High End Vienna 2026 Report Part Six – Floor 1
OSCAR AND KELLY BRING YOU THEIR FINAL PART OF THEIR COVERAGE, FLOOR 1 OF THE ACV AT HIGH END VIENNA 2026
Some stunning systems, loads of world premieres and some big anniversary celebrations, find out what Floor 1 of the Austria center Vienna had to offer.
If you want to check out our previous reports from High End Vienna 2026 in the Austria Center Vienna, you can find Part One here, Part two here, Part Three here, Part Four here. and Part Five here.
Please note, all content and photos are the copyright of HiFi PiG Magazine/Big Pig Media LLP and must not be copied or reproduced in any way without the prior, written consent of the editor.
There is still more to come from Team HiFi PiG with coverage of Halls 2, 3 and 5 and the Start Ups.
PMC
PMC had two systems, one was a stereo system using their Fenestria with a full Bryston complement and Michell Gyro turntable, alongside their Muse/Apollo phono stage, the other was a full immersive surround atmos system.
I was lucky enough to hear both systems, the Fenestria have huge power and scale, with incredible bass accuracy and depth. They really do go deep into the sub-bass without ever losing composure, this is accurate, tight, deep bass that you can both feel and hear.
Oliver Thomas told us:
“We chose to focus on music rather than products. Instead of simply demonstrating loudspeakers, we invited a collection of PMC friends and industry experts, from Atmos mixing engineers to world-renowned vinyl mastering specialists, to share unique recordings and the stories behind them. By presenting these exceptional tracks through what we believe are the world’s finest loudspeakers, visitors experienced not just how the music sounds, but how it was created, mixed, mastered and intended to be heard.”
In the immersive studio, well, this was an experience (we heard the Sohn track in here)– the sound is all around you, immersing you in a superb sonic soundscape. This was one of the highlights of the show for me, it was unlike anything you have heard before, and I am glad to have experienced it.
35 years of PMC, and they continue to stick to their guns, long may that continue.
RAIDHO / EMMLABS
Raidho had their new TD3.10 speakers playing, backed up by emmLabs electronics – they were playing some hard-rock music when I went in the room, and it was pretty much playing at concert levels without a hint of breakup or distortion.
KLIPSCH / ONKYO
Celebrating 80 years, Klipsch and Onkyo had a few models on display alongside 2 demo rooms. The first had their active speakers setup (The Fives II, The Sevens II, and The Nines II), the second had their 80th Anniversary Klipschorn and Rebellion speakers.
MAGNAT
A single speaker on display in the hallway, with an interesting waveguide.
HORNS / QUALITON / ALBEDO
In here you had some smaller Horns Atmosphere Signature speakers, Albedo cabling, and a valve amp from Qualiton. These are great speakers for smaller to mid-size rooms, with great clarity and depth.
IDEON AUDIO
In here you had the Ideon Nous, Alpha Wave, eos Stream, eos Time, Ayazi X Anniversary, Thrax amplifier and Broadman speakers
WEISS
Weiss are know for their DACs normally, yet here they were showing off a larger lifestyle speaker system called Live Box. It’s pretty huge, and the sound that comes from it is equally big, great for people who don’t want a huge separates system.
They also had some of their DACs and DAC/amps on demo just outside the main room.
FRANCO SERBLIN / NAGRA
Franco Serblin Accordo Goldberg speakers were playing in here, with a few other models on static display around the room. The speakers were paired with a Nagra Classic amp, Nagra HD pre-amp, and Accuphase DP-560 SACD player.
LENHIFI
In here you had the Robin speakers by Soundspace Systems, and intriguing looking floorstander, paired with a Qualiton 300B amplifier, Linnenberg DAC, Qualiton phono stage, GigaWatt PowerMaster mains conditioner, and J.Sikora Aspire turntable with Aidas cartridge.
CHESKY
A smaller room with Chesky speakers, driven with Benchmark electronics and Audioquest mains conditioning.
GAUDER AKUSTIK / ACOUSTIC ARTS
Gauder Akustik and Acoustic Arts had a huge space, with a ton of systems on display alongside a main demo room. The demo room had a huge system playing, with 3 x Acoustic Arts Mono VI amps per speaker, Gauder Akustik Berlina RC-15 speakers, Trans Rotor Jr Orion Reference TMD turntable, Acoustic Arts Preamp V, DCS Rossini Apex player, and DCS Rossini clock, with Audioquest mains conditioning. This was an impressive room, as you would expect, and it comes with a hefty price tag attached too.
ORTOFON
Ortofon were showing off a couple of new bits, including their MC X50 cartridge, alongside the main attraction, the Vertex – a new £13,000 MC cartridge with solid diamond cantilever and vertex diamond tip. In the demo system they were using a Mark Levinson 523 pre-amp, Mark Levinson 534 amp, Mark Levinson 585 integrated amp, Technics SL-1000R turntable, Audiovector R 5 Arreté speakers, and a pair of Audiovector R Sub Arreté subwoofers. An impressive setup, and the new cartridge sound extremely good.
GOLDMUND
Goldmund had their Memsis pre-amp on demo, with an EIDOS streamer, running into a pair of their GAÏA speakers. At the side of the room they had a little exhibition on the history of Goldmund, with a lot of their older models on display.
AUDIONEXT
Audionext distribute a range of brands, both HiFi and HeadFi related, with quite an array on display in this room.
