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Munich High End 2024 was an absolute delight for many reasons, one of which was sound quality. I don’t remember an audio show with as much good sound as I heard this year, and I didn’t even make it to several great sounding rooms! I saw photos of many rooms, and heard from friends about what they’d heard, and thought to myself, how did I miss those rooms? It’s crazy that four days isn’t enough to fully enjoy what Munich High End has to offer. What a show!

Note: Part 1 | Part 2

This year I settled on four rooms that really did it for me. There were many more rooms worthy of in-depth write-ups, but a guy has to have limits and I will always avoid giving participation trophies. Here are my four favorites from Munich High End 2024, concluding with my Best of Show award.

Cessaro - I was 100% unprepared for what I heard in the Cessaro room in Munich. I’ve been a fan of horn loudspeakers for many years. I even considered purchasing Avantgarde horns to replace my TAD CR1 speakers, opting instead for Wilson Audio Alexia 2 speakers in the end. I like what horns can do sonically, and I love the look of horns aesthetically.

Walking into the Cessaro room, I immediately noticed the size of the soundstage. The presentation was huge and produced the most concert-like experience I’ve ever heard. I sat through entire orchestral pieces, thinking it was just like listening to my hometown Minnesota Orchestra live at Orchestra Hall.

My one complaint about the Cessaro room is the fact that it featured vinyl playback only. I’m not the biggest fan of the sound of vinyl and can’t stop hearing the flaws of the format. I know many people love it, and I’m happy that they are happy, but it just isn’t for me. Fortunately I found one of my favorite albums of all time in the room, Moon Ray by the Yoshio Otomo Quartet with Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, on the Three Blind Mice record label. I played track one, Moonray, and loved what I heard. The sound was absolutely luscious and larger than life.

Sitting through a few other demonstrations of unfamiliar music, I was stunned by the dynamics and texture reproduced by the Cessaro horns. A drum kit playing through this system sounded like an actual drum kit was in the room. It was powerful and a touch scary. This system was capable of reproducing certain musical aspects like no other system I heard at the show.

I really couldn’t assess other sonic attributes and nuances very well without my own selection of music. In fact, I was very close to purchasing Pearl Jam’s Yield album from a vendor in the main Hall, just so I could hear familiar music through this system, but he wanted $120 for the album. The album is worth $120, as it’s the only Pearl Jam album to feature drummer Jack Irons, but given my general distaste of vinyl, I just couldn’t stomach the purchase for a single demo listen at the show.

Overall I was surprised, delighted, and a bit scared by what this system could reproduce. Well done Cessaro.

Taiko - Finally! After years of missing each other by minutes, I finally had the opportunity to meet Taiko’s Emile Bok in person, and to talk “shop” with his team. The pleasure was all mine. Hearing about the lengths this company goes to, to extract extreme performance from its music servers, was music to my ears. These guys consider everything, then figure out how to make it better. Heck, even the crystal oscillators from well known companies aren’t good enough for Taiko. Taiko goes further upstream to get better crystals!

Anyway, thanks to the Taiko team for letting me be the DJ for a little bit near the end of the day on Friday. Listening to my own music, through the new Taiko Olympus server was a very memorable experience. I played a little Lady Blackbird, in addition to several other artists, and fell right into the sonic trap laid by this system. I say sonic trap in the best sense of the word. Once I started listening, I was hooked / trapped. In a similar, but quite different, way as the Cessaro horn system, this Taiko / Pilium / Alsyvox system had a larger than life soundstage. The delicacy and vulnerability of Lady Blackbird’s voice was on full display for all to hear, as long as they weren’t talking over it in the back of the room.

At previous Munich shows I spent very little time in this room, thinking I would circle back and wait for Emile, then listen to my own music selections. It never worked out, until this year. I’m happy the team gave me some time to really soak-in this system. I now understand 100% why some of my friends have raved about this room for years. The sound has an “it” factor, as in, this is “it” or these guys get “it.”  Thoroughly enjoyable.

Pure Accurate Sound - The Pure Accurate Sound room at Munich High End 2024 was absolutely amazing. Surely these guys had a component list, price sheet, and dealer locator in large print on the door right? Nope. The Pure Accurate Sound team wasn’t selling anything but an idea.

“The idea has been to combine the best in class loudspeaker drivers (Purifi), class-D amplifiers (Purifi), Digital-to-Analog converter (Okto Research), room acoustic treatment (GIK Acoustics), measurement technology (Klippel), software engineering (AudioVero), professional woodworks (ROSE Handwerk) and experience in speaker building (Joachim Gerhard). All this is applied to a generic speaker in an imperfect room and can achieve outstanding performance!”

I was predisposed to liking this room when I received the first email before the show, explaining what Pure Accurate Sound is all about. Most unique for an audio show, and most important to me, was the use of a good measurement microphone and digital room correction. I’ve done this at home for several years, and wouldn’t live without it. But, I’ve never understood why “nobody” uses it at audio shows. Until now. Well, the lack of understanding is still there, but “somebody” finally used digital technology to take a system to a level not possible in the analog domain.

The bottom line is sound quality, and these guys had it in spades. The less than desirable “cabin” for a room on the main floor of the Hall was actually a positive because it enabled the team to show how much can be done in nearly any room.

I spent quite a while listening to my own music selections in this room (Thank You!). I couldn’t get enough, until the line at the door grew to an imposing length and I felt like I was hogging the system.

An experience I’ll not soon forget was when I played Last Tango In Paris from the new Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio album A Shade of Blue. This track has an incredible drum solo, in addition to equally incredible musicianship. With the piano on the left, double bass in the center, and drum kit on the right, this trio sounded alive in the Pure Accurate Sound room. Through any lesser system the bass would’ve overwhelmed the room. On this system it was immediate, impactful, and incredibly impressive. We pushed the system about as hard as allowed, and it never flinched.

The tonality of Yamamoto’s piano was beautiful and unchanged by the digital crossover and room correction. I really couldn’t ask for more out of a system than what I heard in this far from ideal room.

I visited Pure Accurate Sound twice during the show, because I not only wanted more of what I heard, but I wanted to make sure I was really hearing what I thought I was hearing. The sound was just that good! These guys nailed it!

Bravo Pure Accurate Sound!

dCS -  My Best of Show award for Munich High End 2024 goes to dCS. This room captured me emotionally like no other room , and sonically it was better than every room I visited. The team at dCS outsmarted the competition this year in two ways. First, it brought the right system for the room, and second, it setup the system perfectly.

The least expensive components in the dCS lineup, Lina DAC and Lina Clock, drove a VTL stereo amplifier, which powered the Wilson Audio Sabrina X loudspeakers and a pair of Loke subwoofers. A simple system by any HiFi measure.

In addition, the speakers were masterfully setup, way out into the room compared to previous years’ installations and many other manufacturers’ systems this year.

The system, and its setup, combined with my own music, delivered the top sound quality and musical experience at the show. It was the pinnacle.

I played my newfound gem Autumn in New York from Chico Freeman’s album Spirit Sensitive (video below), and melted into my chair. Chico’s horn and all the associated nuances involved with playing the horn, were lush and readily apparent to every listener in the room.

Going for the knockout punch, I played Living Proof from The War On Drugs album I Don’t Live Here Anymore (video below). Not an audiophile standard by any means, but capable of pulling emotion out of all but the boss in Weekend at Bernie’s. That is, as long as the audio system is firing on all cylinders. This year, dCS had the winning formula and the system was flawless.

To close out my listening session, and possibly clear the room, I put on Pearl Jam’s Brain of J. from the album Yield (video below).  Dual electric guitars and towering drums from Jack Irons, combined with pointed vocals from Eddie Vedder, make this song a favorite of mine. This was one of those times, like after purchasing new speakers, when one has to hear his favorite music again for the first time. I just had to hear this track in the dCS room, this year. I had the volume cranked and the number of “F’s” given set to zero. Fortunately, I, and many others in the room, were thrilled with the sonic results. Pearl Jam for the win.

If there was such thing as Shazam for an entire system, with an add to cart option, it would’ve been on several mobile devices during my listening experience at dCS in Munich 2024.

This system shined above all others. Stellar system with stellar setup.

I’m already thinking and talking about Munich High End 2025. It’ll be hard to top 2024, but I’m ready to try.

