The following are my impressions of the 2017 HifiDeluxe show at the Marriott Hotel in Munich. The Hifideluxe is, to my knowledge, a spin-off of the much bigger High-End. It's a relatively small show with about twenty exhibitors. There are two key differences compared to the High-End:
1) The show focuses exclusively (or almost exclusively, more on that later) on ultra high-end manufacturers or costly top-tier setups from broad-range manufacturers
2) The atmosphere, or "vibe" of the show is vastly different. There are much less people attending the show as compared to the "big one", which means: no background noise from people in the hallways, less chatter in the rooms, overall quieter rooms, more time for questions and conversation with staff, more chances to get a good listening spot (sometimes I was the only guest in the room!) and so on... It's a big advantage from my perspective.
Before I start, here's the big let-down: no pictures. Yeah, I know, bummer. I wanted to bring a professional camera as my wife's got one, but unfortunately she left it at her sisters place and I found out too late. So I desperately tried to take some decent pictures with my cellphone, but it was of no avail. All the smaller rooms at the show had bright windows right behind the main setup and bad lighting, and even in the bigger, better-lit salons I just couldn't manage to take pictures I was happy with. I have to make up for it with even better descriptions of the different audio setups!
I visited almost all rooms with the exception of two: Kii Audio and Etalon Sound. My time at the show was limited and I had to make a cut somewhere; those two brands seemed the least interesting to me.
In alphabetical order:
FIRST PART
Acapella
Acapella brought the new Campanile 2 speaker, a taller-than-a-man speaker in the typical "square monument with horn" design Acapella is known for. The speaker features the brands' unique aspherical horn in the center, at about the height of the listeners ear, with the famous ion tweeter right below it.
I have to say that the sound didn't impress me. It seemed very "cultivated", very gentle and silky-smooth to me. Not boring or outright wrong, but it lacked energy and impact. I understand Acapella's philosophy and their attempt to take the directness and effortlessness of the horn and make them gentle and "nice" with the aspherical design, and I also have experienced the smoothness of ion tweeters on other speakers (Lansche) before, but for me this design approach brings horns too far away from what I like them for - after all, my personal setup features three-way horns. However, people who have always found horns to be too aggressive could genuinely enjoy Acapella speakers. Their design makes them an edgy art installation anyway, so one could see it as an investment in two areas...
I didn't stay in this room for more than a few minutes and I have to admit that I do not recall what kind of electronics they were using with the Campanile 2.
Alsyvox + Omega
Alsyvox exhibited their unique full-range ribbon speakers - in my opinion, a beautiful piece of audio engineering. Luckily, when I entered the room a whole group of people were leaving and the owner of Omega sound, who was responsible for the selection of the music, asked me and a couple others who entered with me what kind of sound we would like to listen to (a very nice move and more exhibitors should do that, at least from time to time). I said I would like to enjoy some Jazz, as that is what I listen to 90% of my time. Now, I know that "Jazz isn't Jazz" for everyone, so I was secretly hoping that they wouldn't torture me with something too kitschy. We started off with a Patricia Barber song I wasn't familiar with (I'm not a huge fan). Well recorded and with a lengthy organ solo, what immediately struck me was the effortlessness of the Alsyvox ribbons and the abilities of the speakers to completely VANISH. I do not recall many other instances where a system was so able to just disappear. Sound was very, very clear and transparent with a realistic, big and open soundstage. The overall voicing was very studio-like, very even.
We continued with a recording I have listened to quite a number of times, Tsuyoshi Yamamoto's "Midnight sugar". Sound levels now were obscenely high. When one of the listeners asked if this wasn't a bit too much, the speakers inventor replied that he likes to show off his creation at high levels at least on some occasions, to demonstrate that here is no compression and no perceivable edginess even on very high volumes. He was right at that.
Amplifon + CEC
This was about the fourth or fifth room I entered on my visit and the first one where I felt that I am listening to serious high-end sound. As a builder of tube-amplifiers myself, I must say that the polish Amplifon (NOT to be confused with the hearing-aid manufacturer) GM-70 is a piece of art both visually and sonically. It's aesthetics are as classy as any japanese product (Wavac and Kondo came to mind), the GM-70 triodes produce a beautiful warm light and the sound is DHT-bliss. Impact, tonal colours, palpability, spatial resolution... it's all there. This is an amp I could happily live with for many ears. We listened to Marcus Millers "Rush Over" (from Tales) and this again is a piece I know very, very well. It was an absolute joy.
