The Munich High End Show is probably the world's best attended audio event and the industry's most important. It is of greater significance than even the International Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas every January.
In addition to showing his almost menacing looking mega-mass Stabi M turntable we highlighted in CES 2013 coverage, Franc Kuzma introduced a line of MC phono cartridges with motors manufactured to his specs in Japan and bodies he machines in Slovenia.
American WADAX distributor Rick Brown holding a test pressing of a new vinyl reissue of one of Todd Garfinkle's most highly regarded m-a recordings, Será Una Noche
Sandwiches of thick aluminum and inlays of thick wood or other materials highlight both the Sperling's looks as well as its damping mechanism. Different species of wood are available that will affect, to some degree, the final sound.
The compact, Swiss-made Thales TTT turntable exudes a subtle, soothing beauty and refinement. The Simplicity tangential pivoted tonearm complements the 'table's "refined to the essentials" design and together they create a vinyl playback system that seems destined to produce great sound, though I really didn't get a chance to listen
I found Mr. Daniel Schuch exhibiting his girder-like tone arm on the floor of one of the big main halls. As a group of fascinated Japanese audiophiles looked on, Schuch demonstrated the workings of his pivoted tangential-tracking tonearm, which he modestly characterizes as "The perfect pick-up arm."
The Hartvig TT Signature turntable features a 30 pound platter of aluminum and acrylic and a hardened steel bearing shaft with an aluminum base, plus a precision honed bronze bushing with a ceramic ball and Teflon thrust pad.
The Da Vinci Audio AAS Gabriel MK2 Reference Turntable is a thing of beauty to be sure. It is obviously a mass-loaded design and the build quality appears extremely high with a commensurate price tag of around $50,000.
Named for a mythical Nordic eight legged horse whose name means "smooth" or "gliding", the Sleipner Reference looks and feels as smooth as its true air bearing, belt driven 20 pound aluminum platter floats and its air "bearing" arm slides.