Munich Loves Vinyl
Vinyl, vinyl, vinyl.
There was a lot of it at the Munich High End Show, and the vinyl booths were always well-attended. Here, we see the Da Capo stand, where I spotted a great selection of indie rock titles.
I managed to control myself, unfortunately.
Music Hall dac15.2
Music Hall’s new plug-and-play dac15.2 ($299) has USB, coaxial, and optical inputs and is capable of handling resolutions up to 24-bit/96kHz.
“It’s just fucking amazing,” Roy Hall said simply.
Available this fall.
Music Hall MMF-11
I swear: Music Hall’s Roy Hall was cracking jokes and smiling wide just moments before I snapped this shot.
“Are you enjoying the show?” he had asked.
“Very much. This show has a certain grace and a natural sex appeal that shows in the States seem to lack,” I said.
Roy nodded. “Ah, you get it. So you’re not just a pretty face.”
Then he walked me over to his new MMF-11 turntable (around $4500, including Pro-Ject 10cc carbon-fiber tonearm). First seen in prototype form at January’s Consumer Electronics Show, the 43-lb MMF-11 is a two-motor, flywheel-driven turntable with a thick, acrylic platter, a four-layer plinth, and magnetic feet to further isolate the turntable from vibrations.
“No original ideas here,” Roy quipped.
Musical Surroundings and Jim Fosgate
Musical Surroundings’ Garth Leerer explained that the success of his company has hinged upon his ability to find and work with great designers. Often these relationships grow naturally over time and depend on the perfect alignment of certain circumstances, as was the case when Northern California designer Michael Yee needed someone to market his Phonomena phono stage: It was too inexpensive for one distributor, too expensive for another, but just right for Leerer; and, so, a long relationship was born.
In the case of the Fosgate Signature phono stage ($2500), Jim Fosgate had been tinkering with the design for nearly 30 years. After a break from analog, Fosgate wanted to get back into vinyl. He first became a customer of Musical Surroundings, and later approached Leerer with a design. The Fosgate Signature is an all-tube, MM/MC design at a real-world price, “a dream product” for Leerer.
Along with the Signature phono preamp and Fozgometer azimuth tool (reviewed by Michael Fremer in our May 2010 issue), Fosgate will design a line stage and power amplifier for Musical Surroundings, to be debuted at the 2011 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest.
NAD's C 375BEE integrated amplifier
The 150Wpc C 375BEE (1399) uses technology found in NAD’s M3 Master Series amplifier and benefits from the company’s “Building Block” design, allowing for the addition of the PP375 phono stage (250) and other affordable options.
NAD's C 390DD integrated amplifier
NAD’s C 390DD (2500) is the company’s next “Direct Digital” integrated amplifier and takes technology from the more expensive M3 and M2 models. The user will have the choice to add HDMI and phono inputs.
“We wanted to create an individual solution for the customer. Our customers should be able to live a long time with our products.”
The C 390DD should be available by around September.
NAD's C 446 media player
NAD’s C 446 Digital Media Tuner (799) utilizes the Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) client for playback of music files from a computer, Android or Apple iOS device, or network hard drive. The C 446 also includes an Internet radio portal with support for cloud music services, AM/FM tuner (DAB/DAB+, where available), uses a 24-bit/192kHz DAC, and supports MP3, FLAC, WMA, WAV, and AAC files.
NAD's Viso Three CD-Receiver
Designed to be the heart of a small and stylish music system, NAD’s smart-looking Viso Three is a 50Wpc CD-receiver with USB input, 30 AM/FM station presets, and iPod dock with remote function and song display.
New Products from Vitus Audio
Does this man look tired? Not at all. In fact, he seems tireless.
“Do you have any new products?” I innocently asked Hans-Ole Vitus, Vitus Audio’s uncompromising founder and designer.
His eyes went wide.
“Yes. I hadn’t slept for two weeks leading up to this show because I’d been worrying about all the new products.”
Octave Audio's RE 290 power amplifier
Octave Audio’s pretty RE 290 power amplifier (6900) offers 90 or 130Wpc, depending on which power tubes are selected. A rear-panel switch makes the choice simple, and invites tube-swapping.