Author Archives: wcvb@serious-music.com

High End 2017: Artnovion

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Artnovion displayed a wide range of their acoustic treatments.  Also on display was their Impulso smartphone app for measuring room acoustics.

Artnovion acoustic treatment were also featured in many of the demonstration rooms throughout the show.

Artnovion Sahara acoustic panel, which provides absorption and diffusion.

Artnovion Alps W diffusor in metallic finish.

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High End 2017: Arcam and KEF

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KEF demonstrated their flagship Muon mk2 loudspeakers, triamped by three Arcam P49 power amplifiers, each in bridged mode.

The system effortlessly produced a dynamic, full range sound with a wide, deep soundstage and good image height. The sound was highly resolved, as befits a flagship loudspeaker, but, while they were impressive, it was difficult to fully assess the Muon mk2s, due to the unfamiliar music used in the demo.

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High End 2017: Hegel

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Hegel introduced a new entry level integrated amplifier, the H90, which will replace the H80.  The H90 is effectively a mini-Röst, bringing the SoundEngine 2 technology to the entry level.  It also provide an improved Read the full post

High End 2017: Focal

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Focal Grande Utopia EM.

Focal  Sopra N°1 speakers in a range of colours.

Focal Shape 40 nearfield professional studio monitor.

Focal Shape 65 nearfield professional studio monitor.

Focal Utopia customised by French jeweler Tournaire with 18-karat gold and 6.5 carats of diamonds.

Focal's flagship Utopia headphone driven by the Woo Audio WA22 fully balance tube headphone amplifier.

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High End 2017: DALI

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DALI demonstrated a 9.2 home theatre system using speakers from its new entry-level Spektor series.  On a demo of the action movie "Oblivion" the Spektor system provided a powerful, dynamic sound which presented all the subtleties and detail of the soundtrack.  The system's performance was very impressive indeed, especially considering the very affordably priced speakers used. 

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High End 2017: Burmester

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Burmester celebrated its 40th anniversary by launching some new products at High End 2017.

Just outside the Burmester booth was a Bugatti Veyron fitted with a Burmester sound system.  Not a bad high end audio listening room 🙂 .

Burmester introduced its first turntable, the 175, built completely in house.  The 175 features four motors, a 9" carbon/aluminium tonearm, a MC cartridge, and a built in phono stage and power supply.

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High End 2017: Aequo Audio

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Aequo Audio demonstrated a copper-plated version of their Ensis loudspeaker.  The Ensis is a small floor-standing speaker with a built-in subwoofer, powered by a Hypex N-core amplifier.  The rest of the demonstration system consisted of:

  • Sound Galeries SGM 2015 musi cserver
  • Audiopax Maggiore L50 preamplifier
  • Audiopax Maggiore M50 single ended tube amplifier
  • Tellurium Q cabling

The Ensis produced a very music, refined sound with a deep, powerful, controlled bass which belied its compact dimensions. 

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High End 2017: AURALiC

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AURALiC demonstrated two members of their new G2 series, the Aries G2 streaming transporter and the Vega G2 streaming .  These sources used a pair of AURALiC Merak monoblock amplifiers to drive a pair of Ryan Tempus III loudspeakers.

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High End 2017 Show Report

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High End 2017 was held from 2017-05-18 to 2017-05-21 in Munich.  The premier audio show in the world, High End presents the whole range of consumer audio offerings, and is the main event for new product introductions.

Through its pictures and comments this show report provides a view of the show and the products on display. 

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