As a first-timer to Munich 2024, quite possibly one of the largest and perhaps most important audio shows in the world, I was both in awe and somewhat intimidated with the prospect of attending. Firsts included: my first visit to Europe, and my first international show.
For those that haven’t been to Munich, the first two days are business to business. It gives us reviewer types two glorious days of talking with manufacturers, listening to incredible gear, and avoiding the bulk of the crowds. The Munich venue itself was cool, the MOC being a convention center converted from an old factory. There were four halls with three floors. Munich High-End only used three of the four halls, but it was still the largest show I had attended by probably double.
Words and Photos by Graig Neville
The rooms were larger than a typical American style hotel room based show, but smaller than the typical ballroom setups that some convention centers use. This allowed the exhibitors some breathing room to set up displays, or more elaborate systems than typically shown at an American shows. The sound quality overall was good, leaning on the bright side. Partly this was due to hard surfaces such as glass, concrete and steel. Even with room treatment, which nearly every room had, I thought the sound tended towards bright.
After four days of show attendance I still hadn’t seen everything – and honestly I didn’t really try, for a few reasons. Firstly, some of these brands had zero North American presence and would likely not have any anytime soon. Second, the volume of exhibitors made it impractical, so I focused on the brands and rooms I recognized at least peripherally. This included several great rooms. The highlights are below, starting with my Best of Show and Runner Up.
TIDAL Audio
Check out Marc Phillips’ show coverage of TIDAL Audio, as well as my own. I was truly blown away by what TIDAL can do, and it was my favorite room and my best sound at the show. (I am looking forward to Capital Audiofest where TIDAL Audio will be showcasing their less expensive version of the Bugatti Royale system.) For those who can afford the very best, TIDAL Audio is endgame level gear. Building emotions, indeed.
TAD
You can check out my TAD in-depth show report for more information, but this room was far and away the closest contender to the TIDAL Audio room for my best sound at the show pick , a solid runner-up. What’s even more amazing is that several of the TAD products, such as the Reference One speaker system, have been in production for over ten years! So TAD has been doing stuff very right for quite a while now. If I had to choose between TIDAL Audio and TAD that would be a difficult choice as there are subtle differences in how they deliver the music, but either is a choice that would satisfy for a lifetime, or at least decades.
This is the best of the rest below, in no particular order.
YG and Boulder
YG Acoustics pulled out all the stops and had just about every speaker they make on display at Munich. The four-tower XV3 was playing every time I visited, but they also played the XX speaker, which Grover Neville thought might have been a better fit for the room. The XV3 was a tour de force with authority across the entire frequency band. Paired with a full Boulder stack of 3000 series electronics, it was among the best sounding rooms at the show.
VSA and VAC
Valve Amplification Company (VAC) and Von Schweikert (VSA) teamed up to introduce the new VAC Master 300iQ MusicblockTM amplifier. This 6SN7/KT-88 based amplifier made wonderful music on VSA VR-55 MkII speakers. I also heard the VSA Endeavor SE speakers on this system, which provide much more bass than expected in that room. Perhaps some rooms were flashier or had an element of the sound that was better, but the sound from the VAC and VSA room was much like their owners, Kevin Haynes and Damon Von Schweikert–unassuming, talented, smooth, and even. There were no faults to find in the sound, which is what made the room so good.
Wadax and ARC
You can check out the ARC write up for more details on the new 330M amplifier from Audio Research, but the room itself sounded good. The Wadax Studio Player was the mastermind of the system with output through the Magico speakers. If there was a room that had the quintessential “tube” sound, this was it. It did everything you expect from a tube. Warm without being gooey, smooth but detailed, and just the right amount of richness.
Luxman and Wilson Benesch
Luxman had their flagship systems playing on Wilson Benesch speakers. Wilson Benesch’s inverted woofers were unique at the show, but the sound was hard to argue with. Luxman was debuting the NT-07 streamer and C-10x preamplifier. The L-509Z integrated was on static display. Luxman should have several new models releasing this fall, so keep an eye out for that. For example, a new tonearm, the LTA-710 was just released. Luxman seems to be expanding product offerings. I think cables and speakers are about all they don’t manufacture at this point. Another solid showing by Luxman.
