High End Vienna 2026 Report Part Nine – Hall X3
MICHAEL SNOOFLES AROUND HALL X3 AT HIGH END VIENNA 2026
HiFi PiG’S Michael takes a snoofle around Hall X3 at the Austria Center Vienna, plus includes some more notable stands from X2. Find out what he found there in the final instalment of our written High End Vienna 2026 Reports.
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, Part Five here. Part Six here Part Seven here. Part Eight here and the Start-Up Area 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.
AMR
Before handing over to Michael for this hall, Oscar headed to the press conference for the relaunch of British HiFi brand AMR.
AMR are back, the parent company of iFi Audio relaunched at this show with a pair of mono-block amplifiers, separate streamer/DAC (multi-bit), and pre-amp. The designs are unique, with quite a futuristic aesthetic and huge power and scale when paired with Marten Parker Quintet speakers in this demo setting. The units all have their own dedicated PSU’s and look impressively solid.
The power amp was designed by John Curl and has an output power of 800w (8Ohm), and 1400w (4Ohm). This is a full FET four-quadrant mono-block amp (world first), with up to 100w in Class-A, with fully adjustable bias.
The streaming/DAC is using NOS TDA1541 DACs, alongside an array of AD1862 chips, and a resistor array for volume, with a totally separate PSU for L/R channels.
LECTOR STRUMENTI / PORTENTO AUDIO
Lector received the prestigious HiFi PigG Outstanding Product Award recently for their Diginet Streamer Transport. Today, they were showing off their CDP707 tube compact disc player, the Strumenti Audio ZUM-H Headphone Amp, and a few other tasty goodies.
Vienna-High-End-Show-X3-2026-Michael-Fairbairn-379-385
MASTERSOUND
I love the Masteround kit, and the guys at this stand were equally superb. I reviewed their Icona Integrated and found it to be excellent. The brand was showing off their new stereophonic power amps (PFS-50), alongside more handsome boxes of delight. We had a fun time with the wee HiFi PiGgies for an impromptu photoshoot. Don’t they go well together?
HiFi ROSE
The room featured an all HiFi Rose flagship system, including a towering pair of Piega floorstanding speakers – Master Line Source 2 Gen 2. Amplification came courtesy of a pair of their uber-flashy RA80 monoblocks (that screen is awesome!), and an RA180 integrated. The brand also incorporated an RD160 DAC, rounding out the system with a streamer (RS130). All top-notch gear!
It was cool to see a huge TV mounted on the wall behind the HiFi rack. It was mirroring the fully legible metadata, artwork, and input info on the supersized LCD screen of the RS130, which has one of the clearest and brightest displays I’ve seen on any component. The appeal of the two screens has inspired me to use the same pairing in my forthcoming second home system.
I was totally into the sound of this setup while some mellow music was playing. If I wasn’t already engaged enough by that gorgeous audio, Ratchets Inferno came on next, and it got cranked. It’s the quintessential banger, and I absolutely loved it radiating from this system. The impact of the audio got my body moving, blood pumping, and, dare I say, juices flowing. Ahem. I could have been easily convinced I was experiencing a surround sound setup; the sound was that all-encompassing! I would implore anyone to invest in even just one HiFi Rose product. Proper, quality kit! Want!!.
OLADRA
Oladra had their digital-only source components: Presence and Sentia. In their words, both of the stunning boxes of joy were “Developed to preserve the timing, structure, and coherence through which recorded music feels real.” Judging by the looks of them alone, my mind boggled at how magnificent the sound must be that they produce.
New Zealand-based Antipodes Audio recently announced the completion of the Oladra Platform and the formation of Oladra as a separate brand focused on digital audio sources; more info here.
LAB12
Full disclosure. I love Lab12, and this system did not disappoint, one bit! Their Pre1 is a key component in my own system, and I’ll soon be the proud owner of a DAC1 Reference. To say I am very excited by this would be the understatement of the century. I can’t get enough of their superb boxes!
