It’s like it never went away, eh? After two enforced years off, the High End Munich show made a spirited comeback last May to reunite hi-fi enthusiasts and industry folk alike in a hearty celebration of high-end hi-fi. It seems like only yesterday the What Hi-Fi? team was ogling Dali’s Kore and Fyne’s Vintage speakers and trying to get hands-on with Pro-Ject’s Metallica turntable without cutting themselves... in between sipping steins and washing down Weisswurst, of course. And yet, it is nearly that time again. With its exhibiting space sold out, High End Munich 2023 is set to host 800 brands and over 20,000 visitors within the walls of the MOC München next week as the event celebrates its 40th year.
Plenty of familiar names (and naturally not-so-familiar but brand-new products) will be present, including Audio Research, Burmester, Chord Electronics, Copland, Dali, Dan D’Agostino, Focal, Fyne Audio, Naim Audio, Mark Levinson, Musical Fidelity, PMC, Sonus Faber and Wilson Benesch. We will save you from an 800-strong list of brands, but you can find a full list of exhibitors here, from market-leading manufacturers to more boutique brands from around the globe.
What you can find right here is what you can expect from the show (bar what we aren't allowed to share with you yet!), as well as all of the news and highlights when it kicks off next Thursday...
When: Thursday 18th & Friday 19th May (10am-6pm) - trade visitors only); Saturday 20th (10am-6pm) & Sunday 21st (10am-4pm) - open to the public
Where: MOC München, Lilienthalallee 40, 80939, Munich, Germany
Tickets: €20 Saturday, €10 Sunday. Buy tickets here
Astell & Kern
A one-stop shop for hi-res portable music players, Astell & Kern will offer visitors the opportunity to experience its increasingly vast lineup of award-winning players and headphone amps – including the first opportunity to see some upcoming launches. Also, a special invitation-only event on the Saturday (20th) will give attendees the chance to meet GRAMMY-award-winning jazz guitarist and composer Al Di Meola, who is the brand ambassador of this year's High End show, at the Astell & Kern booth.
Hall 1, Booth E03
Audiovector
Danish speaker company Audiovector is looking forward to showing off its reference R8 Arreté speakers, a step up from the R6 Arreté we awarded five stars to last year and called "exceptional musical performers". The R8 is a beautiful-looking speaker that we have little doubt sounds as good as it looks.
Atrium 4.2, F203
Avantgarde Acoustic
It wouldn't be the Munich High End Show without some horn action, and offering a slice of it will be Germany's Avantgarde Acoustic, who is set to demo two new third-generation models, the reference Duo GT and 'entry-level' Duo SD (hopefully in the stunning orange finish we recently saw at the Australian Hi-Fi Show, pictured below).
Atrium 4.1, E123/E124
Cambridge Audio
Cambridge won't be short on space at Munich, exhibiting both inside and outside of the show halls – which is just as well considering it isn't short of products to display and demo. While the High End show will likely host the company's highest-end Edge range, we wouldn't be surprised if its newest streamers, the AXN10 and MXN10, had a presence too. The British brand will launch something new in Munich, too, and visitors will also get the first chance to see a new product that is set to be revealed before the show.
Hall 3, Booth P04 & Hall 4, Entry Halle 4
Campfire Audio
Campfire Audio's full range of IEMs will be at the show – including the Andromeda ‘Emerald Sea’, Solaris ‘Stelar Horizon’ and Trifecta ‘Astral Plane’ models as well as the Orbit true wireless earbuds. So if you're in the market for a high-end pair of in-ears and are taken by the company's distinct-looking designs, the High End show will be a good opportunity to get your ears on a pair.
Chord Electronics
Chord Electronics usually has something up its sleeve for High End Munich, and this year is no different. The British hi-fi brand has not one but two new products to unveil at High End. We don't know what they are (or do we...?), but we can reveal that they come from separate product ranges and, according to a company spokesperson, "will create an even broader choice for audiophiles to build hi-fi systems around".
Atrium 3.1, C122
Clarisys Audio
Clarisy Audio's $34k Minuet have been showing visitors to America's Florida Audio Expo and Axpona the potential of full-range ribbon speakers over the past weeks, and now it's time for Europe to hear what the Swiss company's ribbons can do. The company's flagship model, the Auditorium, will be on demo during the weekend.
Atrium 4.1, Room E107
Dali
One of Denmark's biggest and most beloved hi-fi brands will be celebrating its 40th anniversary year at High End in Munich this year with something special. Or should we say somethings – two new products showcasing the company's 'commitment to high performance audio while celebrating their heritage' will be revealed. Going by that snippet of info and the teaser image (below), we are expecting a new high-end speaker that could well be a homage to a Dali classic.
