Up to 37% in savings when you subscribe to hi-fi+
Subscribe
hi-fi-white-logo hi-fi-white-logo
hifi-logo-footer

Begin typing your search above and press return to search. Press Esc to cancel.

Archives: Articles

Articles

T+A PSD 3100 HV

When the editor of this fine publication, a man routinely in the company of devices with gravitational pull, describes a DAC as ‘large’, it is sufficient to raise a note of mild alarm and have me reach for my third Weetabix of the day and a weight belt. True enough, the T+A PSD 3100 HV is a bit of a whopper. It’s the best part of 20cm tall, half a metre deep, and tips the scales at 26kg. That makes the T+A a very big DAC indeed, but it does at least boast functionality as extensive as the casework. 

Describing the T+A as a ‘DAC’ is like describing Fortnum & Mason as a ‘convenience store’; it is not wholly inaccurate but rather undersells the scope of the services available. The PSD 3100 HV is a fully functional preamp that operates in the analogue domain via resistor ladder-based volume control. So, in addition to the digital inputs, there is a single RCA analogue input and a DAB/FM aerial socket. Given that most of us only possess a single analogue source, it gives scope for the T+A to become the complete front end of many systems. 

Digital star

Digital is the star of the show, though, and to this end, you get USB-B, two HDMI inputs with loop out, AES, two coax inputs (one BNC, one RCA), two optical connections and an example of T+A’s IPA Link for SACD transfer. It uses the ‘Gen3’ version of T+A’s UPnP streaming platform, allowing access to Qobuz, Tidal (the latter via the Connect function) and UPnP access, internet radio and AirPlay. The PSD 3100 HV has a Roon mod fitted, but at the time of testing (August 2024), the PSD 3100 HV had not been Roon certified. All functionality is available to RCA, XLR outputs, and a 4.4mm Pentaconn headphone socket. 

The decoding for this extensive connectivity follows the T+A practice of splitting by format. It supports PCM to 768kHz precision, and this is decoded via a quartet of Texas Instruments (nee Burr Brown) PCM1795 chips running in dual differential mode and with a choice of four filters and the choice of switching to non-oversampling mode.

DSD

Meanwhile, it takes DSD to 11.2MHz via a separate decoding module with its own pair of filters. You select these filter options via the app, and to T+A’s lasting credit, the process is far simpler to tinker with in reality than it might sound on paper. 

The PSD 3100 HV has one of the most elaborate power supply arrangements I’ve experienced on any product in any category. Many manufacturers will claim that they have split the power supply for the analogue and digital sections, but this feels a bit half-hearted compared to the lengths that T+A has gone to here. On the rear panel of the PSD 3100 HV, you will find an IEC socket at each end of the casework, each feeding a power supply, one of which is for digital and one for analogue. Both must be connected for the unit to work. Fortunately, I have 24 AC sockets available for moments like this; it might be something to consider in more ‘conventional’ setups. 

Will it fit?

Of course, this will be secondary to whether the T+A will fit in your system full stop. It is a vast bit of kit, more akin to a power amp than a digital front end, and you’ll need a fairly hefty rack to accommodate it. However, how T+A builds the PSD 3100 HV will leave many people making room for it. The immaculate casework has details like the top panel’s porthole showing off the decoder. These (not-so) little touches speak to a level of care and attention that justifies the price tag.

How the controls operate and how they feel while they do so is hugely confidence-inspiring. Details like the soft touch buttons on the front panel that work seamlessly underline an unquestionable fastidiousness in engineering. The only slight oddity is that, while the display is vast, it is not a full-colour type, and some bits of information are more challenging to read than expected. The enormous metal remote is an absolute joy and a minor work of art in its own right. 

I initially connected the T+A up as a line-level DAC, running via XLR into a Chord Electronics CPM2800MkII integrated amp and Kudos Titan 505 speakers and listening via UPnP. I did so without an idea of what to expect because the company has been on a sonic journey over the years, particularly with digital. What was once scrupulously accurate if a trifle dry has become more full-bodied and engaging. 

Expansive

In this case, the sound the PSD 3100 HV generates is as expansive as the casework. The opening brass of Gregory Porter’s Concorde [Blue Note] is a wave of scale and texture that washes over the listening position, effortlessly replicating the effect of sitting front and centre before the real thing. When Porter begins singing, the PSD 3100 HV transports you to this big, confident, immersive presentation. There is an unflappable quality in the T+A’s response to the layers of musicians that helps reduce the perception of any digital decoding happening. 

Something notable and admirable about this effortless ability to unpack material is that it doesn’t harm the T+A’s ability to deliver more aggressive material with the speed and punch it needs. Steven Wilson’s The Future Bites [Caroline International] maintains its relentlessness and energy, even as the sound envelopes you. This album has a surround mix, but I suspect most T+A owners won’t want to listen to it, such is the PSD 3100 HV’s ability with the stereo mix. 

More to give

As good as the T+A is as a line-level device with PCM, it has more to give. One of the reasons that I would be keen for T+A to secure their Roon certification is that using my resident Roon Nucleus via the USB input and upsampling to DSD sees the PSD 3100 HV become even more lush and expansive. Visual Audio Sensory Theater by VAST [Elektra] opens with the slow building ‘Here’, and how the T+A keeps adding scale while keeping everything intelligible yet ballistic is a near-perfect tightrope walk. I rarely think DSD is ‘better’ than PCM under all conditions. What T+A is doing, though, is genuinely exceptional. 

I then roped the PSD 3100 HV into testing the unusual Kudos Sigao Drive external crossover system. This arrangement meant running it as a preamp and using analogue input for a Violectic PPA V790 phono stage. This new configuration took about five minutes to establish that the T+A’s preamp section is far from an afterthought. As you might expect from a resistor ladder-based control, it’s beautifully linear and allows ultra-fine adjustment. It also effortlessly reflects the qualities of the Violectric and connected Vertere MG-1 MkII turntable.

Uncompressed effortlessness

Some of that same uncompressed effortlessness is present with just the analogue section running, and it meant that a spirited blast through Super Superabundance [Transgressive], the vinyl reissue of the Young Knives classic retains a ballistic edge but with enough forgiveness to handle less-than-perfect mastering that it demonstrates from time to time. At no stage do you find yourself listening and framing the result as ‘good for a DAC.’ It’s a meaningfully excellent preamp in its own right. And finally, it’s a shame that FM and DAB radio have become a minority sport in modern hi-fi, because they are more than welcome additions that far from let the side down.

What this all means is that while the T+A is rather large and not inconsequentially expensive, it has the scope to replace more than one existing box in your system (potentially freeing up that second mains socket as you go) while feeling completely and utterly free from compromise as it does so. The PSD 3100 HV is an entirely up-to-the-minute product that retains enough of the T+A fastidiousness to delight while showing a level of musical joy that it is hard not to fall for entirely. The PSD 3100 HV is undoubtedly very big, but it’s also very clever and an absolute delight to listen to. 

 

Technical specifications

  • Product T+A PSD 3100 HV 
  • Type: Digital preamplifier
  • Digital inputs: 1x AES/EBU (XLR), 4x S/PDIF (1x coaxial, 1x BNC, 2x Toslink), 2x USB (1x DAC, 1x Mass Storage, 2x HDMI, 1x RJ45, 1x IPA (LVDS), Wireless LAN connection
  • Analogue inputs: 1x RCA pair line-level input, FM/DAB antenna, HLink connection to other T+A devices
  • Digital Outputs: 1x HDMI (ARC), 1x coaxial S/PDIF
  • Analogue outputs: 1x RCA pair, 1x XLR pair, HLink
  • Digital input precision: AES/EBU, S/PDIF to 24bit, 192kHz PCM. USB to 24bit, 768kHz, DSD 512
  • D/A-Converter: Double-Differential-Quadruple-Converter with four 32-bit Sigma-Delta D/A-Converter per channel. 705.6/768 kHz conversion rate (PCM), T+A-True-1Bit DSD D/A-Converter, up to DSD 512 (24,5 MHz), native bitstream (DSD)
  • Dimensions (H x W x D): 17 x 46 x 46 cm 
  • Weight: 26 kg
  • Price: £14,900, $22,000, €16,500

Manufacturer

T+A elektroakustik GmbH & Co.

www.ta-hifi.de

UK distributor

Kog Audio

www.kogaudio.com

+44(0)24 7722 0650

More from T+A

Back to Reviews

KEF LS60 Wireless

What’s better than a wireless all-in-one audio system? A wireless all-in-two audio system, that’s what – because true stereo sound is a joy forever. And while it might not have got in on the ground floor where wireless all-in-two audio systems are concerned, KEF didn’t have to sprint up too many flights of stairs to get into the elevator – ever since 2017’s LS50 Wireless, the company has been there-or-thereabouts whenever the conversation turns to ‘wireless convenience without sacrificing authentic hi-fi quality sound’. 

On a pound-for-pound basis, the performance of the current KEF wireless streaming system line-up is hard to lay a glove on. It doesn’t do any harm that every model in the line-up is, to a lesser or greater extent, visually quite individual and interesting, too. But the company has taken things to the next level with the LS60 Wireless – the company bills it as ‘wireless hi-fi speakers’, but we all know the truth. This is a wireless all-in-two streaming system – just on a larger scale than we’ve become used to from KEF.

Lifestyle appeal

Of course, it’s the vexed notion of ‘lifestyle’ that’s a big part of the appeal of the whole all-in-two wireless streaming system market – or, at least, the lack of disruption thereof. Any number of music lovers struggle to accommodate a full-on, full-size audio system – too expensive, too ugly, too big, too jarring when introduced into otherwise carefully considered interior design vocabulary. KEF gives every indication of understanding this entirely – and so before any discussion of how the LS60 Wireless performs, it’s perfectly valid to consider the way it looks.

These are extraordinarily slender loudspeakers – ignore their stabilising plinths and they’re just 13cm wide. Name a narrower floorstanding speaker. Not easy, is it? Even when you take the plinths into account, they’re just 21cm across – and so they’re hardly about to stick their oar too assertively into your interior decor choices. And the selection of matte finishes – ‘carbon’ black, ‘mineral’ white, ‘titanium’ grey and ‘royal’ blue, with ‘Lotus Edition’ British racing green as a cost option – does no harm whatsoever when it comes to delivering a harmonious look. Add in the drama of the driver array in each skinny tower and you’ve a striking and, arguably, elegant pair of loudspeakers here.

Driver array

Ah yes, the driver array. Each tower features the 12th and latest version of KEF’s Uni-Q driver; at 100mm, the smallest Uni-Q drive unit since the 75mm model in the KHT1005. Here it features a 19mm vented aluminium dome tweeter in the throat of a 10cm vented aluminium cone that covers the midrange frequencies, and incorporates a tweeter damper gap and new ‘Z-Flex’ driver surround to minimise distortion and create as even a dispersion as possible. 

KEF LS60 Wireless

The tweeter is also packing KEF’s acclaimed ‘Metamaterial Absorption Technology’ (or ‘MAT’, to use its rather underwhelming acronym). MAT is designed to absorb those soundwaves that radiate from the back of a drive unit and disrupt its forward output – it’s the tweeter dome that’s getting the MAT treatment in this instance. A plastic disc printed with a maze-like pattern sits behind the tweeter, and each of its ‘routes’ is the ideal length to absorb a specific range of frequencies. KEF reckons the MAT method is so effective that it can absorb 99 percent of these unwanted soundwaves.  

Uni-Core

For low frequencies, KEF has deployed its Uni-Core driver technology that’s recently taken a good share of the praise lavished on its KC62 subwoofer. The intention is to liberate a whole lot of bass presence from unpromisingly small enclosures (by subwoofer standards, the KC62 is very small indeed) by combining force cancellation (which requires drivers to be positioned back-to-back), concentrically arranged voice coils and one shared motor per pair of drivers.

For the LS60 Wireless, two pairs of 14cm Uni-Core drivers are used in each speaker, positioned equidistantly around the forward-facing Uni-Q array in an arrangement KEF calls ‘Single Apparent Source’. This layout debuted in 2011’s witheringly expensive Blade loudspeaker, and is designed to give the impression of information from all parts of the frequency range originating from a single point – with precise stereo imaging over an uncommonly large area the ultimate goal.  

A different Class

KEF has specified Class A/B amplification for the tweeter – 100 watts of it per speaker. The midrange cone gets 100 watts of power per side too, but this time it’s of the Class D variety. Class D is also used to drive each of the eight (count ‘em!) UniCore bass drivers – there’s a total of 1000 watts available, which my rudimentary back-of-envelope calculations reveal to be 125 watts per driver. All the amplification is boxed off in the lower half of each tower, where it can’t disturb the drive units – heatsinks that vent at the rear of each speaker keep operating temperatures acceptable. 

As is usually the case with an all-in-two speaker system, the LS60 Wireless features a ‘primary’ and a ‘secondary’ speaker. Both speakers require mains power, of course, but other than this the secondary speaker features just a pre-out for a subwoofer, a USB-A slot for servicing and an RJ45 socket for a hard-wired connection to the primary speaker. It’s worth noting that the two speakers are perfectly happy to maintain a wireless connection, but this arrangement results in all sources being resampled to 24bit/96kHz PCM resolution – wire them together using the generous length of cable KEF provides and 24bit/192kHZ PCM resampling is the result. 

