Hifi Pig

Meridian will be actively promoting some of their most innovative products and technologies at this year’s High End event in Munich.

The DSP320 in-wall/in-ceiling loudspeaker is designed for in-ceiling use while also being slim enough for an in-wall set-up. It is designed to deliver similar tone qualities and compatible performance and it can also be easily integrated into systems that combine Meridian’s free-standing DSP loudspeakers with Meridian in-wall loudspeakers. Meridian’s Special Edition series of DSP Digital Active Loudspeakers, which provide “the most revealing, lifelike and powerful performance of any Meridian loudspeaker to date, will also be on display”.

TheMQA technology will also be demonstrated. MQA is a new British technology that “fundamentally changes the way we encode, capture, distribute and consume music. Meridian will be the only manufacturer at Munich with MQA ready hardware on view”.

Definitive Audio who wowed Linette at last years High End Munich show with their glorious Vox Olympian  loudspeakers will be there again with Bemax their German distributor in room E220 Atrium 4.

This time they have a brand spanking new pair of Vox Elysian (the bass end of the Olympian system) made in Ebony to match the show pair of Vox Olympian, with a “funky subwoofer crossover cabinet to match” with Kondo electronics, all fed via the Living Voice Battery power supply system.

If you get the opportunity to hear this system at Munich you really owe it to yourself to make the effort….

Lab12 will attend High End Show of Munich (14-17 may) in Hall 4, Booth B07 where they will have three new models:

integre4 Integrated Amp

Features:

• EL34, 6550, KT88, KT120 compatible (6550 form factory)
  • Remote Control
  • Output power: 45 watt per channel (6550)
  • Frequency response: 15Hz – 60KHz (-1dB)
  • Input impedance: 50K ohms
  • Tube complement: 4x 6n1p dual triodes, 4x 6550 power pentodes (EL34, KT88, KT120 compatible)
  • Inputs: 5x line stereo RCA connectors (Available upgrades)
  • Weight: 13Kg

gordian Multifunctional Power Distributor / Conditioner

Suono -A class A single ended power amp (pictured)

Features: 

• KT150 matched tubes
  • Power: 230/240 Vac 50Hz
  • Power consumption: 300 VA max
  • Output power: 25 watt per channel (KT 150)
  • Frequency response: 20Hz-20KHz (-0.9dB)
  • Input impedance: 100K ohms
  • Output impedance: 4,8 ohm
  • Tube complement: 2x 6n2p dual triode, 2x KT-150 Power Pentode
  • Inputs: 1x line stereo (RCA connectors)
  • Weight: 14Kg

It would be a shame to visit such a beautiful and culturally rich city as Munich and not actually see anything of it…..I must admit that we have been so busy in previous years that we haven’t made it to any of the Museums and Art galleries, but this year I am determined to!

Of course the High End Munich Show is the focus of our visit but there is so much else to see!

The Pinakothek group of galleries features everything from classic masterpieces at the Alte from the 14^th to 18^th century including works by Albrecht Dürer, Peter Paul Rubens and Leonardo da Vinci, to 19^th century works at the Neue by the likes of Caspar David Friedrich, Edouard Manet, Paul Cezanne and Vincent van Gogh.

Der Moderne features modern works of architecture, design, graphics and art.

www.pinakothek.de/en/alte-pinakothek

www.pinakothek.de/en/neue-pinakothek

www.pinakothek.de/en/pinakothek-der-moderne

The Museum Brandhorst is one of Munich’s newest galleries, featuring 20^th and 21^st century works from, among others, Damien Hirst, Gerhard Richter and Sigmar Polke.

There is also a collection of over 100 works by Andy Warhol and there are many temporary exhibitions currently there is ‘Yes!Yes!Yes! Warholmania in Munich’, a cooperation between Museum Brandhorst and Filmfest München, focuses on Andy Warhol as a painter and filmmaker.

www.museum-brandhorst.de/en.html

More contemporary art can be found at the Haust Der Kunst gallery which features both an archive gallery and regular exhibitions.

www.hausderkunst.de/en/

The BMW museum is a Mecca for all car lovers and you can visit a host of exhibitions and events  at the BMW Welt, the BMW Museum and the BMW Plant …including currently a temporary exhibition ‘The Mini Story’

www.bmw-welt.com/en/

The Bayerisches Nationalmuseum is dedicated both to visual arts and cultural history of Bavaria from the middle ages through to the Art Nouveau period and features collections from arms and armour to folk art, glass, ceramics and textiles.

