Aavik
The Audio Group Denmark builds Aavik, Ansuz, Axxess and Borresen products and its range is always growing. The latest change is a move away from composite cases in the Aavik ‘entry level’ electronics, these are now called 88 rather than 80 and come in metal boxes with copper and titanium in the higher end models. Prices start at €15,000 for the I-188 integrated amp and run to €25,000 for the I-588, both these and the I-288 mid model offer the same 300W power output but vary in the quantity of noise reduction devices used in each.
There is also an 88 series phono stage as well as a flagship 880 example, both can be used with DS Audio optical cartridges and the top model was being demonstrated via 880 amplification and new Borresen M2 loudspeakers (€175,000). This system sounded superb with the streamer and DAC in operation but when they switched to a Toneart turntable with DS Master cartridge things went to the next level. I didn’t know that optical cartridges could sound so good and now I want to try one with an Aavik phono stage as soon as I can.
Ansuz
Aavik also had a room running the 588 electronics and the Borresen Bass Module subwoofer, this is a folded bi-polar design where the drivers do not sit in a typical cabinet and are thus able to move with greater speed. When a pair were added to C1 bookshelf speakers the sound gained definition, ease and power, the Bass Module will be released in Q3 by which time we will also know the price. Another dem of the mid model in the Ansuz Sparkz range of power noise reduction devices was equally impressive, by adding a single Sparkz C3 (€1,000) to the mains distributor Lars Kristiansen brought Dean Martin’s Blue Moon into sharp focus whilst increasing the effortlessness of the sound, not something you can achieve with many accessories.
Dali
Colour clearly doesn’t frighten the Danes, they have come up with a range of new finishes for their range topping Kore loudspeaker which looked much slimmer on an open deck in the Motorworld than it did when launched. The latest addition proper to the Dali range is a monster subwoofer called V-16F, that number refers to the 16 inch, long throw driver in the side of this substantial 1500W design. The distinctive shape of the surround is very much like that used by Purifi which is a sister brand, Dali being the only company to have licenced this technology. The 90 litre subwoofer was created for home cinema applications but we are told that it is a subtle and refined design that will work well in two channel systems, we have to say that it’s an intriguing proposition.
Atlas
Atlas has a new range of interconnect cables called Ailsa Duo that replaces the previous Ultra models, the topology is symmetrical with both hot and cold signals being screened separately. Prices start at £1,295 and Ailsa Duo comes with all the popular connections including XLR and DIN. On the power delivery front Atlas introduced the Eos 2.5 EM power cable (£1,695), this has a woven screening that includes graphite, and there are OFC pins in the plugs. Screening is crucial to power cables because they radiate EMI, so the better the screening the less the cable pollutes signal cables.
Elipson
Not everything at High End is astronomically expensive, Elipson were demonstrating the Planet L Performance spherical speakers on the end of a new Daniel Schaar designed I 300 integrated amplifier that will shortly be joining the brand’s growing range of electronics. As we discovered this is a remarkable little speaker for its £1,200 asking price and it comes in some beautiful finishes too. Elipson has been revising its Legacy range which is now in mkII form with the standmount 3210 II at €3,490, floorstanding 3220 II at €5,990 and range topping 3230 II at €9,990. We reviewed the original 3230 a few years back and thoroughly enjoyed its relaxed yet revealing style, this latest incarnation is definitely of interest too.
Ifi
British portable audio specialist iFi brought a new hi-res for all product to High End, the Up Travel is a £99 portable DAC that can transmit and receive Bluetooth signals, it has a 3.5mm jack, a mic input and can transmit to two pairs of headphones simultaneously. The Go Pod Air is intended to make an IEM Bluetooth ready and is now lighter and smaller than its predecessor with a built in charger and a £249 price point. iFi have created a brand specifically for their extensive array of power products called Silent Power, components within the range include the Omni LAN switch at £799 as well as numerous devices for in-home and on the go use. We also spotted their ultimate portable headphone amp/DAC the Valkyrie (£1,699), this incorporates an HD K2 filter originally developed by JVC Kenwood for hi-res CD, essentially it adds the harmonics lost by that format’s 20kHz high frequency limitation.