Story eARC 

The primary speaker, too, has connections for mains power, a pre-out for a subwoofer, a USB-A slot for servicing and an RJ45 to connect to its partnering speaker. In addition, it features an HDMI eARC socket, digital optical and digital coaxial inputs, a pair of stereo RCA analogue connections and an RJ45 socket for ethernet connection. Wireless connectivity runs to dual-band wi-fi and Bluetooth 5.0 with SBC and AAC codec compatibility – a wired or wireless connection to a network brings Apple AirPlay 2 and Google Chromecast into play. And the LS60 Wireless is also Roon Ready and UPnP-compatible. If this array of options where sources of sound are concerned seems a little tentative, the KEF Connect control app allows you to integrate Amazon Music, Deezer, Qobuz, Spotify and TIDAL music streaming services as well as to access internet radio.

The app itself has evolved to the point where it’s now a perfectly usable, stable and logical interface – a big advance on those bad old days when a KEF all-in-two demanded the use of two apps to exploit all of its functions. These days KEF Connect allows access to all playback functions, room configuration and EQ adjustment, phase correction, a bass extension limiter and plenty more besides. 

The company also provides a little remote control handset, more (it seems to me) for the sake of box-ticking than for any compelling necessity. If your smartphone is temporarily unavailable, the remote control will let you select input, adjust volume and access basic playback controls too. 

Expert time

It’s certainly worth investigating the ‘expert’ set-up menu in the control app, as it’s possible to exert quite an influence over the eventual performance of the LS60 Wireless. Certainly if your room is towards an extreme of one kind or another – lots of glazing, unusual shape, generously stocked with soft furnishing or what-have-you – you can mitigate it to a fair degree.

And once that’s done, of course, it’s just a question of playing some favourite music from a favourite source or two. During the course of this review I listened to internet radio and TIDAL via the KEF Connect app, a Rega Apollo CD player into the digital coaxial input, a Panasonic DP-UB820 UHD Blu-ray player using the HDMI eARC socket, and a Clearaudio Concept turntable via a Chord Huei phono stage into the stereo RCA inputs. And it’s fair to say there’s merit to each of these methods – and plenty of it. 

Integration

No matter where you start, it’s the integration of all those drive units that’s most immediately impressive. Obviously there are qualitative differences between a 160kbps stream of France’s FIP internet radio station presenting Sous les Jupes de FIP and a 180g vinyl reissue of Heaven or Las Vegas by Cocteau Twins [4AD], but where stereo focus and coherence is concerned the LS60 Wireless never wavers. The soundstage it creates is wide and tall, with plenty of elbow-room available on it, but it’s simultaneously tightly unified and orderly. The notion of a ‘single apparent source’ of sound is delivered on from the get-go. 

Low-frequency information is deep and textured, controlled at the onset of each note or hit with something approaching fanaticism, and absolutely loaded with detail both broad and fine. The KEF can summon prodigious levels or straightforward punch, but within that it’s a subtle and insightful performer. The authority over the bottom end means it’s able to express the Frafra rhythm of Florence Adooni’s Kinne [Philophon] with absolute assurance as well as no little enthusiasm. Edges are straight and true, and the decay of bass information is observed just as carefully as the attack.  

Analysis vs entertainment

A similar balance between ‘analysis’ and ‘entertainment’ is struck through the rest of the frequency range. There’s considerable bite and shine to the top of the frequency range, a real impression of attack when the music demands it, but at the same time the LS60 Wireless shapes treble information deftly and never loses the run of its high-frequency reproduction even at significant volume. And the midrange acuity that’s apparent during a listen to a CD copy of The World’s Biggest Paving Slab by English Teacher [Island] leaves you in absolutely no doubt that you’re getting the complete and unexpurgated picture. There’s an immediacy to the way the KEF all-in-two handles a vocalist, as well as profoundly impressive insight into their character, their attitude and their technique, that is endlessly engaging. 

Hans Zimmer’s blaring, droning soundtrack to Dune: Part 2 [WaterTower Music] gives the system the opportunity to demonstrate its dynamic potency – and it’s safe to say it doesn’t disappoint. The KEF can shift from ‘tense, urgent whisper’ to ‘all-out firefight’ in an instant, and the distance it can put between these two positions (in terms of intensity as well as sheer volume) is extreme.

Zimmer texture

There’s a gratifying amount of texture given to the sonic abstractions Zimmer indulges in here, and a real sense of outright scale. If you want your new all-in-two system to double up for movie night, the LS60 Wireless has the midrange fidelity, the scale and the completely confident soundstaging ability to make even the most accomplished soundbar sound confined and passive.

Overall tonality is carefully neutral, and the KEF seems perfectly willing to get out of the way of recordings in order to allow them to express their particular flavour without hindrance. The sensation of unity and singularity is extremely strong, even when playing a scissors-and-glue collage like Music Makes Me High by The Avalanches [Modular] – despite the sheer number of drivers involved in the system, the LS60 Wireless integrates the frequency range with the same sort of confidence it demonstrates when describing a soundstage. 

Struggling to ‘yes, but…’

It’s customary at this point to muster a “yes, but…” or two in order to demonstrate that I’m difficult to please and a man of some discernment – but in all honesty, I’m struggling. Yes, a wireless system is never actually wireless if you want to introduce sources that aren’t apps on smartphones – but that’s hardly an issue that’s unique to this KEF system. And it’s true that the KEF Connect app did forget what it was doing on a couple of occasions during my time with the LS60 Wireless (on both occasions it was supposed to be continuing with a TIDAL playlist) – but other than this, I have nothing.

So if you’re interested in some extremely impressive engineering clothed in some notably attractive and fairly unusual loudspeakers, in a big serving of hi-fi audio credibility balanced against convenience that’s easily described as ‘painless’, KEF – not for the first time – has the all-in-two for you.   

Technical specifications

  • Type: Floorstanding loudspeaker system with integrated amplification, DSP, and wireless connectivity
  • Driver complement: Uni-Q 19mm vented aluminium dome tweeter within 100mm vented aluminium midrange cone array; 4 x 135mm Uni-Core force-cancelling bass driver
  • Amplification power (w)/type (per speaker): 100/Class A/B (tweeter); 100/Class D (midrange); 500/Class D (bass) 
  • Frequency response: 31Hz – 24kHz
  • Crossover frequencies: 350Hz; 2.8kHz
  • Inputs: HDMI eARC; digital optical; digital coaxial; stereo analogue RCA; RJ45 ethernet; USB-A (service only); RJ45 interspeaker connection
  • Wireless inputs: dual-band wi-fi; Bluetooth 5.0; Apple AirPlay 2; Google Chromecast; Roon Ready; Spotify Connect; TIDAL Connect; internet radio
  • Outputs: subwoofer
  • Digital audio sample rates: up to 24bit/384kHz
  • File types: AAC; AIFF; ALAC; DSD; FLAC; LPCM; MP3; MP4; OGG; WAV; WMA; MQA
  • Dimensions (hwd, cm) (per speaker): 109 x 21 x 39 
  • Weight (kg) (per speaker): 31.2
  • Finishes: carbon black; titanium grey; royal blue; mineral white; british racing green (cost option)
  • Price: £4,499, $4,999, €4,999 per pair (£5,499, $5,999, €5,999 British Racing Green ‘Lotus Edition’)

Manufacturer

KEF

www.kef.com

UK distributor

GP Acoustics (UK) Ltd

www.uk.kef.com

+44 (0) 1622 672261

More from KEF

Back to Reviews

WK Audio TheRay

We’ve been watching the growth of Polish cable brand WK Audio for some time. The brand seriously impressed us with its TheRed power cords (tested in Issue 221), loudspeaker cables (tested in Issue 227) and interconnect cables (tested in Issue 237) and looks like doing the same with its more affordable and practical TheRay power cord. 

The original Red is a hand-made cable that features individually shielded conductors. Not everyone will be comfortable with a power cord with separate live, neutral, and earth cables, and not everyone is willing to pay almost €6,000 for a power cord. However, WK Audio’s TheRay power cords address this because they are more practical (the three conductors are housed in the same outer sleeve) and more affordable (half the price of TheRed).

Handcrafted from high-clarity copper, the conductor has a cross-section of 6mm², and the three conductors use vibration-damping materials. TheRay is also the result of the same material science and conductor geometry knowledge that went into TheRed and uses the same listening panel development. TheRay is fettled with Furutech and comes in US, EU, and UK plug options.

Basic and exclusive

The ‘fettled with Furutech’ offers a two-tier quality option with TheRay. In its ‘Basic’ version, the pale blue cable features Furutech’s FI-E38R Schuko and FI-C15 NCF R IEC plugs. The ‘Exclusive’ upgrades these to the FI-E50 and FI-50 NCF R plugs, respectively. TheRay can also be configured in a high-current form with a Furutech FI-52 R plug. We tested the Basic version, and referring to it as ‘Basic’ is probably the only downside of this otherwise excellent cable. 

OK, let’s temper that a little. The reason I believe this is an excellent power cord is that it fulfils what a good audio power cord is supposed to do: cause the least harm possible. If you’re looking for a cable that flattens out the bumps inherent in your amplifier’s performance, or one that adds a bit of brightness or richness to the system… keep looking. The WK Audio TheRay requires your electronics to be ‘sorted’. It’s not that it won’t benefit such products, but it adds or subtracts nothing. For those systems that want a cable to act as a filter or tone control, TheRay is too honest for that.

Instead, it gracefully steps aside for the music. Yes, we discuss noise floors being lowered, but this one is no exception. Music doesn’t emerge from some loud, dark abyss here; rather, it presents the music as honestly and clearly as possible. Lowering the noise floor? It’s more like a sigh of relief from the electronics, allowing them to bear less of a burden. 

You can truly hear how much TheRay allows the music to flow in any powerfully dynamic passage. It could just as easily be The Pixies belting out ‘Debaser’ [Doolittle, 4AD] as it could be Zinman and the Baltimore SO delivering Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances [Telarc]. The result is the same. There’s no sense of constriction to dynamics, imagery, or the space around the instruments, and those loud-soft-loud moments are given a free pass. It’s as if your amplifier received a performance boost. 

The difference between TheRed and TheRay is subtle until you reach the high-end audio systems. At that point, TheRed’s more uncompromising architecture enhances the sound’s freedom even further. On the other hand, considering the more affordably priced option, TheRay’s ability to allow music to be less constrained by electronics offers an extremely attractive proposition.

WK Audio is currently the best cable brand you’ve never heard of, but with products like TheRay (and recently, the even more affordable TheOne… more on that later), it’s clear that the company is on the brink of making a big name for itself. Witold ‘Witek’ Kamiñski’s cable brand is the one to watch! 

Technical specifications

Price (as reviewed): €3,000/1.5m

Manufacturer

WK Audio

www.wkaudio.com

More from WK Audio

Back to Reviews

Advance Paris A12 Classic

Advance Paris is a well-established player in Europe, selling in more than 40 countries worldwide, but when I spotted it at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show earlier this year, it was still a new name to me.

Established in 1995 in France as Advance Acoustic, it started with a range of five loudspeakers and only branched out into electronics once it launched its first integrated amplifier in 2004. The first product under the Advance Paris brand came along in 2013.

As the name suggests, Advance Paris products are designed in France but manufactured in China. But what impressed me at Bristol was the breadth of the product range, the many facilities, and the versatility offered by the amplifiers. Whenever I asked, ‘And how much is that?’ I responded, ‘Really?’, as they all seemed to offer a lot for very little money. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on something from them.

Its range is extensive, with eight integrated amps ranging from £500 to £3,750. There are two preamps (£1,500 and £3,500) and two stereo and two monobloc power amps, priced between £1,500 to £4,000. Then there are two CD players for £650 and £890 and transport for £1,000. It also offers wireless speakers, Bluetooth receivers, a range of streamers, and all-in-one systems.

Two hybrids

I was particularly interested in their two hybrid integrated amps, the 130W A10 Classic priced at £2,000 and the 190W A12 Classic reviewed here (£3,000).

The A12 Classic impressed me with its wide range of inputs, tube preamp stage, powerful transistor power amp stage, built-in DAC, moving coil and moving magnet phono stage and two headphone outputs, all for the modest asking price of £3,000. This amplifier comes in a very smart package with a substantial metal case and stylish black acrylic front panel sporting two large, blue VU meters and a window to showcase the two low-noise, triode ECC81/12AT7 preamp tubes.

Advance Paris says the heart of its philosophy combines good sound quality with a wide choice of digital and analogue inputs. The Classic A12 uses a dual-mono circuit topology, and although its front panel looks minimalist, don’t be fooled—it gives access to a broad selection of input and output options. 

On the far left at the bottom is the on/off/standby button, then a small display next to it shows the chosen volume and when the valve preamp section warm-up is complete. A similar display towards the far right displays the desired input and, in conjunction with the large central volume/multifunction knob, allows the user to select one (or both) of the two speaker outputs, adjust or bypass the tone controls, tailor the automatic switch-off timer operation and select ‘TV Audio’ and ‘Amp In’ so that you can use a different preamp with the A12. Bottom right are outputs for two pairs of headphones, which are individually adjustable for both gain (-4dB, -0dB, +6dB) and headphone output impedance (100Ω for phones with a middle or high impedance between 100Ω and 600Ω, and between 0Ω and 32Ω for lower-impedance models).

