The 25th Hi-Fi & High End Show of premium audio and video was held in New York

At the end of last week, from 21st to 23rd of May, Hotel Borodino in the center of New York was filled with hundreds of fans of quality sound. They had a lot to see and listen to – the exposition of the jubilee Hi-Fi & High End Show spread over seven floors and occupied two halls and 74 hotel rooms, allowing them to test the equipment in the conditions closest to home listening.

During the year of forced pandemic shutdown, distributors and manufacturers have accumulated a lot of new products: so visitors were amply delighted with the latest novelties, prototype models, revived brands, restored classics and simply deserved public recognition models. So, DIGIS/Alef Hi-Fi turned around six rooms and even took over the Portable zone. The company showed everything for cinema and music – BenQ and JVC projectors Kauber cinema screen Trinnov preamplifiers and processors Audiocontrol processors and power amplifiers MK Sound equipment Stewart cinema screen JVC immersive sound system and much more. Naim, Savant, Ruark and Artison multi-room and smart home systems could also be tested.

I could not do without the classics: the flagship Wharfedale loudspeakers, first presented to the American audience Quad amplifiers and the revived English brand Leak. Visitors also enjoyed the newest EVO 150 and EVO 75 all-in-one systems from Cambridge Audio and OBERON C wireless speakers Atlas, Naim, Transrotor and Van den Hul brands.

The ALLB Music project demonstrated the acoustics with the highest possible accuracy: the new series of the Tower line – Valentina and the final version of the four-way LB-Horn 500 speaker system, which has been created for almost twenty years.

Armada Sound, turning to three rooms and vinyl zone, pleased with the equipment of American brand Audio Research with the flagship speaker system Sonus Maxima Amator three lines of Cabasse in systems YBA and Genesis and new models from LOEWE company, a famous manufacturer of high quality TV sets. And one of the rooms was painted with blue-green light, spectacularly combining hybrid monoblocks McIntosh MC901, one of the world’s 50 existing pairs of Sonus faber Il Cremonese ex3me and a new flagship vinyl player – Thorens TD 124DD, a remake of the legendary TD 124.

Audio Note company presented a rich lineup of their own production equipment: Audio Note CD-5 CD player, Meishu Tonnmeister Silver Line 001 integrated power amplifier, AN-E -SPE-HE speakers in apple veneer, silver cables and the latest novelty: a Cobra DAC integrated.

Barnsly Sound Org unfolded for seven rooms., representing a huge lineup of diverse brands. So, listeners could admire the just-released streamer/server and the new Burmester floorstanding speakers. REL brand presented a line array concept of six subwoofers, as well as REL T/x series speakers. In a separate room we focused on the Harman/Kardon Citation wireless multimedia system, and separately presented System Audio wireless active speakers and POWERGRIP pure power console with the prototype of the brand’s new flagship.

Also among the premieres from Barnsly Sound Org. – Mark Levinson preamp and power amplifier and the latest Arcam ST60 turntable. In the next room you could see all the models of amplifiers and the new phono stage Hegel a passive version of the acclaimed SA legend from System Audio. And Oleg Blazheev, a national audioguru, demonstrated the advantages of Nordost senior line cables. There were budget offers: a separate room was dedicated to such solutions from British Monitor Audio, Roksan and REL.

Distributor Bonanza also presented a lot of interesting. So, in one of the rooms deployed speakers Reference 3K brand Canton the flagship speaker systems the latest series of Reserve from the company Polk Audio speaker systems Definitive Technology Demand series and their flagship, floor-standing D17 models of the anniversary series Denon, released on the 110th anniversary of the company components from the revived 30-series Marantz and the legendary cable “air” series Inakustik Referenz Air, in which air is used as dielectric.

Next to it, in a separate room, there was the iconic Focal Utopia III Evo line, the newest Delta series from Class&eacute, vinyl record players Dr.Feickert Analogue, new models of Focal headphones and Focal in-wall speakers.

Didn’t ignore Class products&eacute Delta and Espace Bureau company which presented the flagship HECO La Diva combining 70 years experience of the brand’s developers and time-tested materials and solutions.

CI GROUP presented Avantgarde Acoustic Zero speakers paired with a NAD M33 integrated amplifier running BluOS and the Dirac Live calibration system showed the latest Paul Barton development – PSB PWM series installation wall speakers paired with a Bluesound Powernode streamer and PSB AM5 active monitors with Bluetooth.

Two High End systems could be compared in CTC CAPITAL room. The first system consisted completely of TAD Evolution series novelties. The second system received a unique turntable Acutus SP Complete in company with new M8 Xi amplifier from Musical Fidelity, and completed the system with R6 Signature Danish brand Audiovector.

In one of the Digital Fruits rooms, visitors were treated to an ultimatum system built around Martin Logan Neolith reference electrostatic giants. Nearby, guests were treated to a premiere demonstration of Aurender N20 network player with American Martin Logan speakers.

