Overview of Munich High End 2018 (MHE2018)

The Munich High End is an annual trade show in, well, Munich, and it’s a pretty big deal. If you’re an audio and home cinema geek, this is where you go to check out and drool over some of the most impressive gear ever conceived. Not only do companies swarm to the show to show off some of their existing products, but many use it as an opportunity to unveil some of their latest advances. MHE2018 saw the introduction of quite a number of new products, so let’s see what’s what.

We’ve already covered the new players from Astell&Kern here, as well as new items from Chord here.
Ascendo
Ascendo took to MHE2018 and showed off their ginormous 50-inch sub-woofer. Whilst it isn’t a new product, it’s still impressive nonetheless. This is one of those items that you buy only if you reeeaaally hate your neighbors.

 

Avantgarde Acoustic
Avantgarde was out in full force at MHE2018 showing off their entire range of ridiculously awesome looking speakers. Of course, as you might expect, art isn’t cheap. The Zero TA is sold for $12,500 per pair, whilst their Trio Classic setup will slap you silly with a $149,000 bill. Ouch!

 

Cayin
The super sweet-looking HA-300 from Cayin was also showed off. The HA-300 is a $4,000 tube-based headphone amplifier weighing in at around 19kg (41.9lb) and capable of outputting up to 5,000mW!

 

Genelec
You can’t talk about studio monitors without mentioning Genelec. At MHE2018 they proudly displayed a huge range of their products, including numerous items from their G Series, F Series, and of course their SAM studio monitor line-up. 2018 is also the year that Genelec celebrates its 40^th birthday!

 

KEF
KEF’s flagship Blade speakers are some seriously big (126lb per pair) and seriously cool looking units. But KEF has no interest in being super secretive about the inner-workings of the Blade. Instead, they displayed a totally open unit in full view. It’s quite interesting to see the various support structures and dampening strategies used within the enclosure.

 

LB-Acoustics and Woo Audio
These two hooked up together at the show to showcase their products. The MYSPHERE’s latest iteration is the 3.1. The design and approach of this type of headphone is totally different to the vast majority of others out there. Instead of sitting either on the hear or over the ear, the idea behind the MYSPHERE headphones is that the sit a little distance away from the ear. Pretty cool.
Woo audio of course needs no introduction, but their latest product does. The WA11 Passport is their latest portable headphone offering, but it’s also their very first headphone amp that has an all-solid-state design. Woo Audio is famous for their gorgeous tube-based amps, so an all-solid-state design certainly was an unexpected turn. You can find out more about the WA11 Passport here.

 

McIntosh
McIntosh is another brand that needs no introduction. They’ve got quite a large cult following and many people swear by their products. One thing’s for sure, you simply cannot mistake a McIntosh product for any other. Their retro designs do standout from a crowd of “modern” designs, and certainly evokes a sense of nostalgia.

 

New Horizon
Often it can seem incredibly difficult to get a “minimalist” design just right. But, New Horizon have absolutely nailed the look of their turntables. They don’t try to go over the top with anything fancy and unnecessary, instead they’ve stuck to a simple and clean design. Boy does it pay off – these babies look GREAT!

 

Pancin
Another product that sticks out of the crowd is the bullet-shaped speaker set from Pancin. They’re big (at 216kg per pair) and “in yer face”. A work of art, no doubt.

 

Pro-Ject
Pro-Ject’s turntables are another example of a company totally nailing the design of their products. Much like what New Horizon has done, Pro-Ject sticks to a largely minimalist design, whilst including just enough of a retro-flair in the form of wood accents and other design elements to make them look unique.
Their Essential line offers good value for money as various models include even Bluetooth support and digital outputs. Then there are also versions with which they collaborated with numerous artists to inject even more of a musical theme into the products. The 2Xperience SB Sgt. Pepper Limited Edition looks especially awesome.

Sennheiser
Of course, no audio show is really an audio show without Sennheiser’s presence. Their top-of-the-line HD820 was king of the stand.

 

Tivoli Audio
Whilst many people have probably, to some extent, long forgotten about this ancient tech called AM and FM radio, Tivoli have stuck with it. Their product line-up of portable and compact home radios are seriously works of art. They’re not AM and FM radios, though, as many of their products include Bluetooth and WiFi, and other even feature a CD player too!
MHE2018 even saw the introduction of their latest all-in-one system which features a 4-channel speaker setup and both a CD-player and Bluetooth input.