Unusually, there are two separate rotary input selector knobs on either side of the volume control, analogue on the left and digital on the right.

Two sets of binding posts provide two pairs of speaker outputs, which can be selected individually or together to provide sound in two rooms or bi-wiring a single pair of speakers.

Versatile

When it comes to inputs, it is not so much a question of what the A12 Classic has as what it doesn’t have. 

Let’s start with analogue inputs. There are five RCA line-in sockets plus an RCA input for phono, with adjustable input capacitance (100pF, 200pF and 300pF) and adjustable gain for moving magnet and moving coil (high and low). There are more RCAs for preamp out, record out and power amp in. There are also two sets of balanced XLR inputs and one XLR balanced preamp output.

The A12 Classic has a built-in DAC based on the well-respected and widely used Burr Brown PCM1796 chipset. There are seven digital inputs, including three optical, three coaxial, one AES/EBU and one USB, and connectors for optional aptX Bluetooth modules (the £100 X-FTB01 or £150 X-FTB02). 

It is also fully ready to be hooked up to a home cinema system, with two subwoofer outputs with adjustable roll-over points of 75Hz or 150Hz, an HDMI input for a DVD player, and an HDMI ARC for use with a TV.

Although a streamer is missing from the A12 Classic, Advance Paris offers a compact WTX MicroStream plug-in high-definition streamer module, which operates via wi-fi and plugs into one of the auxiliary RCA inputs. At £150, this allows the A12 Classic to offer the user streaming for around the same overall price as some integrated amps with a streamer built in. Setting up the app to control it proved straightforward enough.

For most of my listening, I used a Gold Note CD10 CD player with Marten Oscar Duo loudspeakers. I used an Audio Note TT3/PSU3/Io1/AN-S9 front end to evaluate the phono input.

I started with CD as a source, initially feeding the CD10’s digital output into the A12’s DAC. The sound was dynamic, detailed and syncopated with great snap and poise to drums and percussion, deep tuneful bass guitar lines and open, articulate male and female vocals. 

Street Racing

On Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Racing in the Streets’ from his Darkness on the Edge of Town CD, I was impressed by the openness of his vocals, the presence and body of the piano on the intro, the crispness of drum rimshots, and the sheer power and weight of the bass line when it kicked in. One well-respected rival sounded colder in its balance, and the A12 better separated the various strands of the music.

On ‘All I See is You’ from saxophonist Dave Koz’s Saxophonic CD, the A12 again offered a clearer insight into percussion, conveyed the body and bite of his sax better and conveyed the rhythmic impetus and flow of the music better.

I also tried the A12’s built-in DAC against the onboard DAC in the CD10, and it was not found lacking. Bass lines were tight, snappy, and moved well, while vocals, piano, guitar, and saxophone were well-voiced and natural. The music has a good sense of rhythmic impetus and structure. If you pair the A12 with a CD player priced between £1,000 and £2,000, try its digital output into the A12’s DAC. 

I next tried streaming using the Advance Paris WTX MicroStream. I quickly set up the app and searched Tidal for the track ‘A Place for Skipper’ from guitar legend Larry Carlton’s Discovery album.

Despite the modest £150 asking price of the streamer, I was impressed by the delicacy and detail in the percussion lines and by the natural voicing and note detail on the guitar. The bass line was weighty, tight, and agile, and compared with one well-respected competitor’s built-in streamer; it performed extremely well.

Skip to Linda Ronstadt’s gorgeous ballad ‘Lo Siento Mi Vida’ from her Hasten Down the Wind album. It nicely differentiated the sonic signatures of the two guitars in the intro, and Ronstadt’s vocals were open, sensual, and packed an excellent emotional and dynamic punch. When she turned up the volume on a note, the A12 rose to the challenge without becoming harsh or strident.

It would be easy to dismiss the tiny WTX MicroStream as a cheap add-on. But it’s better than that. It punches well above its weight and does not let the A12 down.

Earning Ears

My ears were really earning their keep checking out the multiple inputs of the A12. Next up was the phono input. This phono stage features adjustable capacitance for MM and adjustable gain for MC.

I used my Audio Note Io1 with its S9 transformer into the MM input set to the lowest capacitance. From the first few bars of the title track of the wonderful half-speed mastered version of John Martyn’s classic Solid Air, the A12 proved that its phono stage was more than fit for purpose. The double bass was powerful, tight, and tuneful, Martyn’s guitar was delicately painted and nicely separated, his vocals were open and articulate, and the staccato rhythm that drives this wonderful track along was well captured.

Next, I tried ‘Red Lights in the Rain’ from Canadian singer/songwriter/guitarist Stephen Fearing’s The Secret of Climbing album for Rega (get one if you don’t have one!). Here, his vocals exhibited delicacy, power, and emotional impact but without any harshness or sibilance, while his guitar had a good body and note shape detail. All in all, it was an excellent performance.

But we are still going! There were two things I still wanted to check out. First, I tried the headphone output and, finally, the effect of using the High Bias setting. You select High Bias by operating a toggle switch on the back panel with a small blue light on the front panel to indicate when it is in use. Advance Paris says that in High Bias mode, the sound “is comparable to that of a Class A amplifier on the first few watts of use”. Gotta be worth a try.

Trying it out on ‘Never Too Far to Fall’ from George Benson’s In Your Eyes album, the vocals seemed a bit more open and sweeter on High Bias, but on the downside, the bass line lost some weight and impulsion.

On ‘The Bright Side’ from Dave Koz’s The Dance: Yes, the overall sound was sweeter, but the percussion lacked impact, and his sax was softer and lacking bite. Again, the bass line seemed fuller and more melodic in normal bias mode. On balance, I concluded that the High Bias setting wasn’t for me, so I left it out of the circuit for all my listening. The amp was more than good enough without it.

From experience, I know that the headphone output can be an afterthought in many amplifiers, but I am pleased to say that this wasn’t the case with the A12 Classic.

Plugging in my Focal Clear headphones, after the first few bars of ‘I Can See Clearly Now’ from guitarist Peter White’s excellent Groovin’ CD, I could put any such fears to one side as the A12’s performance was detailed, dynamic, well balanced and articulate. I could hear how White shaped each note and what the backing players were doing, while that great, reggae-like bass line was weighty and moved well. 

‘No One Emotion’ from George Benson’s 20/20 confirmed the competence of the A12’s headphone amp. The track was conveyed with great speed, poise, and impetus, and the driving synth bass line was weighty and pacey, keeping the rhythmic energy of the track flowing. Benson’s vocals were open and articulate, and that screaming guitar solo from Michael Sembello was well-voiced, with great power and inner detail but without sounding harsh or strident.

Magnificent multitasker

I was wondering if there was anything that the Advance Paris A12 Classic couldn’t do. It is a great-sounding amplifier with more than enough power for any speakers you care to throw at it, and it benefits from a valve preamp stage that gives it an edge in sound quality over many similarly priced competitors.

It has a built-in DAC and adding £150 to your bill for the tiny but excellent WTX MicroStream plug-in streamer allows you to add another source with great sound quality from Tidal or Qobuz.

It not only performs well on its analogue line and digital inputs but also has a very capable moving magnet/moving coil phono stage that allows you to enjoy high-quality vinyl playback. Meanwhile, its excellent built-in headphone amp is more than good enough to satisfy most listeners, saving you from shelling out on a separate one.

At £3,000, the A12 Classic is a bargain, and I recommend it enthusiastically. 

Technical specifications

  • Type: Class AB, two-channel hybrid integrated amplifier
  • Analogue inputs: 5x analogue RCA line input, 1x phono (MM/MC), 2x XLR balanced line inputs
  • Digital inputs: 3x optical, 3x coaxial, 1x AES/EBU, HDMI ARC, USB
  • Power output: 190Wpc into 8 ohms, 280Wpc into 4ohms 
  • Distortion: 0.007%
  • Frequency response: 10Hz-35kHz (-3dB)
  • Signal-to-noise ratio: 103dB 
  • Channel separation: >75dB
  • DAC: Burr-Brown PCM1796
  • Phono stage gain: MM: 38dB (47kohms), MC: 48dB (low), 58dB (high) (47ohms)
  • Dimensions: (WxHxD) 43x19x45.5cm 
  • Weight:  17.9kg
  • Price:  £3,000, $3,799, €2,690

Manufacturer

Advance Paris SARL 

www.advanceparis.com

+33 (0) 160 185 895

UK distributor

Decent Audio

www.decentaudio.co.uk

+44 (0) 1642 263765

Back to Reviews

DALI Rubikore 8

First there was the Kore, the mahoosive mighty Kore at £85k, then came the marginally more affordable Epikore 11 at £40k. Now, the trickle has turned into a flood and borne fruit in the shape of Rubikore at £2,299 and up. DALI has followed classic loudspeaker design practice with Nordic efficiency in turning the ideas developed for their flagship into an affordable range of ambitious loudspeakers in just two years, the engineering department must be a busy place.

The Rubikore range consists of three stereo models plus an on-wall and an LCR for films and that, the price mentioned above relates to the Rubikore 2 standmount, the Rubikore 6 floorstander is £4,499 and the Rubikore 8 under consideration here is a pound under six grand. And it is a lot of very nicely finished loudspeaker for the money. Hopefully the pictures will reveal the range of finishes available and the glossiness of their lacquer. Compare this with similarly equipped and scaled models from other brands and you will see that DALI is making a very good case for itself in the hard fought mid market.

Starting at the top of the 110cm tall Rubikore 8 cabinet you have the high frequency section of the loudspeaker, this consists of not one but two drivers in the form of a 29mm soft dome and a 45mm planar magnetic, the latter covering the highest frequencies and the larger than average tweeter doing the (relatively) heavy lifting of highs that you might just be able to hear. DALI makes a big point about the dome being free of ferrofluid, an oil that is used largely to keep voice coils cool. Its claim is that this fluid impedes movement in the driver and slows down its transient response but say that without it the voice coil has to be more precisely centred in the magnetic gap than is conventionally the case.

DALI calls the paper and wood fibre cones on its mid and bass drivers ‘Clarity Cones.’ These have a light coating to provide the desired degree of damping. They are embossed to pool the coating, which increases damping without adding too much weight. This aims to make the midrange smoother. The SMC (or Soft Magnetic Compound) magnet system on these drivers uses insulated iron granules rather than solid iron, this is because the latter conducts electricity and current in the voice coil creates eddy currents in the iron that restricts movement due to a braking effect. DALI’s SMC also gives the Rubikore a more linear impedance and thus makes the amplifier’s life easier, they suggest that the Rubikore 8’s 90.5dB/4 Ohm load can be driven with a 30W amp. SMC has also been used in the crossover inductors where it is said to measurably reduce distortion by a significant amount, DALI also uses fancy Mundorf capacitors in the network.

Which way?

It points out that the “bass reflex port is a driver” which at low frequencies is generally the case. Here DALI has used three continuously flared ports to avoid the turbulence that makes these ‘drivers’ non linear. The whole loudspeaker is described as being a 2.5+0.5+0.5 way design which is kind of confusing, what it means is that the three 165mm mid/bass drivers are considered to be 2.5-way plus a half-way while the two high frequency drivers only constitute a half-way. Essentially the three cones are separated at 500Hz and 800Hz and hand over to the dome tweeter at 2.4kHz, however all of them cover the bass, so the lower one goes from the 38Hz cut-off up to 500Hz, the middle one goes from 38Hz to 800Hz and the top one includes everything from 38Hz to 2.4kHz. The high frequencies are covered by two drivers but there is no crossover between the two, instead DALI relies on the natural roll-off of the dome as the planar driver takes over between 11 and 14kHz. Clearly the crossover network is not straightforward, but the results suggest that it does a very good job.

The Rubikore 8 is a substantial and attractive loudspeaker that’s available in a range of four finishes, I was sent the high gloss white but there is also a very attractive walnut and ‘maroon’ which looks more like a veneer than a paint finish. A pair of grey fleck grilles are included and attach magnetically so that there are no ugly sockets to see when they are left in the box. Each speaker comes with a pair of cast outrigger stabilising bars that bolt onto the bottom and can be fitted with supplied spikes, they provide the requisite stability without extending the footprint to an excessive degree. Speaker cables connect to bi-wirable terminals supplied with bridging plates for single wiring.

It’s easy to take such things for granted but unboxing the Rubikore 8s did enhance my experience with them. You know that they have been designed and packed by a company that has considered every last detail. Sadly, this is not always the case. The box for accessories is very nicely done too and the whole shebang should be good for several courier journeys before the 30kgs of loudspeaker start to become vulnerable.