Chico Freeman - Autumn in New York

The War On Drugs - Living Proof

Pearl Jam - Brain of J.

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The High End Society took this year’s Munich show to another level by adding presentations and demonstrations from one of the best immersive mixing engineers in the world, Steven Wilson. In addition, there were new immersive product introductions, additional immersive systems for demonstration, and even awards presented for immersive audio albums. What a show!

In Part 1 I focused on new products or upgrades to existing products at the show. In Part 3 I will focus on my favorite sounding rooms. In this, Part 2, it’s all about immersive audio, what I believe is the biggest improvement to HiFi in my lifetime.

I was tipped off before the show to some new products from NuPrime, that would support immersive audio. So, I stopped by the NuPrime booth and talked to James on the first day of the show. NuPrime is known for high quality and reasonable prices. What more could an immersive audiophile want?

During my entire discussion with the NuPrime team, I was saying to myself, these guys are speaking my language! For example, the NuPrime-X MCX-800AD is an 8 channel DAC and integrated amplifiers, with optional AES67 audio over Ethernet, Dolby Atmos decoding, and support for daisy chaining for more channels. As someone with a 12 channel system, this peaked my interest greatly.

James from NuPrime had several add-in cards on the table, with HDMI, Ravenna, among others, that fit into the MCX-800AD. This type of modularity is so nice, and enables only a single piece to be upgraded or added at a time. No replacing the entire unit just for a small technology tweak.

In addition to the DAC, NuPrime showed the Fusion 4X and MCX-800MZ ($2,350) 8 channel amplifier.

Dynaudio held the first press conference of the High End 2024 show, talking about its speaker offerings. Adjacent to the press conference, was a 7.1.4 Dynaudio Dolby Atmos system using Digital Audio Denmark hardware and streaming from Apple Music. It was a really neat and simple system that wowed the two people I saw listen to demos, in the 5 minutes I was standing there before the press conference.

I circled back afterward to hear my own demo, and can confirm it was great. The DAD was connected directly to each active loudspeaker, eliminating the need for separate amplifiers, and slimming down the footprint for the entire system.

The biggest immersive part of Munich 2024 was the PMC loudspeaker / Steven Wilson demonstration and discussion. The fact that Steven Wilson was even at the show giving presentations was thrilling. Steven has immersively mixed The Who’s Who’s Next, Van Morrison’s Moondance, Grateful Dead’s American Beauty, as well as albums from King Crimson, Jethro Tull, Yes, Tears for Fears, Kiss, and Rush, among others. He is a master who knows immersive audio better than anyone in the business.

I attended his first presentation with three people from the industry. All of us, even those not predisposed to liking immersive audio, thought it was fabulous. The mixes Steven played were great, but his discussion items were the best. For example, I had no idea that Spatial Audio was being made in the 1950s, with musicians placed all around the audience! Steven also provided numbers such as 92 of the top 100 selling albums in the US last year, all had Atmos versions available, as did all 8 of the Album of the Year Grammy nominees.

One point he made that can’t be overstated is that fact that immersive audio is already entrenched in the mainstream far more than any previous multichannel efforts such as quad and 5.1.

Steven opened the discussion by saying that there really isn’t a set way of approaching immersive mixing, and I’m happy he said this. Many people get caught up in believing immersive mixes are supposed to recreate a live event, concert, studio, etc… The truth is, there is no such thing. It’s art. Everyone can mix however they want, and immersive audio is better for it.

Prior to attending the event, the one album that I thought Wilson had screwed up, by pulling the mix apart just too far, was Van Morrison’s Moondance. It sounded odd to me. However, after hearing his explanation for why it’s mixed the way it is, I totally love it. How can this be? I either like it or I don’t, based on the sound, not extraneous information. Not so, and here’s why.

Moondance was recorded in a single room. Van’s vocals can be heard on all the tapes, as his voice was picked up by all the microphones. A fact of which I was unaware until Wilson told the audience. He said this lead him to mix the album in a way that places the listener in the recording studio with the band. Knowing this information, I went back and listened to the entire album. It all makes sense now, and sounds superb.

Anyway, I loved the fact that immersive audio was a part of Munich High End 2024 and both the demonstrations and information provided were first class. Bravo High End Society!

Listen to Steven Wilson's entire presentation below, with the music removed. 

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Wow, what a show. Munich High End 2024 was truly the greatest show on Earth. Sure, there were some very unfortunate exhibitors who couldn’t tame their rooms enough to get good sound, but you won’t hear about any of those from me. There were so many good rooms and so much positive energy at the show, that I could wear out my keyboard writing it all up. Again, what a show!

In Part 1, I’m focusing on the new products or upgrades to existing products that I saw at the show this year. In part 2 and part 3 I will focus on the immersive developments, and my favorite sounding rooms of the show, respectively.

Something New

There were so many new product and upgraded product announcements that I lost track a week before the show even started. What a time to be an audiophile! Here are eight introductions that caught my attention.

Dynaudio - The first minute of the first day of the show, Dynaudio was already firing on all cylinders. The company had a wonderfully crafted space on the main floor of the MOC, that must’ve taken months to design. I don’t envy the team packing it up right now, as I sit in my hotel room sipping a cold beverage.

Dynaudio introduced four new products this year, and I’d say it nailed them all. OK, it introduced 5 products, but only nailed 4.5 of them. One is a turntable! As The Computer Audiophile, I can’t accept that! Only joking.

The Contour Legacy (passive design), Confidence 20A (active design), Contour 20 Black Edition, and a prototype named The Bookshelf were all announced. “The Bookshelf is a joint project between Dynaudio, Keiji Ashizawa Design of Tokyo and Karimoku of Japan.” According to Dynaudio. I love the look of this loudspeaker and hope this partnership last a very long time.

I spent a brief time listening to the Contour legacy and Confidence 20A during a press conference. These two both look excellent and will no doubt sound just as good in one’s home. I had an awkward seat during the demo, but heard promising results from these designs.

I really wanted to make it to the Dynaudio automobile that was onsite, but when the final show buzzer sounded, I had only seen it from the outside. I’d love to get a demo of one of these vehicle sound systems, but it’ll have to be on another day.

Master Fidelity - Technically this DAC was at the show last year, but now it’s real. I’ll be receiving one for review shortly. The NADAC D (DAC) and NADAC C (Clock) are unique designs, unlike anything else in the industry. Master Fidelity, with its Merging Technologies DNA, is a believer in the benefits of DSD. To this end, the company designed its own true 1 bit chip, and had it fabricated by TSMC, at an astronomical cost. This is the first true 1 bit chip in decades. According to Master fidelity, “[We] chose to have professional IC manufacturers customize Audiophile Grade components, thus realizing an Advanced ASIC based Discrete DAC.” I’m looking forward to receiving the review unit soon.

Wilson Audio - The WATT/Puppy has returned! It’s only fitting that Wilson Audio releases a new WATT/Puppy on the company’s 50th anniversary. The W/P is THE aspirational loudspeaker that caught my ears and eyes as a young budding audiophile. I’ll never forget the first time seeing it in person and hearing it that day. Fortunately I’ll be hearing the new W/P very soon. Stay tuned.

Constellation - Constellation dropped a bomb on me this year, a very good bomb. “Every unit from all four of its main product lines has internal and external improvements,” according to Constellation’s Irv Gross. As members of the Audiophile Style community know, I’ve used Constellation amps and preamp for several years, with great success. Constellation gear is what every component that enters my room for review, is played through. I’ve literally spent thousands of hours listening through Constellation gear, and I’m in a great position to evaluate the new improved signal paths and Power Factor Corrected (PFC) power supplies. While I spent time listening at the show, I ran out of time to circle back and do additional serious listening. I love what I heard, but have my fingers crossed that I’ll get to hear the improvements in my own dedicated listening room.

In addition every component in the Inspiration 2 Series, the Revelation 2 Series, the Performance 2 Series, and the Reference 2 Series will now be a very rich looking champagne color, that looks even better in person than it does in photos.

SOtM - It was great to see May from SOtM at the show this year, with the company’s gear in two of the main rooms (with Egglestonworks, J.Sikora Turntables Doshi Audio in one room and with Absolare and Rockport in the other). SOtM launched its new sMS-2000 server / player, that’ll be just what the doctor ordered for audiophiles who’ve long wanted to use the custom SOtM motherboard (sMB-Q370), USB card, network card, and advanced clocking, but didn’t have the time, skill, or knowledge to assemble a server themselves. The sMS-2000 contains all the SOtM goodies, and is ready to play without any assembly required.

