High End 2019
The High End show in Munich is beginning to dominate the audio calendar, its scale and the ability to attract visitors from across the globe mean it is the place to be if you want to make a mark in the hi-fi business today. The sheer quantity of excessive kit can be snow blinding, and there are all those people in the industry to talk to, but if you take your time it’s possible to find new components that really do push the state of the art rather than the art of marketing. Here are some of the more interesting new products I found at Bavaria’s finest audio jamboree.
Aries Cerat builds price-no-object valve electronics and horn loudspeakers in Cyprus and sees no need for restraint when it comes to quantities of chassis. The single-ended Achilleas Legend Series power amplifiers consist of six cases with 813 valves driving an 813 output stage, the 300kg per channel weight is nearly as hefty as the €250,000 price. The brand launched the Helene DAC with eight R2R ladder converters and a single ended valve output at an almost affordable €12,800, and in just one box.
Wharfedale and Mission designer Peter Comeau had been very busy finalising three new ranges to finish for this show. Wharfedale has two new flagship models in the Elysian 2 and 4; these have AMT planar tweeters designed in the US and mid and bass drivers that were designed in collaboration with Scanspeak. Both models have slot ports and wide baffles for ‘free and easy energy flow and good dynamics’. The Elysian 2 (£5,000) standmount was making some nice noises on the end of Audiolab electronics and a Lumin streamer, the Elysian 4 (£7,500) was happy just to hear its 93dBSPL sensitivity and 22Hz bass extension discussed.
Evo4 is a step up from the Diamond range and combines an AMT tweeter with dome midrange in the bigger models. It was nice to see the revived Wharfedale Linton on dem, this classic has apparently proved very popular and it’s not hard to see why.
Also under Comeau’s command