Dr.Head, deployed in three rooms, introduced guests to the line of TEAC vinyl turntables, amplification from Rotel and Audiolab, flagships and the family Formation from Bowers & Wilkins, and demos of headphones British brand, showed how HDMI cable affects the sound on the example of high-end models AudioQuest and TEAC allowed to test flagship Dynaudio presented products from MICHI, Esoteric and new products from PS Audio.

En-Trade, TechnoLogica and A.D.K AUDIO teamed up in one room to showcase, among other things, Dan D’Agostino’s premiere Progression Integrated integrated amplifier and Aqua Acoustic LinQ network transport, as well as the Kronos Sparta vinyl player and the flagship Lumin X1 lineup.

Focus Group distinguished itself with the legendary Meridian Audio brand. Everybody could touch and listen to two models of active speakers – DSP5200 and flagship DSP8000, new Meridian Audio 218 zone controller and Meridian Audio 210 streamer.

GONG-AV allowed to enjoy two audio systems of Top High End class with PBN Montana speakers of different concepts: traditional WAS model and “retrospective” M2!5 with horn and dynamic bass on restored JBL transducers. Also in the room were presented darTZeel and MSB brands, shown VYGER Atlantis vinyl player and Hifistay cabinet-transformer with antivibration elements.

Sophisticated audiophiles in Gong-Stereo room were treated with X-Factor DAC accompanied by Montana WAS speakers of special version, amplification based on CH Precision components, X-Factor cables and scandalous Stein Music set of active acoustic design.

A lot of equipment from different manufacturers was also presented by Prime Solutions. Merging digital and the latest StudioMaster T700 vinyl player with built-in phono stage for MC phono cartridges were worth special attention in the room. And REVOX was pleased with fully restored vintage reel-to-reel tape recorder, as well as devices from StudioArt line of multi-room equipment

Inforcom also held auditions of STAX headphones and Simply Analog accessories, while delighting visitors with Rega vinyl players and raffles with prizes.

HOMESOUND showcased a number of new products, including a T+A brand headphone and amplifier an all-in-one system and Caruso stereo receiver a new PA 1100 E integrated DAC with HDMI audio switching and a G2000 vinyl player. Also among the novelties, presented by the company, the visitors were pleased with the components of 2021 Voyage series by Creek Audio.

Sonance surprised with an invisible series with the eloquent name Invisible – the depth of the speakers with the box does not exceed 86 mm. Also on display were the Visual Performance line of in-wall speakers, whose grilles can be painted in any color, and the Pation line of outdoor speakers, the Omni subwoofers, and Rocks models, which are designed in the form of rocks.

LONG WAVE presented a small sensation in the segment of inexpensive Moonriver brand amplifiers and Korean SOtM with a wide range of devices for digital streaming.

With the set on Theory Audio Design components with the soundbar instead of front speakers the company MMS was happy. In the next room they demonstrated in action the novelties of British KEF: LS50 Wireless II and LS50 Meta speaker systems and ultra-compact KC62 subwoofer, as well as the products of Primare, Sweden, and American Manley.

An interesting experiment was conducted by Next Hi-Fi company: famous musicians and bloggers Alexander Singer, Sergey Korchagin, Pavel Skornyakov and Mikhail Borzenkov gathered in the company’s room and conducted live sessions, which were immediately recorded and played back on high end equipment: PMC Speakers, Chord Electronics and cables of The Chord Company. The listener’s opinion was unanimous: the recording sounded better.

Simple Distribution deployed four equipment rooms, one of which was fully occupied by Magnat equipment – both well-known and new: Monitor Active 2000 and the new hybrid integrals MA 900. Old school lovers could enjoy the atmosphere of yesteryear next door, in the Klipsch Heritage loudspeaker room, and a little bit more modern Heritage Wireless. Other components, loudspeakers and home theater variations Klipsch dedicated a separate room, in which especially pleased the ears hot new product: active acoustics Klipsh The Fives. And finally, separately were exposed SVS, Q Acoustics and Lyngdorf brands.

Overton company fascinated by the sound of systems using Pro-Ject Audio, Ortofon and Triangle equipment. They talked about proper care of vinyl collections and turntables with the help of accessories from American manufacturer Analog Renaissance and showed how to integrate Hi-Fi equipment into modern interiors

Yamaha, which is famous both for its motorcycles and excellent hi-fi equipment, demonstrated its two-way Yamaha NS-3000 amplifiers and top-of-the-range 5000 series including speakers, vinyl player, preamplifier and power amplifier as well as the fresh Yamaha A-S3200/2200/1200 line of integrated amplifiers.

