mobanmarketThis is my first trip to High End Munich, held Thursday–Sunday May 10–13 at the MOC convention center. Besides reporting for Stereophile, I am charged with scouting to make a final determination whether it “would be worth the suffering” for my Brooklyn friend Sphere, who hates to travel more than two hours to get anywhere! “Herb, just tell me, if I only attend one audio show, should it be Munich?”
For years, he only attended the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, but this year he ventured (with my urging) to AXPONA and loved it—especially the light and beauty of the venue. But Sphere only wants to attend one show.
I haven’t told him yet, but I knew what to tell him before I landed. My flight on Lufthansa was smooth. The food was better than serviceable . . . and the view from the plane window of those German farms surrounding Munich was full-on 17th-century Dutch painting inspirational. But Sphere is stubborn and I knew he’d need more reasons than that.
Sphere is legally blind, but even he could follow the trail of High End 2018 advertising banners leading from the airport arrival gate, down every street, to the front door of the MOC. He would see right away that, in Europe, perfectionist audio is a big deal; and not just a dalliance of white-haired gentlemen. As they handed him his press badge, he would be astounded by the rich mix of age and gender and fashion on display. He would marvel at the light and architecture and impressive scale of the event.
From just looking at photos, Sphere thought it looked cold and convention-center glassy, but I am going to tell him it is not that way at all. “High End is all about the vibe, which is warm and intimate! Yes Sphere, you heard me right. I have only been here one sleepy tired jet-lagged day, but I already know the second-best thing about this show: everybody who is anybody in the entire global world of high-end audio is here. All the high-fi poobahs, moguls, and upstarts, they are all waiting in the atrium and walking the fresh clean sunshine-filled halls. High End 2018 is the opposite of a Las Vegas dungeon.
I have attended a lot of audio shows, as an exhibitor and a journalist, dating back to the early 1990s, and only CES, at its absolute peak, could equal what I experienced today at High End Munich 2018.
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