Sharing a room during a big show is nothing new to exhibitors. Unfortunately on many occasions there is one major exhibitor and the roommates are treated more or less as hangers-on. That it is possible to share a room and have a true win-win for all was proven in the Emillé | Rethm | Feickert Analogue room with three different categories of electronics, speakers and turntables all in need of each other. Here the whole was definitely more than the sum of its parts. Once acclimated to the Rethm sound after the loud cacophonies endured in other rooms, unknown muscles relaxed and the head was once again free to move instead of being protectively tied down like a tent in a storm. Non-intrusively flowing sounds filled the room.

Though the Korean electronics can amplify the subtle output of the big German Dr. Feickert Triple turntable to substantial voltages, the Indian Rethm loudspeakers are satisfied to share their goods at moderate levels. Bass was present but not earth shaking. If one wanted his kidneys dislocated, a rave was the prescribed silliness. Here one dealt with the art of reproducing recorded performances, not about recreating the performance. For a visual analog, the music in the room was like a watercolor, not a sharpened digital photo. All the information was there to have the musical brain construct a pleasant image of the sounds projected into the room.

Dr. Feickert's Triple will one of these days land at our doorstep for an in-depth review and Srajan already did the same on Rethm and Emillé models. Spokesperson Vital Gbezo used the Munich occasion to announce that Mr. Keun-Bae Lee, president of the Kwangoo electronics group behind Emillé, has stepped down being their CEO. Mr. Lee is an audiophile and with the resources of the mother company, had launched a new brand that was given proper time to develop the electronics that would be up to Mr. Lee's standards. Now that Emillé's electronics have matured and a distribution network taken shape under Mr. Gbezo's lead, Mr. Lee judged the time right to pass the baton to his son Sam. At a small gathering at the end of the day, Vital introduced Sam Lee and designer Young Kim to the invited press cadre and champagne. Now it is Sam's task to maintain the Emillé quality and further broaden the firm's product catalogue and distribution. Sam is a music lover just as his father so that vital base is covered already.

This now gets us to the end of our take on High End 2009. For us the show engendered mixed feelings. Regarding attendance, it was a surprise to see so many interested people. On the other hand, industry representatives showed declined pizzazz as though the trade were a bear market. As to exciting new findings, this year factored low also on that scale. Combined, these two observations made it hard to do the rounds. Of course unwarranted personal expectations could have set us up for disappointment. Another thought that crossed our minds is something Srajan suggested also for himself. Could it be that our listening focus has shifted? We and he now rely on systems optimized for good time-domain behavior. Our personal reference system in Rotterdam now gives nearly too much satisfaction having been tweaked over many years. It perhaps is too unreasonable then to expect conversion experiences from any show no matter how expensive or famous the equipment. From May 6 through 9, the next High End in Munich is already scheduled. Let's see what that will bring...
Van den Hul's folding HDMI connector