The MBL speakers are really odd looking.
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I know someone who is a friend with Fremer and he told me wearing a press badge and tagging along with him magically the door opens anywhere they went. 
P.S. Did you bring your GF?
One gets the sense that when you go hi-end (perhaps an uncertain term in what performance you get?!), what’s on offer is equally jewellery, as much as it is hi-fi.
…and trying to get a dem of some of the higher-end kit can be very difficult (sometimes 1 UK distributor), with the obvious ‘if you have to ask the price, you cannot afford it!’ aspect.
It seems some of the hi-end stuff isn’t sold as much as brokered, with the manus doing the install etc, (as appears to be the case with some Statement installations).
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I wasn’t at Munich this year so it’s great to read other people’s experiences (thanks Bertbird) but I was there last year for the entire 4 days and it was so jaw droppingly gigantic that there were multiple rooms I didn’t even get inside. I didn’t even eat lunch or stop for a beer for a single day and was there from around 10am until closing at 6pm every day and came away feeling I had barely scratched the surface!! It’s akin to Walt Disney World Florida, you might have been to other amusement parks like Alton Towers but when you get to Disney it’s a whole different paradigm in terms of scale and professionalism.
The thing about Munich though is that for all the concerns about demo rooms and sound quality it really is a stunning experience that every audiophile should do at least once. As Gazza noted it really demonstrates how much kit we don’t even get to see or hear in the UK. The audio world is far larger than anyone can comprehend really and there’s some really revolutionary stuff there.
Coming from the airline industry as my main job with its huge mega-carriers and global market reach I tended to think of the audio world as quite a small almost cottage industry affair. A trip to Munich soon challenges that perspective in a way that no other show can. It’s deeply impressive and hugely inspiring just how much money and brain power is evidently being expended on furthering the state of the art in music reproduction. As an example I was told that the bare minimum to even be there as an exhibitor is about £60k while many of the larger firms will have invested double that or more to showcase their wares for just four days. Clearly there’s money to be made in high-end hi-fi despite what the doomsters would have you believe.
The nearest equivalent show in the UK is the Ascot show I suppose but that’s probably one tenth of the size of Munich. The MOC venue is just unbelievably enormous. Each exhibition hall is about the size of a football pitch and the show is spread across about 4 halls some of which have up to 3 floors - it’s almost beyond nuts but utterly brilliant at the same time!!
As a place to immerse yourself in audio and music totally, to hear your first million dollar system, to experience the state of the art and to revel in the sheer diversity of human endeavour it’s incomparable. As I say everybody that loves music and audio should go at least once - it really is perhaps the ultimate ‘lads weekend’ lol!!
JonathanG
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Look at it this way, when you go to a motor show, you also can’t drive the cars either so don’t know what they are really like.
Trade shows have value as long as you treat them is easy one-stop market research under one roof. No trade show for anything is a shop floor or a dealer’s showroom.
I belief you very well cover what it’s about and the enormous size and the scope of what you can see there. I also belief that even with four full days it would still not be possible to cover everything in a serious manner as I try to do…., thanks for bringing your perspective across.
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Will continue with the report on Friday again, a bit busy now. Keep on replying then so I can complete the report soonest….
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Ouch, edge damage. I wonder if it’s very fragile, or has someone just been clumsy?
Thanks once again Bert; your views and descriptions are excellent & really appreciated by those who cannot be there in person. Thanks for taking the time & trouble.
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I did see an online video with some random bloke picking it up and turning it around in one hand while holding camera in the other, which would irk me somewhat if I were Naim.
If that’s indicative of the treatment it’s been getting for a few days then no surprise!
Easy repair for Naim back at factory.
Maybe, but undoubtedly not what you want to have on a showcase exhibition like this.
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Am I blind - I could not see any damage. Upper right corner?
Yes, slight damage to chrome bumper edge, upper right to upper middle.
Part 1 _ Michael Fremer
Part 2 _ Michael Fremer
Thanks for this - it is great. And thanks for your reporting - much appreciated once again. Looking forward to further instalments.
Takes us back to 1972 then 
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Overview of what is happening in the HIFI world…to be honest not so much in my opinion…, I don’t need a noisy and crowdy circus like this to be up to date…
Good to see what won the awards for the best kit, rooms, etc.
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