Bambinis, gelato, amore and Unison Research. For just the right mix of wood and metal -- or as it turns out, wrinkled frosted glass and metal for a change -- few tube makers can beat the cosmetics of these Italians.

Filed under U for Unknown until memory did me one better, this unusual CD player is by Mel Audio. You recall, I was too busy slurping my fruit punch at the hand of Mel the bartender to pay sufficient attention earlier.

Van den Hul has released a bevy of products lately, with the Waterfall interconnect just one of 'em. In case you didn't know, VdH is the only cable firm currently centrifugally cooking its own amorphous conductors. And they're setting the pace in commercial, priced-within-reach carbon fiber-fitted cables as well.

I'll court mischief for saying it but Western Electric's mighty new amplifier looks less good than the Canary Audio amp it mimics in looks. Should we assume it's more expensive instead? $90,000 and apparently designed by David Berning.

Weiss Engineering's new € 3000 Minerva Firewire DAC, Daniel Weiss told me, already has a WiFi board - um, on the design boards to add wireless functionality. This could be a very serious converter for those keen on hard-disc servers and ultimate sonics.

Best new € 3000/pr speaker at Munich unquestionably goes to WLM's new LaScala. I loved their Diva Monitor and was quite critical of their flagship. But this addition at the bottom of the range kicks well above its price and out of the park. There's a tower and a monitor (€ 2500/pr for the latter) and both use a Visaton paper tweeter and Visaton mid/woofer.
Designer Martin Schützenauer and CEO Hannes Frick have much reason to be proud. At 93dB, the 40-watt Almarro monos did a bang-up job of energizing a large space, meaning that in a more real-sized room, this would be a true dream combo.


Grills will be optional so those going nekkid won't suffer the usual mounting holes in the baffle. To keep the price in the desired niche, WLM will offer only one finish for the two LaScala models, i.e. European Cherry. Works for me. Here's another must-review item I've already pencilled in my growing list for 2008. It'll be quite the year too, I predict.

So who did we forget? At least 60% of folks and gear if not more. I'm not kidding. There was far too much to see to keep track of it all without losing one's sanity in total Terminator mode. But then there are show reports elsewhere. They should fill our gaps. From a lust bump, reviewer greed, contact-high perspective, the standout products for me were the little Yarland EL-84 integrated; the WLM LaScala tower; the Audio Physic Scorpio II; Jean Hiraga's speakers; Esoteric's A100; and the Almarro 6C33C monos. The companies I hope to be working with on reviews include AcousticPlan, Allnic, Emillé and TruLife Audio. I already know I'll be 'doing' Franck's new cables. Whatever else happens as a result of having visited shall be grist for the mill and welcome surprises.

How about presentient pundit-style predictions? Or smart parting shots? Yes on the latter. The Hotel Leopold's lobby had a magazine counter. I picked up a copy of "High Fidelity", subtitled Music in the 21st century: From High Tech to High Fidelity.


Serious, n'est ce pas? Flipped open, the first chapter is "Vinyl Lives!" Pages 4 + 5 are a Bose QuietComfort headphone informercial. Page 6 is "Download - the LP of this century". Page 7 has a half-page ad for Arcam's new Solo Mini. Page 8 + 9 are about "Radio without noise", a feature on Digital Audio Broadcasting. Pages 10 + 11 cover Harman Kardon's DMC 1000 digital media center, B&W's iPod-ready Zeppelin and Geneva's Model L iPod dock/speaker. Page 12 is a Bose Wave Radio ad with another ad for the Tivoli iPal. Page 14 has ads for the Bose Computer MusicMonitor, TechniSat's Internet-Radio-in-a-box and Nubert's gloss speakers in black or white. Page 15 has an ad for the High End 2008 show and a big ad for Creative's Zen Player. The back cover is a full page ad for Logitech's Squeezebox Duet.


How much more presentient predictions do you want? If this issue was a fishing expedition for the show, the bait of iPod/Bose products versus what the show actually focused on would have created a serious disconnect.
Now turn it around. Those companies who could afford ads in this issue nearly exclusively came from the lifestyle and computer audio segment. What does that tell you? Nothing you didn't already know. The question is, what are we gonna do about it?