Innuos - A big thank you to Amelia and Nuno from Innuos for giving me a chance to play a track that I know and love, on the company’s new ZENith NG. I enjoyed talking to the team about everything that went into the new models, including the new electronics and software platforms with the PreciseAudio mainboard, NGaN regulation module and Sense 3. According to Nuno, “These are the result of almost 3 years of intense Research and Development.”

It’s hard to believe how far Innuos has come as a company. It now has 47 employees and a factory designed like Foxconn! Seriously, this company has taken everything to another level, and I hope to visit the great people of Innuos in Portugal soon.

MUTEC - A few weeks before the show MUTEC sent out a press release announcing its new MC1.2+ bi-directional digital to digital converter. As the show came to a close, with literally minutes left on the clock, and other manufacturers already lining up boxes to be packed with gear, MUTEC’s CEO Christian Peters graciously spent time with me, going over the MC1.2+.

This product has so much potential and has flown under the radar, although admittedly it has only been a few weeks since the announcement and no products exist in the wild yet. However, there are so many uses for the MC1.2+ that it’ll take an entire community like the one we have here at Audiophile Style, to find only some of them.

The first thing that came to mind when seeing the MC1.2+ is DSP / room correction. High end music servers don’t offer built-in room correction, but they have AES. S/PDIF, or USB output. That’s all we’ll need to run audio out to the MC1.2+, then into a computer or Raspberry Pi for processing using something like Accurate Sound’s Hang Loose Convolver, then out to one’s DAC of choice.

I’m very excited about the MC1.2+ and think most people should be as well. Its uses are only limited by one’s imagination or one’s digital audio needs.

WADAX - 2024 has been a revelation for me with WADAX. Since bringing fellow Minnesotan Brandon Lauer on as the Director of Sales and Marketing, the door has been opened for me to learn more about the company rather than just read about its otherworldly Reference series of products (DAC, Server, PSU, Cable). Admittedly I was hesitant about WADAX for several years. I didn’t know anything about the company or its products, other than the price. Then I started hearing more about the performance of the products. Without great performance, I had no need to know anything else, but now I had reason to investigate. This year, I was fortunate to spend time with Brandon, Cayetano Castellano (COO), and Javier Guadalajara (CEO). I say fortunate because scheduling at this show is crazy, we’re all double-booked back-to-back with meetings or listening sessions and I had nothing officially on the books with WADAX before the show started. AND, even more important, I discovered really like these guys as people. Yes, the products are important, but if/when something goes wrong in shipping or with a product years after a purchase, you want to be working with the type people at WADAX.

The company introduced its new Studio Player at the show this year. I absolutely love the look of this product. I think the photos look great, but the look and feel of it in person are next level. The Studio Player oozes quality.

I spent some time listening to the Studio Player, but to be honest, I had a great reason to not play any of my room clearing heavy metal, in order to get a better feel for its sound quality. I had respect for everyone in the packed room already listening to something unfamiliar to me, but wonderfully enjoyable to them, and I’d recently lined up a Studio Player to hear in my own listening room. I really liked what I heard in the WADAX room, but given the limited amount of time at the show I thought it wise to only confirm my suspicion that this product COULD be something special, and wait until I get it in my own system to confirm if it really IS something special.

Time To Check-in For My Flight

That’s a wrap on the new items that caught my attention this year at the 2024 Munich high End show. There were so many other items that I would’ve loved to see and hear, but I just ran out of time. I think I needed a week long show this year because it was so enjoyable.

I look forward to sharing the immersive audio developments, they were fantastic, and awarding my best of show for Munich High End 2024, in parts 2 and 3. Just like the show, I’ve run out of time here in Munich. I still need to check-in for my flight, pack up all my stuff and goodies I purchased for my wife and daughter, and get some sleep before heading home in the morning.

What a show!

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And now for something completely different………..

I have been attending audio shows since the mid 1990’s when I attended my first event, the Stereophile show at the Weston Saint Francis Hotel in San Francisco. I have attended quite a few since including CES, shows in New York, California, Washington DC and even Tampa Florida. I have heard great sounding rooms, horrible sounding rooms and everything in between over the years with all kinds of technology. Tubes, solid state, digital, vinyl, reel to reel, box speakers, giant horns, plasma tweeters, cubes, planars and omni directional speakers. Small hotel rooms, big open spaces, you name it.

After attending Axpona for the first time since Covid, I have been thinking about writing an article describing my experiences at that event. For years I have been reading show reports focusing on “best of show” reports. It seems everyone does that. Interestingly, we never read worst of show reports. I wonder why? 😎 But I digress. I am frequently told that I am a different kind of cat so I thought it best to write something that was a bit different, focusing on rooms, technology and experiences that made a lasting impression on me, things that I think move the needle in terms of sound reproduction vs. tinkering around the edges. So here goes…..

1. BACCH SP Theortica Applied Physics

I have heard a bit about this technology over the last couple of years from a friend, Andy Quint, who is a writer for The Absolute Sound and fellow member of the Philadelphia Area Audio Group, who at times, wearing a flack suit, chimes in here at AS. These conversations have been had during discussions about Dolby Atmos and immersive audio in general. Andy has told me that the BAACH SP system that he has in his room greatly increases the spacial characteristics of recorded music using only two channels and is something I really need to experience. As I was too busy with Atmos and getting some new equipment for my two channel system, I hadn’t yet heard it. It was therefore on the top of my of rooms to seek out at Axpona.

I was luckily to experience the tech on Thursday night at the show when helping the mastermind behind the tech, Edgar Choueiri, a physicist at Princeton, set up the system. Edgar placed microphones in my ears and ran 20 to 20,000 hertz sweeps using the system consisting of a laptop, BACCH SP device and Janszen powered speakers. Edgar ran the sweeps first with my head still looking forward and then with my head tilted to the right and then the left. When the measurements were finished, Edgar expressed satisfaction with the results and it was time to do some listening. We started with binaural recordings which were astonishing with sounds floating to the left and right of my head as if I was listening on headphones. When listing to regular recordings, there was an incredible sense of space and separation of instruments and voices within that space with recordings I was familiar with. Controlling the system with an iPad, you can bypass the effect. In doing so, that sense of space and separation simply collapsed into what you would expect with stereo systems. I was simply blown away by this presentation. It did not sound gimmicky at all. But very natural sounding, like real musicians in real space.

Following Axpona I had the opportunity to experience the BACCH SP system at Andy’s place with non powered Janszen speakers and Tidal electronics. Edgar used powered Janszen speakers at Axpona whereas Andy’s were non powered but otherwise identical. The effect at Andy’s was even better than at Axpona. Andy played a Bonnie Raitt track first. With the system engaged, the soundstage expanded beyond the speakers, her vocal moved a tad forward in front of the musical accompaniment and moved up in the sound field. The background vocals behind her had better separation behind her extending further to her left and right. I heard similar benefits with every recording we listened to. With each recording, the effects were different but similar in terms of greater separation, depth and spacial realism. Listening to the BACCH SP system was a game changer for me, taking stereo reproduction to a level I didn’t know was possible. The full BACCH SP system is pricey to be sure at around $25k. The box does include a pre amp and DAC which would certainly simplify one’s system. I have been told that the BACCH for Mac Audiophile system at around $5k gets you 80% of the way there. Hopefully, one day, I will get to hear that system in my room.

If there is a drawback to this tech it is that it is essentially limited to one seating position. If you sit behind that person you hear a little of the effect but not much. You hear none of the effect sitting to the side. However, as most listening by audiophiles is a solitary experience, that is not a deal breaker, at least not to me. The benefits clearly outweigh that drawback, by a mile.

2. Wadax Digital and Goebel Speakers

At the show I heard rooms with systems featuring huge speakers and very expensive electronics. Frankly, most were underwhelming to me. They were played an insanely loud levels, featured excessive bass and unrealistic imaging. I have never heard a 10 foot tall vocalist before in real life but heard a few at Axpona. There was one exception to this and that was at the lounge on the 15th floor put together by Bending Wave USA that featured Wadax Digital feeding Goebel Divin Marquis speakers. I do not recall the name of the monoblock amps. This is an insanely expensive system, the Wadax digital rig alone is $350k and the speakers clock in north of $200k. I am sure the mono locks aren’t cheap either. But the sound was amazing. This is the best sound I have ever heard from any two channel system anywhere at any time.