Low end theory

I reviewed the Epikore 11s last year and got a superb result, the smoothness of midrange left a very positive impression as did their ability to make such a wide range of music sound engaging and detailed. The Rubikore 8 doesn’t quite match that model as one might expect but it has some of the same characteristics, notably in the absence of glare or grain in the midrange and the articulation of the bass. I started with e.s.t. 30, a live concert celebrating that much loved trio’s anniversary albeit without the late Esbjorn Svensson, it’s a good recording and one that revealed the impressive low frequency extension of the DALIs. The piano shimmered in the mid and top while double bass and kick drum were nicely articulated in the bass, the notes of the ‘bull fiddle’ being well differentiated and revealing just how clean the low end is from the biggest Rubikores.

Someone recommended Eric Dolphy’s version of ‘God Bless the Child’ (Live at the University of Illinois, 1963), a recording that the DALIs show has depth and stereo solidity that is surprisingly good for the time. They also make it clear that Dolphy was a musician of not inconsiderable talent even if he is overshadowed by his peers today. Another vintage jazz piece, ‘Mercy, Mercy, Mercy’ by Cannonball Adderley was recorded in front of an invited audience by David Axelrod who created a club of sorts in his studio. The Rubikore 8s make it clear that this was a great idea because the atmosphere is tangible and the playing superb, you clearly cannot underestimate the benefit that putting an audience in front of a musician has on the end result.

These speakers proved to be very adept at throwing around the spatial dynamics of a far less natural recording in the shape of Gryphon Rue’s 4n_Objx which is largely electronic but uses vintage synths and minimal beats. The DALIs reveal that it has been mixed to sound three dimensional in a synthetic but very effective fashion that few among its audience is likely to appreciate on their earbuds. These DALIs offer a high level of transparency for the asking price but don’t have the slightly exposed character found with some of the competition. They deliver detail but don’t emphasise shortcomings within recordings and that’s a bonus with releases like this. While not as smooth as the Epikore 11s the Rubikore 8s do reflect this aspect of their character which I suspect has a lot to do with the SMC in their motor systems.

Prince meets Zappa

Of course if a piece of music is limited when it comes to something like dynamics they don’t gloss over it, I found this with the new Hiatus Kaiyote album Love Heart Cheat Code, which the DALIs make clear is a fabulous piece of inspiring jazz funk from down under. The speakers allowed me to appreciate the originality and playing/singing abilities on an album that has touches of Prince, hip hop and even Zappa, by making it easy to hear into the layers of a production. One that has been compressed in order to fit everything in and make it accessible to an audience that doesn’t have the luxury of loudspeakers of the Rubikore 8’s calibre. I suspect that this album will sound rather harder and less easy to enjoy through other loudspeakers, especially those that seek to reveal as much detail as possible.

This capability is at least partly down to the remarkable timing qualities that these DALIs possess. As a rule, the more ‘ways’ that a loudspeaker has the more difficult keeping them all in precise synchronisation becomes, which is why it’s hard to beat a two-way and also why some won’t give up on full range drivers. 

Timing really is the key to making complex music accessible and enjoyable, without it the less obvious musical forms can easily sound hard, bright and uncomfortable. That the Rubikore 8 deals with vintage jazz and mixes cut for contemporary tastes indicates that it has its finger firmly on the timing pulse.

Power handling is also a strong point, this you would expect given the size of the box and the quantity of drivers, however while plenty of big boxes can give high levels not many of them can do it as with the ease of this DALI. It remains controlled and dynamic while delivering above average volume levels and simultaneously delivers a strong stereo image, with instruments like piano having real solidity without masking other elements in a performance. More importantly than all of this is that the Rubikore 8s draw you into the music by delivering the sound in an engaging and easy to follow fashion. 

Generous spirit

These are not monitors, they don’t seek to expose every bum note or the fact that a vinyl record could probably do with a good clean, they are revealing in a generous fashion which is usually much more enjoyable than warts and all presentation styles. Tonal contrast is for instance excellent, this was apparent with all manner of instruments and voices, especially the acoustic variety. The Liv Andrea Hauge Trio play piano, bass and drums and sometimes do so in a seemingly chaotic fashion, it’s almost free jazz except there’s no screeching and no one pushes the piano down the stairs. And this can be hard to follow if the system isn’t able to keep up, to distinguish between notes and to keep everything in perspective. The Rubikore 8s proved to be more than up to the job, pulling out the dynamic characteristics of the various instruments and presenting it along with the tonal palette in a totally coherent fashion.

This was apparent on the more familiar Steely Dan tune ‘Babylon Sisters’ which I regularly play as a test of engagement, it can all too easily sound plush but boring, but the DALI’s ability to clarify what each element in the mix is contributing and to show you how they connect with the rest of the band means that before you know it “Shake it” escapes your lips as you attempt to match the perfection of the backing vocals. Some call it dynamic expression, this ability to reveal the full envelope of each note or to at least deliver the most important elements. The Rubikore 8s are not as polished as some speakers but in exchange they provide the key ingredients for anyone who is really interested in what the musicians are playing, in how they are communicating with each other and the listener. And that for my money is worth a whole lot more than the veneer of sophistication. It’s a vivid, lifelike delivery that works with electronica, acoustic jazz and classical and the ferocity of modern prog that The God In Hackney lay down on The World in Air Quotes.

I am very impressed with the DALI Rubikore 8s, the Rubicon model that preceded it was good but with the trickle down from Kore this Danish company has managed to leverage huge amounts of resolution in an effortless fashion from a speaker that would cost significantly more if it were made by a boutique brand. It may well be time to forget about snob appeal and embrace a brand that delivers serious bang for your buck. 

 

Technical specifications

  • Type: 2.5+0.5+0.5-way, five-driver, reflex loaded floorstanding speaker.
  • Driver complement: One 29mm low loass soft dome; one 17x45mm planar magnetostatic tweeter; three 6.5 inch Clarity Cone paper and wood fibre mid/bass drivers with SMC magnets.
  • Crossover frequencies: 500Hz, 800Hz, 2.4kHz, 14kHz
  • Frequency response: 38Hz – 34kHz
  • Impedance: 4 Ohms
  • Sensitivity: 90.5 @ 2.83V/1m
  • Dimensions (HxWxD): 1100 x 220 x 444mm
  • Weight: 30kg/each
  • Finishes: High Gloss Black, High Gloss White, High Gloss Maroon, Natural Walnut.
  • Price: £5,999, $12,000, €6,998/pair

Manufacturer

DALI A/S

www.dali-speakers.com

+45 9672 1155

More from DALI

Back to Reviews

EMT 928 II Turntable and 909 HI Tonearm with EMT Tondose cartridges

Vinyl replay is replete with brand names that have been in the business of making turntables for a very long time; given the fundamental… maturity… of the technology in question, it could hardly be otherwise. Even among the more illustrious names though, some companies manage to maintain more of a mystique to them than others. In the case of EMT, the brand’s formidable reputation was built around a family of broadcast and laboratory specification turntables that took the concept of overengineering and ran with it. These turntables are still highly regarded and sought after today, such is the level of performance that they offer. 

This means that any device that sports an EMT badge has a tremendous heritage to upkeep and, taken at face value, the lineage between those vast pro models and this usefully compact belt driven device presented for your consideration is not something that is automatically obvious. The pro models used either idler or direct drive rather than belt and the reduction in controls on the current deck to two (more on which in a bit) is in contrast to the plethora of buttons and switches on the older models. 

Lineage

Crucially though, the 928 does have a lineage of its own. More accurately, it is described on the company site as the 928 II because the original 928 was another belt drive model that borrowed underpinnings from the Thorens TD125 and was sold as a semi-pro design. Like its titular ancestor, the EMT 928 II shares some underpinnings with the TTT Compact II turntable from sister brand Thales but winds up being a rather different beast. 

EMT 928

Key to the design of the 928 II is the motor and power supply. A 20 watt motor offers 33, 45 and 78 rpm operation and this is intended to run on battery power in most use cases. An internal battery is built into the plinth and, so long as the IEC socket is connected to power, the battery will be topped off when the 928 II isn’t playing. Should you drain the battery (no small undertaking as it offers 30 hours at 78rpm, rising to 40 at 33rpm), the third position on the power switch allows the EMT to run on mains power as well. 

What is tricky to get across is how astonishingly dense the EMT is. It’s barely larger than a Rega Planar 3 in terms of surface area but the platter alone (5.5kg) is barely less than the total weight of the Rega (6.0kg). The complete turntable tips the scales at 23kg which grants it a fairly significant degree of isolation simply down to mass, even before the pliant feet on the underside are taken into account. It might look almost dainty in appearance but it really, really isn’t. 

Package deal

The 928 II is available as a package with the EMT 909 tonearm for £13,800; a considerable saving over buying both separately. The 909 is much more visually in keeping with the designs from the broadcast era and is a shallow S shape design using an aluminium alloy for the majority of components, all mounted to a stainless steel base. The 909 is available in different configurations to suit your requirements; a detachable SME headshell and Ortofon A compatible versions also being available. The version supplied for test though is designed to connect directly to the ‘Tondose’ family of cartridges that date back in concept to 1965. 

EMT-909

The 909 looks simple but comprises over 150 parts and the more you interact with it, the more confidence inspiring it becomes. The build is every bit as substantial as the turntable and it’s a wholly pleasant and logical thing to use. A twelve inch version is also available and EMT has recently released an adapter that connects to the rear left hand corner of the 928 II that allows it to run one of these in addition to the 9” unit in the standard position without significantly increasing the overall footprint. EMT will also cut armboards to allow for other arms to fit the 928 II as well. 

While the 909 will work happily with a decent spread of low and medium compliance cartridges, I can see the temptation to keep everything in house and go with the fitting for the Tondose designs. Despite looking very similar to the post 1972 models, with their cast magnesium bodies and prominent Perspex front section complete with red line to aid alignment (as the short stylus is pretty much invisible when viewed from above). These new models have a body that is entirely made from magnesium and gold and silver coil windings are available as cost options. As befits a turntable that can spin at 78rpm, there are both mono and specialist shellac mono variants available which gives the EMT the ability to handle a huge variety of records, fairly easily. 

EMT and UK distributor Fi Audio supplied three different Tondose models to try. The TSD SPH and TSD SFL are both £1,680 and represent two different eras of broadcast standard model; the SPH using a conical stylus commonly encountered pre 1980 while the SFL has a nude elliptical stylus as used in the eighties and onwards. The final model is the £3,600 TSD Novel, the range topping flagship which is a rather more sophisticated device with a sapphire and titanium cantilever and highly polished line contact stylus which gives it something of the feel of a retromod car; all period correct on the outside but entirely of the moment under the hood. 

Set up

Setting the EMT up is genuinely pleasurable experience, free from anything that could be described as ‘faff’ and it serves to demonstrate just how well made it is; the manner in which the platter slides onto the bearing is a source of almost ASMR like satisfaction. EMT supplies a lead out cable and ground lead and you should be up and running inside of fifteen minutes. The lack of dustcover is a mild annoyance but the shape of the 928 II isn’t so radical as to preclude an aftermarket option. The only other operational remark I’ll make is that the Tondose carts need to be lowered carefully at the start of a record; they are very prone to bouncing a few seconds into the opening track if lowered too fast.

With setup completed and a Luxman L509-Z offering up its extremely capable phono stage as a source, I started with the simplest SPH Tondose cartridge. I will go on record as not being a huge fan of conical stylus designs; often the presentation isn’t so much ‘big picture’ as ‘loosely outlined in crayon’ but the results here demonstrated that the fundamentals of the EMT package are seriously good. The suggestion that the SPH is happiest with early stereo recordings led to me picking a repress of Nina Simone Sings the Blues [RCA] to get acquainted with the EMT. 

EMT Tondose

The result walks a beautifully balanced line between neutrality and engagement that is hard not to be smitten by. The upbeat Real Real is presented with the energy and spark that Simone was so effortlessly good at bringing to her performances and both she and her supporting instruments are tonally convincing and possessed of convincing scale. There are points at the peaks of this track where the limitations of the recording give it a slightly hard edge. The EMT doesn’t minimise this; it’s the scion of broadcast equipment after all, but it doesn’t become the focus of your attention over above the music.

Perfect masters

This ability to make sense of less than perfectly mastered material survives leaving the 1960s as well. A spirited run through Destroyer by Black Mountain [Jagjaguwar] reveals the same ability to extract music from less than magnificent mastering. It also reveals that the EMT is perfectly capable of being tremendously good fun when the opportunity arrives. In presentation terms, the 928 II is interesting because when you listen initially, it doesn’t sound particularly ‘fast’ but after a bit of time and a few records, you realise that it is quite astonishingly articulate. This articulation means that it never shows the slightest hint of breaking sweat as tempos increase and time signatures become more complex. The sequence in The Cinematic Orchestra’s Ode to the Big Sea [Ninja Tune] where the drums are layered half a beat apart can become an ill defined mess, even on turntables at this sort of price point. On the EMT they’re perfectly recreated. 

Good though the performance is, the 928 II and 909 are capable of delivering more. Swapping the conical SPH for the elliptical SFL is a significant step forward for me and, given that the bulk of my record collection is from post 1980 and the two models are the same price, it would be the one I would pick of the two. My time with the EMT coincided with the arrival of a copy of Another Lonely Night [Dear Boss], a live Kraftwerk recording, originally broadcast on Italian FM radio. This is not a good recording; it’s a joy because it hasn’t been given the Kling Klang treatment and actually sounds like Kraftwerk used to. The ability of the SFL to dig more information out of this record is considerable and it consistently performs this feat with more conventional material too. 

