Oh Vienna… music, art, literature, architecture, a universe of culture. Mozart, Schubert, Strauss. Frankl, Freud, Schrödinger. Syrupy Kleine Brauner coffee and golden Ottakringer lager (downed a few of both), delicious Kaiserschmarrn, decadent Sacher torte and crispy Vienna schnitzel. Need I go on? Sensory overload aside, yeah, I’m sure the High End Society had to sail through stressful prep waters prior to the big day. Actually, the big days. The festival of high-end hi-fi’s first notes sang out on Thursday June 4, with the last tunes finally waning away at closing time on Sunday June 7. Date adjustment, thanks Eurovision. Yet, despite the pre-fest challenges, the high-end audio industry’s crowning event will, I’m confident, be universally praised, or at the very least, widely acclaimed for what ended up being a seamlessly-staged show.
Waltzing Matilda
Let’s get straight to the point. Austria Centre Vienna (ACV), the new venue, is more contemporary, with better amenities (food accessibility, helpdesk stations, casual lounge/networking areas, restrooms, etc.), better sounding rooms acoustically-speaking, and not to mention the super easy trainline access from anywhere in Vienna (especially from Stephansplatz where I stayed). Uber expenses = ZERO. I really dug ACV’s impressive entrance which I found befitting of the event’s grandeur. I mean, that massive digital signboard is striking and, no doubt, could offer The High End Society organisers an additional revenue stream.
Having said that, to start-off, I wasn’t super-sweet on the venue through Thursday and part of Friday. I overcommitted on meetings (that’s actually on me), resulting in a sense of urgency that had me running around in circles like a buzzing flipped-over fly on speed due to the buildings looping layout. Exhibits were missed and others were found by pure stumbling luck. I thank, St Stephan and the Society, for the helpdesks…
By Saturday late morning, I was a far more confident navigator and ACV’s design proved its mettle. Dante’s Inferno was becoming more like Paradiso, even if sometimes it mirrored the Divine Comedy.
I should mention that despite my best efforts and the absence of a few Edgar Kramer clones, I simply could not be Everything, Everywhere, All At Once. Yes, finding my bearings at the new venue, squeezing-in an avalanche of unshakeable meetings and NDA’ed appointments, socials and YouTube videoing, short interviews, etc… I surrendered. Doug Schneider and Jason Thorpe from SoundStage! up-North to the rescue. Their report can be seen at https://www.soundstageglobal.com/
You can check-out some amazing high-end systems on Instagram here plus YouTube here, and designer insights and soundbites on SoundStage! Australia’s Instagram here.
Edgar Kramer with SoundStage! founder Doug Schneider
Mind you, even if I say so myself, under the circumstances I still managed to navigate a remarkable amount of territory, while seeing and hearing what I’m sure was a majority of the music-making exhibits (including rather miraculously, Vienna SoundFest, HiFi Deluxe and Xclusive Hi-Fi off-piste shows). However, this excluded the ‘X’ halls which were, in the main, populated with open-plan static displays.
So, in no particular order, I’ve selected my ten favourite rooms of the show as I heard them. Mostly, this is based on whatever music was playing at the time. There were a few exceptions where I got private auditions, most notably in the Göbel High End and VTL rooms. Also, there’s a section of ‘Significant Others’ exhibits which didn’t make the ‘Favourite Exhibits’ shortlist by a small cat’s whisker and also a gallery of select systems showcasing extreme high-end audio.
Like I said last year about the Munich event, High End Vienna is a show, not a forensic examination under controlled conditions. Chance and fate play a big hand here. So, as always, mileages may vary depending on a myriad of reasons and circumstances.
Of course, a huge thank you to the entire team at The High End Society for, once more, staging a magnificent event.
TEN FAVOURITE EXHIBITS
Luxman Corporation showed a complete electronics chain from cartridge to turntable, crowned by the large B-100 Centennial monoblock amplifiers. Luxman chose to exhibit with a pair of Marten Parker Quintet speakers. Wise choice. I was captivated as soon as I walked into this room. There was a sense of ease, a warm embrace, which amiably invited engagement. For an all-solid-state system, I found tonal truth to be outstanding. This was one of the very first rooms I encountered. Things were looking, and sounding, good…
In a relatively affordable component gathering, the next room in the ‘Favourite Exhibits’ was quite the surprise. First, the sound was superbly clear and immediate, showing the full gamut of detail without a hint of harshness. I’d come across the digital specialist Cinnamon Audio through semi-accidental browsing a few weeks prior to HEV. Then, here I was listening to gorgeously involving music via the company’s uniquely styled, and rather gorgeously I might add, Galle DAC and Network Player. Supporting the digital sources were a J.Sikora turntable, Engström integrated amplifier, and Kroma Atelier speakers, all hooked up with Argento cables and sitting on Artesania Audio racks. Delightful.
Next, I walked into a large space and was struck by the large Franciscan-monk-in-a-robe Avalon Saga speakers. Equally impressive was the backing system consisting mainly of Kuzma turntable, Kalista digital (Mantax or Dreamplay X), Reel-to-Reel tape, and Doshi valve-based electronics. I was taken aback by the massive soundstage which spread across all dimensions while being populated with precisely focused images. Low frequencies were superbly controlled and balanced with the rest of the spectrum. Tonality was spot-on. A real highlight, here. I believe the room was run by distributor Airt Audio.
