Next we entered the Blumenhofer room where we met marketing manager Andrea Vitali. Though Blumenhofer is about to start producing their own monoblock power amplifiers, for the show's joint exhibit they shared with Leben electronics to drive the big Genuin FS1 time-aligned two-way. With a 16-inch woofer asking for control, the partnering amp couldn't be just any (limp-wristed tube) amp. The Leben proved to be very capable for this task. We began to appreciate why former 6moons scribe Jeff Day was so enthusiastic about this Japanese brand with its nostalgic looks. At the back of the rack however, we noticed the opposite of the Leben's classical features. An iMac Mini served as second digital front end with remarkable results. This was another realization that the end of the CDP as we know it is near. It is not just a matter of time. It is also a matter of having more options in quality USB cables to hook a digital PC drive to a quality DAC.

By the way, it is always revealing how the back of a system rack looks during a show. If it's like a plate of spaghetti from an Italian restaurant you would not set foot in, how do these folks work at their manufacturing plants? How about cable interferences? Do they care? It is a show for crying out loud. You want -- or better, have -- to put your best foot forward; on your components and your personal setup abilities. Proper cable dressing is merely one of the many factors one expects professionals have firmly under control to deserve their category of professionals. Nyet!

With that off our chests, we came upon Avantgarde Acoustics in the same room as last year - and with a 99% identical setup. We even thought Armin Kraus wore the same shirt but he corrected us promptly. It was brand new. Speaking of which, this year we met with the new man aboard, Tobias Adami now in charge of all cosmetic design. Some years ago Tobias already designed the powered Solo concentric horn system. After substantial training and working elsewhere, he's back at the AA design table. Some fruits of his labor were already on display.

The back plates of the horn cylinders are now not only more rounded like the cooling fins of the powered woofer systems, they are cast from the same aluminum instead of the earlier ABS. Also new were redesigned mounting bolts and spacers that attach the horns to the frame. Instead of footers screwed to the bottom of the woofer cabinet, Avantgarde now offers a new dedicated stand that rather eases leveling of these heavy speakers. Though such cosmetic and functional details were nice, Tobias was really most tickled by another idea of his which has manifested in hot-swappable horn flares. He demonstrated this with a tweeter. The flange can be unscrewed without chance of tweeter damage. The bigger spherical midrange horn is similarly detachable and replaceable.

Why would one want to? Two reasons are damages from domestic accidents (they do happen) and lifestyle - if Ferrari red has become passé, embrace retro Lamborghini orange during your next interior design makeover. Avantgarde's lacquers are original automobile issue so investment in a set of these hornspeakers is now long-term also on cosmetic adaptability. We shall stick to our 'old' blue Duo Omega and pearl Solo horns for a while longer however.

Avantgarde also had bigger news. If things proceed as planned, they will open a new factory in the second half of 09. The new building will not only be closer to their present office and provide even more efficient manufacturing, it will also include a state-of-the-art listening room to demo all available electronics and horn models. Only a few dealers in the world are able to permanently set up a full Trio system with 6 bass horns. When thinking of such an investment versus present-day ticket prices for train or plane, a trip to Germany's Lautertal is not a bad option even when considering a smaller Avantgarde system. Making a decision based on what one hears at a show even like High End in Munich can be disastrous. Too many times the volume of this huge system was yanked up way too high for the room which did its proven capabilities of effortlessly delivering true subtleties no justice whatsoever...

Analysis Audio unpacked a truckload of KR Audio Kronzilla power amplifiers. A total of 8 huge KR 1610 double power triodes were driving the Greek full-range magnetostatic ribbon speakers. As a single bass note on one of the panels emphasized, these speakers are full range. What then were the big spherical subwoofers at the back doing there? [The Greeks contacted me with assurances that during the demos with their panels, these subwoofers were inactive. They were live only during dems with the KR importer's own speakers - Ed.] Though the looks of this system were more than impressive, the sound during our visit was not. Too much zingy high frequencies came our way.

In the WLM |Trafomatic | Dr. Feickert Analogue room, we were pleasantly surprised by what's it all about: music. Austrian WLM teamed up with Serbian Trafomatic Audio for a new line of electronic and a complete line it is. In terms of system integration, this took care of everything but their own source and cabling. The voicing of the amplifiers matches that of their loudspeakers such that each others' stronger and weaker points (which every component has) are complemented. We were pleasantly warmed by music that filled the large room. Only when realizing that the loudspeakers were two small Stello stand mounts which did all the hard work while being assisted below 80Hz by an unobtrusive subwoofer, the left brain half came into action focusing on the details.

We always associated WLM either with dual-concentric drivers with hidden tweeters or top-mounted twin-tweeter modules. Now the Stello looked like an off-the-shelf -- pun intended -- ported two-way. But, this was a room you could easily spend a long time in just listening to the tunes. The sound pressure was just right, high but far from being too loud and the music did not emanate from any particular point but simply enveloped the listeners. Maybe we have to rethink certain aspects of our own further musical endeavors. Small and thus fast and dynamic left/right channel reproduction combined with a single centrally placed subwoofer with two large opposing woofers recalled the late Harvey Rosenberg on SETs for amplification - plus small monitors and a single subwoofer for transducers, the latter of which he mounted very high between his satellite speakers, albeit firing forward rather than up and down as here.

In the Crystal Cable room we not only met the Siltech & Crystal Cable proprietors but again the Arabesque speakers. Our first encounter with them was some weeks prior at the Doelen Lente Rotterdam show in Holland. In Munich amplification was by VTL Signature monoblocks on the floor and the VTL TL 6.5 line stage with dCS Paganini CDP and external DAC on an as yet unnamed Crystal Cable glass rack. As we are used to by now, Edwin proudly explained the design features of the Arabesque. Assisted by advanced and predictive Comsol software, the two-way line array could be crafted entirely from glass. The cross-sectional tear drop shape helps to cancel internal reflections and very little damping material was needed. Once again it was no punishment to listen to this transparent speaker in a big room. We remain curious how these speakers will do in standard living room conditions.