Munich HighEnd 2024

Lee said:

Any thoughts on the Vivid Moya speakers at the show?

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Missed those unfortunately, i suppose they were on the groundfloor which i skipped.

Regarding Kharma veyron it was the best i heard them so far .
Could be the new Dac i think they were playing with the new MSB dac with the bronze / colour inserts .
I asked the kharma rep if they can demo with the Exquisite classic next year.

Pics

Pics

Pics .
Neurenberg which is a real nice historic city

Lee said:

Any thoughts on the Vivid Moya speakers at the show?

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Very straight shooter. It presented music in a curious way, because the foundation was all there, unbounded, nothing out of place, but it didn't led me to suspend disbelief, it was a bit frigid. The electronics it was paired with are also on that side of the game, so don't read too much into this. I'm pretty convinced it was just a matter of too much of the same thing. Paired with counter weight components I'm sure you can do anything you want with them to the highest degree, they are a true statement piece from a performance-driven group of people.

Physically, they are well built (except for the weird color/texture variation between the baffles) but not the most aesthetically pleasant experience. I briefly swapped words with Lawrence, he's always of the opinion it's not his job to do beautiful things, but he doesn't seem interested in creating that job opening also.

RCanelas said:

Very straight shooter. It presented music in a curious way, because the foundation was all there, unbounded, nothing out of place, but it didn't led me to suspend disbelief, it was a bit frigid. The electronics it was paired with are also on that side of the game, so don't read too much into this. I'm pretty convinced it was just a matter of too much of the same thing. Paired with counter weight components I'm sure you can do anything you want with them to the highest degree, they are a true statement piece from a performance-driven group of people.

Physically, they are well built (except for the weird color/texture variation between the baffles) but not the most aesthetically pleasant experience. I briefly swapped words with Lawrence, he's always of the opinion it's not his job to do beautiful things, but he doesn't seem interested in creating that job opening also.

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What did you think of the sound of the Aries Cerat Contendo II system?

metei said:

Acoustical Systems - Lyravox Room with CH Precision;
The owner was saying even a bigger model (on the right) was to come (on top of the one on the left).
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The model on the right is from many many years ago, everything they learned from that model has been put into the latest model on the left.

metei said:

Wadax Room;
Wadax was the star last year, they were almost in every room, at east the ones sounding best, but way expensive even for HE - Munich. This year they have returned with all-in-one system with a respectively reasonable price. The rest of the system was well curated. Room sounded very good. Was a good display that down-sizing from three big boxes of 100K+ to one box of 40K, they still do the same job.
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Nagra Room - with Stenheim;
I am a big fan of Nagra sound. Still use the Nagra Classic DAC. I had loved Nagra room last year. This year Nagra room was a personal disappointment. Last year with Wilson they were single amped. This year they have bi-amped and switched to Stenheim. Didn't like the overall sound. It was king of shiny, ringing..
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Acoustical Systems - Lyravox Room with CH Precision;
If I'm not mistaken, Acoustical systems was in the hall last year. Kind of engineering applied to every bit of the turntable design, "what if there was no limit to engineering" which is looking like becoming a market (Thorens, Esoteric etc.). The owner was saying even a bigger model (on the right) was to come (on top of the one on the left). Naturally they teamed up with no-limit-engineering electronics and speakers :]] Big, bold, strong sounding room.. If that's Your sound.
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Linn Room;
One of the few brands to use the long wall. Sounded very good. Nothing bad, but nothing extra good. A system to listen to all day long, minus the passion.
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CH Precision main Room - with Wilson;
I highly appreciate CH precision (at the front) and own P1 & L1 (with X1). I think their neutrality and managing "wire with gain" mentality (that everybody claims to but only CH achieves) leads to "lifeless, plain" music for ears used to the coloration, especially in the mid-bass area. This room was last year and was this year a reference point of what most natural sound would be. There was nothing wrong in the room but can't shake that feeling of "what is missing, can't put my finger on it but.."
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Magico Room - with Pilium (and old Wadax :]);
Pilium again. This was also one of the most right sounding rooms. This is what I expect a system to sound like. Loved it..
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McIntosh - Sonus Faber Room;
Unluck for MC - SF is the same as Linn. They are very good products, but sharing the same show with these other brands shadows their performances. I love Mc's. I've had many models, SS, tube, integrated, pre, power, mono.. But they always left their place to some other product later on. Never had Sonuf Fabers, they don't sing to me. This room was again sounding lovely but after and before those other rooms, it was slightly shadowed.
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Innuos Room with Nagra, Gryphon and Kroma;
Innuos displayed and A/B/A'ed their Statement vs Zenith NG. If I was to, I would buy the Statement. They wanted to show NG was not short of Statement and was worth the price difference. Totally agree but if I was going there, would spend a little more for the Statement. As the guy said, more than better / worse, it was a taste issue but Statement was more open and lively sounding. But if Your budget only goes up to NG, You shouldn't worry, Your are not missing too much.
Also the rest of the system. I said, whatever You connect to Nagra HD Dac -> Gryphon to the speakers I hadn't even heard of Kroma's could sound magical. This room was one of my top rooms this year. I can even say that, Nagra and Gryphon sounded better than their own rooms here.
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TBC..

