Zagreb AV Show 2019 Show Report
Report By HiFi Media Senior Editor Neven Kos

  The Slovenian manufacturer of premium headphone amplifiers Erzetich Audio surprised us with their handset line. The Mania and Phobos earphones use two different speaker technologies, both dynamic and magnetostatics and both to testify how different approaches can take you to the ultimate in music reproduction and quality. Previously, we have had the opportunity to listen to these unique products in a magazine, which you can read at this link and all visitors to the show had the opportunity to witness the Erzetich quality in a dedicated room in Sheraton Zagreb Hotel. In this very room the Slovak Cable4.eu was also introduced to Croatian consumers with their Greyline, Blackline, Clearline and Superblack lines of audio dedicated cables.

After having settled a deal on cooperation last year, Philips (TP Vision) and Bowers & Wilkins are winning markets with their new 4K TVs. The main idea behind the agreement was that the top-of-the-range Philips OLED High Definition TVs also offer the ultimate sound quality soundbars designed by one of the most popular and highest quality British speaker manufacturers. Their first product of this collaboration - the Philips OLED903, wins excellent ratings in world-renowned AV magazines and in Croatian hifimedia magazine after we had the chance to test it. You can read the results of our review online Moreover, the visitors had the chance to personally testify the quality of this set during the Show 2019. Of course, like all other Philips TVs, the OLED903 comes with unique Ambilight lighting for a complete audio / visual experience.

While most of our local readers are struggling with low quality TV reception, with high-quality video in Full HD or 4K resolution, sill not commonly broadcasted here, Samsung has already delivered its top model TVs with 8K resolution (7680 × 4320 lines). It is well known that the TV at 8K resolution can display four times the pixels available in 4K UHD or 16 times more than HDTV. What is the real difference in displaying the image quality in Full HD, 4K or 8K resolution, visitors to the Show had the opportunity to witness personally and to make sure Samsung 8K QE65Q900RAT label TV model is a real deal. It was partnered with new 7.1.4 channel soundbar speaker HW-Q90R with Dolby Atmos and DTS: X sound set by Harman Kardon engineers.

Few of the premium TV manufacturers still have their production facilities in Europe. One of them is German company Loewe. Their products are a usual choice of architects, interior designers and demanding customers who, besides the undisputed quality, also require a unique design of the device itself. The new generation of their TVs uses OLED technology to display 4K video content and their own high-resolution image processing electronics as well as connectivity with other devices in the environment. Thanks to the local distributor Plug & Play Loewe UHD TVs labeled Bild 7, Bild 5 and Bild 3 were introduced to local consumers.

Moreover, real audio was represented with Canton Reference 9 bookshelf two-way stand mount speaker form their top of the line with the support of AVM electronics – AVM CS 6.2 (9,990€) 'all-in-one' high-end streaming CD Receiver and CS 2.2 (4,290€), an entry level AVM. In alternation with Canton, visitors had the opportunity to enjoy nice sounding Vandersteen model 1Ci, entry-level floor standing speaker.

One of the five most popular speaker manufacturers in the world and one of the largest patent holders in acoustics and loudspeaker production, American BOSE, was featured in the Show with its entire program – Home Cinema and Stereo Headphones, wireless and Bluetooth loudspeakers, and a professional product line. Se-Mark, a licensed distributor of Bose products, presented their best products from the above-mentioned categories. Bose is unique in the consumer electronics market. The room they exhibited in also featured DJ Matthew Bee, a nice guy "powered by Bose".

There are no musicians in the world, especially a guitarist who has not heard about the American guitar amp specialist Marshall. Their guitar amplifiers are synonymous for the durability and quality of sound reproduction. What is less well-known is that the company recently introduced products intended for the consumer electronics market. The range consists of a headset line and a Bluetooth speaker that can be interconnected in a multi-room configuration.

Collectors of vinyl records were not to miss this year's Zagreb AV Show 2019 because thanks to the importer CD Shop Roxy, they had an unique opportunity to buy rare, original Japanese releases of the most popular artists and albums in the history of rock and jazz music. Everything from the albums released in Japan before 1990, is available immediately or by order. We've been convinced of the excellent album preservation, and among them we only mention the most popular performers: Beatles, Brian Ferry, Bruce Springsteen, Chuck Berry, Cream, David Bowie, Deep Purple, Elton John, Elvis, Clapton, Hendrix, Coltrane, Led Zeppelin, Miles Davis, Pink Floyd, Queen, Rolling Stones and many others.

To roundup, let's just say this year Show wasn't short of life performance either. Young artist called The Gentleman gave a live performance in the hotel venue. Rather than give my own hereby I quote the words from the label website.

Below are a few bonus photos from Zagreb AV Show 2019 show.

"An academically educated and versatile musician started his independent project, The Gentleman, in 2016. Original songs that are difficult to pinpoint under a single genre vary depending on the atmosphere and the character of the text and were created as an intimate artistic dialogue between Gentleman and the poet Mrs. Dulovsky. Gentleman's musical and lyrical scope ranges from melancholic ballads and dark cabaret songs of extraordinary poetic sensibility, to socially engaged material, but always told from the position of an authentic individual. Gentleman makes us listen to music as we once did, releasing songs rich in vocals, music and poetry "the structure of the story, returns music to the realm of theatrical performance, paying attention to acoustics and the content, as well as the visual aspects of the concert."

More Info: www.ZGAVshow.com and www.hifimedia.hr

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