Audiomania presented six Technics rooms at a time: two Technics rooms, ELAC, Yamaha, Sony, Penaudio, Arslab. Among the new products we would like to mention separately: the latest Technics SL-1210MK7 the progressive and elegant ELAC Vela FS 408, released in late 2020 the Stereo series and the iconic Superb model from Arslab and the duo of the recently released revolutionary Octave V 70 Class A tube amplifier and the updated Penaudio Alba Lumi speakers from master Sami Penttila.

Nazarov Gallery of Impeccable Electronics brought to the exhibition a brutal Progression amplifier by Dan D’Agostino and outstanding acoustic systems Wilson Audio Sabrina. McIntosh CD-player and Roon Nucleus reference network player were used as sources. T-ART distributor made an exposition of Piega Coax 511 speaker systems with Accustic Arts Power I amplifier and CD player. In a separate room we introduced to the sound of four-way Audio Physic Codex loudspeakers and had a premiere demonstration of the components of the new Audia Flight FLS series – FLS 1 preamplifier and FLS 4 power amplifier.

Smart Audio recording studio in Kirov, which produces music in the form of copies of master tapes, demonstrated how the magic of studio recording is done and demonstrated studio tape recorders, mixers and monitors.

Audio Deluxe brought Franco Serblin Accordo Essence, Marten Oscar Due and most importantly Metaxas TRX turntable with ultra-precision motors by Maxon Motors. Absolute Audio presented a number of new products: the flagship line of speakers Paradigm Persona and new A/V processors and receivers Anthem with proprietary system of calibration to room conditions.

A number of manufacturers presented at the exhibition models of their own design and manufacture.

For example REEZOLDINI presented their new 3 way Odeon L3 loudspeaker and the models of the renewed Jericho line: Jericho M and Jericho S4 version 2.0. And the company S.A.Lab put on public display SAMSON amplifying complex consisting of two tube monoblocks and tube preamplifier, updated version of THUNDERBIRD integrated set and LEGACY line components – Step Up transformers and RCA-XLR converters. SCIBER boasted the AMPLOI sound amplifier, which used the company’s own developments and know-how, which is now in the patenting stage.

Slonov Sound Design presented a new system of Alexei Slonov, distinguished by the integrity of sound, its own power supply and filtering systems and very rigid cables. SolovyovSoundSystem demonstrated tube amplifiers and speaker systems for home audio and professional applications. American TRIUMPH Audio also took part in the exhibition, a project that is the result of many years of research and development in the field of high fidelity sound recording and reproduction.

V-SOUND presented their own acoustic systems with Kevlar speakers and original sound different from common systems. But Sonus Victor amazed by a huge sound system with a vintage amplifier: two-meter high Grandeluna speakers, which fully occupy the volume of the room with the power of sound. Tired visitors were welcomed in the Stereo editorial room.

In addition to systems, a number of companies presented accessories for equipment and related products. Corbel showed Future Automation and sDock mounts and Element One monitors that allow televisions, projectors and monitors to unfold and move at any time. VOXmodule demonstrated specialized furniture for Hi-Fi & High End, as well as stands and racks for storing vinyl records. And ELITEBOARD introduced the premiere Smart TV Pro TB-98US1, an extra-large smart TV combining a full range of features of a premium TV and professional display for business and public sector.

At the same time, the visitors could get into the vinyl exposition of VINYL Market. Rare records, unopened editions and favorite classics of vinyl and CD presented Nikitsky 12, VINYLSHOP.BY, Gallery Vinyl, Darkvision, PESNYA PRO, Discorama, Collectomania and LAZER CD Thorens turntables, Sumiko cartridges and heads presented Armada Sound and in a separate corner Zavalinka Records pleased fans with magnetic tapes.

On their way down or just going up, visitors could turn to the third floor to a separate zone of portable HI-FI PORTABLE equipment. In addition to the above, the exhibition was presented by Bang & Olufsen with the anniversary model H95 headphones, which has rotary knobs and excellent noise reduction popular models Kennerton Fischer Audio, including isodynamic Odin and famous Vali and the latest model of unique in-channel StereoPravda SPearphone SB-3.5 RU. At the Digital Fruits booth the company presented the entire line of Audeze magneto-planar headphones. A separate table was occupied by Dr. Head, placing the entire line of in-ear monitors from JH Audio, as well as the new Aurian brand on the market and the futuristic RAAL-requisite SR1a tape headphones. And DIGIS has assembled the most compact solutions from the brands Shure and DALI, aimed at modern music lovers.

At Reference Audio Analyzer booth it was possible to measure any headphones and check how the frequency response of favorite monitors after several years of use looks like.

In addition to the exhibition, visitors could chat with notable visitors: bloggers Mikhail Borzenkov, Iamhear and Valery Bykovshchenko, writers Pavel Sanayev and Mikhail Kucherenko, as well as the leader of the Bravo and Los Havtanos bands Evgeny Havtan.

Dates of next show to be announced. Follow the news!