Analog Impressions from Munich High End 2015


We,, pretty crowded, lots of demos .... and Turntables everywhere

I will try to lad a few pics here

van den Hul

Kronos

Kronos II

TechDas AirForce III

TechDas AirForce One

TechDas AirForce Two

TechDas AirForce Two

Feickert

to be continued ...
128x128syntax
Looks like a competition for the ugliest TT available ? (beside the "regular" looking Feickert..).
Gilles130
Thanks and give us your impressions.

From my personal view, since 3 years there is an enormous price increase (a mass market Rega Turntable lists for 6000 euros with cheap Arm and cheap cartridge) and so it goes on and on.... the only justification for it is good finish, very well done. Better sound? I think, I am the wrong person to ask for, I am glad when I got no ear cancer at the end of the day.
We have to split it seriously, there is one group (like me) who are customers and this is a hobby and on the other side, those who have to live from it, be it Manufacturer, Distributor, Dealer, "Reviewer" .... that is something totally different. It is a money machine and everyone wants to have a piece from the cake.
You will find endless stuff, cables, cables, cables, Chinese Exhibitors are growing and when I see in the faces from the Professionals, all is super, terrific etc. all is great...super, but unfortunately their Systems can't show it. It doesn't matter because the marketing tools (Mags + Reviewers) will find the right words to make the best out of it.
I enter 20 rooms and it is always the same blubbering, uninvolving muted sound... but who knows, maybe I am wrong and this is the real thing. No distributor has a sign at the entrance "You want spend 150k$ and have no idea how to do it? Please come in, we'll show you how to burn it"
Each his own :-)
BUT, it is a great time.
Thomas
Great pics. Curious which model Wavac amp this is ? Is it the older HE 833 v1.2 ?
Cheers
Pradeep
The Feickert was in the Purist Audio Room, shared by Triplanar and Atma-Sphere Music Systems.

The Triplanar 12" arm is pretty sweet. Its actually lower mass than the original 9" arm.

After using the Fieckert over last week I really came to appreciate it. The unit has a lot of torque; stops and starts the platter in less than one rotation. IMO/IME you need a lot of torque to run a turntable properly else the needle drag will affect the speed. We got a very locked-in image out of the combination, utterly at ease with anything we threw at it.
Atmasphere,

The alternative to lots of motor torque is a high mass platter. The latter has such high rotational inertia, once at the prescribed velocity, that stylus drag during heavy groove modulation becomes an insignificant issue. A test with the Sutherland Timeline supports this hypothesis.
Atmasphere is the 12" Tri-Planar using the same bearings as the 9" VII?

Any other differences besides the length/effective mass?
Read the first time the naked truth

My great respect for those who did change the "direction"... Probably it became so bad in the last years that you can only deny it when you get paid for...

But it is true.
All of the Triplanars use the same bearings, which are the hardest made worldwide that won't also shatter. The geometry of the 12" is different since the longer length has lower distortion.
Syntax - it is rare for me to see pictures of a Verdier La Platine at a show.

There was a Verdier La Platine Granito in the Schnerzinger Room.

So I am interested to know if you heard it ? Your Impressions.

thanks

Same Room

Digital Setup

Overall Room

Photos courtesy of Leo Yeh
HiCt0517

I did listen to that Verdier combination but unfortunately they made a mismatch with the Phonostage to their Preamp, it was way too dull and silent. Wrong gain (way too low for that MC or a Phonostage with too low output to Preamp) for the cartridge in use. Like connecting a 0.3mV MC into MM input.
When they switched to Digital it was immediately louder by factor 3 or even more. No - serious - analog rating possible based on that obvious fact.
Leo Yeh Pics are great.
Syntax - Wrong gain (way too low for that MC or a Phonostage with too low output to Preamp) for the cartridge in use. Like connecting a 0.3mV MC into MM input.No - serious - analog rating possible based on that obvious fact.

Interesting.
How is it that professionals screw up Analog Audio 101 at the biggest show on earth ?
Maybe a rookie team member doing the initial setup?

No - serious - analog rating possible based on that obvious fact.

Oh well that's how it goes.
Hopefully this set up error was corrected by the middle to end point of the show ?
Thanks for the impressions Syntax.
I can not say what they made the next day, I guess they ignored it and played Digital instead. It is the way it is, sometimes something is ok, sometimes not. Some gave me the information that in a different forum is a big Discussion about ethical reporting … forgot the name of that Forum … Deaf but Proud or Expensive and Mediocre or Wounded Brain …who cares…anyway, a self titled „Expert“ complained about negative comments from bloody amateurs who are too stupid to realize how wonderful everything is, how much work is invested everywhere and this negative comments are so cowardly mean, it ruins the day of our wonderful hobby. So, there is ONE rule everyone HAS to accept: When you can’t write something positive, write nothing. So, each his own…I did the usual: Went to the best Steakhouse in Town, ordered their largest and downed a bottle of wine….