Skip to content
High End Munich - trade fair report part 2
After concentrating primarily on Spirit Torino in part 1 of our trade fair report, we report on further exciting discoveries here.
In addition to Spirit Torino, another of our manufacturers was also represented at this year's HighEnd: Ferrum .
Ferrum
Ferrum are relatively new on the market and are still known to one or the other because of their intelligent "Hypsos" power supply, by the way a bestseller with us! The Hypsos supplies power (via splitter) to up to two devices (with the same voltage) and also improves the sound. Don't believe it? Then test it yourself, free of charge and without obligation.
The Hypsos works with most devices on the market (amps, DACs, etc.) and is already delivering Works with a large number of presets for many manufacturers. Of course, it also works excellently with Ferrum's own DAC, the fully balanced "ERCO" and their headphone amplifier "OOR".
All three together create an “all-round happy” combination that, due to its size, fits on every desk and of course in every living room. Oh yes, and the little parts look nice too. 😉😅
The ladies and gentlemen from Ferrum still have a lot planned for this year: a total of 5 new devices are being planned and when talking to Woijtek it became clear: they have many, many more ideas! A really creative team full of energy!
In-Ear
InEar from Germany actually managed to secure the rights to the term “In-Ear” as a brand name 20 years ago. And that's how long they've been around!
A family business, now run in the 2nd generation by Marius Schmitt, whose father founded the company back then.
I had some great conversations with Marius and I was immediately carried away by his attitude and passion. InEar come from the professional corner, as they have been offering in-ears for musicians and producers for a long time.
Of course there are also Universal In-Ears in the lineup, two of which I took a closer look at. ProMissionX and ProPhile8 are high-end in-ear monitors that are rather neutral in their basic tuning, but are "tuned" in their treble and bass reproduction using a mini switch on the IEMs can.
The sound is very balanced and yet has a wonderful naturalness that is just fun. What particularly impressed me was the fit: I have never had a better fit with any other in-ear on the market! Marius explained to me with a smile why that was the case.
InEar have actually analyzed over a hundred thousand ear impressions over the last two decades and used them to determine the average Central European "ideal ear" on which the fit is based. All I can say is: “Hats off!”
Here we work with dedication and passion. 🙌😊
It is very possible that InEar products will soon also find their way into Audio Essence. A personal visit to us in Zurich is already being planned. 😉🤝
Feliks Audio
Right next to the Spirit Torino stand, my eye was magically drawn to a pair of particularly beautiful tube headphone amplifiers.
I quickly grabbed my Valkyria (and my Empire Ears Odin) from Spirit Torino and disappeared into the soundproof booth of Feliks-Audio to listen to it, where Lukasz Feliks personally received me to introduce me to their works of art.
You can see it straight away: These are not factory products from the assembly line, these are handcrafted devices from the finest to the most expensive - optically and haptically beyond any doubt.
Lukasz briefly explained the lineup to me, then I plugged my Cayin N8II with a Satin Audio Perseus cable into the “thickest” tube amplifier, the Feliks-Audio “Envy”.
Wow! I had never heard anything like that - with any other amplifier, whether tube or not. 😲😱 The whole thing just sounded natural in every way. Voices, instruments, stage - everything was perfect here. And it didn't sound "tubey" at all, i.e. warm and sedate, but rather fast and crisp.
Tube at the highest level.
Unfortunately, Feliks-Audio already has a distributor in Switzerland. But: The smallest tube amp, the brand new "Echo 2", is not yet sold in Switzerland. And even this rather inexpensive tube headphone amplifier already develops a powerful sound that is addictive and doesn't have to hide behind much more expensive devices.
Want to say: We'll definitely include it in our shop if no one else wants to sell it ! 😎 On the last day of the trade fair, Lukasz quickly packed us one of her Echo 2 demo devices to take with us.
Dziękuję, Łukasz! - thank you very much! 🤝🤩
When we got home, the "Echo 2" was immediately paired with the new Spirit Torino "Pulsar" and what can I say: "Let's try it out quickly" turned into an extended listening session, which I had to end at some point due to overtiredness. All I can say is: “Wonderful”!
And else?
Of course there were a lot of other exciting things to discover at HighEnd 2022. I would just like to say this much: We had many exciting conversations and diligently made contacts! 😉
The next audio show is coming soon and it's a big one: CanJam 2022 in London is calling and there is ONLY Head-Fi here. We're there!