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Nice report Metei. I’m curious about the differences between the two Acoustical Systems turntables. Do you know if they ever played them side-by-side for the audience? if they sounded different, what were the differences?

my final post..

Gryphon Room;
Gryphon was showcasing their turntable this year. The presentation was all about it. They openly say that; this is not a Gryphon turntable in fact. Gryphon designed the "plinth" if You might say, Brinkmann designed the mechanics and the tonearm, and finally Ortofon improved their MC Anna D design (the best cartridge for me). Gryphon also has applied a coating to the tonearm and the cartridge, the black paint is not on aesthetics, but also a resonance damping chemical. Sounded very good to me.
Also Gryphon's general sound character used to be too "harsh, strong" for me. Had a second hand Mephisto Signature, maybe the rest of the system was too behind it that I couldn't benefit but anytime I used to hear Gryphon it was harsh for me. With this latest generation, they sound more natural, more inviting, not harsh, not fatiguing (also haven't had a chance to listen to long durations) to me. I totally opt for this path. Also liked the speakers.Total sound of the system was very good to my ears.


Göbel Room with Pilium and Wadax;
New Wadax, Pilium again. No surprise this room was one of my most favorites and from the reactions be mimic or vocal from all the people there, a total favorite for all.
The center of the attention was the Göbel speakers. Yes they have a gib sub but, those short speakers (around 100 cm - 3 feet 4 inches) they were way bigger sounding then they looked. Loved the sound of the room, right sounding, doing everything right, engaging, detailed. Delight to be in that room.



VTL Room with Wilson and Nordost;
This was again one of the best sounding rooms. Thanks to VTL, this time I was able to listen to Alexia V's at full. Lucky the room was not crowded and noisy (people chatting etc.). I could spend hours in that room till someone kicked me out :]]


Soulution Room with Gauder Akustik;
I love Soulution sound. It is the most engaging, musical sounding Swiss brand just slightly ahaed of Nagra. Another speaker brand I had never heard of, Gauder akustik. This room sounded wonderful. So musical, so engaging. Couldn't get enough of listening. Wanted more and more.. This setup is a room I would happily get old in.


MBL Room;
Another brand of which sound signature I am familiar with, but doesn't sing to me. As always wonderful sounding room. Only that the sound level was slightly high for me when I was there, so I stepped behind the back wall separator to fully enjoy the sound.


Constellation Room with Wilson and Transparent;
I used to know Constellation as another out of reach expensive brand with high appraisal. There was no sign or plate on the windows. Inside there was a separation, so I couldn't see anyone in the room at first. Opened the door anyway and stepped in, asked if it was special demo etc. They said no no welcomed me.
Although they were using Wilson's Sasha V (not a bigger, technically slightly more capable model) and with almost no sound treatment, the sound in this room was by far I mean far my most favorite along with the next one TAD but with slightly different final touches. Here the music was magical, magnetic and whatever You may call it. Music drew me to itself, glued me to the chair. Would happily grow old and die in that chair. The tone, musicality, detail, stage.. This system achieved even some opposite ends (e.g. musicality and technicality) at the same time. Having almost noone in the room also helped, only a few of us, just there to listen and appreciate the music and the equipment that brings the music to us.



TAD Room;
Kind of ended like a book or a movie for me; the two best rooms happened to be the last two on my route. TAD Room was by far best staging room along with the wonderful sound. Too bad, it was always crowded, people taking photos, walking in & out, chatting, TAD people chatting with visitors (naturally), which reduced the pleasure of the room and even reduced, it was one of the peak highlights of the year for me.
The staging; it was so correct and so "alive" and that TAD people knew it very well that they demoed "live" versions ne after another. I know TAD sound if I remember correct from 600 pre / power system and have also heard the ref speakers but different times and places. This was an ear opener for me. The blueprint of how a system in a good room with good music shall sound.


till next year...