The Pre1 preamplifier didn’t feature in this system, but the Integre4 Mk2 Toroid integrated amplifier was doing its job, admirably, alongside the DAC1. Several HiFi PiGlets are total converts to the Lab12 gospel; Alan McIntosh recently became the proud owner of an Integre4, and I know he is delighted with what it has brought to his already stellar setup.
The other Lab12 kit was a Gordian power conditioner, and the cabling was their own Connection series. Rounding out this brilliant rack was a HiFi Rose RS130 streamer. Speakers were Sonus Faber Sonetto VIII G2, which looked absolutely great with their wraparound wood veneer. Fine Italian craftsmanship, to say the least. The rack itself was from Solidsteel (SC-5), which is another brand I am very fond of. I was in heaven with everything on display. The future is bright. The future is Lab12, for the win!!
Music sounded so live and real to me here, which is the same quality I get at home with just the preamplifier in the chain. From Misirlou (Theme From Pulp Fiction) by 2Cellos to Dylan’s Man In The Long Black Coat, I cannot fault the natural, human feel from Lab12. In my humble opinion, it’s how music should sound. I could go on and on about this Athens, Greece-based company and their fantastic work. Outstanding. Amazingly warm, friendly, and welcoming people, too! Every home needs even just a little Lab12.
DIVINI AUDIO
This was such a delightful array of gorgeous products from Dvini Audio. They showcased their premium high-purity audio cables, high-resolution speaker systems, and professional tuning accessories. Their “Highlight of the Show: – We are also proud to present our latest audiophile-grade Power Amplifiers and Dual-Output Linear Power Supplies live at the booth!” Super stuff.
ATLAS CABLES
A Scottish accent caught my ear at this stand. They are based in Kilmarnock, Scotland which is not far at all from where I live. I chatted with Alan from the company. Lots of enticing cables to discover.
SYSTEM AUDIO
System Audio from Denmark put together a very homely-looking stand, and I got loads of great visual references for my soon-to-be-built, second home system.
SOLEN
The guys at this stand were just the best. My new French pals, and not just because they were so hospitable to give me some delicious dark chocolate, and a wee dram of Chartreuse. Hic! Cool people, and even cooler equipment. HiFi PiG recently reviewed their CV-40 EL84 integrated amplifier, awarding it 5/5 stars.
They brought their A-game, saying “Come meet our newest addition to the Solen family, Le Lynx. Built entirely for music lovers, the Lynx is designed to pull you deeper into every recording.” So, I did! I’ll be investigating this brand, a whole lot more. I had such a fun time.
DR FEICKERT
TRIGON
REVOX
The focus here was a very cool, Deep Purple-branded reel-to-reel deck – Revox Deep Purple Limited Edition. A total collector’s item, if ever I saw one. Revox said, “…it was a pleasure sharing our premium audio products live, …and having the band members Roger Glover and Simon McBride at the booth for this first presentation.” Sadly, I missed them (Oscar caught a picture of them, though). On the plus side, I did see Hans Theeslink signing autographs at their neighbouring stand. All so cool.
TONEWINNER
NUBERT
Ratchets Inferno was requested in this room. I was more than happy to hear it again, after enjoying it so much on the HiFi Rose system. It’s such a cool track, and a real test of power, drive, and impact. This system had it in spades. My whole body felt it. At just shy of 6k euros apiece, the NuVero nova 18 floorstanders seem like too much of a bargain. In fact, I told the guys in the room they should be charging more. Take note if you want to grab a bargain now.
Thomas Bien designed these towering, passive speakers. I was surprised to find they aren’t active, given their ability to shift so much air, and hit on all levels. They don’t just do energy, though. There was a tremendous sense of pace, timing, and dynamics. They weigh 97k each, and I spotted a really clever move where they had them on sliding platforms, for ease of switching between the 18s and the slightly smaller 14s. Smart folks, these guys.
They also offer a full suite of speakers for full-surround sound systems, including rear Atmos speakers, bookshelf speakers, a centre speaker, and a sizable subwoofer. These are all available in high gloss white or black and look the part. Pure eye candy, if this is your kind of thing. I know I could live with a system as awesome as this. Powering the 18s were nubert’s own pair of nuPower A-2, nuControl X-2 (ambient Line). Even at lower volumes, Peter Gabriel’s Four Kinds of Horses had no less presence, grace and control. Great gear.
