mephisto power amplifier, Bergmann turntable, Grimm MU1 streamer, SPL Diamond DAC, The Gryphon Pandora pre-amplifier and Ethos CD player. 

Technics 

The Lamborghini SL-1200M7B was one of the focus points for Technics, this new collaboration comes with a racing carbon fibre insert and headshell, it also comes with an original vinyl record with the sound of some iconic Lamborghini engines – perfect for the petrolhead audiophile. Elsewhere around the room they had a selection of HiFi components, headphones and speakers. In their demo space they had the Sonus Faber Amati G5 speakers paired with the SU-R1000 integrated amplifier, SL-1000R turntable and SL-G700M2 streaming CD/SACD player.

Octave

Big amps with some valves on top, this is what greeted my when I entered the Octave room, they also had some smaller bits with some AVM kit too on static display. In the demo setup they had the new Jubilee Mono Ultimate amplifiers, Jubilee Pre-amp, Phono module, Clear Audio Reference Jubilee Ltd Edition turntable, Esoteric DAC and Audionec Evo 3 speakers, cabling was the Referenz Air from inakustik. 

Moon

Moon had their 891 network audio player running to a pair of 861 power amplifiers that were driving a pair of Dynaudio Confidence 60 speakers, they were using Nordost Valhalla 2 speaker cable. At the side of the room they also had the 681 network player/DAC, 641 integrated amplifier, 791 network player/DAC and 761 power amplifier. 

Primare / Audiovector

Primare have quite a comprehensive range of products, with lots on display at Munich such as the PRE35 pre-amp, DD35 CD transport, I15 integrated amplifier, SPA25 AV receiver and more. They have a clean design and from what I heard also sound great, they are also affordable for what they do. 

Audiovector had a range of their speakers on display from the QR series to the R series. There was a neat little demo system with the Primare I25 driving the R1 speakers, once again showing that you don’t need to spend a huge amount to get a decent setup. 

Chord Electronics

Suzi, everyone was talking about the Suzi, the latest in their lineup with it’s official release due in the autumn. There is a Suzi pre and power, these are separate stackable devices, the pre of course being a pre-amplifier with a phono stage built in, and the power being a small form factor stereo power amplifier. They design also allows you to stack a Hugo2 with the Suzi, as well as accommodating the Hugo2 with 2go streamer – this means you can have a streaming DAC/Amp in a neat package. I’m sure the Suzi will be a big hit. 

Elsewhere they had their Ultima integrated amp driving a pair of ATC SCM40 speakers, they were using Atlas cables. They also had a range of headphones paired with the Hugo2, Mojo2 and Anni. Around the room you could find the Bertti, Hugo TT and M Scaler along with a few other models.

Transrotor

Transrotor were in the last room I visited on A3.1, and what a range of turntables they had on display. From their “entry level” all the way to some reference models, there was a lot of eye candy in this room – just look at all of them!

Cessaro

Back downstairs and I found myself in the Cessaro Horn Acoustics room – these speakers will not fit in your usual living room. These were the new Cessaro Zeta II and they were using a Dohmann Helix One MK3 turntable, Alieno 150-120 LTD Stereo amplifier, Alieno pre-amplifier. This was a seriously good sounding setup, horns might not be for everyone but they have a unique way of portraying music in completely natural and open manner. 

Dynaudio

My last room of the show and it was a big one, Dynaudio, they had the soon-to-be released Contour Legacy speakers on show along with the new Confidence 20A which are active (the amplifiers are hidden in the stands), new Contour 20 Black Edition (which features a new tweeter and crossover design) along with a completely new product. This one is labelled The Bookshelf, it’s a collaboration between Dynaudio, Keiji Ashizawa Design of Tokyo and Karimoku of Japan. Its made from Japanese Oak and just the wood along takes between 3 and 6 months to prepare before they can use it for the cabinets – these are not a limited edition model but production batches will be small. 

Elsewhere in the room you could find more of Dynaudio’s models along with a couple of demo setups. 

Thus concludes my report of High End Munich 2024 – this event is simply huge and you need a team to cover it all over the 4 short days it is open. I thoroughly enjoyed my first time here and am already looking forward to High End Munich 2025. 

Check out more of our reports here:

High End Munich 2024 Report – Oscar’s Halls Report Part 1

High End Munich 2024 Report – Headphones And HeadFi

High End Munich 2024 Report – Lin and Stu’s Report Part 1

High End Munich 2024 Report – Lin And Stu’s Report Part 2

Oscar Stewart

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For all the HiFi PiG High End Munich 2024 coverage, click here