The presentation bordered on the beautiful with rich natural but not soft or syrupy tone. Imaging was damn near perfect. No 10 foot vocalists here. Excellent but not exaggerated bass. A highly detailed utterly natural sounding presentation. Wonderful mind blowing stuff. This is well beyond what I can afford but changed my views as to what can be achieved with modern tech. It would be very interesting to incorporate BACCH into a system of this quality.

3. Vandersteen Kento Loudspeakers

I have been an owner of Vandersteen speakers since the late 1980’s and have always loved what they do. My current speakers are the 3A Signatures which I am still very happy with. I have heard great things about the more expensive line of speakers from the minds behind the Vandersteen lines. I have heard the Sevens and Kentos at shows before but those presentations didn’t sound this good. Perhaps it was the new Vandersteen pre amp that was being deemed for the first time or the Audio Research electronics or Audioquest cables. In any event, is was quite the experience to hear Vandersteens perform at this level in a cramped hotel room. It was also great to chat with the man himself again. I would love to get my hands on at least the Quattros in my room one day, but will have a devil of a time getting even that pair past the finance committee let alone the Kentos.

4. Live Music

It was great to hear live music at Axpona. The highlight for me was the performance of the Bobby Broom trio featuring Chicago native Bobby Broom on guitar, Kobie Watkins on drums and the phenomenal Ben Paterson on organ. This trio performed a raucous set of blues and jazz tunes full of dynamics, rhythm and above all, fun. While I have written about Ben Paterson on this site, I had never heard of Bobby Broom before but was smitten with his playing. I look forward to the next time I get to experience his musicianship live, hopefully a bit closer to home.

5. Jerome Sabbagh

@Jerome Sabbagh is at fine tenor player originally from France who is now based in Brooklyn. I first had the pleasure to hear Jerome play live last year at a venue in Ardmore, PA backing the fine jazz vocalist, Michelle Lordi. Jerome is a wonderful player with great tone. His saxophone from the 1920’s is a joy to hear. I love the tone he is able to get out of that horn. Jerome is an audiophile as well, one of several jazz musicians I have gotten to know a bit that are true audiophiles and who really care about the sound of their recordings. You can hear that attention to detail and audiophile quality in Jerome’s latest record, Vintage. Vintage was recorded on analog tape with tube electronics and features two great accompanists, Philly’s own Kenny Barron on piano and Jonathan Blake on drums. Vintage is a great recording both musically and sonically and is well worth a purchase.

Given that Jerome is an audiophile, Axpona was the perfect venue for him to appear and perform. He brought Vintage with him to purchase on vinyl and reel to reel tape. Even better, he performed twice each day in the Dartzeel room. Along with his current band, Jerome cut a few tracks live before Axpona. They stripped out the sax part and Jerome performed live with that backing of his band with a live feel. His playing was flawless and captivating even though the sound in that room was too loud. One thing was clear from that room and that is what is lost in a recording. The sax was big, bold and dynamic live but when his vinyl was played back though that same system it suffered in comparison to the live thing. Maybe some day if we can ever get our hands on the cool recording equipment recovered at Roswell we will achieve true perfection.😎

In summary, it was great although exhausting to attend Axpona after a few years. Even better than the sound was the opportunity to meet up again with Chris Connaker and other folks here at AudiophileStyle.com along with some acquaintances in the high end industry. I really enjoyed my four days at Axpona and look forward to attending the next Capital Audio Fest later in 2024.

Joe Whip

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Audio Expo North America 2024 is in the books, and I look forward to 2025. The best part of this year’s show was seeing and talking with Audiophile Style contributors Rajiv Arora @austinpop , Bob Fairbairn @bobfa , and Joe Whip @JoeWhip ! When we get together to chat, you’d think we all attended different audio shows because our tastes are different and there were so many rooms to visit that we couldn’t spend time in all of them. If anything, this reenforces the belief that choice is a good thing and we are all happy there’s plenty of music and audio products to satisfy even the most esoteric needs.

The turn out at the Evo Sound / Linkwitz event, where I discussed the latest Tsuyoshi Yamamoto album A Shade of Blue, was great. Evo Sound sold out of the album shortly after the event, but fortunately it can be purchased online from a number of retailers. I really enjoyed sharing my favorite tracks from the album, and I’m very happy nearly everyone in attendance trusted me that they’d be rewarded for their patience on the last track, Last Tango In Paris. The track is a slow burn, and during an audio show people tend to get antsy because of all the “candy” luring them to the next demonstration room, but the drum solo five minutes into the track is legendary. The Linkwitz loudspeakers really surprised me with their dynamics on this track. The entire experience was a blast.

I spent some time in the Aurender room, listening to the AP20, Wilson Audio, Shunyata system. I enjoyed the sound and I enjoyed talking to the Aurender team about its product vision and a couple items we’ve been discussion in the Aurender thread here on Audiophile Style.

Contrasting Experiences

No music is made for everyone and I keep that top of mind as I request songs for demo in each room I visit. Often when I play my own selection in a room, someone sitting near me pulls out his/her phone to Shazam the track. I’m certainly not a tastemaker, but I play stuff that isn’t the usual fare for an audio show. With this in mind, I offer two very different experiences at Axpona this year.

In one unnamed room I played a couple tracks with great music that also sounds great.  One of these tracks was from Lady Blackbird’s album Black Acid Soul. Talk about music! After a couple songs, one gentleman running the room asked for the iPad back, and announced to the audience that he would place something to cleanse our ears, after my music, with a fine solo violin piece.

The experience left me with a strange taste in my mouth that needed to be cleansed, rather than my ears. However, the show was about so much more than this specific gentleman.

In another room, video below, I asked if I could make an appointment to come back after hours, to spend more time listening. This room was very active during the day, and this activity even stretched beyond regular show hours, with people who didn’t want to leave (in a good way). When I returned, I was handed an iPad and all the freedom I wanted to get into the music. This is what our hobby is all about.

I was really feeling the West Coast rap that I grew up with, in addition to my collection of Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, and Pink Floyd, so I played a favorite album, Straight Outta Compton by N.W.A.

Sitting in the best chair, which by the way was in the middle of the second row, I had a blast and made a great memory. Again, this is what our hobby is all about.

Best of Show

Now for my best of show award. To me, the competition wasn’t even close, although I readily admit to NOT getting to all the rooms. The best room I heard the entire weekend was by Mark Sossa at Well Pleased AV. Hands down.

Mark has shown his passion for music, wise component selection, and great setup skills at Axpona in years past as well. But, this year was his best, and it was the best at the show. The first time I stopped in to listen, the internet went out halfway through the first track I requested. Such is life at an audio show.

I circled back on Sunday, and I’m very happy I did. Playing tracks I know very well, Mark’s system had an emotion pull that was absent in most systems at the show. In addition, the sound had a rightness to it that put me in this zone of comfortability.

I played Pearl Jam, Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, The War on Drugs, and a track from Olivia Vedder off the Flag Day soundtrack. Each piece of music did something different, but most importantly the audio system enabled me to sink into the music and forget my surroundings.

Of note in this room were the new QLN Reference 9 loudspeakers, Vinnie Rossi Brama integrated amp, Merason DAC1 Mk2, and from Innuos the Statement Next Gen server with the Phoenix NET switch.

Also of note, based on my experience at the show, I’d say that Innuos dominated. The company’s products were in more rooms that I could count, and in many rooms that sounded really good. In the main Innuos room with Soulution and Rockport, the sound was really good, but I was there during the internet outage and couldn’t find much music on the local server that was up my alley. I meant to circle back to this room, but the closing bell rang and the show was over before I knew it.

I’m looking forward to seeing everyone again in 2025, and just maybe we can coax Josh Mound @Josh Mound into attending the show, to really fill out the Audiophile Style attendance roster next year. I know many members of the AS community were there, and I thank them for kindly saying hello. It’s a great feeling when even the OG members of the site chime into the conversation and say that they were here back when the site started as Computer Audiophile. If only they knew that I get more out of them, than they get out of this site (meaning it’s such a pleasure to do what I do, help people, and hear that this site has made a positive impact on their music listening over the years).

