HIGH END 2023 Show Report
Europe's largest, and most attended, premium audio show!
HIGH END 2023 Show Report By Jason Kennedy

  Estelon showed the Aura, the entry-level model from this distinctive Estonian brand. Aura is made of a mineral-filled thermoplastic and requires no paintwork to achieve the white finish shown. It has a 10" Faital woofer in the base, hence the space in the plinth of this sealed box design. The 5" mids are by Satori with an Egyptian papyrus cone, while the 26mm tweeter is Scan-speak's highly regarded Illuminator textile dome.

Fyne Audio is run by former Tannoy guys with Dr Paul Mills heading up R'n'D. Their SP series has been introduced to attract a more rock and roll audience than that found with their classic designs, it has a more modern look but the same high-quality drivers and cryogenically treated crossovers. The 702SP (£11,999) and 703SP (£14,999) are 30% more expensive than the regular 700 series models but have drivers from the range-topping F1 models.

Grimm Audio have established their MU1 as a reference for premium audio streaming by doing the job in an unconventional yet impressive way, in some respects the new MU2 DAC is also pretty radical. For a start it's a discrete non-chip-based DAC but not a ladder or R2R type as is usually the case, the MU2 is a 1.5 -bit PWM converter, an approach chosen by Eelco Grimm because it avoids linearity issues with 1-bit systems. He has developed an 11th order noise shaper to keep things super silent within the box and incorporated an analog preamplifier with XLR and RCA connections into the design. I suspect that the large silver disc on top is a volume control. As the MU1 runs on Roon the MU2 has a Roon Core onboard as well as internal storage capability on SSD. The price will be in the region of $16,000 when it's launched in October.

Naim continued the rollout of their new classic range at Munich with the introduction of the NSS 333 network streamer ($10,999), NAC 332 preamplifier ($10,999), and NAP 350 mono power amplifier ($16,998/pair). The latter replaces the NAP 135 as the second most powerful amp that Naim makes after Statement, 175W doesn't sound huge but it is for a Naim. The NAC 332 offers connections on XLR, DIN, and RCA, which is positively cosmopolitan for the brand, and has a Statement style relay-based volume control using through-hole components rather than SMD. A new phono stage, the NVC TT ($3,699) can be powered by the NAC 332 or used with an NPX TT power supply ($3,000).

Naim is also celebrating its 50th anniversary in a small way by making 1,973 (geddit) Nait 50 integrated amplifiers. This 25W pocket rocket looks almost identical to the original Nait integrated but has a headphone output up front, it sticks to its guns with DIN-only line inputs and an MM phono stage connected to all new internals, the price will be $3,599.

A brand long associated with Naim, Neat Acoustics, showed a dinky floorstanding speaker called Mystique Classic. Described as a scaled-down version of the Elite Classic this combines an AMT planar tweeter with a 5.5" woofer from the company's Motive range, it has a down-firing port and a plinth spaced away from the base to allow this to breathe, priced in the UK is £2,500. PMC talked about the huge number of studios in both two and multi-channel that are now using their speakers before introducing a pair of entry-level models with pro styling.

The prodigy 1 (£1,250) is a bookshelf design with full ATL (advanced transmission line) loading and a long throw 130mm woofer allied to the 27mm tweeter found in PMC's pro Result 6 model. The prodigy 5 runs the same drivers in a floorstanding design with a longer ATL and twin Laminair vents which are employed for ease of airflow at the end of the transmission line. Both are designed to be used at high playback levels and filled the large exhibition room at the event with apparent ease.

PMC talked about the huge number of studios in both two and multi-channel that are now using their speakers before introducing a pair of entry level models with pro styling. The prodigy 1 (£1,250) is a bookshelf design with full ATL (advanced transmission line) loading and a long throw 130mm woofer allied to the 27mm tweeter found in PMC’s pro Result 6 model. The prodigy 5 runs the same drivers in a floorstanding design with a longer ATL and twin Laminair vents which are employed for ease of airflow at the end of the transmission line. Both are designed to be used at high playback levels and filled the large exhibition room at the event with apparent ease.

---> Next Page.