High End 2017 • TABlog
nlike any show in the US, High End in Munich seems to excel when it comes to the size, price and sheer audacity of products on display. In a country where men wear red pants for everyday wear and lederhosen for special occasions, only the most Puritan of Americans should be surprised to find audio equipment on display in a rainbow of colors, speaker drivers the size of tractor tires and gold-and-jewel-encrusted equipment. Vivid Audio produced a pair of canary-yellow Giya G1 Spirit speakers ($93,000/pair) just to grab attention, but the Asian market quickly responded with a flood of orders. Cessaro Horn Acoustics opted for a frog-green set of Gamma 2 horns (€400,000/pair) set in forested room. Not to be outdone, Avantgarde Acoustic fought back with bright orange Trio and Basshorns. Avantgarde was showing the Trio Luxury Edition 25, a limited edition of 26 pairs, which includes six Basshorns and costs €145,000/system. For those seeking a smaller splash of color, Computer Audio Design was showing its Ground Control GC1s in a rainbow of color choices (approximately $2000 each, including a small upcharge for the color). All that glitters is not gold, but dCS was showing the real thing in a gold-plated Vivaldi 2.0 stack. Displayed under glass, it was not photogenic (and subject to a big upcharge over the standard finish). But Gauder Akustic was not so protective of its gold-plated prototype Berlina RC Gold speaker. As to price, these fall into “If you have go ask . . . “ territory. Focal was more security conscious about the jewel-encrusted Tournaire special edition ($120,000) of its Utopia headphones, so it was shown behind glass, lest it accidentally fall into someone’s shopping bag. The jewels added just a bit to the standard $4000 price. The show was not all about bling. Size mattered too. Shown to best effect were large round speakers modeled by striking-looking young women . . . . . . and a TAB editor, competing on a not-so-level field. Of course, only a stereo pair of these subwoofers will do. |
© The Audio Beat • Nothing on this site may be reprinted or reused without permission.