LATEST ADDITIONS

Munich 2024
Steinway Lyngdorf’s Model S Soundbar and Model C Loudspeaker
Jason Victor Serinus  |  May 30, 2024  |  First Published: May 28, 2024  |  4 comments
Steinway Lyngdorf, the only speaker company that’s allowed to use the Steinway name, compared the sound of its two “new” speakers. The Model S Soundbar is designed for rooms that cannot contain floorstanders. Sold as a complete, full-range on-wall system and usually chosen for custom installs, the Model S contains three AMT tweeters, three midrange drivers, and two woofers. Total amplification power is 1600W, and the specified frequency response is 40Hz–20kHZ –3dB. With machined, solid-aluminum front and back panels, it has MDF frame that contains five acoustically separate chambers. Available in matte black, high gloss black with gold details, or custom finishes, it weighs a substantial 106lb.
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Munich 2024
Dynaudio’s new loudspeakers
Jason Victor Serinus  |  May 30, 2024  |  First Published: May 28, 2024  |  4 comments
As it has done in previous years, Dynaudio opted for a huge ground floor foyer area that, in addition to a huge, divided space in which to exhibit new and forthcoming models, offered a large meeting room for distributors and press. Ably assisted by Michael “Mike” Manousselis and John Quick of Dynaudio North America, I spent a dizzying half hour or so receiving an overview of four forthcoming models.
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Munich 2024
Genuin Audio
Ken Micallef  |  May 30, 2024  |  First Published: May 29, 2024  |  5 comments
High End Munich is a global stage for established audio brands, already heavily covered by the international press. How do smaller manufacturers get noticed in this crowded, high-profile event? I made it a mission to seek out hidden gems and share my discoveries.
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Munich 2024
Sonus faber’s many new Sonetto G2 loudspeakers
Jason Victor Serinus  |  May 29, 2024  |  0 comments
In a large Atrium showroom, Sonus Faber introduced their five new Second Generation (G2) Sonetto loudspeakers. Though I didn’t have an opportunity to audition any of the new models which comprise the company’s most affordable and popular series—speakers that are priced far, far lower than Sonus Faber’s Suprema flagship ($750,000/pair—I was privileged to end up face-to-face with Florian Marmisse, the acoustic engineer who designed the line’s drivers and crossovers.
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Munich 2024
hARt Lab
Ken Micallef  |  May 28, 2024  |  1 comments
High End Munich continued to unveil new (at least to me) names in the world of hi-fi; amplifier manufacturer hARt Labs was another fascinating discovery.
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Munich 2024
Luphonic Labs
Ken Micallef  |  May 28, 2024  |  0 comments
Manically energized after watching Dua Lipa’s “Illusion” video on repeat for all nine hours of my flight from Newark to Munich, I was ready for some calming turntable action. The off-white colors of Luphonic Labs’s turntable line caught my attention, their curvy design aesthetic and retro appeal comforting my jet-lagged brain.
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Munich 2024
Ypsilon Electronics, TechDAS, Kaiser Acoustics Kawero!, Artesania, Vibex
Ken Micallef  |  May 28, 2024  |  1 comments
Ypsilon Electronics’ James Michalopoulos seemingly brought the entire Greek-made line of electronics to Munich, beginning with a product the company’s founders, Demetris Baklavas and Fanis Lagadinos, don’t make, from Japanese turntable manufacturer, TechDAS.
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Munich 2024
Riviera Audio Laboratories
Ken Micallef  |  May 28, 2024  |  0 comments
Riviera Audio Labs’s founder Silvio Delfino and designer/engineer Luca Chiomenti introduced two world premiere components at their booth at High End Munich: the APL-1 Tube Line Preamplifier ($26,000) and the AFS-32 Hybrid Stereo Power Amplifier ($28,000).
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Munich 2024
Gershman Acoustics, Kronos, MSB, Cardas, True Life, Antipodes Audio
Ken Micallef  |  May 28, 2024  |  0 comments
Ofra Gershman premiered Gershman Acoustics’s 30th Anniversary Black Swan speakers ($95,000/pair) at Munich, and a fine sight they were. The two-in-one speaker construction come with a specified frequency range of 18Hz–24kHz, 88dB/W/m sensitivity, and 6 ohms nominal impedance and stand 52" high by 15" wide and weigh 145lb each. Who says good things don’t come in large packages?
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Gramophone DreamsPhono Preamp Reviews
Gramophone Dreams #85: Let the Right Brain In; the Hagerman Audio Labs Piccolo Zero head amp
Herb Reichert  |  May 28, 2024  |  6 comments
In the months since I told my Lenco story in Gramophone Dreams #79, two of my friends have bought L75s, and now they're enjoying them more than their shiny movie-star decks. One told me he has put more than $2000 into a Lenco L75 he bought online for $350. When I asked how his hot-rodded Lenco compared to his fancy belt drive, he replied, "You can feel it. The Lenco's motor pulls like a team of Clydesdales. It makes my belt drive feel like a pony pulling a child's cart."

When I asked him what he thought his rebuilt Clydesdale deck, with its new bearing, Jelco tonearm, and Grado Prestige Gold cartridge, was doing that his well-regarded belt drive was not, he replied, in a low, serious voice, "I think it gets more of the first part of a note."

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