PeterA said:

Nice report Metei. I’m curious about the differences between the two Acoustical Systems turntables. Do you know if they ever played them side-by-side for the audience? if they sounded different, what were the differences?

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Hi Peter,
At least not while I was there..

TooCool4 said:

The model on the right is from many many years ago, everything they learned from that model has been put into the latest model on the left.

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Hi TC4
Thanks for the correction. Seems I just worked my logic instead of searching. The bigger is the newer and better :]]]

Constellation
Beautifull made gear new colour scheme ??

Rhapsody said:

The Gobel speakers were great and should make a lot of customers very happy. I think they will be a real winner.

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Couldn't agree more. Everyone in the room was like a child in the candy store :]]

Carlos269 said:

What did you think of the sound of the Aries Cerat Contendo II system?

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I listened to it for 4 days. It eludes obvious description. It is an over the top, state of the art, disconcerting system. It is quick, material, spacious, super thick tone and unbound on dynamics and subtlety. The room was incredibly bad, so everything got polluted.

It is one of those systems that there is no doubt in my mind can reign supreme, with a lot of careful planning, lots of iterations on setup.

morricab said:

I can tell you for certain that only the AC system approaches what I heard live… at least from this show. Not sure what your musical reference is but live is mine.

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Brad, please. "For certain" in a subjective hobby?

If you are telling people essentially that they are wrong to disagree with your view of the sound of an Aries Cerat system, and if they do disagree with you then they don't know what they're hearing, I think it's especially incumbent upon you to let people know that you are an Aries Cerat distributor.

PS: Challenging Marty, of all people, on his live music references, is an unfruitful path. He has a piano in the back of his listening room, and he attends live concerts regularly.

RCanelas said:

I listened to it for 4 days. It eludes obvious description. It is an over the top, state of the art, disconcerting system. It is quick, material, spacious, super thick tone and unbound on dynamics and subtlety. The room was incredibly bad, so everything got polluted.

It is one of those systems that there is no doubt in my mind can reign supreme, with a lot of careful planning, lots of iterations on setup.

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Thank you for your honest feedback. As you probably know by now, I’m not the type of person that likes to extrapolate, I rather judge resultant sound. Did you hear any improvement on the sound of this system on Sunday, compared to the previous three days?

PeterA said:

You both talk your book. I get that and have come to expect it.

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Peter,

Is wil a dealer for some product?

"Talking your book" is an expression used to describe professional portfolio managers touting stocks they own to generate interest in those stocks. It doesn't really apply to somebody who simply is stating personal opinions with no pecuniary motive.

Ron Resnick said:

Brad, please. "For certain" in a subjective hobby?

If you are telling people essentially that they are wrong to disagree with your view of the sound of an Aries Cerat system, and if they do disagree with you then they don't know what they're hearing, I think it's especially incumbent upon you to let people know that you are an Aries Cerat distributor.

PS: Challenging Marty, of all people, on his live music references, is an unfruitful path. He has a piano in the back of his listening room, and he attends live concerts regularly.

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It’s in my description of every post I make, Ron. As always, all my posts are. IMO…like everyone else. If people think I am biased then they can feel free to look at my list starting from Acapella as the best system, it was more realistic sounding than the rest.

Ron Resnick said:

PS: Challenging Marty, of all people, on his live music references, is an unfruitful path. He has a piano in the back of his listening room, and he attends live concerts regularly.

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And that guarantees what exactly Ron ? that he is qualified to assess and evaluate each and every item of electronic equipment , Transducers and Systems that he comes across , entirely correctly and without exception , and thereby held up as the Forum Gold Standard Audiophile ?

Carlos269 said:

Thank you for your honest feedback. As you probably know by now, I’m not the type of person that likes to extrapolate, I rather judge resultant sound. Did you hear any improvement on the sound of this system on Sunday, compared to the previous three days?

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Nothing could fix the issues with bass modes and overhang of that room, apart from maybe literal tons of acoustic treatment and the full removal of that technical ceiling. The system did sound better from day to day, I did notice obvious changes, but they were all living in the shadow of that horrid room. I'm hoping that everyone that heard it could mask away the room and listen to the underlying beauty there.