Now, it’s on to Munich, Germany in May!

About the author - https://audiophile.style/about
Author's Complete Audio System Details with Measurements - https://audiophile.style/system

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CanJam Singapore 2023 Impressions: Part 2
By Sajid Amit

Final Day Impressions from CanJam Singapore 2023

If you have read the first part of my impressions on Audiophile Style, you will probably understand I made good progress on day one of CanJam Singapore with regard to trying new products. 

On day two, I aimed try to all that was left for me to. I moved between booths with purpose, stopping just long enough to formulate opinions. Of course, I indulged in banter with friends, brand representatives, and industry professionals. That’s usually half (if not most) of the fun for someone who is plenty satisfied with his present stable. Of course, my stable changed considerably post-CanJam but that is a story for another time. 

First and foremost, I stopped by the Noble table to say hello to the “Wizard”, i.e., John Moulton. John has a PhD in Audiology and is generally credited to having played a part in pushing innovation in the IEM industry. John is always easy to talk to, but I was pleasantly surprised when he offered to let me demo his soon-to-be-released flagship TWS earbuds, the FoKus Prestige. Other than the premium looks and feels, the Prestige is easily the most technically proficient of TWS buds in the market as of writing. The Prestige has very good midbass, decent resolution, and clarity in the upper frequencies without ever getting sibilant. This is an impressive TWS product!

Noble FoKus Prestige TWS

Next, I spent a good deal of time with the much-admired $32,000 Warwick Acoustics Aperio. Above all else, I was really struck by the Aperio’s balanced and pleasant tonality. It has some impressive bass for an electrostatic headphone with a strong midrange and well-extended treble. That said, given the price tag, the technicalities could have been a bit better. Resolution was perhaps only a minor step ahead of a properly amped Stax SR-X9000. The Aperio did have a thicker and meatier presentation than Stax. But the flipside is that the Aperio lacked the ethereal quality many electrostat aficionados have come to associate with and love about this sort of driver technology. 

Warwick Acoustics Aperio

Thieaudio is an impressive brand that tunes their IEMs well and then mostly underprices them. Their fans appreciate their value for money and in fact, Crinacle, at the time of writing this review, had ranked the Monarch MK2 as his number one IEM. Meanwhile, their detractors point that they all miss a secret sauce and can be a tad boring in their presentation. This time, I tried their flagships: the Divinity V16 ($1499) and the Prestige ($1299).

Thieaudio Divinity V16

Both the Divinity and the Prestige are decently tuned and technically-oriented IEMs but I liked the tuning of the Divinity more. It was a more balanced set with less but sufficient and good bass whilst having more clarity in the upper mids. This is worth a try if you like the brand.

I tried Project Red, a product being tuned by Crinacle. Crinacle is the most famous portable audio reviewer in the world and his collaborations have been lauded by the community. Therefore, there is great anticipation associated with Project Red. I must disclaim that I did not try the Project Red with the impedance adapter which boosts the bass. But I still found it to be a very competent IEM given that it will be priced at less $100. In fact, at sub-$100, it may become a game-changer. The Project Red will ship with the said impedance adapter and I could certainly see it enhancing the tuning by adding a bass shelf. 

Crinacle’s Project Red

It was also nice to see Ken Ball of Campfire Audio. Campfire’s IEMs have been iconic in the hobby. They are also eye-catching and disruptive in terms of IEM shell design and aesthetics.

Campfire Audio IEMs

Cliff notes for the three IEMs pictured above go something like this: the Andromeda 2023 is the best Andro yet (decent bass!). The new Solaris is Campfire’s best-tuned set across their entire product line-up. It is a solid all-rounder albeit lacking a tad in resolution. However, the Trifecta is still too zany for me. I like the looks of the Trifecta but cannot agree with the treble tuning. I admire Campfire though for taking risks with their tuning instead of churning out one target-hitter after another. 

Japanse brand Acoustone also makes some stunning-looking IEMs. Unfortunately, I did not agree with the tuning of any other their IEMs other than the HS1790Ti. Acoustone has a spin-off brand called Madoo and I tried their planar dynamic hybrid called the Type 512, which was the find of the Canjam for me. Such fast transients and such phenomenal bass slam! 

MADOO Type 512

The Madoo is a show-stopper for the price of $640. It has a lovely, warm and inviting midrange with a ton of note weight. It has just the right amount of treble sparkle. And man, it slams like nothing I have heard in this price range. For technicalities as well, it may be the best I have heard south of $1000, with the exception of the Symphonium Helios. Needless to say, I bought it and will drop a review soon. Stay tuned.

Next I moved on to the Nightjar Acoustics booth and spent some time with the soon-to-released Singularity and the upcoming Duality. I liked the Duality more, not just for the elevated bass, but for its superior timbre and technical chops. The Singularity will also be a popular IEM given it is expected to be priced sub-$1500 when it comes out in April 2023. The Duality will be higher-priced but will not be out until later in the year.

Nightjar Acoustics Duality Prototype

The folks behind Nightjar Acoustics, Symphonium Audio and Subtonic Audio are friends who collaborate on research, tuning and technology. They are all young entrepreneurs and manufacturers and if their early releases are anything to go by, they have a great future ahead. They were the talk of Canjam Singapore 2023, partially due to Subtonic’s latest release, the Subtonic Storm, which I talked about in Part 1. I did have revisit the Storm on Day 2. 

This time, Cornelius of Subtonic Audio suggested I try the Storm with the powerful FiiO Q7. I found that the Storm did scale well with the additional power of the Q7 and became more punchy, dynamic, and just more vivid with regard to its imaging. Soundstage also improved.

Subtonic Storm

I was also excited to try the brand new ZMF Atrium Closed. I spent some time with the Cherrywood version with Suede Pads and loved how open it sounded and how very authoritative the bass was. Mids are always good with ZMF so there is that. This may be the best closed-back headphone in the market. Stay tuned to my YouTube channel for a full review. 

ZMF Atrium Closed

Zach’s Meherbach’s headphones have a way of prettying up any audio show and this was no different, as may be evident from the photos below.

Stabilized Verite Closed

Stabilized Verite Open

I also spent some time at the 64 Audio booth. I was curious to try the new 64 Audio U4S. I concluded that it was a decent IEM for the price with good tuning and technicalities. However, it is not nearly as resolving as a Symphonium Helios which is still the benchmark for kilobuck IEMs. Moreover, the U4S transients are soft and mushy, which is not atypical for 64 Audio, but somehow became noticeable for the U4S. 

64 Audio U4S

As far as 64 Audio IEMs go, I liked the Fourte Blanc though, better than the Fourte OG. The Blanc is a bass cannon. Other than the solid subbass foundation, the Blanc is very resolving even if the tuning is a tad wonky in the treble. 64 Audio has a way of pulling off wonky tunings and still making them sound palatable and occasionally exciting.

64 Audio Fourte Blanc

My favorite full-size headphone of the show was the new Focal Utopia, i.e., Utopia 2022. The new Utopia is a tad more pleasing to me than the old Utopia (and I really liked the old Utopia). The new one slightly warmer and had some incredible synergy with my Sony WM1ZM2 (with a subbass shelf EQ). 

Focal Utopia 2022

I also liked the Unique Melody Mason Fabled Sound: their most expensive IEM at $5999. I do not know many who own it and I wonder why not. I may prefer it to the much-loved and similarly-priced Oriolus Trailli but not to the Aroma Audio Jewel.

Unique Melody Mason Fabled Sound

I have never liked the DCA Stealth or Expanse much, but the new electrostatic headphone DCA Corina was something interesting in offering a meatier and thicker presentation for an electrostat. I would not buy it however because I prefer the Stax headphones to it. And the Corina does not have the technical chops of a SR-009, let alone an SR-X9000.

DCA Corina

Last but certainly not the least, I tried the world’s most expensive headphone, the Sennheiser HE-1. I had tried it extensively a couple of years ago, but I liked it much more this time. In fact, I loved it this time.

Sennheiser HE-1

Maybe the stunning views of Marina Bay from the 35th floor Pan Pacific suite that Sennheiser booked, had something to do with how much I liked the HE-1. 

