Munich High-End 2015 – Kaiser Kawero (speakers) [photographs by a young German audiophile]
LARS amplifiers
Report from Munich, High-End Audio 2015 Part II – by a young German audiophile
This was only my second time at the Munich High End. I’ve been to a number of other shows – mainly the CES in Las Vegas. The difference between CES and Munich is that in the latter, one gets to share the show with many enthusiasts eager to explore their hobby and meet fellow hobbyists, while The High End Audio side of the CES feels much less personable and enjoyable. To put it differently: CES equates to business men on a mission. Munich, on the other hand (while having a business raison d’être) very much embraces that kids in a candy store mentality and consumer friendly feel that the CES is lacking. (Please pardon me for digressing a bit)
Here to the important bits of my story:
I only had about 3 hours at the main part of the show (located at the M.O.C.). Hence, I had to focus on a small number of exhibitors. In retrospect this was great. It’s all too easy to get sidetracked. While it’s cool to peruse and discover new stuff, it also tires you out – leaving less time and energy to attentively listen to the things that truly interest you the most. Last year, I wandered the halls with little aim and after a while things started to get blurry. It does take a lot of energy to refocus each and every time when entering a new room. Some rooms are quickly dismissed, luckily my choices had no real misses among them. Here is what I heard.
1. Cessaro horns with their own tube electronics: while not a miss outright, a big disappointment to me. I have great memories of the smaller Cessaro speaker I’ve once heard at the CES with Zanden Electronics. This large horn system however, sounded nothing like its price tag. Show conditions? Perhaps. But, other exhibitors manage to make their complex systems sing. I’ll still want to give their larger systems a listen, but they are no longer on top of my auditioning list (last years display of theirs was disappointing to me as well)
2. Magico and Constellation: I stumbled into their room And didn’t stay long. Less obviously whizz bang hifi than I’ve heard Magico sound like before (their big horn system being the perfect example here in my book). This had potential. Didn’t stay long enough and don’t very much care for this new, albeit a lot more refined, version of the “Krell Crowd” as I like to think of them and other companies at the upper echelon of “high end”. Just not my cup of tea!
3. Tidal: met one of their U.S. dealers there, Doug White. Very nice gentleman. We exchanged a few words, together with Tidal’s proprietor (forgot his name). Tidal’s owner is also refreshingly down to earth and approachable. I like their company in general. The sound here was very detailed without being analytical. The hyper expensive drivers in their speakers didn’t shout “here I am.” I liked this ultra refined sound quite a bit, but I am not sure about their ability to grab me by the balls and get me dancing, or to generally make me forget about the fact that I am listening to a stereo and not music. Perhaps too much refinement and detail CAN be a bad thing. Don’t know! But, I want to hear more from them!! (Did I mention the looks – WOW!!)
4. Next up Perdect 8 on Ypsilon electronics: I really like Ypsilon. Heard them sound great with Tidal Speakers for example. The Perfect 8 speakers were the opposites of the Tidal school of refinement and understatement. Here the sound was dominated by exaggerated highs . Very hifi-ish. Not my kind of speaker.
5. Living Voice’s Vox Olympian horns. Unfortunately only got to listen to classical music here. The room was full and I was lucky to get a spot right smack in the sweet spot. Sometimes you feel a system before your brain can rationalize the sound. Not talking about deep bass. I felt an instant calm and relaxation wash over me. The only other time I felt like this was when listening to the top of the line Audio Note digital stack some years ago. In a word: THIS was music nothing more nothing less. Forget about detail, driver integration, sound staging, on any other term used to describe hifi. This was the least hifi I’ve ever heard a stereo sound. Even the term stereo doesn’t apply here. One could call this transcendental. I don’t want to get lost in superlatives, but this is without a doubt the most musically ENGAGING and REAL sound I’ve ever heard! (North of a million Euros one would hope so)
7. Blumenhofer & Einstein: didn’t stay long, but I really liked what I heard. I was still jaded from the Living Voice Kondo Demo, but while this didn’t hypnotize me, it definitely got my feet tapping! My short take: I want to hear more and I’ve never heard Einstein sound this open and unencumbered. Want to hear more from both companies!
8. Kaiser Kawero: my young (blessed by her audiophile virginity) friend loved this sound. I have to agree! Worth noting: There was a very nice company representative there who was (like the gentlemen from Tidal) refreshingly non-elitist and approachable. These speakers have the largest external crossovers known to men (together with AN-E Sogons perhaps) that I know of. Altogether impressive!
9. Wilson Benesch: Used to be my cup of tea, but not anymore. I didn’t have to be long in their room to notice that this was not the sound that I am looking for.