CERADISC / NEO
THRAX AUDIO
This was a fairly minimalist stand, but with some really attractive pieces of kit from their Evolution Series. Specifically, Cotys Phono preamplifier (moving coil), Janus R2R DAC / Preamplifier, D-mono Power Amplifier (GaN switch mode), and Lyra 2-way stand mount loudspeakers.
FOSI AUDIO
A very cool stand and space. Not quite a dedicated sound booth, at least while I was there, but it was really interesting to hear the information about the array of products, from Guy David Tuneh (Deputy General Manager Research and Design & Head of FOSI INGENUUS, as his all too small name badge told me). Fosi, I implore you to invest in a much larger badge for this man. His enthusiasm was beyond infectious. As I write this, it brings a big smile to my face thinking about our brief interaction. I reckon we also clicked, owing to both being musicians. I’m a rock n’ roll guitarist, Guy a classical musician, who plays double bass. Kindred spirits, I say.
His excellent contribution to the development of the Fosi brand comes in the form of two brand new products (launched at High-End), namely the V4 mono, (250w) successor of the V3 mono, and V5 mono (550w). Both have pure hypex class D amplifier topology, and are built using a unique process with CNC machining. They are challenging the Chinese model of ‘fast to market’ devices. I can see the target demographic, and appreciate the attention to detail of these quality components. It is certainly not disposable, landfill-type fodder, in the slightest. These are built with sustainability in mind. I’m going to need a shot of these at home, soon.
ACOUSTIC SIGNATURE
Yet more excellent, European hospitality. This time, courtesy of Gunther, Jaqueline and Robert, and the rest of the lovely people at the Acoustic Signature stand, who plied me with delicious beer from a brewery close to their headquarters in Germany. Not only were they celebrating the 30th company anniversary, they also showcased the new MERLIN NEO and anniversary model, the THIRTY NEO, you can read more about them here.
They had so many beautiful turntables, tonearms, and more at this large stand. Gorgeous stuff, and the epitome of high-quality German engineering, at its finest. Oh, as a total added bonus, I also got to meet David from Stratton Acoustics. What a top bloke!
MATRIX AUDIO (WITH AUDIO BASTION)
This was another cool room, and they had loads of gear on display at their main stand. In the sound booth, Matrix Audio had a full complement of its own equipment: MS-1C music streamer, M2-1 music streamer, MP-1 preamplifier, SC-1 audio-grade reference clock, SS-1 pro-audio-grade network switch, S1-1 audio-grade network isolator, and two MA-1 audio power amplifiers. Oof! What an amazing lineup, Matrix Audio. You guys really outdid yourself. I wouldn’t have liked to be involved in the breakdown and load out of all that kit. Hats off to you!
Giorgio by Daft Punk gave me a real sense of his voice, and there was great bass control, too. Such cool aesthetics for all this great kit; very contemporary, and futuristic, even.
GERSHMANN ACOUSTICS
Another brand that upped the ante with a room chock full of marvellous HiFi goodies. They brought along: Gershman Symphoria Loudspeakers, TLA (True Life Audio) Mono TSA-300 amps, digital source was courtesy of Lampizator (GulfStream2), as was e DAC (Aphrodite). Another TLA beauty was a TSP-1 preamplifier.
Cardas was in on the act, providing their X6 power cables, X2 XLRs, and speaker cables. The same brand also provided AC power conditioning. Last, but not least, Graphite Audio were doing supportive duties with DAC footer cones, and three of their lovely platforms.
SWAN
Chinese brand Swan had a modest system showcasing their D3.1 MKII standmount speakers with a 6.5” woofer and 28mm dome tweeter. Power range is 10W – 120W and finished in PVC. Driving these was a Musical Fidelity A1 integrated class amplifier. They also had two HiFi Rose components on the rack. Dire Straits was on, which isn’t my cup of tea, but it was a decent listen, and the speakers looked nicely finished.
