High End show in Frankfurt
Posted by: Thomas K on 13 May 2002
I visited the Frankfurt High End show last week, on a hot, sunny day - perfect for staying inside a stuffy old hotel with hundreds of anoraks! I’m not exactly an expert – only got into serious hifi over two years ago – but compared to last year I was in a much better position to assess the gear on show. The result is that I came home late at night, put on a CD and was absolutely stunned at how good my system sounds (to me) – nice!
Of course, you have to bear in mind that a trade fair isn't exactly (pardon the pun) a fair measure of a brand's potential, but you do get an idea. Some of the systems I heard left me wondering: Dynaudio seemed to do a lot of stuff wrong, for example, and Krell - forklift for the amps and the walk-in speakers was parked outside - absolutely put me to sleep. If it wasn't for the resale value, I'd prefer winning a NAD system in a prize draw over a Krell system.
Pleasant surprises (or rather confirmations of received forum wisdom) were held in store by Exposure and Densen. Very nice stuff, seems good VFM.
In the Linn room I was staggered again by a comparison between the CD12 and the LP12 - Rickie Lee Jones' "Pirates" sounded light years better on LP (and this was with the cheapest Linn phono pre and a rather cheap and brand-new pickup system). Thank god digital recording and mastering techniques have improved since the 80s. I do feel that the difference may not be so great with many modern productions.
Naturally, I felt very much at home at the Naim dem, and even though the room was horrific (way too large with no furnishings) and the speakers and CDP were nearly new, Music Line managed to get a pretty good sound with the CDSII/552/500/Fraim and SL2 – IMO the best I heard that day. The SL2 excelled on the highs. The midrange and bass were not what I had expected, but I put that down to the room (I've had my fair share of trouble in that respect). The cabinet design looks very nifty, too.
I think under proper conditions the entire setup would fare much better, but the potential definitely shone through. It’s a shame the room didn’t quite allow for the relaxed atmosphere they had last year. Nevertheless, Andreas and Thomas from Music Line, together with Doug, were excellent hosts.
Thomas
Of course, you have to bear in mind that a trade fair isn't exactly (pardon the pun) a fair measure of a brand's potential, but you do get an idea. Some of the systems I heard left me wondering: Dynaudio seemed to do a lot of stuff wrong, for example, and Krell - forklift for the amps and the walk-in speakers was parked outside - absolutely put me to sleep. If it wasn't for the resale value, I'd prefer winning a NAD system in a prize draw over a Krell system.
Pleasant surprises (or rather confirmations of received forum wisdom) were held in store by Exposure and Densen. Very nice stuff, seems good VFM.
In the Linn room I was staggered again by a comparison between the CD12 and the LP12 - Rickie Lee Jones' "Pirates" sounded light years better on LP (and this was with the cheapest Linn phono pre and a rather cheap and brand-new pickup system). Thank god digital recording and mastering techniques have improved since the 80s. I do feel that the difference may not be so great with many modern productions.
Naturally, I felt very much at home at the Naim dem, and even though the room was horrific (way too large with no furnishings) and the speakers and CDP were nearly new, Music Line managed to get a pretty good sound with the CDSII/552/500/Fraim and SL2 – IMO the best I heard that day. The SL2 excelled on the highs. The midrange and bass were not what I had expected, but I put that down to the room (I've had my fair share of trouble in that respect). The cabinet design looks very nifty, too.
I think under proper conditions the entire setup would fare much better, but the potential definitely shone through. It’s a shame the room didn’t quite allow for the relaxed atmosphere they had last year. Nevertheless, Andreas and Thomas from Music Line, together with Doug, were excellent hosts.
Thomas