10. Wolf Von Langa (vinyl savor): didn’t seem impressive and/or noteworthy on first listen, but I am intrigued by the concept of field coil drivers and tubes. Want to give them another try for sure. Sounded a bid bland and non involving here today unfortunately.
11. Estelon Extreme Speakers: want to hear more of these for sure! Similar to Marten Speakers in their driver compliment, but certainly on another plane entirely looks and execution wise.
Munich High-End Show: other reports today (so far)
The featured photo is the new Van Den Hul ‘The Point One’ turntable from TwoGoodEars’s blog.
Mike Fremer also has a post up about Turntables at the Munich High-End show already.
TwoGoodEars also has a lot of snaps of the People at Munich High-End
For example:
Mr. Cheng of Silbatone, the extreme high-end of the extreme high-end
TwoGoodEars has several other backstage posts about Munich, so get on over there 🙂
VinylSavior is posting about their room at Munich:
More later…
Report from Munich, High-End Audio 2015 Part II – by a young German audiophile
[photo from Stereophile – Munich High End Beckons]
“Recap thus far (written under the influence of German beer):
Lessons learned:1. FM Acoustics sounds horrid2. Dave Cope is a nice guy who knows his stuff3. Audio Note hires Croatians that know how to turn digital sausage Into music4. FM acoustic sounds horrid5. Mario from Audio Note is going to DJ at my wedding6. Audio Note’s new DAC uses parts from the Apollo Rocket and turns music into digital sausage (and vice versa)7. I love this stuff!”
[The FM Acoustics room at Munich High-End 2015 (it *is* a show folks, and the rooms at the main part of the Munich show have issues…)]
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! “
The EMM Labs MTRX amplifiers – what we learned.
Dynamic Response versus Dynamic Range
How the MTRX, the better tube amps, and vinyl, (and efficient loudspeakers) typically have more realistic and engaging dynamics than the more monotone-like competing technologies.
We’ll talk more about this in a future post.
Who’s the Boss: Speakers or Amplifiers?
How strong, domineering amplifiers, like the MTRX, can control speakers so well that the speaker’s performance level increases dramatically (and, conversely, how the vast majority of amps are weak willed and the sound quality you hear is largely determined by the cross product of the weaknesses of the speakers with that of the weaknesses of the amps).
We’ll talk more about this in a future post, as well.
At low to medium loud SPL, the best tube amplifiers = MTRX + Bloom
How the MTRX sounds a LOT like the very best tube amplifiers (costing more than the MTRX, BTW), but without the Bloom.
I want to talk about this topic, here in this post.
Bloom is when the dynamics swell beyond what is required by the music. Like the ocean swelling onto the beach, or when your heart swells with emotion when someone you love is nice to you.
In this context, when the amps are otherwise handling the dynamics realistically, accurately, … correctly, I consider bloom to be artificial sweetener [when it is not artificial sweetener is when bloom is used to help less competent tube amps get closer to the dynamics that the music calls for (closer than most solid-state BTW)].
I had a real struggle with whether I actually preferred bloom over no bloom.
That extra little emotional zing, did I need that? Was I addicted to that?
Was it in some way preferable to add bloom in to counter balance emotion that may have been lost somewhere further up the chain; somewhere else between the source and the speakers?
Over the months we had the MTRX here, my answer to that question changed.
At first, yes, I thought bloom just made listening more fun and exciting.
But, in the end, I decided I could take or leave bloom. It is fun, like sprinkled chocolate bits on top of ice cream, but I do not NEED it. At the same time, I do not now dislike bloom or think it is necessarily bad either.
I think bloom is like listening to music while intoxicated or stoned. It is drug-like. It is more revealing of the intentions of the musicians, even if it exaggerates a bit.
For those of us with hardly any brain cells left, the few remaining just rattling around in our empty heads, we can’t afford to lose any more to the concoctions we imbibed while we were young [not to mention those millions we lose to the everyday stress of modern life]. So music with a little bloom is a gentle reminder of how great music sounds when we are a little happier than we should be… 🙂
Because the MTRX has awesome amounts of resolution and ACCURATE dynamics, UNLIKE ANY OTHER solid-state amplifier, which sound soft, mush, muddy … wimpy … in comparison, it is extremely satisfying without the 2nd harmonic distortion and bloom of analog and tube gear.
We were just amazed , over and over again, over the six months or so, how intoxicating the sound was [yes, Neli and I would just be sitting on the couch listening and then start talking about this. We spend a lot of time here trying to figure out how we are supposed to get any work done :-0] .