An interesting detail: the speakers were nothing special, an older pair (15 years of age) of small floor-standing speakers from Linn. The distributor of Amplifion brought them from his home and the reason behind his choice is rather amusing: when he had set up the room with the speakers of a company he initially intended to partner with for the show, Amplifons owner and chief engineer came over to listen to the setup. Reportedly he was so disappointed in the performance that he would have rather preferred to cancel the whole thing than to demonstrate his amplifiers with such abysmal speakers. In his desperation, the German distributor went back to his home (a car drive of a couple hours) and brought his personal pair of speakers, hoping that his business partner would like them. And he did. Goes to show that a 11.000€ amp doesn't necessarily have to be combined with expensive, top-tier speakers to make exciting music.
Audionote
Setup: CD-Transport 2.1, DAC 2.1 or Audionote Turntable (not sure which one) and Meishu Silver Phono integrated to AN-x speakers with blue hemp drivers (probably top model)
Over the course of the afternoon, this room was one of the most visited and I can understand why. Audionote has a recognizable signature sound, a tonal character that is present in their entire product line, one that is characterizid by a rich, energetic, toe-tapping presentation. For me, however, this is not perfect sound, as no matter what Audionote product I have listened to so far, they always sound a bit overly rich and slightly thick to my ears. But, as was the case with Acapella, I can definitely get why people buy the company's products. It's an interesting mixture of rhythmic drive AND pleasing, seductive tonal colours, and a lot of music just sounds very enjoyable over an Audionote system. Surely not the last word in accuracy and neutrality, but what you receive in wine-like richness could be hard to dismiss for some.
Etalon
As stated before, I skipped the room. Maybe I missed out on something great, maybe I didn't, I simply didn't have enough time.
FM Acoustics
Placed in a huge salon, FM acoustics setup sounded good, but did not impress me in any particular way. It reminded me of entry- to mid-level studio sound and something told me that a nice pair of Genelecs could to the same for a fraction of the price (or even better, I love Genelec). FM acoustics did not display any prices (a common habit for ultra-high-end manufacturers), but I found out later that they absolutely belong in that category.
What I honestly found off-putting was just how much they praised themselves. Now, audio shows are certainly not a competition in modesty, but there is a line somewhere... Every product description was packed with superlatives, even their smallest pre-amp (everything I found out online suggests that it's a simple transistor design, costing five figures) was described as being the reference, while the next bigger model was claimed to be the absolute best, and the next model the ultimate.... I guess you catch my drift. Also, there was a long list on display about all the artists that use their products - or one could get that impression after a short glimpse, because the exact wording was along the lines of "artists that reportedly use our products or are in some ways connected to the products of our company" which could also mean that anyone whose producer or engineer once 20 years ago used their gear for one B-side track is on that list.
The unimpressive, vague sound and the tendency to make themselves look like the biggest thing since the invention of bread (while also asking a fortune from potential buyers) made me leave the room quickly...
JMF
Perfection. I honestly mean that, and I have heard so far one of the biggest Western Electric systems with Silbatone gear, Wolf von Langa field-coils, the huge Cessaro Beta system and many more of the greats. I have had my fair share of summit-fi. JMF had the "most perfect" - perfection is an ideal and never to be reached, it guides us but remains forever unattainable, hence "most perfect" - system I have heard in my life. Naturally, it costs quite something (the stunning preamp for example starts at 50k) but what you get is sublime. I believe the very friendly staff (two french men whom I believe to be the sons of the company's founder and current heads) when I mentioned to them that this was the ONLY room at the whole show that gave me goosebumps (an understatement, I wanted to cry) and one of them replied that "even after many times, I still get the same feeling. It does not change, every time it's the same "Ah!" that I feel with our system." He also said that they sincerely hope it's the best thing I have ever heard. They were, dammit, right. It's a dream of a setup. ("People come to us and then they are surprised, because they say "What problem? There is no problem.")
An important lesson (or reaffirmation): horns are still closest to the truth for me (JMF speakers use midrange horns with custom TAD drivers) and transistors can be at least as good, if not better than the best tube amplifiers. As someone who builds his own tube amps, something to seriously think about.
Kii Audio
Skipped the room.