Atrium 3.1, D107/D108
dCS
High End Munich will be as good a chance as any to experience the dCS Rossini Apex (the most capable digital-to-analogue converter we've ever reviewed, no less) and Vivaldi Apex, which launched last year and are built around the British company's latest, and hugely impressive, Apex Ring DAC platform.
Atrium 4.2, F209 & Hall 1, C13
FiiO
FiiO will be flying the flag for portable hi-fi with its well-equipped M15S portable music player demoed alongside its just-announced FT3, its first-ever pair of open-back headphones. “The M15S and FT3 bring high-end home hi-fi and portable hi-fi together for a combined cost of half of rival players,” says FiiO PR spokesperson Richard Melville.
Final
Final won't only be showcasing its current headphones range, which includes the D8000 Pro Limited Edition headphones, the new A5000 IEMs and the flagship ZE8000 true wireless earbuds; it will also be announcing a new product exclusively. "Expect to learn about the key technology behind this upcoming release and see a prototype with early access for those attending," says the Japanese brand.
Hall 4, S01
Fischer & Fischer
German speaker brand Fischer & Fischer will be presenting a "selection" of speakers within its 12-strong catalogue, which stands out for its use of natural slate cabinets. These will be powered by electronics from Accustic Arts and use power supply components and speaker cables from Mudra Akustik and SilverCom.
Atrium 4, F104
Focal, Naim Audio
Both Focal and Naim have come racing out of the blocks this year, the French speaker company with new entry-level Theva and mid-tier Vestia speaker ranges and the British electronics brand with its 50th-anniversary-celebrating Classics series. And there's more to come next month as Naim's anniversary celebrations continue. Focal and Naim will hold a press conference on the Thursday (18th) of the show to unveil more new product. Will we finally get a new Naim Nait, as featured in our 2023 wishlist? Fingers crossed.
Atrium 4.1, F111
Fyne Audio
The Scottish speaker brand will almost certainly continue touring its Vintage Fifteen and Vintage Five speakers, part of a series that was first previewed at last year's Munich show, and which launched at the Bristol Show in February.
Atrium 4.1, E116 & Hall 3, K02/L03
Melco
In March, Japanese digital audio specialist Melco introduced an all-new flagship digital library, the N1-S38, that saw the first built-from-the-ground-up design from the company in eight years. A new SSD-based platform, new set of system electronics, new power supplies, new chassis and casework. At Munich, Melco will be presenting the world debut of a brand-new product that expands on that next-generation audio technology.
Atrium 4.1, F107
Meridian
Meridian will be launching the "latest acoustic and visual masterpiece" from its Extreme Engineering Programme, which represents the pinnacle of Meridian innovation and engineering and was created to 're-imagine every element of Meridian’s product platforms'. The first fruit of that labour was the 2021-released DSP8000 XE speaker (which will be demoed in the Audio Reference room in Atrium 3.1, Room D111), and the new product – whatever it may be! – embodies the latest innovative technologies developed in the programme.
Atrium 3.1, C112
Moon
Moon's just-announced North collection of components will make its debut in Munich ahead of their October-December release. The term 'collection' is quite fitting in this instance, with North actually comprising six products across three price-spanning tiers (components are priced between £11,000/$11,000 and £25,000/$25,000 each), featuring Moon's latest "ground-breaking" technologies, as satisfying a number of connectivity options as is expected these days, and a unique BRM-1 remote control.
Atrium 3.1, C120
NAD
When NAD announced its retro-modern C 3050 LE streaming amplifier in October, it stated that its 50th-anniversary celebrations last year would go all the way through to around the Munich High End Show, which was where the idea to create NAD Electronics first germinated back in 1972. So, who knows, we might be in for a final commemorative launch from the Canadian brand next month.
Piega
Swiss high-end speaker company Piega has sent out a 'save the date' for its press event, where its CEO, Manuel Greiner, will introduce an all-new high-end loudspeaker design called... well, we don't know yet. We don't know a lot actually, but we can say that they are a reimagining of one of the brand's top-end speakers, complete with everything we have come to expect from a Piega speaker, such as an aluminium cabinet and an array of coaxial mid/tweeter ribbon drivers.
Atrium 4.1, E117
PMC
PMC looks set to launch new loudspeakers on the Thursday (18th) if its mysterious teaser on social media is anything to go by. The new models can, PMC says, trace back their lineage to the company's QB1 flagship studio monitors: "Many of the technologies that were developed for QB1, such as Laminair, have been trickled down into the new models."
