CONCLUSION
I feel like the visitor attendance this year was below what I remember seeing in 2016. (Interestingly, Michael Fremer reported on Analog Planet that he feels this show had more visitors and was busier than prior shows, so he may have objective numerical information I do not have.)
I noticed this year again a funny phenomenon about the Munich High-End Show at the MOC. Because of the enormity of the venue -- four huge buildings (“halls”) each with three floors and each with a voluminous center with hallways on each side of the center areas, and the sheer number of attendees -- it is very difficult to arrange to meet someone in a pre-planned way at a particular place at a particular time. One of the participants to the meeting inevitably stays longer in some audio room prior to the meeting time, or the other participant is disappointed with where he or she is visiting, and moves on to another room down the hall. Just take my word for it: efforts at deliberate meetings at MOC are oddly frustrating.
On the other hand one is almost constantly randomly running into the very individuals one was hoping to make plans with to meet! Without making a plan to meet Matej we ran into each other and walked around together for a while and had a nice drink outside under Los Angeles perfect weather! There also were several people I had trouble connecting with by schedule until I happily ran into them totally randomly.
MY FAVORITE SYSTEMS
The caveat here is that I did not visit remotely every room. Some major brands, such as Ares Cerat, I negligently missed entirely. So this favorite systems list is merely a subset of the list of the rooms I happened to visit.
TOP SIX SYSTEMS OF SHOW (in alphabetical order by loudspeaker)
— If the Magico M6 had been driven by high power tubes and had been playing analog that system likely also would have been a favorite (but, for my ears, below Rockport/Absolare).
* According to Oliver Goebel and Elliot Goldman the whole point of the high-sensitivity Divin Majestic is to enable owners to drive it with natural-sounding low and medium power SET tube amplifiers, so I am giving the Divin Majestic the benefit of a doubt by not penalizing it for Oliver’s use of CH Precision solid-state electronics. (CH Precision may be among the best sounding solid-state electronics, but they don’t have the sound of Lamm ML3s or Viva Auroras.)
** Biggest pleasant surprise!
I feel like the visitor attendance this year was below what I remember seeing in 2016. (Interestingly, Michael Fremer reported on Analog Planet that he feels this show had more visitors and was busier than prior shows, so he may have objective numerical information I do not have.)
I noticed this year again a funny phenomenon about the Munich High-End Show at the MOC. Because of the enormity of the venue -- four huge buildings (“halls”) each with three floors and each with a voluminous center with hallways on each side of the center areas, and the sheer number of attendees -- it is very difficult to arrange to meet someone in a pre-planned way at a particular place at a particular time. One of the participants to the meeting inevitably stays longer in some audio room prior to the meeting time, or the other participant is disappointed with where he or she is visiting, and moves on to another room down the hall. Just take my word for it: efforts at deliberate meetings at MOC are oddly frustrating.
On the other hand one is almost constantly randomly running into the very individuals one was hoping to make plans with to meet! Without making a plan to meet Matej we ran into each other and walked around together for a while and had a nice drink outside under Los Angeles perfect weather! There also were several people I had trouble connecting with by schedule until I happily ran into them totally randomly.
MY FAVORITE SYSTEMS
The caveat here is that I did not visit remotely every room. Some major brands, such as Ares Cerat, I negligently missed entirely. So this favorite systems list is merely a subset of the list of the rooms I happened to visit.
TOP SIX SYSTEMS OF SHOW (in alphabetical order by loudspeaker)
— Cessaro Zeta / Cessaro SET
— Goebel Divin Majestic / CH Precision*
— Living Voice Olympian
— Rockport Technologies / Absolare Hybrid
— Tune Audio Avaton** / Trafomatic SET
— Von Schweikert Audio Ultra 11 / VAC 450 Statement iQ
— Goebel Divin Majestic / CH Precision*
— Living Voice Olympian
— Rockport Technologies / Absolare Hybrid
— Tune Audio Avaton** / Trafomatic SET
— Von Schweikert Audio Ultra 11 / VAC 450 Statement iQ
— If the Magico M6 had been driven by high power tubes and had been playing analog that system likely also would have been a favorite (but, for my ears, below Rockport/Absolare).
* According to Oliver Goebel and Elliot Goldman the whole point of the high-sensitivity Divin Majestic is to enable owners to drive it with natural-sounding low and medium power SET tube amplifiers, so I am giving the Divin Majestic the benefit of a doubt by not penalizing it for Oliver’s use of CH Precision solid-state electronics. (CH Precision may be among the best sounding solid-state electronics, but they don’t have the sound of Lamm ML3s or Viva Auroras.)
** Biggest pleasant surprise!
.