La Rosita
A nice range of DHT tube amps from France with Japanese components (Hashimoto transformers!) and, of course, their famous streamer. Strangely, I have no idea what kind of speakers they were using. I didn't stay for long, but I remember a delicate, graceful sound. Again, a sort of tonal signature that reminded me not a little bit of classical French cuisine - delicate flavours, no harshness, careful use of spice and colours and an overall elegant form. It's not exactly my cup of tea, but I can - again - see why people like and buy their stuff.
Malvalve
A room packed FULL with amps. And Mal Valve amps are, as the Germans would say, "Röhrengräber" ("tube-graves"), because they use so many tubes. They are practically packed with tubes. So, as you can imagine, one of the warmest rooms at the show - about half of the amps were running!
When I entered the room, company founder and chief engineer Dieter Mallach was sitting quietly in a corner while a handful of people were listening to his speakers, a unique combination of open electrostatic panels for the high frequencies and a closed (!) magnetostat for the lows. Sound was accurate, fast and powerful, something I could really enjoy for a long time. The speakers were driven by a pair of round-shaped 300W tube amps (KT 120 output tubes) with external output transformers, something you don't see often with amp manufacturers. This offers two key advantages: the amps are much easier to transport, as the weighty OPTs are not built-in; and it's a hell of a lot easier to repair or exchange the transformers as all you have to do is take off a bunch of cables.
Luckily, after the demo track had ended Dieter asked if anyone is interested in listening to headphones. I said yes, and since I was the only one left - everyone else was about to leave - I got to enjoy Mal Valves new top-tier amp with the Stax SR-009. Here's the important part: I had never experienced any of the two components. So what do you think was my reaction? Astonishment? Disappointment?
A brief technical description before I reveal my answer: the new amp is a KT-120 push pull integrated (ECC99 differential driver section, but just a guess). If I recall correctly, it uses 20 tubes. I told you, I'm talking about Mal Valve... "Röhrengrab"! As the quite-famous Head Amp Three, it can drive any headphone, be it dynamic, planar or stat and even speakers if equipped with the optional external output transformers ("But I guess only about 10% of buyers will consider that, the rest doesn't even listen to speakers" - Dieter Mallach). There are RCA and XLR inputs and outputs as well as a complex cross-feed implementation that lets the user choose between 8 levels of crossfeed ("Some people don't perceive any difference while for others it's essential, so I wanted to put it in there"). As someone who appreciates crossfeed and can definitely hear an improvement when it's active, I welcome that decision.
The amp gets really warm, just a little below the point where it would cause minor burns. I'm NOT joking and I was also not the first to point this out, as Mallach recalls. But he's a man of no compromise and putting 20 tubes on top of a case has that effect ("I could decrease the bias current a little bit without much sonical difference, but the heaters have to stay where they are, as you might understand. So yes, it gets really warm, that's the price for the performance"). It's just a weird feeling when you touch a volume knob and you get the sensation that the amp is probably melting under your hands....
The sound: studio, in the best sense. Accurate, even, free of any frills. Nothing stood out. I know that some of you expected me to be really enthusiastic, but all I can say is that I heard a very neutral, completely grain-free representation of Stevie Ray Vaughans "Tin Pan Alley (Roughest Place In Town)", a common demo track - and a very good song. Many would find this sound probably too pure, too "authentic" if you get what I mean. There was nothing that grabbed me but after a few minutes I got the appeal of such a system: absolute honesty. Something tells me this would be a serious tool for mastering engineers.
Reimyo
Japanese spirit. A wonderful little (still expensive) system consisting of Reimyo electronics, Harmonix bases and cables and small Encore near-field speakers. Despite the size, the sound was grown-up, with a surprising amount of bass from those little boxes. The setup sounded elegant, very cultivated. While I could say the same about, for example, the La Rosita room, this was a different league. It's hard to find the proper words for it, but the sound had "soul". For me, this is the Japanese spirit: accurate, but glowing from within. I always feel the same with traditional Japanese manufacturers, it really must be a cultural thing...
Although I love horns, I enjoyed this system a lot as I felt that it succeeded in revealing the "musical truth" of the performer. I know, I am bordering now on the esoteric, but this is the best I can do. The Reimyo / Harmonix / Encore setups expressed music as an art, as something that should touch and inspire you. In that aspect it was as good as the JMF, whereas the latter was also close to perfect in everything else. Some of you might ask "Well, what else do you need?" and I honestly don't know what to reply. If all you look for in audio electronics is that feeling of looking "inside" of the music, of experiencing the soul of the record, then consider a setup such as the one I just described.
End of first part.
