HIGH END Munich 2025: Our Recap

HIGH END Munich 2025 wraps up today, and after four days of moving between six listening rooms and dozens of static displays we finally have a moment to sit down and write it all up. The MOC was busier than last year, the coffee queues were longer, and several of our brands used the show to unveil products we had been hearing rumours about for months. Here is a quick recap of the launches and moments that stood out — all of it photographed from the show floor.

Audiolab — a new generation of DACs

Audiolab chose Munich to introduce a new line of digital-to-analogue converters aimed squarely at the audiophile who takes their streaming seriously. The new models carry over the company's now-familiar ES9038PRO-based architecture but add a fully reworked output stage and a considerably cleaner USB input section. In a small listening room off the main hall, we heard the top of the range paired with an 8300A integrated and a set of stand-mounters — tonally rich, detail-first, and startlingly quiet between the notes.

Linn — Klimax Solo 500 meets the 360

This was the one almost everyone came to hear. Linn brought the new Klimax Solo 500 monoblocs to Munich for their first public outing, and they were driving a pair of Linn 360 loudspeakers in a dedicated Klimax room. The combination is exactly what you would expect from Linn at its most confident — effortless at any volume, with a sense of rhythmic grip that makes familiar recordings feel newly written. Several visitors stayed for multiple tracks; a few came back the next day.

T+A — Symphonia, finally

T+A used Munich to introduce the Symphonia, a true all-in-one reference system from the company's HV division. It is the kind of product T+A only builds every few years, and the demo room in Atrium 4 was booked out for most of the show. Dynamics were unsurprisingly T+A — unhurried, authoritative, with that particular HV way of letting a full orchestra breathe. If you are curious, we will have more to share from our own showroom in the coming weeks.

Grado — the new Signature line

Grado's booth had a quieter rhythm than the amplifier rooms, but the queue for a listen to the new Signature headphone line never really shortened. The flagship HP100 SE was the centrepiece, with John Grado himself fielding questions and handing headphones across the counter. Hearing it the way Grado intends it to be heard — on their own system, with the music they chose — was one of the small highlights of the week.

Tannoy — heritage, under soft light

Tannoy's heritage room is always one of our favourites, and this year was no exception. A pair of Prestige dual concentrics in a dimly lit setup played predominantly acoustic material for most of the afternoon. It is the kind of demonstration that does not try to impress you — it just plays music, and you realise an hour has gone by.

Photo notebook

A small selection from our camera rolls across the four days — listening rooms, static displays, and a few quiet corners of the MOC between demonstrations.

What comes home

Several of the products shown at Munich will make their way into our own showroom over the next few months. If any of the launches above are on your list, let us know — we are happy to line up an audition the moment a demo unit arrives.