Lucas Audio Lab & Moonriver
Polish streaming specialist Lucas Audio Lab builds custom components from a range of parts that tends to result in great sounding digital sources if experience at this and other shows is any indication. They had the Golden Minimax in the same room as the Oephi Transcendence 2.5 speakers which were sounding very good on the end of a new Moonriver 606 amplifier. The Golden Minimax runs NVMe solid state memory with high end internal cabling and a hybrid linear power supply, the complete package coming in at £14,950. Lucas Domansky tells me that he can go further by taking the streamer to Maximus level with onboard USB reclocking but he feels that the Minimax represents a sweet spot with regard to price vs performance. It was connected over coaxial cable to the 606, a 120W integrated with a MOSFET preamp stage and optional DAC, streamer and phono stage among other features, it is expected to retail for around €10,000. I have to say that it’s the best sound over coaxial digital that I have heard for a long time.
Merason
We have always enjoyed excellent results with Merason DACs and were interested in hearing their new Mountain converter, a €20,000 monster by the Swiss brand’s standards. This has dedicated clocks for each sample rate, isolated PCBs and an extra 6dB of dynamic range compared to the remarkable DAC1. It even plays DSD and has a substantial chassis, production units are expected in the autumn. The Mountain was being used with an Innuos Statement streamer, Vinnie Rossi amplifiers and QLN speakers in a pricey system that lived up to expectations with a huge soundstage, precise imagine and properly weighty low end despite being in an insubstantial booth. We are looking forward to trying this Merason at home.
Unitra
A new name to us but an old brand in Poland, Unitra was founded in 1961 and had a juke box from 1974 on their stand that had played more records than most. Unitra makes the full gamut of components but what caught our eye were components for building your own direct drive turntable. The NB-1 consists of a direct drive three-phase motor with two speed sensors and sub-platter plus associated electronics and retails for €1,200. Unitra makes complete turntables incorporating this drive and says that they were developed for precision rather than the acceleration requirements of DJs. You can get the R-10 tonearm for the same price.
The Unitra WSH-805 Classic amp is no mere retro design, it’s a full dual mono integrated amp with optional Class A or AB operation, tone controls and phono stage. One really cool feature is that the switches are motorised and click into place when the remote control is used. This sort of amp for €5,500 could be very tempting if the sound matches the build.
Manunta
We have been watching M2Tech sister brand Manunta with interest since they launched an integrated amp a couple of years ago. This year Marco Manunta showed prototypes of a Classic preamplifier with a high current output stage that’s designed for active loudspeakers and long cable runs. It uses Lundahl transformers in its MC phono stage and includes RCA and XLR inputs alongside a processor or tape loop, a rarity these days. It even receives wi-fi for app control. I couldn’t get a ballpark price but the matching Classic DAC/streamer is going to be around €3,600 to €4,000 when it launches in June.
Audio Solutions
Lithuanian speaker maker Audio Solutions didn’t bring a new product to the show but did take the time to explain their new configurator software. This is a way of customising the appearance of the brand’s Figaromodels and works like similar systems used by a few car companies. It’s a website where customers can choose from a wide range of colours and finishes, selecting how they would like the front and rear portions of the cabinet to look as well as the trims on cabinet and drivers. There is a huge array of options and as many as 3,000 combinations available, right down to binding posts, grilles, bi-amping and whether you want spikes or isolation feet. Not one for the indecisive.
Audio-Technica
Possibly the best looking of the relatively affordable new products seen at High End was Audio-Technica’s AT-LPA2 turntable. This transparent beauty has an acrylic plinth and platter with a carbon fibre arm and is supplied with an OC-9 cartridge and separate power supply for €2,000. You won’t find a vinyl replay package like that from many established brands.
On the needle front A-T have the VMx range of moving magnet models, these consist of two sub ranges, VM500x with plastic tops and VM700x with aluminium, both types have captive threads for ease of installation. Prices start at £99 for the AT-VM510x CB (conical stylus) with the top VM-760xSL running a special line contact stylus.
