Munich High End 2024 Show Highlights
HifiDeluxe
Grandinote
Grandinote surprised with their Solo amp with a Volta streamer DAC built in. Its front panel is almost entirely covered by a massive screen with a custom-designed graphic interface. There’s a bit of Sci-Fi in here, mixed with a more traditional steam-train vibe.
I absolutely love it when brands dare to be individual!
The system with Grandinote Mach2 Estrema loudspeakers played in a massively punchy, impactful, expressive, and dynamic manner. Toe-tapping and rock’n roll to the max.
Clarisys
Above is the first production sample of a new breed of Clarisys speakers: Piccolo, which is built in a modular manner and contains double-sided bass panels.
Above, you can see the two extremes of the portfolio: Auditorium and Piccolo, right before shipping off to Munich.
Here’s Daan Vreeswijk of PUUR Hifidelity, demonstrating the Piccolos on a photo provided to me after the show. Unfortunately, when I arrived on Sunday, the Minuet NEOs were set up to play instead of the Piccolos, so I sadly missed the Piccolo demo. But if all goes as planned, I will do an in-depth review of these new beauties very soon!
I did hear the Minuet NEO. Finished in piano black with bronze metal parts, the speakers look stunning.
This room looked cozy and inviting but was sonically difficult. Still, the Minuet NEOs showed huge potential. It reminded me of the standard Minuet I reviewed last year but with improved control, expression, and absolutely explosive power. The transient behavior is off the charts, and not just for a dipole speaker!
Think full-range ribbon speakers cannot produce bass? Think again! Even the small Minuet has tight, articulate, deep, tuneful, full-bodied, and full-force bass.
The gents did like to play really loudly, which drove me out of the room prematurely, but my hearing is admittedly quite sensitive, and this was certainly not the only room that played too loudly to be comfortable for me.
Great coverage, Christiaan. Are you certain that the new Halcro preamplifier was hooked up and in the signal path? Several show photos show XLR in (analog source) and out on the back of the new MSB Cascade DAC. The volume display on the DAC also suggests that it was acting as both DAC and (passive) volume control.
Good question! As it turns out, the Equinox was indeed not used all the time. Part of the demos have been done with the volume control of the DAC directly connected to the monos. Alas, I can no longer ascertain if what I heard had the Equinox in the signal path or it it was the MSB Cascade DAC connected directly.