This trio, 928 II, 909 and SFL is the sweet spot of the lot as far as I’m concerned. The TSD Novel is better still but, at the best part of nearly two grand more, it demonstrates that the SFL is exceptionally good value. Crucially, the SFL has the resolving capability to show just how good the deck and arm really are. After a few days with the EMT, returning to other turntables, even ones that cost as much or more than this one does can leave you finding them sounding fussy and unsettled. The 928 II has an almost supernatural ability to create a three-dimensional image of what is being played and places performers, regardless of their number or what they happen to be doing, in such a way as to be utterly logical. 

Quality values

It does this while possessing the quality I value above all others in absolutely any piece of audio equipment at any price, in that it’s fun. I had some concerns before the EMT arrived that it would be a serious, slightly overbearing device that responded to any effort to play something like the eponymously titled debut album by Bentley Rhythm Ace [Skint] with the acoustic equivalent of a sneer. I needn’t have worried. What actually happens is that the 928 II gets stuck into the gloriously odd Why is a Frog Too? with truly exceptional enthusiasm. Be under no illusions that the performance is technically excellent; the bass in particular is better than I can ever recall hearing from this record, but more than specific abilities, it captures the essence of hearing it on a night out on the South Coast in the late 1990s. I don’t doubt that the EMT would hold its own being judged as a reference source but it’s capable of rather more than that. 

Of course, there is degree of faith required in the mechanics of the EMT to leap into this world that needs to be taken into account. Most people shopping for a turntable at this price point will not be buying their first unit and, to hear the EMT as I have in this review, requires your existing deck, arm and cart to all be dispensed with in one fell swoop. Having done so, if your 909 arm is wired as this one is, you are tied into the Tondose family of carts as nothing else will fit. That said, the fixed headshell version of the 909 arm suits regular hi-fi cartridges. Against rivals that allow you to pick and choose, it might feel restrictive, but I am extremely confident that on hearing what this trio of EMT components can do together, many people won’t care. EMT has carefully curated their past in the 928 II and, in doing so, has created an absolutely sublime turntable for the present. 

Technical specifications

Model EMT928 II

  • Platter speed 331/3rpm | 45rpm | 78rpm
  • Wow and flutter ±0,07% | ±0,07% | ±0,10%
  • Rumble -85dB | -80dB | -75dB
  • Speed-up time 10s | 12s | 20s
  • Battery service life; 40h | 38h | 30h
  • Dimensions 480x340x100mm
  • Weight 23kg
  • Input voltage 100-240VAC, 50-60Hz
  • Output terminal RCA, with separated tonearm ground
  • Mounting distance tonearm 215-245mm, prepared for EMT 9-inch tonearm

909 II Tonearm 

  • Effective mass 10.2g
  • Cartridge weight 10…25g
  • Effective length 246.75mm
  • Offset angle 22.25°
  • Overhang 16.75mm
  • Null points 120.9 | 66.04mm
  • Output (Standard) Wire outlet 20cm
  • Output (Option DIN) 5-pin DIN outlet

Price as package £13,800, $14,995, €14,490

Manufacturer

EMT Tontechnik

www.emt-tontechnik.ch

UK distributor

Fi Audio

www.fiaudio.co.uk

+44(0)1563 574185

More from EMT

Back to Reviews

William Steinberg: The complete Command Classics recordings

William Steinberg is the forgotten man among prominent post-war conductors in the USA. But at last, his Pittsburgh recordings on Command Classics have been issued on 17 CDs. 

Command Classics was a small American label that used 35mm magnetic film as a recording medium. This gave its recordings superior dynamic range and lower noise than standard magnetic tape. Legendary Mercury Living-Presence engineer C Robert Fine was a big advocate of 35mm. Fine engineered many early Command releases. Given the Mercury team’s involvement, one assumes the same ‘Living Presence’ three-spaced omnidirectional microphone arrangement was employed. 

For Command, Steinberg recorded the complete Beethoven and Brahms symphonies. DG has issued the Beethoven and Brahms cycles separately. So, if these are the principal recordings you want, you don’t have to buy the 17 CD box to get them. However, the rest of the set is well worth having and gives a more rounded picture of Steinberg’s art.

Other works include Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony, Stravinsky’s Petrouchka, a disc of Wagner excerpts, plus suites from Copland’s Billy the Kid and Appalachian Spring. There’s even a disc of orchestral arrangements by Robert Russell Bennet from Porgy and Bess, My Fair Lady, and The Sound of Music. Rachmaninov’s Second Symphony is also included. This was something of a Steinberg favourite; he recorded for Capitol in mono in 1954. 

Steinberg’s performances here are robust and sturdy, with plenty of weight and maturity. For example, there’s a fast Bruckner Seventh Symphony, which lasts around an hour. Many listeners in the ‘60s found Bruckner’s music heavy-going and boring. Steinberg’s brisk account—terse, dramatic, and forward-moving rather than spacious and relaxed—aims to demonstrate otherwise. While the Pittsburgh orchestral playing is not always refined and polished, Steinberg’s feisty performances exude a similar fire and urgency. There’s nothing routine or portentous here.  

Rachmaninov’s Second Symphony is played in the ‘composer’s cut’. The cuts were seen as a travesty once the original version became established in the 1970s. But are they? For me, they tighten up the work. Steinberg’s account is taut, well-balanced, and clearly recorded. Another highlight is the coupling of Stravinsky’s Petrouchka (1966) with a lithe, if nervy, Shostakovich First Symphony (1968). Both receive crisp, straightforward readings, which are very nicely recorded. Command’s sharp, brusque sound suits the music.

The last disc of Wagner’s excepts brings the set to a thrilling, resplendent conclusion. Recorded in ’61 and ’63, Steinberg shows himself to be a disciplined but exciting Wagnerian who infuses the music with dramatic passion, nobility, and flair. 

Capitol chose the Syria Mosque for all their Pittsburgh recordings, but C Robert Fine was unhappy with the acoustic, finding it too reverberant. So, Command recorded at the Pittsburgh Soldier’s and Sailor’s Memorial Hall, which had a drier ambience. 

The Command Classics recordings are very good for their age – bright, articulate, and immediate – with low background noise. It seems recordings made after 1967 used noise reduction (presumably Dolby A), and the sound is slightly cleaner and fresher. Being critical, the Beethoven and Brahms symphonies are tonally thin at times, and the chorus in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony sounds small.  However, the ‘Eroica’ is slightly fuller and richer than the others, and Brahms’s Fourth Symphony sounds better than Brahms’s First, Second, and Third Symphonies. Finally, the chorus in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is oddly balanced and sounds small.  

Steinberg’s Command Classics set features original LP jackets rather than a generic picture for each CD sleeve. However, as sometimes happens, the music listed on the front of the sleeve is not always found on the disc inside! This is a welcome addition for collectors.

Back to Classical Music

Munich High-End 2025: Systems and everything else!

So far, we’ve focused on new hardware launches at Munich High-End 2025. This is for everything else; the products and technologies that don’t conveniently fit into one of the usual audio silos. It’s also the systems, built specifically for the show. This is not to showcase a new device, but rather as a promotional tool for a manufacturer or distributor.

Some of these companies see Munich High-End 2025 as a flourish or a sign-off. Not every German distributor is also an Austrian distributor. They may not attend Vienna with the same level of enthusiasm. Not every brand represented in Germany travels that far down the Danube, and some will not make the journey. I take a more positive view. Vienna is a central part of Europe. It opens the High-End show to a broader number of brands from all parts of the continent. It’s also the beating heart of European music. It’s the Musikverein and the Vienna Philharmonic. Then, it’s Mozart’s final years in the city. It’s even the city hosting the Eurovision Song Contest in 2026. And it’s good to move from Schweinshaxe to Wiener Schnitzel from time to time.

Did we save the best until last? Maybe!

AIM

We really like AIM’s Ethernet cables from Japan, but they face a naming problem. The NA9 is the company’s flagship cable. Now the company has a new and better cable called NAX (X meaning and pronounced as ’10’). Rather than rebranding NA9, the new NAX is the company’s ‘Flagship Premier’ design. The silver-plated, high-purity copper conductors are insulated in a new foam called ‘air 2’ and its asymmetrical construction is designed to reduce external vibration susceptibility. The price is still to be determined.

Airt Audio

I really did save the best until last! I wandered into this room just 10 minutes before the show ended on Sunday. UK distributor Airt Audio put together a room that shouldn’t work, but sounded great. Avalon’s large Saga loudspeakers are a rare find at any show. However, these large behemoth loudspeakers need a far bigger room.

But, thanks to a careful installation and clever choice of equipment (Kuzma, TriPlanar, My Sonic Lab turntable, Studer A10 tape, SOtM and Kalista digital, Doshi amplification, Purist Audio Design cables, Acoustica Applicata acoustic treatment and Stillpoints support system), this system just sang sweet.

Alsyvox and Omega

Filed under ‘WTF!’ Alsyvox is a Spanish company making planar magnetic panel loudspeakers. It was showing the made-to-order €475,000 Michaelangelo, which is claimed to be flat from 18Hz-40kHz. Those who fondly remember the Magnepan Tympani IV from the 1990s but weren’t too impressed with its room-divider looks were misty-eyed over this loudspeaker. However, the high price was a big ask.

The ‘WTF’ part included one of the rare showings of the Omega Audio Concepts three-ball Stream CD player, in a complete Omega Audio Concepts electronics and cabling system.

Audio Reference

Whatever you think of the system in absolute terms, there’s no denying that German high-end distributor Audio Reference knocked it out of the park with this one! Building essentially a cathedral of sound within a busy show is no mean feat. This €4 million system was a feat of logistics, design, and application.

The system featured the dCS Vivaldi APEX digital system, VPI Avenger Statement turntable, D’Agostino Momentum Phono Stage, Relentless preamplifier, two sets of Relentless Epic 1600 Monoblocks amps, Wilson Audio WAMM Master Chronosonic, with two Subsonic subwoofers, Nordost Odin 2 cables and Qbase Reference distribution units, and lots and lots of top Bassocontinuo equipment supports. These were timed and ticketed demonstrations. Listeners were played just three tracks: one orchestral piece, one acoustic and one contemporary track. Just 15 minutes in front of some of this system. Because there were always dozens of people waiting for their glimpse of the audio divine!

AVM, Siltech, YG

In Motorworld, a triumvirate of quality resulted in a system that cost well over €1.5 million. The new YG Acoustics Gemini loudspeaker is available fully active, fully passive and part active/passive. The eight-driver floorstander with external crossover is the first loudspeaker in YG’s Ultimate range, resulting from a three-year proof-of-concept science project. A staggering amount of top-end Siltech Royal Single Crown and Master Crown cable and AVM Audio electronics, including four MA 8.3 monoblocks per channel, completes the system. The result was one of those loudspeakers that can deliver ground-shaking bass when needed, but can scale up to a full orchestra or down to a singer-songwriter perfectly.

Burmester

In a normal year, Burmester releases one product at the Munich show. Maybe it was because Munich High-End 2025 was the last, but this year, the Berlin-based company showed a wholly new Reference Line. The 257 turntable, 249 preamplifier and 259 stereo power amplifier are completely new designs, sharing nothing with existing models in the range. The 257 turntable is a two-box design, with an inverted magnetic bearing and two opto-controlled high-torque motors.

The fully balanced 249 preamp is a modular design with options for streaming and phono inputs, and the 259 stereo power amp delivers 500W, or 1500W when used as a mono block. The 249 has the stunning haptic controller system developed for the 232 integrated amplifier in the Classic Line. These products also benefit from Burmester’s Bespoke service, as they were shown in a range of elegant colours. In timed demonstrations, playing through the excellent BX100 loudspeakers, this system was a refined yet powerful combination. The price of the products is still to be confirmed when they are launched later this year, but the anticipated price for the new trio of components is around €300,ooo.

Canvas

No really, it’s a soundbar. But this is no ordinary soundbar. The €2,999 Canvas caught the attention of Danish design guru and now Canvas CTO Benno Baun Meldgaard. The equalisation and Organic Master Tuning has transformed the already excellent Canvas into something musically and cinematically sensational.

Danish Audio Excellence

There was a collaborative room under the banner Danish Audio Excellence. It’s a bold claim. But with SV-Audio loudspeakers, Vitus Audio electronics and ZenSati cables, it stood a chance of living up to the title. In fact, with the SV-Audio (also known as Storgard & Vestskov) prototype twin tower (one active, one passive) Menja loudspeakers, with their effortless bass, space and detail all combined to make a surprisingly lively and lovely sounding system.

Given SV-Audio is still only eight years old and is already the choice of Danish big hitters like Vitus and Zen Sati, we’re excited to see what happens next with these brands.

ESD Audio

A must-see fixture on the international high-end scene, ESD Audio is a Chinese-based audio company that builds systems big, bold and more than a little bit bonkers. The ESD Super Phoenix System. This €800,000+ system includes disc player, DAC, preamplifier, crossover, power amplifiers, power supplies and more. Only 18 boxes across five equipment stands and twin horn towers. This fits the ‘it’s not home, but it’s much!’ line.

