My very personal, subjective but undogmatic and maybe too honest High End Munich 2023 show report

The magic section:

So far Living Voice was always lively and magic sounding, also this time, even if I liked the years until 2021 best.

Odeon never disappointed. Always one of the best sounding setups in terms of open, airy, holographic illusion.

I got to know Aries Cerat last year first time. It sounded as good this time. Way better than 99% of the show setups in the same regard as the one before.

The AlsyVox planars sounded like planars, but more transparent and 3D imaging than others I heard. A great listen…just the bass is planar-like limited in control and definition if one’s used to good conventional designs. Certainly also in dynamics and low end extension, but that was secondary for me in this case.

Once more the ElectroVoice / Silbatone room with speakers from 1938-1950 forward, impressed. More than 99,9% of rooms with newer speakers. So much for progress.

The friendly Japanese (I think he is :see_no_evil:) owns the warehouse in the back and the vintage speakers inside. Of several vintage models with low 2 digit production numbers, he owns most. He played the Proprius recording Cantate Domino, a large choir in a church with a 6 Watt tube amp on the large speakers and it was hard to keep eyes dry. An absolute fantastic experience. So much for the meaning of big amps with low efficiency speakers dominating the market. I’d recommend to avoid to play the same track at home after hearing this.

EAR Yoshino convinced with very lively, natural, realistic sound made by a legend (rip)

Crystal speakers and Siltech tube amps/cabling.
Those small speakers cost 20k, have a very special partly active concept and sound surprisingly great by providing the relevant illusion. If you see this somewhere, listen to it…killing most floorstanders.

The Zellaton/Schnerzinger room as the only one with conventional dynamic speakers and non-tube amps, convincing with airy, natural, palpable 3D sound. The small Zellaton speakers are certainly less impressing than the big ones up to the 2021 show, but they sound extremely coherent and the Schnerzinger cables and radar tech noise guards care for the permeability and crucial magic.

As always with my magic sections, those were the only setups I heard at the show, which live up to what I expect from high end. Everything else I heard, to me sounded more or less technical, flat and/or uninspiring in comparison.

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Thanks for the great reviews. It makes me want to go to the Munich show even more.

How crowded was it?

Thanks for the reviews. Munich has always been a good showcase for high end and beer.

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I guess the public days were very crowded as usual, but I was at a dealer day, which was ok.

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Those Crystal speakers are part of an Anglo-Indian group called Cadence Audio, they also own Spendor and some other brands including Siltech. They have a flagship audio store in Wigmore Street, London, yards from Wigmore Hall, called Audio Lounge. I’ve walked past a million times and never entered. One reason being they sell Vivid and I don’t want to be tempted. Maybe I should pop in.

I think the Siltech tube amps also contribute quite a bit…probably a good combination.