View of the Marina Bay

The HE-1 has the best bass of any electrostatic headphone on the planet, thicker and deeper and more impactful than the Aperio. The midrange sounds exceedingly natural which seems to be a hallmark of Sennheiser headphones. The treble walks a beautiful line between polite and sparkly. My only nitpicks are that the staging is not the widest (although stage depth is great!) and mid bass can be on the thinner side on certain tracks. But I loved it overall. Listening to the HE-1 was a sweet, sweet way to end an overwhelming and I dare say, emotional two days of “CanJamming”. 

However, my Singapore audiophile adventures did not end with CanJam. I stayed back for a few more days to try more products! 

The next morning, at 8:30AM, I headed to Effect Audio, the acclaimed IEM and headphone cable maker headquartered in Singapore. I loved their little studio. I spent some time trying their flagship as well as new and old offerings.

I have to say that the portable segment of the audiophile community tends to attract more cable-disbelievers and skeptics. In my experience, cries of snake oil do exist in two-channel but they are far more pervasive in the world of headphones and IEMs. That said, I have always maintained that IEM cables can be a considerable bottleneck to their sound, perhaps more so than over-ear headphones. 

While at Effect Audio, I first their new copper cable, the Code 23. I thought the Code 23 looked quite impressive in its shine and girth and I dug the color.

Empire Ears Odin with Code 23

Sonically, the Code 23 has decent clarity but is never bright or strident. It is reasonably priced at $799. Next, I tried their flagships, the Centurion and the Chiron hybrid. My favorite, however, was the Centurion at $4999.

Effect Audio Centurion with Empire Ears Odin

The Centurion just slays. It is somehow both revealing and lush at the same time, with details, a tight bass, and a more polite treble than the Chiron hybrid. 

After finishing up with Effect Audio, I headed over to Zeppelin & Co., the famed audio store. While at Zeppelin, I compared the Cayin N8ii to my trusty Sony WM1ZM2. I also tried Cayin’s amplifier, the C9. 

Cayin N7, N8ii and C9

I found the N8ii to be an outstanding DAP. Tonally and technically, it trades blows with the WM1ZM2. While the WM1ZM2 is more analog, richer, meatier, darker, and punchier with better-rounded subbass; the N8ii is lighter, airier, and faster. The Sony has better imaging. The N8ii has a deeper soundstage. The N8ii bass sounds a bit lighter than I like, however. 

Meanwhile, the C9 is an impressive piece of kit. It adds some coloration to the sound of DAPs, enhances soundstage depth, and improves bass slam. In terms of coloration, the C9 made the Cayin DAPs’ treble smoother and sweeter. Once you remove it from the chain, the staging feels flatter and the treble brighter.

After trying the DAPs, I holed myself up in the quieter Zeppelin listening room with the dCS Lina stack to test the stack with different headphones, including the Utopia 2022, the ZMF Caldera, the Final D8000 Pro and the Stax SR-009S.

Utopia 2022 and dCS Lina Stack

All the aforementioned headphones sounded great on the dCS Lina system. The Utopia, however, sounded glorious. The Utopia has always sounded special to me off dCS DACs. It sounded incredible on the dCS Bartok, which smoothened the Utopia treble, improved its timbre considerably, and made vocals more natural, while also improving bass impact.

Something very similar happened with the Utopia on the Lina stack. I may have never heard the Utopia do vocals as well on any other system. Second, the Utopia slammed hard on the Lina, but not to the point that it was distracting and overdone. 

I enjoyed acoustic music as much as rock on this chain. All the while, I was gently sipping the amazing mint latte that Zeppelin makes. Everyone at this store knows audio and how to make amazing coffee!

Zeppelin & Co. Mint Latte

After finishing up at Zeppelin, I visited the Project Perfection store at Adelphi, branded as a Furutech store. There, other than buying the Dita Perpetua and the Fir Audio KR5 from my friend, Darren, I also had a listen to the Stax SR-X9000. I am familiar with this headphone having reviewed it on my channel here, but the chain at the Furutech store was a killer. It was as follows. 

Roon Nucleus > Keces P8 Power Supply > Meitner MA3 DAC > KSL-M7 > Stax SRM-T8000 > Stax SR-X9000

The Kondo KSL-M7 is a $30,000 tube pre-amp. The pre-amp served as the central command center of this chain, enabling a wonderfully holographic and layered presentation while adding a sweetness and gentleness to the treble. Meanwhile, the Meitner DAC has a noticeably rounded and deeper bass presentation.

Kondo KSL-M7

The result was that the X9000 sounded bassier, punchier and larger than I remember. It was as revealing as I remember but just more fun on this chain. There was more holography, more meat on the bones, and a far sweeter treble. The guys at Furutech voluntarily swapped out the pre-amp to allow me to hear the X9000 directly from the Meitner to the T8000. Whilst the bass punch was still there, a lot of the stage depth, layering, treble sweetness, and spatial information vanished.

Stax SR-X9000

My final stop before completing this unexpectedly amazing audio journey was at my friend Gavin’s. I have known Gavin for years on HeadFi. In fact, I skipped a doctor appointment to listen to his Raal Requisite SR-1b setup in his comfortable apartment. 

Raal Requisite SR-1b and VM-1a

I am no stranger to the Raal Requisite SR-1b. I have owned the SR-1a, which is only cosmetically different from the SR-1b. However, the Meitner MA3 > Raal Requisite VM-1a tube amp made the SR-1b a rather complete headphone. The upper mids and lower treble were tamed, bass felt better extended and certainly punchier, whilst the SR-1b’s famed staging, imaging and resolution were retained. The VM-1a is certainly a special amplifier and I recommend it strongly for the SR-1b and the CA-1a. 

The trip to Gavin’s house marked a wonderful to end an eventful trip to Singapore. It was a watershed moment for me as an audiophile and reviewer, not just in terms of understanding the amazing innovation that is happening in Asia, but in experiencing the warmth and friendliness of a welcoming community. Pictured below are some friends I made, people whom I knew online for years, but can now call good friends. I also have a CanJam video playlist here. 

Please do join us at a CanJam somewhere in the world. 

Hope to see some of you in London in August! 

About the Author:

Sajid Amit is an academic and practitioner in international development by day, and audiophile day and night. His YouTube channel is called the Amplify Audiophile Show and is available here. His HeadFi thread is here.
 

Audio: Listen to this article.

CanJam Singapore 2023 Impressions: Part 1
By Sajid Amit

I have always admired Singapore. I admire it for how quickly it rose from rather humble origins and became one of the wealthiest countries globally; for how effectively it manages traffic; its ardent cleanliness; shopping; a diverse yet delectable cuisine; the greenery punctuating the cityscape, all the while being relentlessly modern and developed. I have also admired Singaporeans for their passion for the audio hobby as well as increasingly cutting-edge innovations in the realm of in-ear monitors (IEMs). 

Therefore, I was very excited to attend CanJam Singapore 2023. CanJam is the world’s premier portable audio show with annual events in New York City, Singapore, Los Angeles, London, Chicago, and Dallas, and is produced by Head-Fi.org. 

On this CanJam, I was excited to try several new releases from Singaporean brands like Subtonic Audio, Nighjar Acoustics, Symphonium Audio and Dita Audio, as well as much-loved American brands such as Fir Audio, 64 Audio and Empire Ears. I was also excited to try Japanese products which are sometimes difficult to audition outside of Asia, namely, Mass-Kobo, Brise Audio, and this little-known Japanese brand called Acoustune. 

Naturally, therefore, upon landing, clearing immigration, and checking into my hotel, I promptly called a Grab (Singaporean ride hailing startup), and made my way to Jaben, an audio store of some repute that has branches in Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur as well.

At Jaben, I was pleasantly surprised to be greeted by a follower of my YouTube Channel, and upon entering, to meet folks I have known from Head-Fi for ages. It always lovely to meet online friends in audio, in real life. After exchanging pleasantries and making plans, I spent some quiet time at Jaben to audition products I had an interest in purchasing. These included the SoftEars Turii Ti, Hiby RS8 Digital Audio Player (DAP), the Unique Melody Multiverse Mentor, and the Luxury & Precision P6 Pro DAP. 