It is also next to the English Garden if you fancy a leisurely stroll after all that culture!

www.bayerisches-nationalmuseum.de/index.php?id=1&L=1

The Münchner Stadtmuseum, in the city centre houses more relics of ‘Typical Munich’, an exhibition on the history of National Socialism and the Nazi party in Munich  and also a puppet museum and theatre (which is apparently quite creepy).

There is also the SoundLab, which is an interactive history of music exhibition.

www.muenchner-stadtmuseum.de/en.html

Right next door to the Stadtmuseum is the Jüdisches Museum which is one of the city’s most modern buildings, it’s permanent exhibition focuses on Jewish history and the Jewish faith.  There is currently a temporary exhibition called ‘Jukebox, Jewkbox!’ A Jewish Century on Shellac and Vinyl.

www.juedisches-museum-muenchen.de/home.html?L=1

If there wasn’t enough new technology for you at the High End Munich Show then you could also visit the Deutsches Museum for more Masterpieces of Science and Technology

www.deutsches-museum.de/index.php?id=1&L=1

There are of course many more places to visit but hopefully this will give you a starting point if you want a little ‘down time’ away from the show…have fun!

Swiss manufacturer Merging Technologies will launch their audiophile D/A converter, NADAC, at the High End Show in Munich on May 14. They will be in Hall 3 on stand J05/K08.   

NADAC stands for Network Attached DAC, and will be delivered in two different versions, stereo and 8-channels.  Both variants have ¼” and mini-jack headphone outputs which can be configured to carry a different signal to the main output.  Merging Technologies was encouraged to produce NADAC because of the praise their professional D/A converters have received from recording engineers.

Merging is forming a dynamic partnership with a growing number of these content providers, to jointly promote the benefits of the listening to the music “as the artists intended”. Special deals for NADAC purchasers will be announced as they are made available.

NADAC covers PCM formats up to 24-bit/384kHz and DSD up to DSD256. It has AES/EBU and SPDIF digital inputs for use with CD players, CD transports or other devices up to 192kHz.  An Ethernet interface is provided for use with computer based digital audio systems for carrying through ASIO on Windows and CoreAudio with DoP on MacOS any resolution up to 384kHz, DXD and DSD256.  This uses the RAVENNA protocol that Merging Technologies helped to develop for high sampling rate applications and allows “very robust and accurate transfer of the digital audio data from the computer to NADAC”.  The data is stored in a large buffer memory in the NADAC and then clocked out by the unit’s internal clock. This and the RAVENNA protocol’s Precision Time Protocol (IEEE 1588) “eliminates the cable and jitter related problems associated with conventional digital audio interfaces”.

The NADAC’s line outputs are driven by an ESS9008S SABRE Reference Audio D/A IC.  This IC has 8 separate D/A converters and in the stereo version of the NADAC, each channel uses 4 D/A converters with the outputs summed.  The 8-channel version of the NADAC may also be switched to work as a stereo unit, with the converters configured in the same way.

The NADAC has balanced and unbalanced line outputs; two headphone outputs; a digital volume control and any smart device with a web browser can serve as a remote control.

Swiss brand Soulutions got in touch with Hifi PIg to tell us they are excited to be introducing three new products at this year’s High End Show in Munich.

The new products to be showcased are:

•  760 D/A-converter
•  755 phono preamplifier
•  746 power supply for the 746 SACD player.

Soulutions will be in Atrium 4, E107 at High End Munich.

Harman Luxury Audio will be unveiling No. 536 monaural amplifier from Mark Levinson on Thursday May 14 at MOC Munich, Atrium 4, First Floor, Room F119.

Todd Eichenbaum, Harman’s Head of Luxury Audio Engineering will be introducing the new design and performance of this fully discrete 400W class AB power amplifier which Harman say is a worthy partner for the No. 52 preamplifier.

On the same day Harman’s Luxury Audio Vice President Jeff Poggi will be present for face-to-face meetings and interviews.

Room F119 will also host the full Mark Levinson range of products, the new Revel Concerta2 speakers, Revel Performa3 and Ultima2 speakers, and from JBL some special custom finish Everest DD 67000 and K2 S9900 speakers.