Report from Munich, High-End Audio 2015

Report from Munich, High-End Audio 2015 – by a young German audiophile
“On my way to Munich this morning. I’ll be visiting the smaller side show, HiFi Deluxe, at Munich’s Marriott Hotel first. Acapella and Audio Note will be exhibiting there. I heard that Acapella will be using an Audio Note digital front end. They will also be showing a new, smaller speaker model of theirs. The big show will be a bit crazy – too many people and too much to see with too little time on my hands. I am planning on cherry picking this time around: Tidal’s new diamond midwoofer-equipped Akira, and Living Voice’s Vox Olympian horns are on top of my list, …   I will try to take at least a few pics to share with you.
Still happily running in my new AN-Es. After living with plasma tweeters for so long (my first and last speaker both had them), I am surprised that I don’t miss them at all – on the contrary! I was getting a bit weary of the ozone smell. I don’t think the newer version (including the Acapellas) have this problem, but with mine it was quite noticeable. Knowing that the Audio Notes don’t get lost in large rooms, I am surprised how well they play in my rather smallish living room. I have them about half a meter out from the corners on each side and about 8cm from the back wall with more than usual toe-in. Works well that way.
Still trying to find a turntable. Audio Note TT2 deluxe or Bauer Audio dps3 are my top contenders – the Brinkmann being too expensive.
I’ll have to see. In either case, I am going to start with an audio note Arm 3 and an IQ 3 before moving up to an MC with a SUT when funds allow. I am really exited to get into analogue! “

Shows, Vinyl resurgence, Innovative marketing – Audiophiledom, May 10, 2015

Shows, Vinyl resurgence, Innovative marketing

Title photo: Two Good Ears on Time, Sex and Music and how less time can add intensity to the experience.

SHOWS

The Vancouver Show from CanadaHiFi and Axpona from Dagogo and Audio Head.

Munich High-End news feed at: Mono and Stereo. This seems the week for product news. We try to avoid announcements here, so if you are at all interested, you might take a peek over there.

More information about the revival of LPs at Billboard.

 

eden-acoustics-speakers \

Been awhile since I’ve seen a new idea in speaker baffle design… from Eden Acoustics

Estelon, Bentley furniture, Kenzo, Fendi… at Boloni Home Décor Showroom in Beijing

File under: Marketing to rich, Non-audiophiles. File under: Hope it works.

 


PS Audio offers white glove delivery.

Wonder what they do for smallish towns or places like ours with 45 steps to the listening room… Guess nothing they make is THAT heavy… 🙂

Only available if you order from the factory (so this ain’t such a good thing for dealers, nope.). Anyway, cool that they are going for the high-touch service like this.

File under: Help for people who need help unpacking really big amps (which is, like, everyone)

That’s hi-fi for now folks. Good night and have a pleasant tomorrow.

Mike’s new homepage favorite album

Mike’s new homepage favorite album

My new album is Threshold of a Dream, by the Moody Blues.

What’s with albums that we grow up with?

They get into your blood, into your bone structure, into your head.

They become like another appendage that you can barely use, like the small toe on your left foot.

“If we could just …try… harder… we will be sitting back in our old room, a kid again, but also an adult – grokking our whole life as just one single experience.

 

If we could just wiggle our nose like Samantha. Or blink our eyes like Jeannie.

[Ha. Good. The spell checker knows the word ‘grok’. At least Heinlein had more lasting impact than just ‘Starship Troopers’ 🙂 Though IMO Stranger in a Strange Land was his last great book. Just like Dark Side of the Moon was Pink Floyd’s last great album. Getting rich changes a person / people / a band.].

This Moody Blues album is not so new agey, like many of their others, that it becomes inaccessible without leafy green balast. Just nice tunes with several, not all that arcane, meanings and comforting views of reality.

“I’ve miles And miles Of files, Pretty files, of your forefather’s fruit…”

Well, we [most of us] don’t use much magnetic ink on magnetic tape anymore, but they had the right idea.

 

moody-blues-threshold-of-a-dream-back-cover

 

I never noticed that ‘DERAM’ is DREAM, but it must have already been trademarked by someone else by the time the Moody Blues wanted it.

“Face piles and piles of trials with smiles. It riles them to believe that you perceive the web they weave. And keep on thinking free”

And these days, perceiving the web they weave ain’t all that difficult, but keep smiling anyway.

Here is the album over on Amazon Smile