Atrium 3.1, D106
The new models are born out of the 30 plus years of research, development, measurement and listening that have gone into the creation of speakers that get as close as possible to what is being played and recorded. They can trace their lineage back to the PMC QB1 flagship studio monitors. Many of the technologies that were developed for QB1, such as Laminair, have been trickled down into the new models, so users really can ‘bring the studio home’.
Atrium 3.1, D106
ProAc
ProAc will be back at the High End show for the first time since 2019, with a stand and listening booth offering visitors the chance to hear its premium speakers. ProAc blessed the Bristol Show in February with demonstrations of its K1 standmounters and flagship K10, so we expect those impressive K-Series models to be winging their way to Munich too.
Hall 3, Stand M11
Q Acoustics
Munich will mark one of the first outings for Q Acoustics' brand-new, five-strong 5000 Series, which was announced earlier this month and promises to revolutionise mid/bass driver performance with its C3 Continuous Curved Cone technology. This, the British speaker brand says, delivers the best of both worlds: the bass performance of a straight conic cone and the high/mid-range frequency control of a flared cone.
Atrium 4.1, F110
QED
QED is one of a handful of hi-fi brands turning 50 this year, and it's not doing so without celebration. The British cable company has just announced its fittingly named Golden Anniversary XT speaker cable, which utilises a hybrid oxygen-free copper and Ultra-Pure Ohno Continuous Cast Copper blend for an improved signal path to give “outstanding signal retention” at “a fraction of the price” (£27 / €35 / $40 per metre). The cable will have its first outing in Munich.
Atrium 4.1, F110
Qobuz
Endorsing the value of hi-res audio streaming, French music service Qobuz will host two listening sessions on the Saturday (20th), where visitors will be treated to a live hi-res presentation of German jazz drummer and composer Wolfgang Haffner's latest album in his very presence. (Registration is required - more info coming soon). Visitors to the show can also participate in an on-site giveaway that includes products from iFi, Triangle, Octavio and Yamaha, plus Qobuz vouchers.
Hall 2, G14
Sennheiser
The High End Show is where the German headphones manufacturer will officially kick off its latest pilot initiative – Custom Comfort Tips. As the programme's name suggests, this will offer attending journalists and creators the opportunity to have their ears scanned for custom eartips to made for them. This project is becoming available to German customers and – fingers crossed – will eventually be rolled out to all customers purchasing Sennheiser IE Series wired earbuds.
Sennheiser's broad audiophile catalogue will be on display and demonstration, including the most recent newcomers, the IE 200 in-ears and HD 660S2 over-ears.
Hall 1, D02/E07
Sonus Faber
An almost impossible brand to walk past at shows, Sonus Faber will be hopping across the borders armed with its recently announced high-end Homage speakers – and, fingers crossed, a 40th-anniversary surprise or two. Watch this space.
Tannoy
Visitors to Munich will be able to see and hear the first new speakers from legendary Tannoy in seven years, ahead of their summer launch. The Stirling III LZ Special Edition (pictured above) are modern reworkings of the British company's III LZ from the 1960s, and among the latest examples of the speaker industry paying homage to classic designs in recent years.
Hall 4, U04
Thorens
"The result of our strive for the perfect rendition of music recordings" is how Thorens describes its New Reference turntable (pictured above), which will be spinning away at Munich. The deck is apparently the first of its kind to have been designed from scratch together with a fully active vibration isolation system, which has been possible through a collaboration between Thorens and German company Seismion, who is renowned for its active vibration isolators. Thorens claims that even tiny vibrations in the range of nanometer down to pico meter are still efficiently isolated by this system. This sounds like quite a technological feat!
Hall 3, M06
Yamaha
Remember the super-high-end, special-edition YH-5000SE orthodynamic headphones Yamaha released some months ago? Well, those outstanding open-back over-ears now have a headphone amplifier partner – or rather, they will when it launches near the end of the year. Munich Show attendees will have one of the first chances to hear a pre-production version of the HA-L7A amp fresh out of Japan, naturally paired with the 5000SE (set-up pictured above). A must-visit for head-fi fans. (Bookings required.)
Atrium 4.2, F207
MORE:
See what went down during High End Munich 2022
7 crucial mistakes to avoid when setting up your hi-fi system
Bowers’ iconic Nautilus speakers get fabulous facelift for their 30th anniversary
Rega reveals 50th Anniversary Edition of the superb Planar 3 turntable