LOEWE / CABASSE
Lots of Cabasse speakers in this room, paired with a Loewe TV and Cyrus electronics, very lifestyle friendly. Loewe were recently announced as the new owners of French HiFi brand Cabasse, it will be interesting to see the direction they go in.
BOENICKE / BASEL ACOUSTICS
Boenicke make some intriguing looking speakers, however this room was running the Basel Acoustics Concept V01 speakers when we visited the room. These were running out of a Boenicke A10 amplifier, and they were using CDs as the source throughout the show.
EVERSOLO
Well, Eversolo really did show up and announce a ton of new products at the show. They are going to be releasing a few more full-size HiFi bits including a streaming amp featuring class A/B amplification, 2 new power amps (one Class A/B, the other Class-D), DMP-A8 master edition with CD player on the top, DAC-R8, T8 and T10 streaming transports, and C10 external clock.
They had a demo system using Pure-Acourate-Sound speakers paired with 3 x AMP-F10 power amps per speaker, and DMP-A10 streaming pre-amp.
They also had their Play CD with speakers on display, showcasing a simpler lifestyle setup.
Then we moved on to Luxsin who also had a whole host of new stuff to show off, including DAC/amps with a new R2R DAC module (that is rather natural and detailed for an R2R module), portable DAC/amp, remote for their current models, and a separate DAC and Headphone amp that stack very neatly, and the DAC has a cool detachable knob that functions as a remote.
There was a lot in this room, with Eversolo and Luxsin showcasing a lot of new products.
SOUL NOTE / ALBEDO
Soul Note had their M3 mono block amps running into a pair of Albedo Acclara, using a Thorens TD 124 DD, P-3 pre-amp, and E-3 phono stage.
LINGKE
Lingke had a stand showing some active stereo speakers, alongside some more lifestyle wireless speakers with handles and built in batteries for portable use.
AUDIA FLIGHT / MARTEN / SIGNAL PROJECTS
Audia Flight had their Strumento No1 Signature pre-amp, and Strumento No8 mono block amps in this room, driving a pair of Marten Coltrane Quintet speakers, using Signal Projects cabling throughout. They were using an Audia Flight FLS20 SACD player as the source, alongside an FLS22 streamer.
AUDIO REFERENCE
Distributor Audio Reference had a ton of stuff on display, alongside various demo spaces, I’ll try and talk through the main bits.
There were a few systems using various Wilson Audio speakers, and also the new Wilson Audio Autobiography were on display at the main entrance. Electronics were mostly Dan D’Agostino, with VPI and SME turntables, and DCS digital kit.
In the main demo room, they had the Wilson Audio Chronosonic XVX speakers, paired with an SME Model 60 turntable, full DCS Varese stack, and Dan D’Agostino pre-amp and power amps, alongside a VTL phono stage, they even had a pair of Wilson Audio Subsonic subs paired with the speakers. This was a massive system, and I was lucky enough to get to pop in whilst they were still setting up for the day ahead. This did mean I got to hear Bowling for Soup – Girl All The Bad Guys Want, not your typical audiophile music, but something the guys played just to have a bit of fun. It’s a lot of fun hearing a track you enjoy through such a huge system, great dynamics, and insight, whilst simply enjoying the music.
Elsewhere, you had Meridian, Perlisten, VTL, Magnetar, Nordost, Velodyne, Stromtank, and DCS. Audio Reference had a huge area, with plenty of great systems to see and hear.
LINGKE
Lingke had another display here, mostly showing off their portable speakers, great for BBQs and outdoor listening.
AVALOS / FONO ACUSTICA
In this room you had a pair of Avalos Ola Gold Edition speakers, paired with Vitus Audio, and a Kalista DAC. Deep, big sound with excellent control, however they were playing very ambient music when we were in the room.
YAMAHA
Yamaha had a good spread of kit on display, along with a little headphone listening area. The main attraction, though, were the new wireless active speakers (NX-70A), rather good sound for their size, ported cabinet with all the usual inputs/outputs, costing €2900. They have quite an audiophile friendly sound that is well balanced, but they are up against some stiff competition and demand quite a price premium over some other models that have the same functionality.
MARTEN / JORMA
Marten were debuting their new Dexter series of speakers at the show, with the Dexter Quintet Statement Edition on demo, paired with Goldmund electronics, a TechDas AirForce 20 turntable, and Innuos Nazare NET network switch.
AUDIO TECHNICA
Audio Technica had a great booth on the main floor, showing off their various cartridge ranges, headphones, and turntables. They had listening pods for their higher end headphones, and an area demoing their cartridges, where you could listen through headphones to the system playing. Audio Technica make some excellent cartridges for the money, and I’m looking at their AT33 series as my next upgrade.
SIEKVING
A great spot for some record shopping here, with a wide range of genres and artists.
QUADRASPIRE / TW-ACUSTIC
Some lovely racks on display, alongside excellent lighting for turntables, and a TW-Acustic turntable, tonearm, and platter mat.
CARDAS
Cardas make great cables, and they had a great display at the show, including interconnects, headphone cables, speaker cables, and lots of connectors.
Please note, all content and photos are the copyright of HiFi PiG Magazine/Big Pig Media LLP and must not be copied or reproduced in any way without the prior, written consent of the editor.
Oscar Stewart
Additional photography by Kelly Bowden