Oliver Göbel from Göbel High End always brings a big game to the High End shows. Also consistently, he manages to squeeze great sound in what are, mostly, challenging conditions in unfamiliar acoustic environments. This year, the company introduced the new Divin Monarque, a simplification (but by no means simple) of Göbel High End’s flagship Divin Majestic. The somewhat smaller Divin Monarque, now in a single cabinet architecture, nevertheless sounded big, bold and powerful. Divin Monarque’s ribbon tweeter was extremely fast while being capable of terrific transient attack and micro-detail resolution. Dynamics were superb, as were the sense of scale and overall energy. Accompanying equipment was via Vitus Audio Masterpiece monoblocks and preamplifier and all-Wadax Reference sources. Cables, of course, came from Göbel High End’s own stable.
OK, disclosure. I own a Totaldac tri-unity DAC. Indeed, I’ve had several iterations of the company’s superb R2R ladder DACs. The company then continued to expand its product line-up to include speakers, amplifiers and cables. More recently, a CD transport was announced. At HiFi Deluxe, Totaldac showed the new Balloon speakers and they were designed like… well, ballons. More precisely, spheres with a single coincident front-firing driver. The Balloons projected among the very best imaging I’ve heard at a show. On a video screen playing simultaneously, the speakers placed not just Sophie Mutter’s violin in a precise, realistic space, but it honed in on imaging right down to her finger positions. Astounding. They also threw a very large soundstage with tremendous width, height, and depth while the bass sounded solid and reasonably deep, considering the enclosure volume. A real surprise and a treat.
This one was totally unexpected. Again, at Hi-Fi Deluxe, I walked into a wall of amazingly powerful and enveloping music. An electronica track almost floored me. The system? Entirely Audio Note UK. Yes, the company known for true tone, texture, and subtlety and often associated, stereotyped even, with subtler jazz, softly, softly smooth female vocals, and World Music tunes. It was slamming with Overmono’s “Diamond Cut” track. The bass punch from those single woofer’ed speakers, yes, tucked into the corners as always, was phenomenal. Vocal clarity too from the female singer, layers, imaging, and engagement. Equipment highlights were CDT-Three CD player, DAC5 IZVOR DAC, TT-Three turntable, Meishu Phono Tonmeister 300B SET integrated and AN-E/SOGON LTD Field Coil speakers.
Brodmann Acoustics showed a new speaker, the JB175 large floorstander with matching independent woofer enclosures. The finish on these beauties needs to be seen to be understood. I’m talking of truly exceptional quality. Brodmann Acoustics showcased the JB175 with Ideon’s Axiom three-box flagship digital source, EMM Labs preamplifier and power amplification, and a Telos Audio Design AC grounding component. Through this system, the music was literally emanating as a single, coherent entity of sheer power. No treble harshness, no midrange glare, no low frequency bloat. Plus, the soundstage size, especially on a live track by Ibrahim Maalouf, was stunningly vivid. Very impressive.
Late in the show, I cruised into a room bathed in moody darkness, broken by an eye-catching central light effect highlight on the front wall. Actually, ear-catching is what this exhibit was. The exhibit was a team effort between Germany’s Zellaton and Japan’s YS Sound. A pair of Zellaton Plural EVO were being driven by a monster YS Sound YSS-998 power amplifier which sat between the speakers on a platform. The amp was mated to its matching YSS- 988 preamplifier. Sources were the Reed Muse 3C turntable with Reed 5T tonearm, and Innuos Nazaré flagship, all sitting on Artesania audio racks and hooked up with Schnerzinger cables and noise control products. As I arrived, I heard a superbly immediate orchestral piece with an immaculately reproduced triangle (the Plural EVO tweeter is rather spesh) and a violin with tremendous speed of attack and accurately rendered tonal precision. The track after that was nowhere near as classy. It’s all timing, isn’t it. However, the absolute quality of the first track convinced me of this system’s worthiness to appear in this listing.
Because of its location on the right-hand flank of the grand entrance hall, the doors were mainly shut through the show, ergo, I walked right past the VTL (Vacuum Tube Logic) room several times. However, on Sunday morning I was fortunate enough to find the room wide open. In I went, and found amiable show-troopers Luke and Bea Manley. I also scored a break and was one of only a handful of people in the room. Grabbed myself the sweet spot and Bea offered to host a short DJ’ing sesh just for me. VTL was debuting the new Lohengrin monoblock amplifiers (new transformers, regulated power supplies, etc.) driving Wilson Audio Alexx V speakers. The preamp was VTL’s TL 7.5 Series III and TP-6.5 Series II phono stage. Tunes were via SME analogue and dCS digital with Nordost cables. Bea’s music choices showcased Lohengrin’s grip on the big Wilsons, with the low frequencies showing great depth and vice-like control. The sound was sweet, yet detailed and superbly separated. Sometimes the Gods smile…
International Audio Holding’s Sphinx Audio-Engineering Element 5 speakers took the honours for most improved sound. While last year’s Munich show saw the speakers sounding quite good, I found this time around in Vienna, the dynamics, the separation, the punch, and the spatial qualities of the Element 5 were a marked improvement. Accompanying electronics were Siltech’s SAGA preamplifier and power amplifier which were supplied with signal by an Innuos ZENith Next-Gen streamer and Soulution DAC. Cables, of course, were a mixture of Siltech and Crystal Cable. Yes, you might deduce that the increased performance was a result of a better acoustic environment, and that may be partly true, but speaking with designer Marko Liconin, he revealed that substantial tweaking took place in the intervening year. It showed.
… Edgar Kramer
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Significant Others
Abbingdon Music Research, Marten, Jorma
Full Aries Cerat system
Bowers & Wilkins’ new 801 Diamond D5, Mark Levinson, Innuos Nazaré
New Constellation Audio Statement monoblock amplifiers, Wilson Audio Sasha V
Gauder Akustik, Accustic Arts, dCS, Transrotor, AudioQuest
JBL Everest, Mark Levinson, AudioQuest
Lirogon Origin, Vitus Audio, ZenSati
Gallery
