Last year, the TIDAL Audio room was all about the debut of the TIDAL for Bugatti Royale system, which not only won Best Sound of Show for Munich 2023, it won our Product of the Year award for 2023. If you’ll remember, my second favorite sound at Munich 2023 belonged to the other speakers in the TIDAL Audio room–the Contriva G3 loudspeakers. If it wasn’t for the Bugattis, the Contriva G3 would have taken the top prize.
Words and Photos by Marc Phillips
Besides, do you really want to see me rave about TIDAL for Bugatti two years in a row? I’ll leave that for Graig Neville, who had his first encounter with Bugatti this year and was knocked for a loop. That’s why I decided to focus on the TIDAL Audio Contriva G3 loudspeakers, again part of a basic system that doesn’t stray very far from the unique and mind-boggling Royale system.
The TIDAL Audio Contriva G3 loudspeakers (from $79,000/pr) were accompanied by the new Ferios G2 monoblock amp ($95,000/pr) and the amazing and versatile Contros digital controller, along with TIDAL Audio cables. The latest version of the TIDAL Audio Sunrays, the G3s ($450,000/pr), were in a static display and offer an interesting counterpoint to the Bugatti system. The TIDAL for Bugatti system has been so ground-breaking that Jorn Janczak of TIDAL had to rethink all of his bigger speaker designs. In other words, the Royale system is now officially the flagship product for TIDAL, but those Sunrays looked imposing and dominating in the room–very different than the svelte Bugattis.
Let’s get back to the Contriva G3 and Ferios G2 system, which I enjoyed over my half-hour appointment. Streaming through the Contros, I chose more conventional tracks than I did last year, when I tested out the Bugattis with Tool, Hans Zimmer and Hildur. I started off with Hillary Hahn’s performance of the Carmen Fantasia from Eclipse, and by the time I hit play on Kane Mathis’ Geminus, Jorn had unlocked the door and let show attendees enjoy my choices–which made me feel pretty special.
You know what made me feel even more special? Listening to music through the TIDAL Audio Contriva G3 loudspeakers. There were speakers ten times the cost of the Contriva G3s, even more, and I’d still take the TIDALs any day. I can’t think of any other system at Munich that sounded closer to the music than this.
Got something for this?