John
Munich High-End is the world’s biggest trade fair for hi-fi and personal audio. ‘Biggest’ isn’t just a function of the MOC’s enormous exhibition spaces that span four larger open halls downstairs and four horseshoe hallways upstairs: the former mainly accommodating passive exhibits where direct contact with the manufacturer is the order of business; and the latter more heavily featuring listening rooms for visitors to look, see, listen to and (sometimes) touch very expensive hi-fi systems. This event isn’t called ‘High-End’ for nothing!
Moreover, the vast majority of these costly setups comprise passive loudspeakers driven by a multi-box set of electronics residing in a hi-fi rack or sitting on isolation platforms placed on the floor. We really have to hunt hard to uncover single-box Future-Fi amplifiers or their brothers in arms, streaming active loudspeakers.
However, in talking to numerous exhibitors – predominantly manufacturers – we learn that the Munich show is as much about meeting with their worldwide distributors – and putting sales on the ledger – as it is about demonstrating new hardware to Joe Public and the press. Besides, with the roar of reverberated conversation never far away, or conversations taking place in the listening room itself, this is hardly the place to draw definitive conclusions about sound quality. That’s what dealer visits and home auditions are for.
No: Munich High-End is a show and tell of the highest order. And with listening off the table, at least for yours truly, this hi-fi show’s four-day run allows me to make the most of its single most attractive draw card: unparalleled access to many of the world’s best-loved hi-fi companies, especially the men and women designing the hardware.
🎥 Camera: John Darko
🎬 Editor: John Darko
🕺🏻 Motion GFX: John Darko
🎵 Song IDs? Playlists of all music heard in this video – and other videos – can be found on PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/johndarko
Further information: High-End Society
👉🏻 Mentioned in this video…
What a hi-fi show REALLY sounds like (Munich High-End 2023)
📺 https://darko.audio/2023/05/what-a-hi-fi-show-really-sounds-like-munich-high-end-2023/
A short film about Munich High-End 2019
📺 https://darko.audio/2019/05/a-short-film-about-munich-high-end-2019/
Munich High-End 2023: Andrew Jones talks MoFi SourcePoint 8 & 10
📺 https://darko.audio/2023/05/munich-high-end-2023-andrew-jones-talks-mofi-sourcepoint-8-10/
What is Future-Fi in 2023?
📖 https://darko.audio/2023/05/what-is-future-fi-in-2023/
Pursuit Perfect System — WORLDS BEST HiFi Show is Back High End Munich 2022
📺 https://youtu.be/m-oCHGZ14rk