Göbel and Pilium
I’ve heard the big system at AXPONA several times and have always been impressed with Gobel. At Munich, Göbel downsized to the Divin Comtessa and Divin Sovereign subwoofers. The room was white on white and felt like a clean room, and that’s how the sound was too. Clean, with great bass punch and authority, solid imaging, and generally great sound. The Pilium Master Divine line electronics ran the system and contributed to the stark white décor and sound.
Bayz and JMF
Consistency. Every room I’ve heard, be it AXPONA, Capital Audiofest or Munich, the Bayz (pronounced Bā-zē) Courante speaker sounds identical. The imaging is paradigm-shifting as it is always centered between the speakers no matter where you are in the room, including standing up and walking around! Bayz has several unique elements including the tweeter that contribute to this unique and wonderful sound. The looks are space age, looking like a giant C clamp with speaker elements filling the vice-like middle space. Running on JMF electronics, this room sounded excellent. Our own Marc Phillips hadn’t heard Bayz before and since he was pursuing every JMF room at Munich he had the pleasure of experiencing Bayz for the first time. If you haven’t heard this system check it out. It’s very cool.
Wilson and CH Precision and TechDas
I would never have expected CH Precision to pair up with Wilson Audio to present at a show, but the results were terrific. The exhibitors put on a demo starting with old Elvis recordings to show what wonderful music was really in those recordings that only a modern system could faithfully extract. We went through the decades showcasing how recording technologies and techniques changed and what the music sounded like. It was a fun and informative demo and the sound was so good I was happy to spend a half hour just enjoying the music. Also, the TechDas turntable was exceptional from both a technological and visual standpoint. This was vinyl implementation pushing the technological envelope.
Wilson and VTL
I was frankly surprised to see this classic pairing from yesteryear with modern offerings at Munich 2024. The sound was much like I remembered from 30 years ago, but with technological updates along the way. A pleasant trip down memory lane and something I definitely expect to see more often at shows in the future. VTL has a new amplifier in the wings that they had a prototype on static display. No specifics yet, but something we need to keep an eye on for the future.
Audio Group Denmark
The Audio Group Denmark suite encompassed several rooms at Munich, lots of static displays, and a legion of staff. From their more modest priced gear to the big bucks systems, the AGD house sound was prevalent in every system across all the brands which are Børrensen, Aavik, Axxess, and Ansuz. In partnership with the Danish government AGD has been pushing the technological envelope in audio with all sorts of very cool technology. How they get the performance out of their gear is of course a trade secret, but even if it wasn’t I don’t think most manufacturers have the technological tools or know how to make the gear AGD is developing. If you like to party the AGD rooms were all fun and all party town no matter what music was playing!
Soul Note and YG
In our little circle of close audio friends, which includes reviewers, dealers, and manufacturers, Soul Note has been catching our attention. At first it was the terrific sound these retired Marantz engineers were creating, but Soul Note goes beyond just terrific gear. There’s some underlying Japanese quirkiness to the Soul Note brand. From the tops that aren’t quite fastened down tight to the part industrial, part Japanese woodblock styling Soul Note made some of the best solid state sound I’ve heard.
I’ve got the A-2 integrated in for review and it’s one of the best pieces of solid state gear I’ve had in house. Take that up a notch to their level 3 gear paired with YG Acoustics and the Soul Note room was next level. There’s a smoothness to the sound that I rarely hear on solid state gear. It’s not like a tube, but this Class A implementation is wonderful and does all the right things. Definitely a company to keep an eye on as they expand their North American dealer network.
Several honorable mentions were present, with some having static displays that deserve further investigation in the future. These included:
D’Agostino had a static display of their new integrated amplifier, the Pendelum, should be released soon and Dan D’Agostino is working out final production. The Momentum C4 preamplifier was on display as well at Munich and is currently available. If you like the idea of steampunk-meets-Krell then D’Agostino is definitely worth checking into.
On the show floor hall in Munich, Riviera Labs had a static display of several pieces of gear. With the tops off and the externals exposed, the build quality was stunning. I spoke with Silvio Delfino, Riviera’s President of Sales and Marketing about the brand. Though measurements and specifications are important at Riviera the chief designer also happens to be a medical doctor with a focus on auditory perception. Discussing the thresholds of human perception and how we hear, then focusing on electronics design that fits within those capabilities with a focus on our primary hearing characteristics was fascinating and I look forward to learning more about the company and hearing their gear.
I’ve been to the Munich show as well as the Warsaw show, but I still prefer Axpona.