HIGH END 2022 Show Report
High End Society Munich Germany
Show Report By Andrija Ćurković Of HiFi Media Magazine

  Raidho Acoustics have unveiled its largest TD6 speaker (€210,000 - €230,000, depending on the finish) with six bass speakers (8 inches) and two midranges (5.25 inches) in the D'Apolito ribbon configuration. Bass and midrange units use aluminum membranes with a diamond layer added at the top and bottom of the existing ceramic and tantalum base. This technology achieves exceptional strength and rigidity to keep the speed of these drivers comparable to the speed of ribbon tweeters. The speaker uses Nordost cables for internal wiring, and the sound in the room was big, open, and powerful in the bass.

Esoteric is celebrating its 35th anniversary, and on that occasion they exhibited their first turntable at the show– the Grandioso T1 (€75,000). The turntable is expected to go on sale in the fall of 2022, and it played in a system consisting of a Grandioso C1X preamp and Zingali Acoustics Client Evo 3.15 speakers, powerfully powered by the Esoteric Grandioso M1X mono output amplifiers.

The Concept 50 is a prototype speaker made by Monitor Audio on the occasion of their 50th anniversary, and is an interesting and rather radical design. The speaker consists of two upright elements in which there are two bass units (20 cm) that are mirrored facing each other in a pair. At the base of each upright element there is a bass-reflex opening and they are connected by a central part in which there are six 50 mm midrange units placed around the MPD II tweeter. For now, this concept is still under development but the company says it could generate product development ideas that will be used by new generations of audiophiles.

If you suspect that your vinyl records do not have a 100% precision drilled hole, the DS Audio ES-001 Eccentricity Detection Stabilizer, which minimizes the eccentricity of the record, may help you solve this problem. Mr. Kazuo Hamaguchi kindly demonstrated to us how the device works and if you decide to buy it, it will cost you €5,500.

Wilson Audio and D'Agostino Master Audio Systems presented together with an impressive audio system with a total price of around 1 million euros. They were in a passive mode during my visit so I can't comment on their final sound, but they were visually one of the more attractive exhibits at the show. Especially the VPI Vanquish turntable.

To mark the company's 50th anniversary, Mark Levinson unveiled their new ML-50 monoblock power amplifiers (€50,000 / pair) in a limited series of just 100 pairs. The amplifiers have a fully balanced design, producing 425 W of power at 8 Ohms, the first 20W of it in pure Class A. The ML-50 is expected to go on sale in Q4 of 2022.

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