Little did I know that I would also find at Jaben, the hottest new release in portable audio, the $5200 Subtonic Storm. In fact, there were 3 units of the Subtonic Storm at Jaben among the Head-Fiers gathered there. This was impressive because this IEM was so new at that time that only a handful were supposed to have reached their customers. I tried the Storm with the $7000 PW Audio Orpheus cable off my trusty Sony WM1ZM2 DAP as well as the Hiby RS8 DAP. 

Subtonic Storm with PW Audio Orpheus Cable

The Storm is an impressive IEM. It has resolution in spades, snappy transients and an immersive soundstage both in terms of depth and width. It was outstanding with audiophile genres such as jazz and classical but less so for rock and metal. Despite the BA bass, the Storm slams when powered right. However, it still did not match the best dynamic driver bass. I did perceive a relative lack of note weight and decay to the bass. Overall, though, this is easily one of the most impressive and technically proficient IEMs I have ever tried. And those seeking a reference-like tuning will be very impressed. 

I had long wanted to get my hands on and ears to the Luxury & Precision P6 Pro DAP. I was excited to find it at Jaben. The DAP is much smaller than I had imagined. However, the presentation was surprisingly natural in timbre. It was also more cohesive and natural sounding than most delta-sigma DAPs. It is colored in all the right ways. The soundstage did appear to be smaller than my Sony WM1ZM2. 

Luxury & Precision P6 Pro

The much-hyped Hiby RS8 sounded nice but did not add anything to what my Sony WM1ZM12 is capable of. Moreover, I found something slightly odd about the RS8 treble. It sounded a bit etched and distracting on some tracks. So I decided not to spend more time with it. I was certain I did not need to add it to my stable. Yes, it did have an airier treble than my Sony but nothing I could not fix using the Sony’s built-in (and rather masterful) EQ functionality.

Sony WM1ZM2, Hiby RS8 and Empire Ears Odin

The Softears Turii Ti IEM is quite popular among certain HeadFi circles. It is a high-end single dynamic driver IEM and IEMs of this configuration have their own cult following. However, the Turii Ti was not my jam. It was a bit too bright for genres I like, and I am certainly not faint of heart to treble. The Ti was formidable with jazz and acoustic. It is clearly a counterclockwise-tilted signature so those that are sensitive to treble need not apply. It is a nice-looking set, however. 

Softears Turii Ti

Meanwhile, the Unique Melody Multiverse Mentor is an impressive all-rounder of an IEM. It has large images, outstanding BA bass, and is very resolving. The IEM faceplates look a little cheap though and there is a chance one may bore of the rather safe tuning. But it is a really solid IEM and easily one of the best in the market among flagships. I do recommend it for those looking for an all-rounder.  

Unique Melody Multiverse Mentor

The day ended with great conversations at Pan Pacific where I was staying, which was also the venue of Canjam, with industry insiders who were already there. I went to bed excited and woke up even more so, rushing through breakfast to enter CanJam before it got too crowded. I also was going to be filming videos.  

CanJam Day 1

I started my first day at CanJam with the IEM that I was most keen on trying as it could have been a potential purchase for me, the Empire Ears Raven. 

Empire Ears Raven

I was looking forward to this one having owned and loved the Empire Ears Legend EVO and the Empire Ears Odin is one of my all-time favorite IEMs. And it did not disappoint! As Empire Ears boss Jack Vang pointed out, the Raven is more of an all-rounder than the EVO. It has less forward mids than the Odin, airier treble than the EVO, and a powerful and impactful bass. People expect a powerful and impactful bass from Empire Ears and they always deliver. That said, the Raven is certainly more of a genre-neutral IEM and will cater to a large group of audiophiles. 

Next, I tried the Cayin N7 DAP. I have tried Cayin’s flagship N8ii DAP extensively and also owned the older Cayin N6ii. The N7 marks a departure because it has a more “romantic” sound than either the N6ii or the N8ii, with slightly softer transients. The N8ii sounds airier and possibly a smidgen more detailed, while the N7 sounds richer and more midrange focused. I loved the Cayin N7 and given its price differential with the N8ii, recommend it strongly. The back cover also looks really cool.

Cayin N7

I tried the $1100 Symphonium Helios and I agree with other reviewers that they are incredible for the price. I have subsequently reviewed it here. Although a quad-BA IEM, the Helios has superb bass, better than most dynamic drivers, and a midrange that is clean without being septic, and a treble that is best-in-class for the price. Technically, the Helios is also great as it has resolution in spades, a soundstage that is wider than most IEMs, precise imaging, and wonderful macrodynamic slam and punch! The guys behind the Symphonium brand are also stellar and it was a lot of fun bantering with them. I am quite certain that their best is yet to come. 

Symphonium Helios

I tried some tube amps from Cayin and Feliks Audio. Cayin is a high-end Chinese brand that makes tube amplifiers for headphones as well as two-channel. Feliks is a Polish brand, which, until recently, focused on output transformerless (OTL) tube amps. I loved the new Euforia EVO for having a balance between tube warmth and a transparent presentation. It has a nimble bass which can slam when called for. The Cayin amps were no slouch with the 300B amp sounding more spacious and warmer. The HA-6A which leans more neutral. 

Feliks Euforia EVO

One of my highlights from Canjam Singapore was meeting Masuda-san of Mass-Kobo. Mass-Kobo is a highly respected manufacturer of high-end audio amplifiers in Japan, which is unfortunately not as well known outside of Asia. Their brand-new Mass-Kobo amp 465-000 is priced at around $17,000 and Masuda-san is expected to make only three to four units in 2023. 

I tried the Hifiman Susvara on this amplifier and it was sublime. It got the Susvara loud at only eleven ‘o clock on the volume dial, whilst maximizing its technical potential. The 465 also made the Susvara flow like a river, picking up nuances only the Susvara can, while offering impeccable stage depth. The retro aesthetics of this amp were also rather pleasing to the eye.

MASS-Kobo Model 465-000

Mass-Kobo has a transportable amp for IEMs called the 475 and it made my Empire Ears Odin sound better than it ever has, off my Sony WM1ZM2, with increased grunt in the bass and more top-end extension and resolution, whilst maintaining the Sony’s inherent warmth.

Mass-Kobo Amp 475

Between all the auditions, I sat down with Rob Watts and conducted an interview with the venerable engineer on upcoming products from Chord Electronics. I was excited to hear about the Chord Ultima DAC and the new mScaler for Dave! The Ultima DAC would be a significant upgrade to the Dave, according to Rob, and the Dave Scalar will have the same form factor as the Dave. For details, feel free to check out my interview with Rob, here. 

Rob Watts and Sajid Amit with the Chord Mojo 2

After speaking to Rob, I promptly picked up the legendary Chord Hugo 2. The staging, imaging, resolution and clarity of presentation on this device is hard to beat. I have long meant to buy it, so I couldn’t pass up the chance to get one.

Chord Hugo 2 and Empire Ears Odin

Also impressive is the new LetShuoer Cadenza. Priced at $2000, it does not disappoint for technical performance whilst retaining a warm of neutral tonality that will please many. It has stiff competition though at its price point. I find this LetShuoer to be rather impressive for their maturity in tuning across price ranges, and how much technical performance you get for the price. The Cadenza can trade blows with flagships from established manufacturers such as 64 Audio and Campfire Audio. 

LetShuoer Cadenza

I also got to spend time with the Malaysian boutique brand, Elysian Acoustics, which has taken the IEM word by storm. Their new Annihilator 2023 is as wonderful as the 2021 version which I used to own. However, the treble is smoother on the 2023 version, which brings out the bass a tad. Meanwhile, the shells look more shiny and more premium

Elysian Acoustics Annihilator 2023

I also really liked the Fir Audio Radon 6 for its lower levels of midbass spread compared to their previous releases. Somehow, it also made me appreciate the flagship Xenon 6 more, which sounded bloaty and muddy to me the first time I had heard it earlier this year. Interesting IEMs, both, in that they offer something different from the usual run-of-the-mill Harman-tuned fare. The Mandarin Symbio tips do help to mop up the excess midrange spread with Fir Audio IEMs. 

Fir Audio RN6 and XE6

Meanwhile, the newly released Sennheiser HD660S 2 was not my jam. It was not anything interesting in so far as its tuning goes and did not offer a noticeable technical performance upgrade to the HD650 and HD600, if at all. However, it is still a collector’s item for Sennheiser 6X0 series fans so there is that. And it does not sound half bad if you don’t compare it to an HD650 or HD600.