EMM Labs insists that there is nothing in the amps that require ‘break in’ – but we noticed a definite slight ‘relaxation’ of the sound. Not a lot, but it was there. Maybe the 40 foot long power cords were what was breaking in. Whatever ;-).
They also, there is little doubt, hate for me to compare these amps to tube amps:-) – but the very best tube amps get many things right which solid-state amps have, until now, been unable to do. Things that make the sound more closely resemble music [something many of us are interested in when we listen to hi-fi gear :-)].
Where the Lamm ML3 Signature amplifiers approach “straight wire with gain” from the tube side, the MTRX approaches it from the solid-state side.
We got ourselves a real ballgame here.
The MTRX are on our list of the top three most desirable amplifiers… in a 3-way tie. We are still coming to grips with this, this ‘solid-state upstart’, being on the list at all – so please bear with.
And, because they don’t require a modestly efficient loudspeaker, there are some applications – those with speakers that manufacturers made quite difficult to drive in the pursuit of their vision of what they wanted the speakers to sound like – where the MTRX are a natural ‘best’.
P.S. For those that are wondering:
“Heart” – Audio Note U.K. Gaku-On: No holds barred, drug-like, engaging, emotional, ‘there is no spoon’, ‘this is effing music’ adventure
“Mind” – Lamm ML3 Signature: ‘Straight-wire with gain’ Audiophile-style, subtle, detailed, even-handed, majestic worlds of music one can spend many lifetimes exploring
“Mind + Heart (by way of the explosive dynamics)” – Emm Labs MTRX: ‘Straight-wire with gain’ Mohammad Ali-style, tight, punchy, extremely precise yet harmonically complete, from bass to treble, from massive macro dynamics to the very subtle.
The Acapella Atlas speakers on their way to Newport Beach show
THE Show, Newport – at the Hotel Irvine – is in 16 days.
Here are a few photos of the packing,and moving of the speakers from our listening room to the garage below ready for pickup.
The Acapella Atlas speakers with blue horns.
The Acapella Atlas speaker bass units all wrapped up.
The Acapella Atlas speaker horn units – in blue, all wrapped up and mounted.
The rare glimpse of the bottom of the Acapella Atlas speaker
Our great movers from Boulder Valley Transfer (BVT) who we use each time for these “heavier than Neli and Mike and Kevin want to move today” items.
These are about 400 lbs each.
About halfway down.
At the bottom … almost… These guys made quick work of it.
Our room at Newport will feature:
Acapella Atlas speakers
Acapella LaMusika integrated amplifier
Audio Note CDT-5 transport
Audio Note DAC 5 Signature dac
HRS SXR equipment rack and isolation bases
Assorted cables from Acapella, Audio Note and NVS Sound
Hope to see you all there!
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.
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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
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.
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
A DIY 30-amp 240 volt outlet for your monster amps
Along one’s travels through the universe of audiophilia, one comes across 30 amp 240 volt amplifiers every so often.
But what if you do not have a 240 volt outlet in your listening room?
What to do?
What to do.
Here in the U.S., many homes do have a weird-shaped 240 volt outlet like that seen below.
This is the type of outlet that electric dryers use.
It just so happens that in our home, the electric dryer outlet was originally in a small room off of the dining room, which is open to the living room where is our main listening room.
Currently, this small room, formerly the laundry room, is now the ‘closet of boxes’. This is where we store boxes to be used for shipping small things like cables and HRS Nimbus and Couplers.
So what I did was let Neli make a box that effectively converted weird-dryer-outlet to two ‘normal’ 240 volt outlets. [It is just so wonderfully ‘convenient’ to have a wife that just runs off and builds things like this :-)]
Where one end plugs into the dryer outlet…
And the 40 foot power cords to the amps snake across the dining room and into the living room, along the wall finally plugging into the amps.
The 40 foot power cables we used are from Kimber.
In particular the Kimber Kable PowerKord Model 10 power cords.
The cool little box that Neli built was an in-wall 4-gang box and a 2-gang cover from Home Depot. Two of the holes in the cover have no matching holes in the chassis.
After spending some time in this section and looking at all the options, it is our considered opinion that our Home Depot just carries a bunch of random parts, the majority of which are either redundant or incompatible with the other parts.
If I remember right, the red 240 volt outlets are hospital-grade which we got from Amazon for about $20
The other end of these 40 foot power cords is a rather blue socket. These are 30 amp IEC connectors.
This is what the inside of the business end of these 30 amp IEC connectors look like. The amps we used this with are just prototypes, and I am not sure if they still use these same sockets in the production models.