Mutec
We were so impressed with Mutec’s MC3+ USB reclocker that one resides in our reference system, so it is intriguing to see that Mutec have combined that device with a DAC in the new Astralius. This is a dual mono converter with a galvanically isolated USB input, eight digital inputs including I2S (on HDMI and RJ45) and an integrated headphone amp with dedicated volume control. Mutec’s first ever DAC is expected to sell for around €4,000 when it comes to market albeit no date has yet been set.
Linn
Linn have replaced the long running Klimax Solo power amp with the Solo 500, this monoblock is slightly taller and has a roundel badge on the front in line with the brand’s current style. The Solo 500 incorporates a hybrid cooling matrix that combines a lattice of heatsinks with a fan that only kicks in when demand is very high. It effectively follows the music so is only used when demand is high, and means it will never be audible. A Class AB design it uses adaptive bias control in order to only send required current to the transistors which should ensure consistency of performance and longevity of service. With a Utopik SMP supply the Solo 500 claims to have 85x less distortion than the original Solo, price is £23,500 per amplifier.
Cyrus
Cyrus unveiled their first full width components in the new 80 series, the 80 Integrated is a 150W design with analogue and digital inputs including streaming capabilities built around BluOS, price looks like being in the region of £5,500 to £6,000 when the amp ships in November. An 80 series pre- and power amp are due early next year and the former will feature the same high quality TFT screen seen on the integrated.
Estelon
Estelon’s Aurelia range is its most affordable speaker yet with the standmount two-way coming in at under €15,000. Made with a thermoformed composite these curvy speakers run a pair of papyrus fibre drivers either side of a Scan-speak textile dome tweeter. The Aurus subwoofer (€13,500) has a 12 inch, long excursion driver and a passive radiator of the same size, power is provided by a 1200W Class D amp. This combo was making appealingly relaxed sounds in the company of MSB electronics and was so popular that we couldn’t get a seat, even on the trade days.
Dorpo
The Dorpo brand was created by former Oppo engineers and while their main area of interest is streaming movies they know quite a bit about sound quality as anyone who has an Oppo Blu-ray player will attest. They have a range of media players with storage up to 24TB although quite how you get your Blu-ray collection onto the drive is another question. Of interest to the sound conscious is the DMP-A1 desktop unit with balanced headphone output, top flight ESS DAC chips and both balanced and RCA connections alongside HDMI ARC, Bluetooth and wi-fi. A 4TB drive option is available and price is a competitive £1,500.
Engstrom
Swedish tube wrangler Engstrom demonstrated the M-Phono all tube phono stage which has four Lundahl step-up transformers for MC cartridges and “lots of transformers” including chokes and output transformers. In- and outputs are on both balanced and single ended connections and the power supply is in a separate chassis. In other words this is the full blown glass audio phono deal so it’s €30,800 price is not all that excessive. It certainly sounded detailed and deep with loads of ambiance playing Into My Arms as covered by Camille O’Sullivan via Eric power amps and Kroma Atelier Callas speakers.
Brinkmann
The Brinkmann Nyquist DAC was launched in 2016 so now seemed like a good time for a refresh to Nyquist 1 status, the new model incorporates a streamer, new analogue circuits and a major power supply upgrade using tech derived from Brinkmann’s Trant turntable power supply. Due in October the Nyquist 1 will retail for €20,000 and has a hybrid tube/transistor output stage and separate converters for PCM and DSD. What we heard in the room was not digital however, Brinkmann used a Taurus direct drive turntable to play an album by Reema that they recently produced, it had tremendous clarity, body and weight via high sensitivity Trenner & Friedl Ra speakers.
Western Electric/Silbatone
We didn’t see any vintage Western Electric horns at High End last year but this was because collector Michael Chung was busy finalising his museum for vintage audio in Seoul. This year he was back with Silbatone valve electronics and a substantial pair of Wide Range theatre speakers. Apparently the 22B ‘snail’ horns were the last of the first generation Wide Range mid horns from Western Electric and date from 1935, the bass system is powered by an 18inch TA4181 driver while highs up to 13kHz are provided by 597A tweeters. The system sounded as expansive and easy as you like, not perhaps as tonally even as modern speakers but with dynamic capability that many would die for.
Jason Kennedy