Sennheiser HD 660S2 and HD650

The Spirit Torino Valkyria is an interesting headphone with nice tonal density, very impactful bass and a nice midrange timbre. Pianos sounded marvelous on it but it was not competitive at $12,000, given the Susvara and the Abyss 1266 can be had for $6000 or less. 

Spirit Torino Valkyria

The Final D8000 Pro SE, on the other hand, really impressed despite its price and I would argue that it could rival an Abyss 1266 Phi TC or a Hifiman Susvara for overall tonal and technical performance. While both the Susvara and the TC likely surpass the Final for attributes such as resolution; the latter has a solid tonality and is perhaps a better all-rounder. It has some impeccable bass, a natural midrange, and superb treble clarity and extension without being sharp or fatiguing. 

Final D8000 Pro SE

Last but not the least, I really liked the single dynamic driver Dita Perpetua and the Mjolnir from Lotoo. The Perpetua has some of the natural single DD timbre I tend to like.

The Perpetua was striking in how much resolving Dita could eke out of its single dynamic driver configuration. It had a wide stage, a bass shelf that impresses in its balance of oomph and control, and a treble that is present but never strident. It also sounded glorious on my Sony WM1ZM2 DAP and I knew I had to buy it.

Dita Perpetua with Noble Prestige Cable and Sony WM1ZM2 DAP

Thus ended my auditions on Day 1 at Canjam Singapore. Amazing vibes all around. After the show ended, my Head-Fi friends and I headed over to a lovely spot surrounded by small hills and tall trees for dinner Singapore-style. Pictures below of the famous Singapore Chilli crab. Almost as good as the Dita Perpetua!

So that is it for Part 1 of this report. Stay tuned for Part 2. 

About the Author:

Sajid Amit is an academic and practitioner in international development by day, and audiophile day and night. His YouTube channel is called the Amplify Audiophile Show and is available here. His HeadFi thread is here.
 

Audio: Listen to this article.

High End Munich is officially in the books for 2023. As many manufacturers, distributors, and friends are disassembling and packing up audio gear, I'm back at my hotel processing what I've heard over the last four days. I have a few dozen photos and some rough iPhone recordings of the events, but I have no notes about what I experienced. I like to do things differently. I didn't methodically walk the show floor in a linear fashion and I don't remember many of the specifications and technologies manufacturers talk about. Over four days I looked for opportunities to listen to music, not through the lens of a forensic technician, but as a human being with emotions and vulnerability that can be tapped into by musical masterpieces played on the world's best audio systems. 

Selecting my three favorite rooms for this year's High End Munich wrap up was really easy. These three rooms spoke to me in a way that none of the others did, and it wasn't even a close contest. Keep in mind however, that I was in several rooms with fantastic hardware, but I often couldn't get into the music because it was so unfamiliar to me or was like listening to sound effects and test tones. That's not anyone fault, some of us just have different expectations when listening to music. In one case, a manufacturer enabled me to select my own music, but as soon aa play was pushed, the room next door decide that thumping techno beats at 110 dB was what everyone on the entire floor needed to hear. Timing is everything in life.

Best of Show

My award for best of show easily goes to the Ibex Audio room featuring APL HiFi, Kroma Atelier, VAC, Artesania Audio, and Ikigai Audio. This room created had emotional musical impact than any other room I can ever remember at any audio show. The sound wasn't just good for an audio show, it was unequivocally fantastic, no matter the venue. As soon as I hit play on Lady Blackbird's Five Feet Tall, I immediately felt the emotion in her singing and in my chest. It was like this system created an emotional human connection between the music and the listener. 

Eric Clapton's Bell Bottom Blues from The Lady in the Balcony album was presented so well on this system that I, and the person sitting next to me, felt like we were sitting in the Cowdry House English estate where the album as recorded. The music was presented as a complete picture into the venue, without a single element standing out from the cohesive whole.

As I played Shostakovich Symphony No. 1 or Mussorgsky A Nigh on the Bare Mountain, the entire symphony orchestra washed over me at times and at other times lone string sections tugged at my heart strings as part of the emotional rollercoaster of the orchestra pieces. It's rare to experience pieces of music like this and to feel the emotional impact of them at an audio show. Usually something gets between the listener and the music. Not in this case, there was no boundary or anything to separate me from the music. I could feel it emotionally as much as I could hear it audibly. 

Finishing my listening session in this room, I really went for it. I played a track that can only be played at the very end of a listening session. Similar to how bands never wanted Rage Against The Machine as their opening, it's tough to follow The Raconteurs' title track from the Consoler of the Lonely album. Especially when I have control of the volume. 

I cranked it up and let the kick drum hit me in the chest. Jack White's dirty guitar sounded like it was coming straight from his amp, rather than through a high end audio system. It was in my face, just as it should be! My feet were tapping and my head was bobbing during this track, and I could see some others in the room were also getting into it in their own way. This isn't a typical audiophile standard at audio shows, but I think even the traditionalists enjoyed it. 

A big tip of the cap to everyone involved in this room. Yes, the manufacturers whose components were used played a large role, but rooms like this don't come together without a team effort by many unnamed folks. Well done. 

A Most Honerable Mention

The two other rooms that deserve honorable mention also had great sound in their own ways. On Friday morning I stopped into the Constellation room for a fresh listen. I was underwhelmed by the system when I visited on Thursday, but Id heard some minor adjustments were made and the speakers now had more than 10 hours on them. This was a system so similar to my own, that I felt right at home. Constellation, dCS, Transparent, and Wilson Audio were all in this room and are all in my room. The acoustic environment was much more difficult at the show than in my tightly controlled listening space, but I still loved the sound. My familiarity with every part of this system from source to speakers certainly helped, as did Constellation's willingness to play a couple requests. After a couple Lady Blackbird tracks from her Black Acid Soul album, I was right at home. I could hear through any slight room issues or outside crowd noise, and connect right with the performance. The only minor "distraction" was Constellation's new Statement amplifier on static display behind the listening position. I wanted to look more at that amp and I wanted to put it into the system! I eagerly await the first public demonstration of the Statement.

I've never, or at least that I can remember, given an honorable mention to a cable company. It doesn't make any sense why I wouldn't give this credit where credit is due, or why I even remember such a thing, but to my knowledge, I've never done it. This year is different. AudioQuest totally nailed it at High End Munich 2023. AQ cabling and power delivery combined with the debut of the Rockport Orion speakers was a magical combination. I must also mention a splendid system setup and light but properly done room acoustics package were absolutely key. 

I listened in this room for a couple tracks, then asked the gentleman if I could request a song. He politely demurred by asking what type of music I'd like to hear. When I asked for Lady Blackbird, his eyes lit up, he gave me a fist bump, and started in with a great story about recently seeing her in concert. I knew he and I were about to at least enjoy some music together, and possibly be wowed by the sound quality. 

Right from the open notes of the Blackbird's track Fix It, I was sucked into the music. I don't now if the room emptied behind my front row position, or if people also enjoyed it as much as me, because I was all-in. This is what I came to the show to experience. Sound as pure as the driven snow, with spatial cues and texture, combined with an emotional performance and spectacular soundstage, captivated me. The sound of this system was amazingly pure, with a three dimensional floating soundstage. If the show would've ended on Friday, I believe this room would've been my best off show winner.  

Wrap Up

That wraps my High End Munich show experience for 2023, but certainly does't wrap what I experienced outside the halls Munich's MOC event center. On Friday evening I received the world's first demonstration of lossless high resolution immersive streaming. That's a HUGE deal and deserved of its own forthcoming article. In addition, tomorrow morning I'm headed to the town of Herford, Germany to see the T+A factory to visit with the wonderful people and see how the terrific products are made. I only hope I can fit all the goodness into one article :~)

Last but never least, I must thank several members of the Audiophile Style community for stopping me to say hello. The pleasure was all mine. Visiting with you guys was my real highlight of the High End Munich show for 2023. Without you guys this site wouldn't exist. I'm inspired by your passion for our wonderful hobby, your willingness to give your time to help others, and your unmatched kindness when we meet in person. I'm already looking forward to 2024.