Munich 2019

Having heard at previous shows the pairing of Aavik electronics, Børresen loudspeakers, and Ansuz cabling, I've been trying to find language adequate to describe the quality of its earth-rooted bass and midrange. There's a very special, aged-in-wood component to its bass sound that I find fascinating. Combined with clear highs that, while not shy, are capable of conveying intimacy, the system made Anette Askvik's "Liberty" compelling listening.

Wonderful, truly musical warmth and clarity were the hallmarks of a system built around the Absolare Passion integrated amplifier ($26,500), ReQuest The Raptor Plus music server (1TB version with DAC that handles PCM up to 32/384, and DSD up to 256: $15,900), Rockport Atria speakers ($21,500/pair), Echole Limited Edition Power Center power conditioner ($20,000), and new Echole Infinity cabling ($TBD).

I wandered in to the room shared by, among other companies, Accustic Arts and Fischer & Fischer. The news from this room is two new high-value products—by which I mean that they're cheaper than the company's main lines, so there's a good probability that they offer good value. High-end companies trickling down appears to be a Munich High End trend—note, for instance, the Mark Levinson No.5101 SACD player/streaming DAC I wrote about earlier today.

In Munich, electronics company Constellation Audio was demoing with Magico M2 loudspeakers ($63,000 / pair with M-Pod footers). Spinning vinyl was the Continuum Audio Labs Obsidian turntable ($35,000) w/Viper Tonearm ($10,000) and Ortofon A-95 Cartridge ($6,000). Phono preamplification was by Constellation—their Andromeda phono stage ($18,000). On the digital side, the source was Constellation's Cygnus Media Player/DAC ($38,000). Constellation's Pictor preamp was in use ($18,000), as was a pair of their Taurus monoblocks ($39000/pair).

At AXPONA 2019 and now at High End 2019, Cube Audio demonstrated their beautifully finished complete speakers, like the €16,000 Nenuphar that I would die to hear in my own system.

The new EMM Labs NS1 Network Streamer ($4500—the smallest of the three products in the above photo), due in two months, seems to be Ed Meitner's response to the dCS Network Bridge. The NS1 will decode up to 24/192 PCM and DSD 64 and fully unfold MQA, and is a Roon-ready endpoint. In addition, when connected via the company's proprietary Optilink to other EMM Labs products, including the DV2 Integrated Converter that received a rave when I reviewed it for Stereophile, the NS1 can be optically isolated from the network to reduce noise. The NS1's inputs include ethernet and USB; its outputs, in addition to the aforementioned Optilink, include AES and Toslink.

The "Ocean Mystery" colored Estelon Forza loudspeaker (€110,000/pair) made quite a statement all by itself. Paired with a Kronos Pro turntable (€37,600) with SCPS1 power supply (€13,500), Black Beauty tonearm (€8400), and ZYX Universe 3 cartridge (€8100); Bassocontinuo racks; Kubala-Sosna Realization cabling; Audes ST-3000 power conditioner (€3900); and Furutech NCF Booster-Signal (€2780), it conveyed electric guitar with natural bite, relayed all instruments except Eugene Istomin's somewhat tinkly piano on the Reference Recordings' LP of Mozart Piano Concerto No.21 with natural timbres and a strong midrange, and, on my Channel Classics SACD of the Mahler Symphony No.2, nailed the great expanse and natural timbres of the Budapest Symphony Orchestra, along with some brightness on top.