Audiophile heaven!

What I witnessed at this year's High End 2007 show, held again at the M.O.C in Munich, Germany for this attendee, set the benchmark for what audio shows ought to look, feel and sound like. Billed as Europe's largest high-end audio show - after all the eye-candy this music lover witnessed, I wouldn't consider that as sheer marketing hype. Thousands teemed through the revolving doors each of the four days with the first day (Thursday) dedicated to press only (surprisingly, that day too was packed).  In my opinion, this show rivals the previous CES events held in Las Vegas at the Alexis Park and the adjacent T.H.E Show venues. And it was easily superior to the last CES held at the Venetian Hotel.

Most importantly, this show was primarily a two-channel event!

The M.O.C. incidentally, is located right next door to luxury car manufacturer BMW. And to be honest, from the look and feel of this show it felt like a luxury ride too. Every facet of this show actually appeared as if someone gave it a second thought. From the strategically placed food-carts to the comfy sofas, this show had something I never felt from CES's I've attended: a theme that sang two-channel through its entirety. This gave the show a certain continuity which made cruising the hallways a breeze.   

Live music was available each day for show goers and from the looks of it they were quite appreciative.  

The odd and the unusual swarmed the convention floor located in the main lobby.

In case you're guessing, the crowd loved every minute of it!

Venturing upstairs to where most of the exhibit rooms are located is where the prime sonic real estate resides.                                                     

Ascendo's Jurgen Schuering aims high at the U.S. market with the debut of the Ascendo System P Quantum loudspeaker. North American importer Sam Laufer (center photo) of Laufer Teknik and his protégé Tommy Moore (left) listening intently and for good reason....

           

"One child grows up to be somebody that just loves to learn
And another child grows up to be somebody you'd just love to burn
Mom loves the both of them you see it's in the blood. Both kids are good to Mom
Blood's thicker than mud, It's a family affair, it's a family affair."

Sly and the Family Stone could not have sung it better.  Here's an interesting photo of Ascendo's extended family of loudspeakers - most notably - the all new, dressed in beautiful Zebrawood, Ascendo C8 Renaissance (far left, estimated at $7k in the US). The photo left reveals a rear dipole planar based ribbon tweeter. This the same used in their top of line series System Z an M models!

If looks could kill. I loved the look of this setup before the first song was served. The new Ascendo C8 performed way beyond what I expected at its asking price ($7k). The sound of my reference CDs were extended both in terms of soundstage depth and width that caught me off guard (compliments of that rear ambience driver no doubt). I simply couldn't believe how accurate a image the C8s threw using their coax driver assembly. From the look of this setup, one could easily see the good company Ascendo keeps with other great products. Thanks certainly have to go out to Ken Stevens' all-tube CAT amplification (photo left), Audio Aero's digital front-end, and John McDonald's Audience Au24 cabling (photo far right) along with his Adept Response AC conditioner.

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