The company also showed the more affordable Kun Peng system, for €50,000 per pair.

iFi Audio

The new €99 UP Travel from iFi Audio is designed for in-flight entertainment. It’s a Bluetooth transmitter that can connect to the in-flight system via a mini-jack, supports hooking up to two pairs of headphones, and features higher-quality DACs than the competition. It can also operate in receiver mode, allowing you to send Bluetooth music from your phone to your in-car system. At the press launch, iFi Audio presented the UP Travel in the style of a pre-flight safety announcement.

IsoAcoustics

Munich High-End 2025 saw the launch of the new IsoAcoustics GAIA Neo and GAIA Titan Neo (black, or dark chrome) isolation feet. Each comes in three sizes to replace the feet or spikes on loudspeakers. In addition, IsoAcoustics announced partnerships with a vast range of loudspeaker brands, from Amphion to Zaor. After years of demonstrating the improvements to the public, there’s a sense of inflexion point happening with IsoAcoustics. The speaker spike should watch out!

MBL

The Berlin-based audio company MBL has repeatedly demonstrated its €683,000 Reference Line system at Munich High-End 2025, and this year was no exception. But with a twist. Although the company had the 1621 A CD player, 1611 F DAC and 6010 D preamplifier (amounting to some €96,500 worth of front-end electronics).

The company was playing the system using the €9,000 C41 Network Player from the Cadenza line. It worked extremely well, too!

 

Nirvana Audio

Er… yeah. The Chronos Optimiser by Nirvana Audio is a $2,500 USB stick from Taiwan that plugs into a 5V power and, er, does something to the fields in the room. It isn’t supposed to be connected to a system or a computer (as they will see the USB stick as unformatted, and formatting the disc will kill the Chronos effect, whatever that is). What that field or the Chronos effect is remains unclear (even the demonstrator didn’t know how or why it works, or what kind of field it influences. Instead, he deferred to a Taiwanese rocket scientist, who probably gets it).

The problem is that while it’s easy to be sarcastic about what it does and why, there was a change in system performance that was audible when the Chronos is in the room, and went away when the Chronos left the room. Whether this is groupthink and nonsense on stilts, or the next big thing in audio is unclear pending a decent explanation. After all, it’s not rocket science.

Revox

Revox has recently introduced the €15,950 B77 Mk III open-reel tape recorder. This year, it released a special limited edition Alice Cooper version, for €29,750. Each one of the 25 tape machines will be signed Alice Cooper personally and will be able to meet the star personally, and receive a copy of his ‘The Sound of A’ EP.  There is also a special version of the Revox T77 turntable that offers the same special edition options, but the price is to be confirmed.

Tidal

The ‘AP’ in Tidal’s new €185,000 AP1 loudspeakers stands for ‘Amplified Power’. This hybrid-powered loudspeaker is a direct offshoot of the Tidal’s Bugatti’s project. They eschew the Bugatti’s decoupled construction and servo subwoofers. That means the loudspeaker is taller and larger than the Bugatti loudspeakers, but deliver similar levels of performance.

The AP1 is fed by the Tidal Contros ‘Level Controlled Streamer DAC’ (a streaming DAC/preamp).

Telos Audio Design

Celebrating 20 years of power products, Telos Audio Design showed several new products at Munich High-End 2025. The new Foundation Core series draws inspiration from the company’s Monster Series Power and Grounding units, yet offers the systems at a lower price point for a broader range of music enthusiasts. The $15,000 Power Core has five power outlets (with the option of an extra power strip), while the $12,000 Ground Core includes six binding posts for grounding connections to audio components.

Later in the year, Telos will introduce its first server, the $40,000 EMP Monster Music Server, which features Roon Core, Roon Ready and DAC modules, and a vast amount of power reserves.

Unitra

Polish brand Unitra has been around for longer than most: before the fall of communism, the company was the jukebox maker to the other side of the Iron Curtain for many years. Today, however, it’s a nose-to-tail/soup-to-nuts company that makes direct drive turntables, digital audio components, amplifiers, loudspeakers, even cables and LP set-up and test discs. We’re especially fond of the €4,995  22kg WSH-805 integrated amplifier with its solid build and 1970s vibe. The remote-controlled switchgear is a bonus, but the CSH-801 CD player with E-Ink display (€2,500), GSH-630 Fryderyk turntable (€2,805), GSH-801 Edmund turntable (€4,675), ZGZ-8013-way floorstanding speakers (€6,000/pair), and ZGB-401 bookshelf speakers (€2,000/pair) are all worth seeking out.

 

 

Munich High-End 2025: Amplifiers

Munich High-End 2025: Analogue

Munich High-End 2025: Digital

Munich High-End 2025: Loudspeakers

Back to Home Page

Munich High-End 2025: Loudspeakers

There were hundreds of new speaker designs on show at Munich High-End 2025. Beyond all other categories in audio, the loudspeaker ‘beat’ is one of the hardest at the show. This is due to the sheer diversity of products and prices available. You are always going to miss dozens of good speakers. This is why ‘loudspeakers’ are always the largest category in the show report.

Audio Group Denmark

Michael Børresen of Audio Group Denmark is one of the busiest designers in the industry. Barely a month goes by without a new product from Aavik, Ansuz, Axxess, or Børresen. This year was no exception. Børressen’s Bass Module subwoofers were first seen at AXPONA last month. A pair of €15,000 C1 stand-mounts worked well with them. This showed just as much promise as they did in Chicago last month. AGD also showed the T-Series loudspeakers during static demonstrations. There was also a range of products, from affordable to extreme, in four demonstration booths. The Axxess room, featuring a €10,000 Forté 3 amp and €800 power conditioner driving a pair of €5,000 L3 floorstanding speakers, was excellent at the price.

 

Audiovector

We’ve covered the new R10 Arreté loudspeakers here. But this was the first public showing of Audiovector’s latest €147,000 flagship. The speaker was playing in Audiovector’s room, using Naim Audio and Soulution electronics, along with CH Precision. Those of us who had heard this speaker knew what to expect. Those who heard it first at Munich High-End 2025 found it to be one of the show’s great hits.

DALI

DALI showed a range of new products across various speaker-related categories, including in-wall and waterproof speakers. It also showed new colours for its headphones and loudspeakers. However, the Danish company’s biggest launch at Munich High-End 2025 was the V-15F subwoofer. It uses a 400mm bass unit (using Constant Surface Surround technology licensed from stablemate PuriFi) and a 1.5kW Class D amplifier. The 90-litre sub can reach sub-20Hz levels in-room. While intended for home cinema applications, the €4,999 V-16F may also bring some bass to the stereo world.

 

Kroma Atelier

The new €88,000 Callas by Spanish artisan loudspeaker brand Kroma Atelier is the most affordable model in the company’s flagship Reference Series. The four-way bass-reflex design uses Kroma Atelier’s preferred cabinet material, Krion. This rigid mineral in resin material has been chosen for its non-resonant properties. Its drivers include two AMT tweeters, two anodised aluminium 8″ midrange drivers, and two 10″ anodised aluminium bass drivers. Callas features quality crossover components and weighs in at a healthy 123 kg. It sits on Gaia I feet made for the brand by IsoAcoustics. Running from Engstrom valve amplification, the Callas more than delivered the musical goods at the show.

Esprit

French brand Esprit is best known for its cables. However, it also produces a fine range of loudspeakers. The €38,000 per pair Lisa features a vast 160mm AMT tweeter and twin 200mm Nextel-treated paper mid-bass units. Everything about the loudspeaker is impressive, from the 40mm thick MDF-bitumen-MDF cabinet walls to the crossover that features massive components that wouldn’t look out of place in a giant power amplifier. And, in the context of an AGD server, B.audio streaming DAC, Karan Acoustics amplifiers and lots of Esprit cables (naturally), it sounded very good too.

Estelon

 

To celebrate its 15th anniversary, Estelon launched three new models: the €17,900 Aurelle (formerly Aurelia) stand-mount, €13,500 Aurus sub and €7,500 Aurelle subwoofer. These are a bold departure for Estelon. They combine the aesthetic of the company’s floorstanders in smaller speaker designs, and at a new, lower price. The ‘room’ was a small, open area. Still, the Aurelle loudspeakers sounded promising through MSB’s Discrete DAC and S202 power amplifier and Kubala Sosna cables.

Fyne Audio

Scottish speaker makers Fyne Audio had many new and upcoming loudspeaker projects on show at Munich High-End 2025. The brand’s latest ‘Special Production’ model is the €24,000 F704SP floorstander. These join the SP versions of the F701, F702 and F703 models. The F704SP sports a 300mm IsoFlare driver (which places a 75mm titanium dome tweeter at the acoustic centre of its 300mm multi-fibre mid/bass cone). This is accompanied by a matching 300mm multi-fibre driver for bass. The SP treatment features significantly upgraded components in the hand-built, cryogenically treated crossover network. Also new and on demonstration was the €2,800 F502S 2x 8″ IsoFlare floorstander. The company flipped between playing these on an all-Rega system and an all-Unison Research system. The speakers sounded equally at home on both.

On display – and coming soon – is a cheaper ‘STrax’ version of Fyne’s Super Trax super tweeter. This is expected to cost ‘about a grand’. Other new models on display included the F50 small stand-mount and F55E floorstander. These both come from the F500 series launched at Bristol earlier this year.

JBL

One of the most famous names in audio, JBL covers the full range of loudspeakers from portable audio right up to its gigantic Everest and K2 horn systems. Munich High-End 2025 saw the launch of three new models in the top Summit line. The €17,490 Ama stand-mounted system is the smallest with an 8″ HC4 mid/woofer cone, D2 compression driver and HDTIM Sonoglass horn. The price includes the matching heavyweight stands. The middle of the new trio is the Pumori; a €30,998 floorstander that adds a 10″ bass driver to the drivers found in the Ama. Finally the Malaku (pictured), replaces the 10″ bass driver in the Pumori with a 12″ unit in a substantial cabinet, for €43,998 per pair.

Magico

Announced at the end of last year, the Magico S2 had its world premiere at Munich High-End 2025. S2 is a three-way, four-driver sealed-cabinet floorstanding loudspeaker. The £41,500 loudspeaker (£49,995 in its high-gloss finish) uses a 28mm beryllium, diamond-coated tweeter, with Gen 8 Nano-Tec carbon/aluminium sandwich cones in the 127mm midrange and twin 180mm bass units. Its curved, aluminium enclosure reduces internal resonance and diffraction effects. The S5 combined insight and detail with excellent musicality, and was demonstrated with Wadax digital and Pilium amps.

 

Marten

This was a good Munich High-End for Marten. The loudspeaker choice for several brands.. For example, Innuos used the Marten Coltrane Quintet (with Gryphon and MSB electronics) to launch its Nazaré platform. However, the new Coltrane Quintet Extreme, launched at the show, was a €360,000 green piano, an oak thing of beauty. Based on the new €950,000 Coltrane Supreme Extreme, the four-way Coltrane Quintet Extreme is limited to just 10 pairs. It features a carbon-fibre laminate enclosure with a sandwich baffle comprising aluminium, fibreboard, and solid wood. The loudspeaker features Jorma Paragon cabling internally. It sports a 1″ diamond tweeter, 3″ diamond midrange,  7″ beryllium midrange, and two 10″ aluminium sandwich bass units.  It looked and sounded terrific, playing through top-end Audia Flight electronics and Jorma cable.

 

Perlisten

Part of a rolling series of demonstrations in the Audio Reference room, Perlisten showed its new $30,000 S7t Black Edition floorstander with two D8 subwoofers (powered by Perlisten’s 3kW amps, all for $20,000). This was played through dCS, Trinnov, and D’Agostino’s new integrated amp. Even though I was standing way off-axis in a packed (open) demonstration, it was something special, with outstanding dispersion. This sort of accuracy, resolution, bass depth and dynamic range is hard to find at anything close to this price!

 

Raidho

Raidho Acoustics celebrated its 25th anniversary in big style. The new TD3.10 (€120,000 per pair in piano black, €135,000 in Burl Walnut) is the latest model in the range, with twin 10″ diamond-coated bass units (the largest diamond-coated unit to date), alongside the company’s classic diamond-coated mid-range and ribbon tweeter. It was joined by a limited run of 100 pairs of the X2t 25th anniversary edition, available for €21,000 in walnut, or €23,000 in a stunning emerald green or midnight blue burl finish. This 2.5-way also includes a reworked crossover with higher-grade Mundorf components and Nordost wiring.

The company also showed its first subwoofers; the TD8 SUB and TD10 SUB. As the name suggests, the TD8 features twin 8″ drivers as well as two 10″ passive radiators and prices start at €17,000, while the TD10 brings two 10″ powered drivers, doubles the number of passive side-firing passive radiators and is priced from €23,000. Finally, the company announced a collaboration with Danish artist Carsten Beck who uses bold graphics to turn a pair of X2.6 into a more bold visual statement!

