Munich High End 2017

So just closed the 2nd and last day of the show. I will publish my impressions from the show in the coming days. But would agree with the others I have never been a fan of the Focal Speakers in combination with Naim, a missed opportunity in my ears.

The best sounding systems of the show, in no particular order....

- AVM and Gauder Akustik Berlina RC8

- Burmeister with not yet ready for sale big Speakers 

- Audionet Heisenberg Amplification their statement, with Gauder Akustik Berlina RC8

- Avantgarde Acoustic with big horns and big bass cabinets, the Tocatta sounded quite impressive

- MBL as always with their system just short of 400k

I did the comparison Shure 846 against the KSE1500. It was quite difficult as at first the connection to my Sony didn't work, and the usual condition on the show are not perfect. 

So first impression fit of the KSE1500 is less good, as the cable is a bit more sturdy. But still fantastic as compared to any other custom in ears. Tonality is better - faster and more accurate. A more analytical in ear, with a bit less bass weight in it's standard settings. Volume settings where a bit dissapointing. The 846 directly connected seem to play louder then the KSE 1500. And I had the feeling that the KSE1500 didn't yet have less flying hours then needed to sound at it's best. In last years show - while short audition - I was more blown away.

So verdict. I would like to hear it a bit more, before I would buy it. It's better, more accurate....., but the 846 seems to sound more easy, more forgiven......, for mobile use that's sometimes preferred.

To compete the headphone section. The Focal Utopia was the clear winnner at a distance. However I always ask myself what the usecase is of this setup unless you can't put your main system on good volume it seems like a strange offering as an open headphone.

The surprisingly good sounding one was the Ultrasone Edition 8EX, very smooth very pleasant. Well amplified it is at a very high level. And it's sounding great for being closed. I couldn't compare it with the best one so far the Edition 5 - so I don"t know which one is king in that field.

...more to follow in the coming days with also visual impressions of the show.....

Did I spot some young people in the fotos? What's going on? I expect a lot of grey hair and bolding type people at Naim events. Quite disappointed really.

What! Young people at hifi shows? What ever is the world coming to!!

Bert - say it isn't true!

nigelb posted:

What! Young people at hifi shows? What ever is the world coming to!!

Bert - say it isn't true!

I do have to say I saw less audio nerds then before and a more mixed group of people. Still very much male dominated, but it starts to slightly shift indeed....

Next you'll be telling us Dark Side of the Moon wasn't played in the dems.

Bert Schurink posted:

To compete the headphone section. The Focal Utopia was the clear winnner at a distance. However I always ask myself what the usecase is of this setup unless you can't put your main system on good volume it seems like a strange offering as an open headphone.

The surprisingly good sounding one was the Ultrasone Edition 8EX, very smooth very pleasant. Well amplified it is at a very high level. And it's sounding great for being closed. I couldn't compare it with the best one so far the Edition 5 - so I don"t know which one is king in that field.

Bert,did you actually get to listen to the Utopia headphones?In my case,i am moving from a house to an apartment,so if i want to crank up the volume at night...it will be with these headphones.

I had a listen to the Utopia headphones and found them very enjoyable, but they still have that touch of synthetic sound in the higher end, something lots of headphones suffer from in varying degrees.  This is one of the reasons I chose Nighthawks because, although they're a little heavy in the bass, they don't have any of that synthetic sound.

So I quite like the Utopias, but then I found out the price and really, I would've hoped to hear something significantly more "wow" or "this is the best I've heard" from something costing that much.  But I'm a casual user of headphones rather than needing them as a main way of listening, so perhaps others who have put more effort into testing stuff at this end of the market would spot qualities in them that aren't available in other products.

Ghettoyout posted:

Next you'll be telling us Dark Side of the Moon wasn't played in the dems.

I only heard it once, but it wasn't really DSOTM in the traditional sense - it was one of those dub-reggae versions.

No quarter posted:

Bert Schurink posted:

To compete the headphone section. The Focal Utopia was the clear winnner at a distance. However I always ask myself what the usecase is of this setup unless you can't put your main system on good volume it seems like a strange offering as an open headphone.

The surprisingly good sounding one was the Ultrasone Edition 8EX, very smooth very pleasant. Well amplified it is at a very high level. And it's sounding great for being closed. I couldn't compare it with the best one so far the Edition 5 - so I don"t know which one is king in that field.

Bert,did you actually get to listen to the Utopia headphones?In my case,i am moving from a house to an apartment,so if i want to crank up the volume at night...it will be with these headphones.

I did listen to them and for a longer time. And I have the option to put the volumes up to an incredible level in my house, so I don't need headphones for that use case.

Ghettoyout posted:

Next you'll be telling us Dark Side of the Moon wasn't played in the dems.

Actually nowadays Malia with Boris Blank is fashionable. It's also a bit less nerdy.

The most enjoyable DJ's for the high end where....

as always Thomas Hintze, the guy who also writes about jazz in the magazine stereo. He has a good taste for music and is capable to keep it also with his stories enjoyable - while he is allowed to play through the great system of Gauder Akustik speakers and AVM electronics, a winning combination.

The audionet Demonstration also was very enjoyable from a DJ perspective.

So now the section with some visual insights and sometimes a story to it....

Sometimes amazing to see the constructions to play back gold, this was just one and not even the most opulent one...

Eating break during the show...

The setup of avant-garde acoustics. Impressive horns and bass cabinets. Listening to the tocatta of Bach and live drumming ....., while critical as I am .......a bit edgy in the high notes...

Yes Hugonites I did also listen and liked the Hugo 2, the Mojo was good but less impressive to my ears...

The range of products of D'Agostini is increasing with the recognizable design, haven't heard it though....

A washing machine for black gold, almost as big as a normal washing machine - quite funny...

Bert Schurink posted:

The range of products of D'Agostini is increasing with the recognizable design, haven't heard it though....

 

I must admit i do like the styling of these but they always look untidy inside - not what you'd expect at that price. 

james n posted:

Bert Schurink posted:

The range of products of D'Agostini is increasing with the recognizable design, haven't heard it though....

 

I must admit i do like the styling of these but they always look untidy inside - not what you'd expect at that price. 

Yes you have a point. While the times I heard them firing big Sonus Faber Speakers it was impressive...

Bert Schurink posted:

Eating break during the show...

 

Has he just swallowed a pair of Sopras?

Special suspension - they had Speakers standing on it with a measuring device to show the effect. I had the feeling that the speakers might be a bit too free floating...

Hungryhalibut posted:

Bert Schurink posted:

Eating break during the show...

 

Has he just swallowed a pair of Sopras?

Impossible, he would have been on the intensive "audio" care on a Hugo paired with the Focal Utopia...