Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion HiFi & HT Chat High-End 2011 - who's going?

High-End 2011, Europe's biggest AV show is starting this thursday (dealer day) in Munich. Looks like some of us Meridian owners will have a little get together on Saturday there. I was wondering if anyone else is coming and would like to meet us. Meridian will be there via their German distributor, but usually some guys from Meridian HQ are around as well. Not sure what they'll show, probably the usual selection of speakers and the 4K projector.

So if anyone is interested, drop me a PM and I'll send you my cell phone number to get in touch with me at the show.

Cheers,
Stephan

Sadly can't make it as I am working in K�ln that day. Have a good time!

Hi Stephan,

I will go now on saturday.
Jaco, you will come?

Rick, what about the "rumors" that you will come?
Anybody else want to go?

Nic, forget your work

Robert

I'd love to, really I would. I have to be at WDR recording a CD. In fact I should really be practising...

Nic,

You should practising !! That means your girlfriend is watching/reading the HH forum.

Robert

No she doesn't read it. She knows I am here too much though...

Robert,

No sorry, quite busy here. Would like to meet you though.

Jaco

We need much details and photo's if there is anything new.

The only news is, that Robert wasn't there... from Meridian, nothing new. Unfortunately Roland already left on friday, so no one from Meridian was there and we were stuck with the german distributor. We had the usual pricing discussion and the distributor told me he's only making a single sale for 10 successful demos. Looks like many go my way and only purchase from UK based dealers.

They confirmed they have 30 TwinStores in stock, so if anyone is still looking, here's your chance. I was also informed that the TwinStore is not discontinued and even if that were the case, that Meridian would custom build them for the german distributor.

As far as a demo goes, it was nothing short of a joke. There pretty much was no demo. Some of the electronics and a pair of 3200 on display, all turned off. A pair of 7200 running (at least something powered up) with a C15 (turned off). So no demo at all. The german distributor decided to do his demos with Sonus Faber speakers. I really don't know what to say at this point. Meridian is a high-end company and this show is the best for showing off expensive toys as alot of people go there to blow money, so it's the best chance to sell �100k+ speakers. Meridian should really get their act together and either talk to the distributor for better presentations, better prices and better service or simply find a new distributor for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. This is really leaving me sitting there scratching my head.

I have not uploaded the photos yet, will try to do it later tonight. Otherwise, it was a nice show with lots of stuff to see. The show was about 1/3 bigger than last year. We were a little short on time as I kept bumping into people I know, so we didn't have the time to check every booth. I found it surprising that a lot of demos were really bad. Most played loud (really loud!), but the quality was terrible. I was again (same as last year) surprised by HEW (german dealer carrying Meridian and Adam Audio), which showed the baby Artist series (active versions only) from Adam with a Meridian C10. Fantastic sound for such a tiny speaker, the Artist 6 runs for only �650,-. Perfect speaker for a small living room system. Genelec was good, so was Klein + Hummel. Wilson Audio had a good demo, with a poor choice of music (my opinion only of course).

Genesis Technologies was there with a good demo and a mix of their distributed brands. Jerry from Wisdom Audio did their demo, but I was more interested in the new projector prices from DPI. Unfortunately Neil wasn't there, so I'll have to catch up with him in the next few weeks.

Very disappointed by Isophon this year. While they always had the best demo the past few years, this years didn't impress me at all. I've owed Isophon for many years, as they make some of the best speakers in the world, but this year was disappointing. The AVM booth had some Isophon speakers to show off their amps and that demo was better in my opinion. Even tho I switched to DSPs now, I'm still very interested in what Isophon is doing and Dr. Roland Gauder asked me to call him later this year when the only existing pair of their new RC11 is back in the country. It's in Korea right now at their distributor, as Korea has a very active high-end scene. The speaker itself is probably more a proof-of concept design of what can be done if money is no issue. I keep hearing around �150k for a pair. Looking forward for a longer personal demo in fall.


The show was very crowed, some of the booths were so filled up with people, it was almost impossible to get in. Personally was was looking for a new TV for my living room, where I watch regular TV and series (no movies), to replace my old Sony 70". Only Panasonic was there as a manufacturer, all the other brands (Samsung, Loewe, Sharp, etc.) were represented by various dealers. I have the Panasonic 65" VT30 now on my list and I'm still waiting to see the Samsung 65" LCD with LED backlight. There are also rumours that Sharp will bring their 70" models to europe later this year. Pro series Panasonic 85" is too expensive for my taste (�30k retail, street around �25k). Was also looking for a new rack, but besides some smaller ones which retailed for around �5k there was not much there. Will have to get some more infos on Apollo racks from the UK.

German magazine audio had a Sim2 double stack for 3D from what I've told. Didn't go there as I've seen it before and don't consider 3D to be worthwhile at all. Nice gimmick, but not necessary.

So much for now, I'll post again once I have the pics up.

Posted without comment.

@Stephan: I guess by HEW you mean these people?

Is that C15 also white, or is that reflection ?