HIGH END Munich 2023!
Another fantastic Munich show where all four of our brands got to shine, and remind us what it means to be a brand of sound character.
Great to see old friends and make new ones at this year’s Munich show. Below is a quick rundown of what Engström, Kroma Atelier, FalkenOhr and Shunyata Research got up to:
Kroma Atelier had a standout room this year, the new Mercedes loudspeakers transporting listeners far from the hustle and bustle just outside the door
“I had never heard of speaker-maker Kroma but was impressed by the sound of its flagship Mercedes, which made its world premiere in Munich.”
Engström
Engström had a fantastic Made in Sweden room this year, partnering with fellow Swedish manufacturers Marten, Jorma and Solid Tech. The stunning ERIC ENCORE power amplifiers led the show, with the LARS power amps, MONICA pre-amp and M-Phono also getting their chance to shine over the four days. The ARNE integrated was on static display. This room was simple, warm and welcoming, with a pure focus on Scandinavian Sound. It was worth slowing down and really spending time here, and those who did were rewarded. Don’t take our word for it, check out this review by Jason Thorpe, Senior Editor at SoundStage!
“… it wasn’t just the soundstage depth that grabbed me by the short hairs. No, it was the texture that was wrapped gently around each image, especially the vocals, which had a tangibility that gave an almost hyper-real quality to the music. What a beautiful room. What a beautiful system. What beautiful sound.”
- Jason Thorpe, Senior Editor, SoundStage!
The ERIC ENCORE and LARS Power Amps both had their moment to shine in this understated MADE IN SWEDEN room, where it was all about a warm welcoming atmosphere and a single-minded focus on music and Scandinavian Sound.
Both founders Timo and Lars Engström were present, taking turns on the turntable.
Kroma Atelier
BEST SOUND OF SHOW - HIGH END MUNICH
Audiophile Style gave this room not only the best-of-show award, but the best sound ever heard at a trade show. An incredible honour, and well-deserved. Read their full report here! If you had a chance to hear this head over to our Instagram and let us know what you thought. We were blown away and always enjoy Miguel as the DJ, elevating the experience with his positivity.
“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 emotional musical impact more 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.”
A real show highlight. Kroma Atelier launched their new Mercedes speakers which stunned listeners with their lifelike sound. Don’t take our word for it, this was also a show highlight for TAS’ Robert Harley who had not even heard of the brand before stepping into the room. Kroma is quickly making its way into listeners’ hearts and we can’t wait to showcase them again for UK listeners at Ascot later this year!
“The Mercedes projected a large and palpable soundstage detached from the speakers along with an exceptional naturalness of timbre and density of tone color. The bass was also outstanding, with a nice combination of extension with definition.”
“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.”
- Audiophile Style
The Mercedes made a real statement this year, but don’t let that overshadow the (also brand new) Leonore standmount loudspeakers. Reminiscent of the Mimi in their looks, these delivered an incredibly massive sound for such small speakers.
FalkenOhr
Catching up with master cabinetmaker Robert Mayr and his son Mario on Thursday
Great to spend time with FalkenOhr’s Robert Mayr and his son Mario at the show. Austria’s FalkenOhr makes some of the world’s finest and most technically advanced high-end audio racks in the world and have been called the Maybach of audio furniture. Big thanks to Göbel High End for inviting us out to their beautiful new headquarters for drinks on Thursday night. The photos below with the wood acoustic panelling, featuring FalkenOhr racks, were all taken here.
Shunyata Research
Shunyata Research keeps a low profile at Munich, but you can bet they are present in the background in some of the most elite rooms. This year the Omega speaker cables and interconnects, the EVEREST 8000 power distributor and ALTAIRA grounding system were all doing serious work behind the scenes.
The Absolute Sound featured two rooms in their report among their Best of Show selection: Wadax/Magico and Nagra/Wilson… What did they have in common? You guessed it: both powered by Shunyata Research. Both of these fantastic show-stopping rooms featured Omega speaker cables, interconnects, the EVEREST 8000 power distributor, and the ALTAIRA grounding system which continues to send jaws to the floor whenever we demonstrate it. In the Wadax room I heard a track from Boards of Canada’s album Geogaddi and was almost moved to tears - never have I heard digital sound quite so good. Check out these links for more on these rooms:
The Icing on the Munich Cake: McGrath, Fon, Nagra, Wilson, Impex - Jason Victor Serinus, Stereophile
Wadax Impresses and Satisfies in Munich - Jason Victor Serinus, Stereophile
“I didn’t have time to stay very long, but an SACD of Bob Dylan singing “Man in the Long Black Coat” sounded the best and most truthful I’ve ever heard it sound.”
- Jason Victor Serinus, Stereophile
We learned Shunyata’s Richard Rogers appeared on a survival reality TV show - these guys never fail to surprise!
Andrea of Musik Butik in Switzerland getting a noise-reduction masterclass with Shunyata’s Grant Samuelsen.
Thank you!
Was a pleasure seeing everyone and we look forward to catching up with some of you again at Ascot!
This was a hit. We want one!
Is it Munich 2023 or London 1970s? We’re not sure, but we dig it.