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Munich High End Video 2 Tracking Angle
By: Michael Fremer

May 27th, 2025

Category:

Hi-Fi Shows

Turntables! Tonearms! Cartridges! Munich High End 2025 Video 2

Munich goes out with an analog bang!

Wow! Analog went out with a big high tech bang at Munich High End 2025. This is my second show video covering analog news and it's far from the final one. Due to Euro dollar variations and a volatile tariff strewn world marketplace all prices here are approximate.

The final Munich High End show—the capper to a 21 year run—was filled with new analog gear from an Airon TH1 American-made $36,000 unipivot air bearing pivoted tonearm...

to a new Soulution 787 turntable that features a stationary arm and moving platter, to Kuzma's new $35,000 12" Safir arm and $35,000 sapphire bodied CAR70 cartridge featuring the one piece Orbray lab grown diamond cantilever/stylus fitted into a sapphire tube.

Soundsmith showed a $19,000 Kudos moving iron cartridge featuring what Soundsmith's Peter Ledermann claims is a "nearly indestructible" cantilever that took years to develop. A re-tip costs $900, so factor that into your buying decisions.

"Boron is back with a vengeance" according to the U.K. based Audio-Technica rep who showed the new VMx cartridge featuring fewer coil windings using a new copper wire formulation said to improve sonics. Finally, this cartridge features threaded holes so no more finger fumbling with tiny nuts (that doesn't sound right).

But more importantly, boron is now available for cantilevers throughout much of the Audio-Technica line, including same pricing for boron as for aluminum. The number strewn A-T line is well explained by Ed Forth in the video.

Reed displayed a new optical cartridge it developed in cooperation with DS Audio along with a new Equalizer/headphone amp and power supply. The cartridge has a unique feature that allows you to unscrew a front mounted circular plug to gain access to the cartridge interior to suck out dust.

TechDAS introduced a new Air Force IV turntable that fits between the mid-priced (with the TechDAS line) Air Force III and the lowest priced Air Force V. The new IV features all of the expected Air Force features including an air bearing platter and vacuum hold-down but steps up from the V with a separate motor and a one piece platter. Price is around $35,000. The recently introduced Air Force 10 air bearing tone arm (around $40,000) made for a costly but fine sounding combo.

Thrax showed its first solid state phono preamp. The fully balanced dual differential handsome design features a large screen showing all adjustment settings, which are settable from the front panel. Price is $9000.

Thales/EMT's Micha Huber did an informative "show and tell" (and hear) demo in the Stenheim room in which he showed various stylus profiles and played music using them, beginning with the low information but pleasing sounding spherical stylus. The final demo was of the Exquisite cartridge featuring a one piece ceramic cantilever/coil former. I raved about the version i reviewed--next to the top of the line—that I purchased, but I was unable to do direct quick comparisons. Here, with cartridges mounted in plug-in head shells attendees were able to hear the various styli and cantilever iterations and it made clear that the Xquisite is as spectacular sounding as it sounded not directly compared to others.

One of the show's highlights was the Soulution 787 turntable featuring a stationary arm and a moving platter. Soulution's Cyril Hammer explains how it works.

This 40 minute video covers all of this and more and still there will be more over the next week as the editing continues!

This video is more about the saxophonist Jerome Sabbagh than it is about me. I didn't produce the thumbnail !!!!!

Comments

  • 2025-05-27 02:29:29 PM

    Jeff 'Glotz' Glotzer wrote:

    "No finger fumbling with tiny nuts".... omg still laughing.

    GREAT report as always. None betterer.

    • 2025-05-27 02:46:40 PM

      Jeff 'Glotz' Glotzer wrote:

      And HOLY KUZMA! lol... love it.

  • 2025-05-27 06:08:19 PM

    Come on wrote:

    The moving platter record player is a really smart idea to get linear tracking without the disadvantages of usual linear tracking tonearms! But a motor moving a platter is certainly the opposite of what‘s optimal in designing a quiet surrounding for tracking a record, oh my.

    Did you get one of the YuWen Huang AAA 1step records in the Acoustical Systems room? It’s easily the best piano record I heard in the combination of skilled pianist, interesting program and absolutely exceptional sound quality. There is no way she can be categorized as "one of the Asian pianists", it’s a different level of playing. A must buy imo. I hope Brakemeier continues with recording and producing records, I have rarely if ever heard such good miking of a piano in a room.

  • 2025-05-28 05:49:08 AM

    cracking resonance wrote:

    This comment will not earn me $35.000. ;-) Kuzma, is a smart guy and knows where to get it from. The original Kuzma Stabi is a worthwhile peace though.

  • 2025-05-28 06:09:32 PM

    Azmoon wrote:

    One of the tables is priced around $90K. Fremer reaction: theres a considerable market at that price nowadays. Sickening is what that is. You have lost touch. Too bad….

    • 2025-05-28 07:17:50 PM

      Come on wrote:

      I think the response is just a statement of fact that is open enough to include a questioning of certain such products or the mentioned “considerable market” itself.

      Most of the time I read or hear MF with understandably diplomatic reactions, leaving room for the recognition of a skeptical or critical opinion (which the interviewed counterparts often don't get). I hope I’m correct.

      The sick thing is products without equivalent value that are nevertheless bought and encourage others to produce similar products without equivalent value/quality. I'm with you on that. But I can live with expensive products worth the money and with the existence of enough rich people being able to buy them.

    • 2025-05-29 01:48:21 PM

      Michael Fremer wrote:

      There is such a market so I'm sorry, I've not "lost touch".

  • 2025-05-28 08:06:08 PM

    Jeff 'Glotz' Glotzer wrote:

    Apparently, May is 'Audio Troll' Month globally... lol.

    I love that new Solution turntable approach and it's a low-key looker as well. Kudos to his designs! I love that Reed preamp too... striking lines and gorgeous. Nice to see the most affordable TechDAS turntable in reality. Great price point for that segment. Airon's arm also looks like fantastic new technology and could eliminate unwanted vibrations entirely! That CAR70 cartridge needs a review!! And the clamp and platter mat... omg. LOVE it, though.. Interesting how people forget that State of the Art is expensive because of innovation. They're okay with it IT and luxury autos, but not audio. Unacceptable.

    • 2025-05-29 04:53:46 AM

      Come on wrote:

      My point was, not to be blindly fine with everything expensive. There’s a difference between a say Ferrari (or you name it) and a gold plated Toyota. Being impressed by any bling is the thing to be questioned (luxury autos or audio) imo.

      • 2025-05-29 01:49:56 PM

        Michael Fremer wrote:

        I've not "lost touch" with anything. It's so funny. I was just writing up the $300 Pro-Ject entrance TT for The Absolute Sound show report.LOL.

        • 2025-05-29 02:39:19 PM

          Come on wrote:

          I wasn’t the one thinking you lost touch, I think you just reported facts. And I think you are aware what stuff is worth the money and what not. My previous post just referred to Jeff’s arguments.

          As long as you’re also reporting where prices rise exponentially without comprehensible reason, everything’s fine ;-)

          I’m not critical of expensive gear with comprehensible effort or technology.

  • 2025-05-31 02:22:33 PM

    Demian Martin wrote:

    Its interesting to see Soulution resurecting an old concept as new: https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/transcript_the_transcriptor_transcriber_turntable.html https://www.canuckaudiomart.com/details/650121978-transcriptor-transcriber-turntable/images/5182352/