 

Scansonic HD

Shown for the first time to the general public, Scansonic HD‘s new M-Series draws upon the same gene pool as Dantax stablemate Raidho Acoustics, but with the accent on excellent value for money. A range of M15.2 stand-mount, the smaller M20.2 floorstander, and the range-topping M30.2 (pictured here, €3,500 per pair) all feature a ribbon tweeter, with sandwich membrane drivers and rear-mounted passive radiators. Costing less than a single diamond-coated driver from Raidho, the two brands nevertheless share a common sonic signature in broad terms, and this elegant and affordable loudspeaker was one of the stars of the show.

 

Sphinx

For those with long audio memories, the name Sphinx evokes images of Dutch audio electronics produced in the 1980s and 1990s by the same individuals who brought you Siltech cables. The brand returns under the same International Audio Holdings wing, which also includes Crystal Cable and Siltech, but is now focused on high-end loudspeakers.

With an enclosure design inspired by the harp, the new Element 3 three-way floorstander is a three-way system that takes design and technology cues from the Siltech Symphony and Crystal Cable Minissimo Forte, it uses the company’s new PAC (passive/active crossover) network with some custom bass tuning to suit room and taste. The stone-like enclosure is designed to naturally dampen resonance, and its ‘ZeroGravity’ bass architecture is designed to enhance room integration while reducing distortion and air compression. This is but the first in a line of products (a prototype of a larger Element 5 was also on display) and sounded interesting when played through an SME Model 60, Grimm MU2, and Siltech SAGA amps and cables. The price of the Element 3 is still to be confirmed, but is expected to be in the region of €40,000 per pair.

Stenheim

Almost dwarfed by the €220,000 Reference Ultimate 2SX from the brand, Stenheim showcased one of its smaller systems, featuring a pair of its new Alumine Sub powered subwoofers, each priced at €17,500. Paired with the €21,000 Alumine Two SE stand-mount loudspeakers, this elegant powered subwoofer includes a 1,200W amplifier and built-in DSP to tune gain, higher-frequency roll-off and phase. Inside its aluminium exterior is a three-chambered internal construction with two 10″ high-excursion drivers acting in a sealed, isobaric topology. Playing on the end of more than €150,000 worth of Thales analogue, Master Fidelity digital, and Boulder electronics, the system sounded far larger than the speaker system would suggest, to the point where casual listeners were unsure which set of speakers were playing.

 

Munich High-End 2025: Analogue

Munich High-End 2025: Amplifiers

Munich High-End 2025: Digital

Munich High-End 2025: Systems and everything else!

Back to Home Page

 

 

Munich High-End 2025: Amplifiers

Arguably more than any other category in audio, amplifiers show the widest diversity in technology and form factor. The term encompasses various audio components, including integrated amps, pre- and power amps. It also means solid-state and ‘hollow-state’ designs of various classes, hybrids, DSP-driven designs, and more. Here are some of the most exciting newcomers at Munich High-End 2025.

Audio Research

The Minnesotan amp specialist’s recent acquisition by Canadian loudspeaker maker Acora is paying dividends if Audio Research‘s latest slew of new products is anything to go by. Munich High-End 2025 saw the launch of six new products from the brand. Four of the six were on display, rather than playing. The latest I/70 integrated amplifier (c. $8,500) builds on the strengths of the I/50. It features 6550 output tubes, XLR inputs, optional built-in DAC or phono cards, and draws from the Reference line. I/70 also utilises the output transformers from the Reference 75SE and incorporates the styling of the Reference 330M.

This was joined by the D-80 power amplifier (c. $15,000). This replaces the VT80SE and draws upon the Reference 80S power amplifier. By eschewing the Ghost Meter panel, the fully-balanced, pentode-powered D-80 looks like classic Audio Research amps, and costs

The final four amplifiers share a similar chassis. The c. $10,000 LS-2 and c. $9,000 LS-3 preamps are nearly identical in appearance. However, the LS-2 employs a tube-based design and the LS-3 relies on pure solid-state architecture. Both feature a colour touch-screen display, balanced and single-ended inputs and outputs and accept user-installable DAC and MM/MC phono cards. These are joined by the c. $9,500 S-100 and c. $12,000 S-200 solid-state power amplifiers. These power amps deliver 100W and 200W per channel, respectively. The differentiator this time is a pair of VU meters on the front panel of the S-200.

Perhaps more importantly, Audio Research’s new pre- and power amplifiers were a part of one of the hidden gems of the show. Fronted by a Wadax Studio • Player and feeding into a pair of $12,990 Acora MRC-2 floorstanders via Cardas Clear Beyond cable throughout, the LS-2 tube preamp and the S-100 solid-state power amp all combined to make one of those systems that sing so well, you keep coming back for more. Yes, there were bigger and considerably more expensive systems with greater dynamics, more headroom, and a more immediate impact. But this was the one that felt ‘right’.

 

B.Audio

French electronics manufacturer B.Audio is more commonly associated with streaming systems. This is perhaps understandable as its integrated amplifier and DAC preamplifier are designed primarily with that technology in mind. However, the company’s latest development is a retrofittable, plug-in phono stage. The new board is available for €2,000 if fitted to a new amplifier, and a €2,500 retrofit for existing models. The company played two systems in its room, featuring Audiophysic loudspeakers. The central system was streaming Qobuz Connect when I visited the room, and was doing an outstanding job.

Constellation Audio

Last year, Constellation Audio announced it was relaunching its ranges. It replaced its power supplies with a new Constellation Switch-Mode Power Supply (C-SMPS). At Munich High-End 2025, we heard the first models in that revised line. These were from the Revelation 2 Series. The amps share the same form factor as the older Revelation line but without the galactic names. The company played the Revelation 2 Preamp, Revelation 2 Phono, and Revelation 2 Stereo power amplifier. This was fed by a European Audio Team analogue and dCS digital front ends, Artesania equipment supports, Transparent cable and Wilson Audio WATT/Puppy loudspeakers. This sounded exceptionally musical and dynamic, especially when Jozefina Lichtenegger of EAT put the system through its paces. The company was also showing the next product out of the gates: the revised Reference 2 mono power amplifier, now with a chunkinormous front power meter!

Gold Note

This year is all about streamlining the power supply for Gold Note. The optional power supplies had grown organically with the Italian company’s expanding line of powerful half-size 5-Series electronics, full-size 10-Series models, and its range of turntables. Gold Note has thinned the five-strong power supply range down to just the PSX-5 (for the 5-Series models), PSX-10 (for the 10-Series) and PST-X for its turntables. This power trio have also been redesigned with better components to supply cleaner power than ever to the company’s products. The company also showed finished versions of the modular Diana loudspeaker concept. These were joined by the HP-10 headphone amplifier, which was demonstrated in prototype form last year.

Gryphon Audio

The Antileon power amplifier is a firm fixture in the Gryphon Audio line. The DM-100, from which it derives, dates back to 1991. Meanwhile, the original, Signature, and EVO versions of the Antileon has been in continuous production for 30 years. Changing this stereo or mono titan is not undertaken lightly, but for the company’s 40th Anniversary, the release of the new Antileon Revelation was only fitting. A €38,800 165W stereo or 180W mono amplifier, the new amplifier shares many components with the flagship Apex amplifier design while retaining all the key elements that make the Antileon one of the most consistently popular high-end amplifiers in the world. Gryphon’s timed demonstrations are always packed, and always impressive. The new Antileon has some big shoes to fill, but it might be the audio Revelation you want!

JMF Audio

French high-enders JMF Audio don’t really do new products; the company’s product line remains the same yearly. But that doesn’t mean the products remain unchanged. The company’s amplifiers receive periodic upgrades, which are retrofittable to previous editions. The latest includes changes to the power supply, including a wholly new transformer module for the PRS 1.5 preamplifier and similar, but more substantial, changes to the company’s top HQS 9001 mono power amplifiers. Also shown in prototype form this year is the PHZ 8.1 adjustable moving coil step-up transformer designed to match the company’s PHS 7.2 and 8.2 phono preamps. Price is still to be determined.

 

Mark Levinson

Mark Levinson is back with a vengeance! The premium electronics wing of the Harman group showed three new amplifier models in a wholly Newton of the range 600 line intended for launch later this year; the modular €28,000 626 preamplifier (pictured centre) is a fully-balanced ‘Pure Path’ design with built-in 32bit, 384kHz and native DSD DAC, as well as MM/MC phono stage, RCA and XLR inputs and outputs, and a high performance headphone amplifier. It’s joined here by the €34,000 632 dual-mono power amplifier (pictured, top), which features a Class A/AB circuit and balanced and single-ended inputs. Finally the €38,000 631 mono power amplifier tower was on display, but not playing. This new top of the M-L tree will be available late in 2025.

 

Linn

It’s been a busy 2025 so far for Linn. The paint was barely dry on the new, fifth-generation Majik DSM all-in-one streamer (launched in April this year), but Linn was already showing its next product: the £23,500 Klimax Solo 500. This replaces one of the longest-standing products in Linn’s amplifier range, the Klimax 500 Solo from the last century. This is more than just a swap of letters and numbers; the new amp features Linn’s sophisticated adaptive bias and hybrid cooling matrix; this last means the 500W into 4Ω amplifier is passively cooled unless played so loud that the fan needs to drive, and that level of volume makes the fan inaudible under all listening conditions, even when six of them are used to drive a pair of Linn 360 loudspeakers with great success.

 

Lyngdorf

 

 

The new TDAI-2210 from Lyngdorf sits squarely in the middle of the company’s amplifier range, sitting between the entry-level TDAI-1100 and the heavy-hitting TDAI-3400. It features the company’s own Room Perfect room equalisation system, a 2x 210W into 4Ω fully-digital amplifier section (it’s essentially a power DAC, staying in the digital domain almost until the loudspeaker terminals), includes a full streaming system, USB-C, HDMI,  and touch screen front panel. All wrapped up in a form factor that doesn’t scream ‘audiophile’. The Danish-built amplifier is expected to cost €3,999. Lyngdorf also demonstrated a very effective Dolby Atmos music system.

 

Master Fidelity

 

Having recently taken over the NADAC digital line from studio brand Merging Technologies, Master Fidelity this year expanded the range of NADAC D digital converter and NADAC C master clock, by adding the new €27,000 NADAC L line preamplifier (pictured top). This dual-mono analogue design approaches its task with all the painstaking precision of high-end digital audio, featuring a ‘JFET-like’ custom CMOS ASIC architecture. With a channel imbalance of less than 0.1dB, a suggested signal-to-noise ratio of more than 130dB and vanishingly low noise figures, this might be the secret technological wunderkind of preampfification, and sounded excellent in a Boulder and Stenheim system.

 

VTL

 

 

VTL’s latest creation is the new €130,000 Lohengrin reference mono power amplifiers. Taking the long-standing Siegfried II flagship mono amp as its reference point, and developed over five painstaking years, the Lohengrin amplifier features an eight-valve output stage capable of delivering 400 watts, while retaining the higher-powered Siegfried amplifier’s driver stages and power supply. The zero-feedback design features wide-bandwidth transformers that have become a VTL trademark. The result is an amplifier with the speed and grain-free performance of smaller, more responsive amplifiers, with the power and dynamic authority of high-power designs. In a system that began with a Kuzma Stabi R and Safir 9 with a Lyra Etna for analogue, dCS Rossini Apex for digital Nordost Odin 2 cables throughout, VTL’s reference line and phono preamplifiers, Bassocontinuo Cymbalon stands and culminating in Wilson Audio’s Alexx V Carbon floor standers, this was a truly mesmerising high-end experience.

 

Munich High-End 2025: Analogue

Munich High-End 2025: Digital

Munich High-End 2025: Loudspeakers

Munich High-End 2025: Systems and everything else!

Back to Home Page

 

Munich High-End 2025: Digital

The last-ever Munich High-End saw several significant launches in the digital domain. This is a crucial time for digital audio. The transition from physical disc to stored and streamed digital files gains greater momentum. This is part born out of necessity; the ongoing availability of magneto-optical mechanisms is becoming ‘patchy’ at best. However, it also comes down to significant improvements in both hardware and software, beyond physical digital media.

That’s not to say this is the end of disc replay. Reports of physical media’s death are greatly exaggerated. But, new disc player launchers were few and far between. On the other hand, the most significant launch at the show was Qobuz Connect. It was in dozens of rooms in Munich seconds after its launch.

This is not an exhaustive list of the new digital products at the show. There were many products that, despite my best efforts, I was unable to see. The most notable of these was the Brinkmann Audio Nyquist ONE. Nyquist ONE utilised technology developed in the company’s TraNt turntable power supply. This replaces the long-running Nyquist DAC. However, modules designed for the Nyquist ONE will be back-compatible with the original and Mk II Nyquist DACs.

 

APL

Alex Peychev’s APL brand is fast expanding. Moving from hot-rodding electronics to digital audio consultant to the big names, Peychev’s products have always been the ones to watch. This year, APL unveiled its €22,950 DSD-WR DAC, replacing the company’s popular DSD-SR SE. The latest DAC improves on its predecessor’s performance while retaining the distinctive, analogue-sounding presentation. It takes its design cues from the ‘Galactic Reference’ DSD-GR DAC from the brand. The DSD-based DAC is accompanied by an almost identical-looking RSE-GR Roon Server (bottom). This features two quad-core Intel-based computers. One serves as the Roon Core, while the other serves as the Roon Bridge, Endpoint, or Streamer. A preamp in the GR line is also coming soon.