The second Swan room was far more impressive than the first, with a pair of active standmounts. I enjoyed this sound more because it had greater presence and weight. The room itself seemed a little sparse from a presentation perspective, and I felt it would have benefited from a little more visual appeal. That being said, it kind of captured the simplicity of a home setup that may be familiar to many audio enthusiasts, without relying on the wow factor of a well-dressed room to impress.
LINKWITZ
Designed by the late Siegfried Linkwitz. His aim was to create a live sound with the ‘transparent’ speakers. ‘Holographic sound’ could have been an overconfident claim, but when you realise the LX521.4 neoMG Fully Transparent speakers(4-way active analogue Full Range Dipole) have enclosures made from damping, acrylic glass, it makes much more sense.
The sound was actually fairly transparent. Some Daft Punk was mellow, laid back, and the bass reached far deeper than I would have reasonably expected it to go. Each driver has its own amplifier, hence the control, precision and drive. Bass was full, well-rounded but not bloated or bloomy.
The enclosure can be produced using different, custom materials. I was most curious about the ‘Panzerholz’ option – aka tankwood. It is made from twenty-five layers of redwood, on hard-pressed phenolic resin, more commonly used for bulletproof doors. Well, you learn something new every day! Panzerholz is also used in the chassis for F1 cars, due to its lighter properties; half the specific weight of other materials. You can also get these in aluminium or walnut. Personally, I found the acrylic to be really novel, different, and very appealing.
At 28,900 euros per pair, the price includes 10ch amplification, Active Analogue XO, and Multicore SpeakON cables. Very cool. Not sure I could convince my other half to put a pair of these in our house, but I enjoyed my time with them, albeit briefly!!
The rest of the system consisted of a NAS into a laptop, to an NAA endpoint for HQ player, then Ethernet to USB. From there, the chain went to a Topping D900 direct-drive CD256 DAC, then to a Linkwitz power box, then to a 5-channel Hypex NCORE amp. Analogue cables were from Refine Audio.
Just as I was about to leave, Frank Brenner, the owner of this Stuttgart-based business, called up Boys of Summer, which sounded great!. I’m glad I stuck around to hear that one. Cheers, Frank!
DEGRITTER
For any real vinyl enthusiasts, I would say a record-cleaning device is a great investment. When I get back into the format, I would love to own one of these. The lovely folks at this stand could not have been more friendly, and they made sure I didn’t leave before sharing some little PiGgies. On show were the Degritter Mark II and Fonoteek i.
THUNO
X2 – STATIC STANDS REVISIT, NOTABLE SHOUT-OUTS
ONIX
A big shout-out to Frankie from ONIX for hooking me up with two fantastic ONIX devices for HiFi PiG review, this year (soon to be published). I covered their XDA20 DAC and XM2 portable player. I love both of them, and am now the proud owner of both. The DAC, in particular, has made a huge difference to the soundstage of my home system and to the overall dynamics of the music. They were also showcasing their equally-enticing XST20 High-End Transport and XMT20 High-End Streamer Transport. How apt are those product names for this show?!?
ONIX was also launching a sexy copper-finished version of the XM2, and I’m not afraid to admit I was lusting after one from the moment I set eyes on it! I’ve also thought about it since then, a lot!
SOLIDSTEEL
More great folks at the Solidsteel stands. They were launching their brand new speaker stand model, the UL Series. More wonderful engineering from this Italian brand. They also had more of their gorgeous racks on display, along with the superb SS-3 stands. The latter is a classic design, and I had a pair of these in the brilliant raw finish. Sadly, I had to sell them when I switched from standmounts to floorstanders. I will own another pair for a new second-home system I will be building. They had the wife approval factor too, so I was already on to a winner.
DAVID LABOGA
This is one cool guy! I met him at the North West Audio Show in the UK (aka Cranage), last year, and was looking forward to another catch up, in person. His cables are ultra high quality, and I’m hoping to review his Akoya LAN cable, very soon! As a guitarist, I will also be investing in a couple of his guitar cables. Just check out that list of clients, for whom David supplies all of their cabling.
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.
Michael Fairbairn
