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Munich Hi-End

It was always the case in industry that one reason for producing 'ultimate' kit was that the tech would eventually dribble down to the everyday products. For that alone, Munich must stand....IF it happens. Problem possibly is that a: there is actually nothing really 'new' being made (didn't I hear an amp designer saying most circuits are just copies of amps from 50 years back with a tweak or 3?) and b: High end designers often do not make cheaper kit, so the trickle becomes a stolen idea? Dunno, anyway I've never been. I'm not bothered by the cost; if I had the money I would listen to all of it I'm sure.
 
Having said that it is very difficult to innovate or come up with something totally new after 120 years of recorded music technology...

I do take your point, but so much just looks to be going backwards to me. One of the things I do every year with these shows is to flick through and see if anyone is exhibiting a full-range point source as I’m personally absolutely convinced it makes for a far better and far more coherent speaker than the usual tall array of different drivers and all the comb/phase effects they bring. Every year I am disappointed! Room after room of ugly MDF boxes full of drivers spanning several feet that I just know will sound incoherent and disconnected to my ears. Where is a modern full-range rival to a Quad ESL63, 1950s Tannoy or Altec? Come on guys, innovate! The conceptually perfect speaker is a full-range point source of controlled dispersion, low mass and high efficiency, yet every year I see no one moving in that direction, if anything they are actively running the opposite way!

PS I guess we can say Manger Audio here, though they’ve left me wanting the couple of times I’ve heard them (unfavourable show conditions).
 
I do take your point, but so much just looks to be going backwards to me. One of the things I do every year with these shows is to flick through and see if anyone is exhibiting a full-range point source as I’m personally absolutely convinced it makes for a far better and far more coherent speaker than the usual tall array of different drivers and all the comb/phase effects they bring. Every year I am disappointed! Room after room of ugly MDF boxes full of drivers spanning several feet that I just know will sound incoherent and disconnected to my ears. Where is a modern full-range rival to a Quad ESL63, 1950s Tannoy or Altec? Come on guys, innovate! The conceptually perfect speaker is a full-range point source of wide dispersion, low mass and high efficiency, yet every year I see no one moving in that direction, if anything they are actively running the opposite way!

I know what you mean Tony. Back in 2012 when I was exhibiting at Munich, I saw a very nice electrostatic speaker being exhibited and it sounded very good and was well made and the price was competitive too. I thought about bringing it here but then the old chestnut reared its head: Who would buy such a speaker and why would they buy this unheard of speaker manufacturers brand over say Martin Logan or Quad that are already well established. To introduce a new brand costs a great deal of money and time and for such a small market like the UK, it simply isn't worth it! Like selling most things today, it is all about branding and marketing and to introduce a new product that is not already well established and a well know name just simply isn't worth doing.

Note: I am talking about commercial reasons here with my business hat on. The first thing my business degree tutor told me back in 1987 (and I have never forgotten it) was "if it doesn't make money, you don't do it".
 
I'd like to companies taking a stab at things like plasma speakers again. I mean, maybe it wasn't feasible in the past because who wants to have to refill a helium tank once a month to listen to music? But when you're wealthy enough to buy a £100k+ system you can probably pay someone fetch tanks of helium for you.

http://www.noiseaddicts.com/2009/04/plasma-speakers/

 
I had a few targets to audition:

ATC SCM100SE - These were about the 5th pair of ATCs I've heard and at last I have heard the wonderful mid range that ATC is fabled for. The new tweeter is superb as well. Sadly the bass was only average.
Living Vice Vox Olympian - Rather disappointing after all the "everything else sounds broken" comments. Quite similar to the Western Electric horns from the 30's, which are astonishing for their age, but rather coloured.
Kii3 and BXT - possibly very, very good but seemed to be playing Mongolian goat thrash metal on the 2 occasions I popped in. Mr Kii was very rude when we asked (nicely) for some normal music.

The Vandersteen speakers were producing some very decent sounds.

There were a lot of cable lifters being used :eek:.

I enjoyed the Nordost demo of their new Q-points - a bargain priced ($750 per unit) "resonance synchroniser". The Q-point is placed one under each piece of kit and apparently, using low power electromagnetic waves, infuences all the internal discordant resonances in every component inside the equipment. The result is that these resonances are all brought into harmony, which lowers the noise floor. The A-B demo did indeed seem to show a marked improvement to the sound of the 2nd excerpt, as indeed any 2nd hearing always does as a result of the way the human brain is programmed to look for changes to the "blueprint" it stored the 1st time round.
The Q-point comes with a "free" SMPS plug top PS. Of course this adds noise to the mains which adds anxiety to the mind of the audiophile and has to be upraded in due course to the Nordost superduper linear PS, which is only $2500 or so. It can power several Q-points though!
Mr Nordost did not ask if there were any questions from the audience ;)
 
Functionally unnecessary "innovation" that many are asking for is bling to the technically literate.

There is still scope for functional innovation in home audio (i.e. stuff that raises technical performance and is audible) with the largest gains for stereo sources almost certainly relating to better matching of speaker radiation patterns within rooms. Products like the Beolab 90, Kii three, D&D 8c,...

For home audio equipment a range of factors other than pure technical performance is important. If it is going to inhabit one's living space it needs to fit in which is one of the odd things about the products at Munich. Almost all of them are designed to be ostentatious objects that stand out in the living space. Where are the products that are designed to blend in? I presume the companies know their potential customers which is a bit depressing.
 
I only got to page 8 of the My-HiEnd thread and gave up. Wouldn't mind going to Munich one year though to have a look and listen.

Jack
 
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costs a great deal of money and time and for such a small market like the UK

You work your balls off day and night for years to get the brand established in the UK and then there is a possibility that the brand will try and shaft you over by breaking your agreement.
 
Naa, I've learnt lots in the last decade from the PFM collective. A very informative forum IMHO, which is visited when chilling.
Going to a show requires planning and effort, and possibly a gimp in toe...
 
Im a keen road cyclist and same is happening in terms of equipment. Hi end prices for technology that is no different to cheaper kit. All branding and lifestyle blurb.
Very true this, a friend has a Specialized s-works which cost 3 times my own more modest Tarmac. The frame is 200 grams lighter though ;)
 
Very true this, a friend has a Specialized s-works which cost 3 times my own more modest Tarmac. The frame is 200 grams lighter though ;)

The extra cost goes into a higher grade of carbon and a different weave to produce a stiffer frame, plus upgraded components like Ultegra to Durace etc.
 


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