AUDIOLAB

One of Audiolab’s most beloved products was the M-DAC, introduced in 2011. At Munich High-End 2025, the brand announced two new standalone direct descendants of that popular and affordable DAC; the £499 D7 and the £1,099 D9 (pictured here). Similar to Audiolab’s D9000 streamer (but with Bluetooth connectivity replacing networking), the D9 features USB, AES, and S/PDIF connections. It features balanced and single-ended outputs and utilises an ESS ES9038PRO DAC chip at its core.

AURALiC

AURALiC’s new AQUILA X3 is the company’s new Streaming Media Processor. It’s a modular platform with a multitude of streaming and music serving options. AQUILA X3 features a built-in CD player and ripper, an integrated LEO clock, and options for onboard DAC and phono stage. The two-box design features a large front panel display and interchangeable top plates. AQUILA X3 takes its name from the constellation Aquila on the Celestial Equator. Aquila is the Latin name for ‘eagle’. We believe this sophisticated digital front end will soar. Prices start at €14,499.

CH Precision

As the name suggests, the new C10 Conductor from Swiss high-end brand CH Precision acts as a baton-waver for the full C10 DAC. It acts as a digital nerve centre, managing source selection, analysing incoming signal phase and frequency, and performing synchronous upsampling through multiple DSP modules. By separating digital ‘processing’ from ‘conversion’, the Conductor allows the mono C10 DACs to concentrate on what they do best. The company’s new D10 Reference Transport joins the team. This is a top-loading design that uses only the basic elements of the donor CD/SACD mechanism. It features CH Precision’s own MORSE (Mechanically Optimised Reading and Stability Enhancement) transport design. This results in a disc reading ‘sled’ weighing in at an impressive 13kg. As you might expect from a €96,575 transport mechanism

With two DACs, Conductor, T10 Master Clock transport and all their attendant power supplies, the full CH Precision 10 Series digital source takes up a considerable amount of shelf space. However, the results speak for themselves.

dCS

There are two sides to the dCS Audio story at Munich High-End 2025. It’s the first public outing of the affordable LINA DAC X, demonstrated in several rooms. This show also saw the announcement of the CD/SACD transport for the brand’s new flagship, the Varèse digital front end. Although several rooms demonstrated dCS, including the company itself, it kept Varèse as a static display. The £32,500 dedicated CD/SACD transport mechanism eliminates all digital processing and moves it to the Varèse Core. This enables the transport to function purely as a polycarbonate bit-extraction device. Even the track display is transferred to the central system.

It’s worth mentioning Varèse first in this discussion. The £13,500 LINA DAC X uses many of Varèse’s techniques and technologies. This includes the main ‘flex rigid’ PCB and improvements made to the Ring DACs.

EMM Labs

The new $12,500 TXi from Canadian high-end digital brand EMM Labs completes the company’s current high-end line. It’s a hybrid drawer/top-loading CD transport, featuring the Meitner-designed X-Power switch-mode power supply system and sports EMM’s own ‘Optilink’ interface for direct connection to EMM Labs DA2i or DV2i DACs. The TXi is also field-programmable for updates, and uses a RS232 connection for both home automation control and performance monitoring.

Innuos

Last year, Innuos announced the new ZEN Next Gen line, representing a significant advancement over its original line. Now, with its Nazaré music streamer and server, it aims to establish the brand in the high-end market firmly. Named after the Portuguese submarine canyon, the new system uses an advanced ‘PerciseAudio’ main board, with dedicated PreciseUSB and PreciseNET cards, an enhanced power supply and up to 16TB of internal SSD storage. Nazaré represents a significant step up from the current Statement Next Gen flagship model. It’s also joined by two supplementary units: Nazaré Flow, a high-performance USB/I2S output stage, and the new Nazaré Net high-end network switch. Both will be finished in Nazaré casework, and prices are to be confirmed but expected to be in the £30,000-£40,000 range.

Lumin

The new flagship from Hong Kong-based Lumin, the £4,495 U2X network transport features its most advanced 10M clocking circuitry to date, an isolated USB output for DAC connections, and Lumin’s latest processor. Supporting DSD512 and PCM to 768kHz precision and allowing fibre connections, this represents a powerful new core to a networked home audio system, whether it’s all Lumin or uses a range of components.

Nordost

In just a few years, the network switch has evolved from being an afterthought to one of the most vital components for optimising the performance of streamed digital content. One of those championing this change in thought is Nordost. Its first model, QNET, is still available and is a five-port switch with uniquely spaced RJ45 connectors. This proved a challenge for many users, and the $5,499 QNETt7 is the response. As the name suggests, Nordost’s new switch features seven ports, with six supporting 10/100/1000BASE-T and one 1000BASE-LX/SX port via SFP. It’s powered by nine independent, low-noise power feeds, to isolate each connected component. It has no internal power supply, but is designed to work with Nordost’s QSOURCE linear power supply.

Wadax

Last year, Spanish digital expert Wadax announced the €36,800 Studio • Player one-box DAC, CD/SACD player and streamer, hinting at additional devices in the system. At Munich High-End 2025, these additional devices were realised, in the form of the €25,700 Studio Clock, the €26,900 Studio PSU, and the Acasa DC Studio cable (€6,500 for 1m). The Studio • Player on its own was used as a source in many rooms, but the complete system was demonstrated both in Wadax own room and in Magico’s room.

 

Munich High-End 2025: Analogue

Munich High-End 2025: Amplifiers

Munich High-End 2025: Loudspeakers

Munich High-End 2025: Systems and everything else!

Back to Home Page

Munich High-End 2025: Analogue

Munich High-End 2025 was a fitting sign-off. Next stop: Vienna!

The halls, atria, and rooms of the MOC exhibition space, the Motorworld event hall and hotel, and the Hi-Fi Deluxe show in the Marriott Hotel, five kilometres away in Schwabing, all rang out for the last time with the sound of high-end audio. According to the High-End Society, 22,818 visitors from 92 countries attended to see nearly 1,000 brands showcased by 501 exhibitors.

That often meant hearing inappropriate cover versions of classic rock songs sung by breathy girls playing guitars. However, it also meant that Munich would not see the same assembly of high-performance audio again.

There is too much to see in the High-End show. A definitive report would be unwieldy, unwise, and unreadable. So, any report is a series of edited highlights. This year marked a return to form, after a couple of years of relative paucity of new models. What follows is a personal collection of fascinating new products across five broad categories. The first being ‘analogue’ and covering everything from cartridge to phono stage:

 

Chord Electronics Ultima

Chord Electronics Ultima phono stage

Completing the Ultima amplifier line (at least for now), Chord Electronics has released a flagship dual-mono phono stage. It features three individually assignable XLR and three RCA inputs, as well as XLR and RCA outputs, along with a range of MM and MC settings. The phono stage also features a rumble filter, clip detection, and gain boost. It even includes twin kidney-bean-shaped VU meters to monitor the level. The price has yet to be confirmed, but it is expected to be around £18,000.

Döhmann Audio and Wilson Benesch

Dohmann Wilson Benesch

Döhmann Audio’s Helix One turntable is one of the most highly respected designs in modern high-end vinyl replay. And designer Mark Döhmann is equally liked and respected among his analogue peers, which is why the new GRAVITON Ti tonearm from Wilson Benesch was launched on the Helix One platform. Derived from the arm fitted to the mighty GMT One System turntable, the £30,000 GRAVITON Ti is the result of state-of-the-art materials and manufacturing science. It features the innovative STAGE One over-arm shielded output system. This is the first time the technology in Wilson Benesch’s arm has been used outside of the GMT ‘ecosystem’. It sounded great in a room that also featured Alieno amplifiers and Cessaro loudspeakers.

Elsewhere at Munich High-End 2025, Wilson Benesch showcased its Prime Meridian turntable system. This system featured APL digital electronics, Karan Acoustics amplifiers, Crystal Cable cabling, and Wilson Benesch’s Omnium loudspeakers with KX infrasonic generators, in a constantly packed room. The cost? Well, if you need to ask…

 

European Audio Team

Jo No. 10 by European Audio Team is a €7,900 moving coil cartridge with a diamond cantilever. The in-house design uses high-density wood and a hand-shellacked body. This played with the outstanding dynamic range in the Constellation Audio room. On its stand, EAT also showed its new two-motor, 44kg F-DUR turntable (€4,990 without arm, €6,490 with C-Note arm and €8,990 with F-Note arm). It also showcased the fully balanced two-box E-GLO FB and one-box E-GLO S, as well as the E-GLO Petit phono stages, for the first time at Munich.

Garrard

With no new products to show this year, Vivid Audio had a more low-key affair. Instead of playing the usual hi-fi show music fare, it featured a Garrard 301 Advanced with an SME VA-12 tonearm. This classic deck used an Ortofon 2M Mono and Mola-Mola electronics to play a few classic 78s through a pair of Vivid Audio Kaya K90 loudspeakers. Listening to Bill Haley & His Comets provides a fun and exciting counterpoint to a show with dangerously high levels of Diana Krall elsewhere.

Grimm Audio

Grimm Audio is renowned for its exceptional digital audio products. However, at Munich High-End 2025, it was showcasing the new €4,800 PW1 phono stage. Shown in prototype form last year, the highly adjustable FET-based ‘Phono Wizard’ supports MM and MC cartridges, ranging from the lowest output and impedance to the highest. It sounded excellent in Grimm Audio’s room, featuring a Dr Feickert Volare 25 turntable and a pair of the company’s active LS1c loudspeakers.

Kuzma

Kuzma is trying to ‘sapphirize’ almost everything in the LP chain. Buoyed by the success of the Safir 9 tonearm, the company showcased a forthcoming sapphire turntable mat and record weight, as well as announcing the release of a Safir 12 tonearm later this year. However, the star of this future show will be the limited edition CAR 70 moving coil cartridge. With a one-piece diamond cantilever with an integral diamond tip, the entire cartridge will be clad in sapphire. The cost? A cool €35,000! Franc Kuzma had a prototype of the body… in his pocket!

Nagaoka

Launched earlier this year to commemorate the company’s 85th anniversary, the MP-700 is Nagaoka’s new flagship cartridge. Supplied with or without a headshell, the cartridge uses the company’s unique ‘Moving Permalloy’ derivative of the moving magnet. It also features a boron cantilever and a micro-ridge diamond stylus. The design also allows for a replacement stylus. The cartridge costs €1,299 without a headshell,

Pro-Ject

Pro-Ject had one of the largest stands at the show, with a slew of new products, including electronics. The thing that everyone noticed was the new portable music system, built into a flight case and demonstrated by the cabin crew in a mock-up set of aircraft seats. But what caught my eye was the limited edition, LED lit Elvis turntable in its Artists range, complete with 10m thick glass platter, 9″ arm and pre-fitted Sumiko Rainier moving magnet cartridge. Price is still to be confirmed. The company also launched a 75th anniversary Snoopy limited edition turntable and two new Automat automatic turntables.

SME

Shown to the press and an invited public in April, Munich High-End 2025 was the first public outing for the £35,999 SME Model 35 turntable. Replacing the evergreen Model 30 platform, the three-tower Model 35 draws heavily from the company’s flagship Model 60 in the design of its bearing, suspension system and power supply. It also features the new SME Series Vi tonearm. It was showcased in an outstanding €700,000 system. This included Innuos and Vitus Audio electronics, Göbel Divin Noblesse loudspeakers, HIFISTAY support systems, and a comprehensive loom by Crystal Cable.

Soulution

Soulution Audio’s first turntable is the 787. It’s a 67,500 CHF linear tracking turntable that breaks all the rules. Linear tracking turntables replicate the action of the cutting lathes that make the original acetates from which all LPs are produced. Typically, the arm tracks across the record, but this can create friction. However, in the Soulution 787, the arm stays in place, and the platter and its drive mechanism move! Soulution claims this delivers the low-friction performance of a conventional pivoted tonearm, but with a tracking error of less than ±0.15°. The sight of a platter slowly moving across the top plate is fascinating, and it sounded promising.

TechDAS

The new TechDAS Air Force IV was on show in two rooms. As the name suggests, the turntable sits somewhere between the Air Force III Premium S and V, with the motor located outside the main body of the turntable (similar to the entry-level Air Force V). However, it also features a 9kg platter machined from a solid block, an improved suspension system, and an external belt system borrowed from the Air Force III Premium S. Price and further details are still to be determined.

Thales

Staying with Swiss-designed turntables, Thales introduced its new €27,000 Reference turntable to the Hong Kong public in March this year. This was its first European outing. The turntable features a unique mechanical speed control that utilises a centrifugal governor. This employs spinning weights and magnets to regulate driving and braking torque. It results in a speed control system that not only boasts steampunk-cool vibes but is also more precise and faster-acting than electronic speed controls.

Munich High-End 2025: Amplifiers

Munich High-End 2025: Digital

Munich High-End 2025: Loudspeakers

Munich High-End 2025: Systems and everything else!

Back to Home Page

 

 

The sound of excellence delivered your way

Whether you prefer the feel of print or the convenience of digital, hi-fi+ keeps you connected to the world of high-performance audio.

Print Subscription Digital Subscription