Ken Micallef

Designed by Chord Electronics’ founder and owner John Franks, Chord’s new flagship Ultima Phonostage expands the Ultima Reference range, joining the Ultima Pre preamplifier and Ultima Mono power amplifiers. The US price is TBA; the projected UK price is £18,000 (about $24,300).

Ken says: At High End Munich, IsoAcoustics introduced its new GAIA Neo and GAIA-TITAN Neo series of isolation feet. Designed for both consumer and OEM use, the Neo models improve on the established GAIA line with updated engineering. The first custom versions will be integrated into the new JBL Summit Makalu, Summit Pumori, and Summit Ama speakers, as well as the Marten Coltrane Extreme loudspeakers—all of which debuted at the show.

While Thorens CEO and owner Gunter Kürten was busy with customers, company representative Michael Gorny walked me through the brand's latest lineup of high-end products.

Italy’s Riviera Audio Laboratories, represented by CEO Silvio Delfino and designer Luca Chiomenti, introduced the new AFM‑70 monoblock power amplifier (price TBA). The launch follows the release of recent Riviera models such as the APL‑1 line‑stage preamplifier and the AFS‑32 stereo power amplifier, both priced at $28,000.

Joseph Audio's Jeff Joseph teamed with Nick Doshi to present another fantastic‑sounding room at High End Munich.

Mastersound's Antonio Ferro showed four products including the flagship Spazio preamplifier ($21,500, prices approximate and converted from Euros). It's a multi-drive stage preamp with six ECC82 and three ECC83 tubes, RCA and XLR inputs and outputs, and MM/MC phono inputs.

Valerio Cora (Acora Acoustics/Audio Research), Kevin Hayes (VAC), and Mat Weisfeld (VPI) worked the halls in Munich with the confidence of seasoned entrepreneurs, showcasing their US-made gear at the world's biggest high-end audio show.