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Munich show 2023

matt j said:
I think we have far fewer of the oligarch types that it's all aimed at. Our hifi is very much 'man in a shed' type stuff that rich folk wouldn't p*ss on if it were on fire.

I also think as a nation we are just less showy, being a show off just isn't a British thing, sure there are some about that buck that trend but overall I think we're a much more restrained nation with things like that, also we're a bunch of cheapskates so spending 100k on an amp is about as likely as Boris Johnson telling the truth.
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I think there's also a high percentage of people living in flats, terraces, and semi-detached housing. Shared walls and big hifi are a poor match.
 
Yank said:
I think there's also a high percentage of people living in flats, terraces, and semi-detached housing. Shared walls and big hifi are a poor match.
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Big doesn't have to mean oil baron money, I live in a terrace and the La Sacalas work fine, brilliant in fact.
 
any news on an updated Arcam SA30? I'd love an integrated amp with DIRAC and HDMI-ARC that's also a Roon endpoint. The SA30 fits the bill, but I've read too many bad experiences with the software to feel comfortable with the purchase.
 
Tony L said:
Just watching it now, I’m so pleased people make videos like this as I like to have an idea what is happening, but I’d really not enjoy being there in person.

To be honest the whole high-end market is starting to annoy me. I’ve no idea who the customer base is, but we just seem to have room after room after room of >€100k systems. Many being many multiples of that. Every one looking just like the last; another window into vulgar excess and pointless consumerism. Astonishingly unimaginative too, so much generic high-mass, CNC machined and piano lacquered variations on familiar shapes, but without any additional character or personality. Endless large blobs of aluminium and painted MDF that would need a fork-lift to move. If an industry wanted to alienate a young music-loving audience, in fact typical music fans of any age, I can’t think of a better way of achieving that aim. It all just shouts Veblen goods and irrelevance. Sure, I realise ‘high-end’ is a big clue in the event name, so I shouldn’t be surprised if it is rammed full of kit for oil sheiks, dictators, oligarchs, sports stars and landed gentry, but I’m still astounded by just how much of this stuff there is, and mostly from unknown brands (I recognise maybe a third or slightly more, and I have had an obsessive interest in audio for 45 years). There is something incredibly depressing about it. This is not where home audio should have ended up IMHO.
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There were tons of 'normal' priced gear on display from a myriad of manufacturers. Lots of demo rooms with reasonable kit also. Devore for example. They had two small speakers on demo. Yes there are tons of outlandish stuff and some of it is crazily over the top but a lot of those companies also had their more reasonably priced kit on display. People go to this type of show often to hear the unobtainable. I certainly enjoyed it. My favourite room this year was the Nagra with huge Wilson speakers. It sounded just incredible to my ears. I was lucky to visit it when the I think CEO of inspex records gave a talk and played a variety of new LP pressings. Di Meola Live, a Frank Sinatra one and Patricia Barber LP. She did a demo of the ordinary pressing and the one step pressing. The difference was night and day. I don't have a turntable but mightily impressed. The nagra gear looks bland and normal but whatever they do it is great kit.


duckworp said:
The sound filled the room in that Boenicke signature style, but it was even more extreme in that the large room seemed to be completely washed with music, with no identifiable source, yet still layered within the huge width and depth.
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Those speakers are special order. It seems you make an offer for them. I thought they sounded fantastic. One of my favourites of the show. They are beautifully finished, highly engineered but look to me as if they could fit ok in a normal house with a big living room.
 
jamesd said:
any news on an updated Arcam SA30? I'd love an integrated amp with DIRAC and HDMI-ARC that's also a Roon endpoint. The SA30 fits the bill, but I've read too many bad experiences with the software to feel comfortable with the purchase.
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Minidsp
 
- Tannoy’s new Stirling III LZ was in a small room and near a rear wall yet sounded wonderful. Better than most more pricey speakers at the show.

@duckworp Funny I heard them a couple of times and wasn't impressed. Thought the room was very poorly done and the music being played was atrocious. They may sound completely different in a home setting but checking the specs they seem to have done some redesign on the aluminium diaphragm surround which might just make it some more etched and hard in the highs. I could be completely wrong here and it sounds fine just not in that room. Like a lot of systems it really depended on how much room treatment was used. In TAD's case they had nothing and played the music really loud.
 
Yank said:
I think there's also a high percentage of people living in flats, terraces, and semi-detached housing. Shared walls and big hifi are a poor match.
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Someone should tell the Japanese : )

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ince 1953, Ortofon has been designing tonearms with the philosophy of combining craftsmanship and technology. The Reference tonearm is the culmination of decades of experience and expertise in the field of audio engineering. It upgrades the great build of the AS-212 and AS-309, combining exquisite design, precision manufacturing, and attention to detail, resulting in a beautifully designed tonearm that delivers outstanding performance.
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Tony L said:
Just watching it now, I’m so pleased people make videos like this as I like to have an idea what is happening, but I’d really not enjoy being there in person.

To be honest the whole high-end market is starting to annoy me. I’ve no idea who the customer base is, but we just seem to have room after room after room of >€100k systems. Many being many multiples of that. Every one looking just like the last; another window into vulgar excess and pointless consumerism. Astonishingly unimaginative too, so much generic high-mass, CNC machined and piano lacquered variations on familiar shapes, but without any additional character or personality. Endless large blobs of aluminium and painted MDF that would need a fork-lift to move. If an industry wanted to alienate a young music-loving audience, in fact typical music fans of any age, I can’t think of a better way of achieving that aim. It all just shouts Veblen goods and irrelevance. Sure, I realise ‘high-end’ is a big clue in the event name, so I shouldn’t be surprised if it is rammed full of kit for oil sheiks, dictators, oligarchs, sports stars and landed gentry, but I’m still astounded by just how much of this stuff there is, and mostly from unknown brands (I recognise maybe a third or slightly more, and I have had an obsessive interest in audio for 45 years). There is something incredibly depressing about it. This is not where home audio should have ended up IMHO.
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truth to be told, theres unusual suspects ending on that market quite some time ago - like living voice/definitive audio for example.

you can reach that sound with way less money...
 
Tony L said:
Just watching it now, I’m so pleased people make videos like this as I like to have an idea what is happening, but I’d really not enjoy being there in person.

To be honest the whole high-end market is starting to annoy me. I’ve no idea who the customer base is, but we just seem to have room after room after room of >€100k systems. Many being many multiples of that. Every one looking just like the last; another window into vulgar excess and pointless consumerism. Astonishingly unimaginative too, so much generic high-mass, CNC machined and piano lacquered variations on familiar shapes, but without any additional character or personality. Endless large blobs of aluminium and painted MDF that would need a fork-lift to move. If an industry wanted to alienate a young music-loving audience, in fact typical music fans of any age, I can’t think of a better way of achieving that aim. It all just shouts Veblen goods and irrelevance. Sure, I realise ‘high-end’ is a big clue in the event name, so I shouldn’t be surprised if it is rammed full of kit for oil sheiks, dictators, oligarchs, sports stars and landed gentry, but I’m still astounded by just how much of this stuff there is, and mostly from unknown brands (I recognise maybe a third or slightly more, and I have had an obsessive interest in audio for 45 years). There is something incredibly depressing about it. This is not where home audio should have ended up IMHO.
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Last time I looked there’s no obligation to buy this or any other Hifi gear. Home audio ends up where you want it to end up. You choose your own end-point.

Getting annoyed about stuff you have no interest in or desire to own seems a bit odd.
 
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