Press liaison Renata Paxa's final report: The HIGH END 2008 in Munich was bigger and better than ever before. For the first time in more than 10 years, the HIGH END® did not start on the Ascension Day public holiday, due to a medical congress being held on that date. We wanted to avoid reservation bottlenecks and prevent our exhibitors and visitors from having to pay exorbitant hotel rates and airlines fares. On 24 April 2008, in gloomy wet weather, the HIGH END® opened its gates to trade visitors, who had once again gathered in their hundreds at the entrance. The weather at this year's HIGH END® ranged from torrential downpours to magnificent sunshine.


On the first two days of the fair, warm, rainproof clothing was the order of the day, but on the Saturday and Sunday we were blessed with Munich's famous 'Kaiserwetter' (emperor weather). But even though the weather was so unpredictable on the first two days and more suitable for a day trip out of town at the weekend, the HIGH END® was a huge success. By adding Atrium 4 this year, we were able to use two of the popular indoor courtyards, as well as the halls below them. The two bright, airy atriums with their open courtyards, seating areas, rest zones and wide range of catering facilities ensured a pleasant atmosphere where visitors could stroll at their leisure. The exhibition space was expanded from 15,500 m² to 18,373 m², an increase of 19%. Despite this, the HIGH END® seemed more compact, attractive and easier to find one's way around, because the exhibition areas were closer together. In addition, the exhibitors showed great commitment and not only presented new products, but also created beautifully designed presentation areas where they held special events, musical performances, workshops and stage shows.

A total of 231 exhibitors from 25 countries were present at the fair. The percentage of exhibitors from abroad rose again by 4% and is now a third of the total number of exhibitors. At the end of the fair, we interviewed many of them to find out what they thought of it. Nearly all of them judged the commercial results and the benefit to their companies of their presence at the fair as good to excellent. As well as this, all the exhibitors we interviewed expected good follow-up business from the fair. Many exhibitors said the HIGH END® 2008 had exceeded their high expectations and that it had been the best HIGH END® ever.


The HIGH END® always offers a listening experience of the most special kind, not just because of the amazing technical products presented there, but also because of the many live music performances. This year, the HIGH END® once again offered its visitors a multi-faceted programme of musical entertainment. On the first day of the fair, the exhibitors and guests were welcomed by the Hinterberger Musikanten with traditional Alpine brass band and folk music. This time, the marching act was provided by two brass bands who presented classical and contemporary works from all eras. The singer-songwriter Eugene Ruffolo impressed the audience with his beautiful ballads and the Hungarian pianist Gergely Bogányi gave concerts on the world's largest grand piano. On the Friday afternoon, the Blue George Cocktail Band presented a genuine musical firework in the foyer of Hall 3.

Once again, the technology stage was positively received and used as a free information forum. The company presentations held there aroused the interest of trade and private visitors alike. There were exciting presentations on topics including electrosmog, digital room correction, the art and science of setting up a record turntable, criteria affecting image projection, as well as recording technology. As well as this, many informative talks and demonstrations by trade magazines were of great interest to audio enthusiasts.


By the end of the fair, the total number of visitors had increased by 7.7% compared to the previous year. However, because there was no public holiday this year, the visitor numbers were somewhat skewed. On the Thursday and Friday there were slightly fewer visitors. However, the next two days, Saturday and Sunday, more than made up for the shortfall. Saturday was the day with the most visitors, when we achieved an increase of 35%. The turnout from international trade visitors was sensational. The foreign guests came from 57 countries and accounted for half of the total trade visitors. Most of the international trade visitors came from Europe, mainly from the following countries: Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, the UK, Denmark, Italy, Spain, France and Finland. We also welcomed numerous trade visitors from Asia, South Africa, Australia and the USA. The successful mixture of musical performances, equipment presentations, talks, special events and demonstrations once again made the HIGH END® 2008 a unique experience.

I didn't get to meet Renata Paxa in person. But anyone with this level of professionalism -- my badge was promptly mailed to Cyprus; there were regular e-mail updates on show news; the 415-page € 10 show guide was a model of resourcefulness and a poster child for how to do such things; her follow-up e-mail contained a lot more than just the above parting address -- well, anyone with such chops is a major babe. Cheers, Renata. It was a pleasure working with you in the virtual zone. It made this expat proud to be German.


Last-minute addition: I didn't see this but somebody in the know was very excited about it. Check out Hush Technologies. Subject, music server done right. I haven't had a chance to investigate it but anyone smart enough to listen to Abbingdon Music Research's CD-77 as his digital reference has high standards so his referral carries weight. Hush is the word. It was a blast and I'm beat now. Thanks to M&H for pix, contacts and company. Over & out.