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"We've lost our direction....The High End in 1992 is a multi-million-dollar business. But it's an empty triumph, because we haven't accomplished what we set out to do. The playback still doesn't sound 'just like the real thing.'

Audio actually used to have a goal: perfect reproduction of the sound of real music performed in a real space. That was found difficult to achieve, and it was abandoned when most music lovers, who almost never heard anything except amplified music anyway, forgot what "the real thing" had sounded like. Today, "good" sound is whatever one likes.  

These (the 4 black ones) were made 1928, the first WE Horns. These are very, very rare, the owner told us. he paid about 100k for shipping to Munich but he will not do it again. Not for the shipping, this doesn't interest him much, but when they got damage, he would not be able to get those again...

Sound was really lifelike, true in tone, for 1000 visitors in a cinema with a 2W amplifier....of course it can't be compared in rooms for one owner with pinpoint imaging, but it was a good performance. A lot of listeners scratched their head and asked themselves, what happened in the last 80 years from "High End" reproduction..... (I know the answer: cheap parts inside covered, no idea from real thing audio but with top finish outside)

Here we had a Demo with Allnic units and an unknown (for me) Horn Speaker

Did it sound lifelike: Not at all. Slow, foggy, no soundstage, no presence, pretty dull overall. I was interested to listen to them, there are some enthusiastic owners in USA for Allnic, I listened to those Pre+Phono 2 years ago in a private System and wasn't impressed, but it was ok. But here it was a real sonic disappointment. 

Thorens Reference

Static, no Demo. Was offered from the first owner (talked with him what he thinks about that Turntable....) for sale. Sold for 30k Euros to China, discussion time for the deal: 20s

Kharma Demo, Price: when you have to ask ....

High 6 digits. Did it sound lifelike? No, it was thin but detailed. No holographic body in the reproduction, very static and it became quite boring for me after 3 minutes...simply not the real thing. But great for background music while reading the newspaper.

Vitus Audio. Also very, very expensive, to move the amp I think you need to call 3 neighbours.... Sound: like Kharma

DartZeel electronics with (I think Martens Speakers). I was also interested to listen to those electronics, some at US West coast

area think it is the best design after developing the wheel. Price: When you have to ask....High 6 digits: Sound: like a cheap Kemwood System for 2k, thin, bloodless, lifeless static, ho holographic reproduction....I sat there 30 min because I simply could not believe that someone buys that stuff for performance reasons ... I asked the demo man for the 2 red signs in the carpet in front of the amps....."Audiophiles with bloody knees from kneeling in front of it..."   :-)

Living voice + Kondo from Great Britain

I didn't even shoot a pic, so I use one from last year and my "opinion" about the Performance abilities didn't change. For 1 million it should be a bit better than static pling-plong-plang...but there are also Fanboys for it ...

Demo with AirForce One, sorry I forgot to shoot a pic but that was a lifelike Performance. Deep Soundstage, Gestalt, holographic body, rightness of tone, sounding like the real thing...I got the impression, the musicians are really in front of me. Expensive but Excellent Demo.

Tannoy Westminster....yes, the Legend

Real 'Thing Sound reproduction: No

Loud: YES

Magico Horns

Well, the Demo man said, we all should thank God (and the Importer) for those here and we should concentrate to the remarkable sound. 6 educated Magico Technicians need one full day to build them up.....

Price: when you have to ask, I think minimum 600k, Soundreproduction: Well, hard to say with movie music and music from outer space but I think, they will find their customers...I thought most of the time...WE stuff from 1928...shit...what happened the last 80 years.....?

Summary: A great Day, really. It started at 10.00, 4h later my tongue felt thick and I decided to leave to go to the best Steak House in Munich, ordered their largest, came back freshly motivated, made more visits and bought the Ultra Sonic Record Cleaning Machine from Klaudio, I thought, "... now it is 4K, probably they add wood panels in piano black in 3 years and demand 14k for it ...."

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