2019 marked the 38th consecutive staging of the HIGH END in Munich. Between 9th-12th May the show delighted some 21,180 visitors (up from 19,899 in 2018), who arrived from all over the world to find out about products and trends in the audio industry.

Visitor numbers increased by 6.5% compared to the previous year’s event. The 21,000+ visitors made their way to the Bavarian capital to gain a first-hand look at the widely-diverse audio market – from analogue to digital, tubes to solid state. Friday turned out to be the most active day for visitors, drawing several thousand music enthusiasts to the many exhibition stands.

Out of the 551 exhibitors (previous year: 530), 67% were international and presented a broad range of products at the HIGH END. Compared to the previous year, the number of companies exhibiting increased by some 3.8%. They came from 42 different countries, and the following countries were most strongly represented: the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, France, Japan, Denmark, Switzerland and China.

Trade visitors also saw an increase with a total of 8,208 from 72 countries an increase of nearly 9% more visitors compared to the HIGH END 2018. The share of international trade visitors was, in fact, 75%. The lion’s share of international visitors came from European countries other than Germany, with a significant focus on the UK, Italy, France and Switzerland. Additionally, Asian and American trade visitors were also highly represented.

The Managing Director of the HIGH END SOCIETY Service GmbH, Stefan Dreischärf, expressed his great satisfaction on how the exhibition turned out and told StereoNET:

This year, the HIGH END was once again a complete success. The significant year-on-year rise in visitor statistics proves that with the many innovations, we were able to generate enthusiasm among both trade visitors and consumers. The event impressively conveyed and embodied this year’s main theme, ‘Enjoy the Music.’

This year’s brand ambassador and special guest of the HIGH END, Steven Wilson, exemplifies this living, professional link between technology and music at the highest level. Like no other contemporary musician, Wilson enjoys success both behind the microphone and in front of the mixing console. Visitors to High End Munich were able to meet the British musician at an autograph session of his special-edition “Home Invasion: In Concert at the Royal Albert Hall” 5-LP box set. A huge turnout and a seemingly endless line formed in front of the autograph signing table. Steven Wilson also took time out for a few selfies and a walking tour of the exhibition.

Another highlight on Friday was the presentation of the honorary prizes for the Munich music producer Eva Mair-Holmes as well as the musician and graphic designer, Klaus Voormann. The jury of the German Record Critics’ Award association (PdSK) had selected both of them as 2019 honorary laureates, and they were recognised within the scope of the “Quartet of Critics” expert discussion. During this event, their recordings were demonstrated on a high-quality system, accompanied by both laureates’ anecdotes to the recordings.

A video press conference with Jennifer Warnes was staged immediately afterwards. The Grammy and Oscar winner presented her new album “Another Time, Another Place” and was available via live link from sunny California to field journalists’ questions. We really enjoyed the exclusive playback of the album in the Magico room.

Long awaited by many music aficionados with great anticipation, music demonstrations of exquisite quality from the “Music without limits” series took place once again this year. The Saturday afternoon event featured guest French horn player and Echo prize winner Felix Klieser. He brought along his new album with all horn concertos from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, naturally also on vinyl. Klieser did not pass up the opportunity to play live and to enthral visitors with spontaneous interpretations.

Additionally, drawing crowds (especially when the sun was out) was the Dynaudio Unheard Studio. The Danish loudspeaker specialist Dynaudio and the organisers of the HIGH END offered music artists the unique opportunity to achieve a significant breakthrough. The Dynaudio Unheard Studio is a state-of-the-art recording system, installed in shipping containers, equipped with the latest technologies, which was positioned outside between Halls 3 and 4. Visitors had a full view inside a completely glassed-in front and, thanks to a high-performance front-of-house installation, were also able to hear all the music being produced inside.

The Chairman of the Board of the HIGH END SOCIETY, Jürgen Timm, enthused:

It is once again impressive to see that this is the ‘place to be’ for the audio industry. Consumers’ fascination for good music and the continued interest in high-fidelity music reproduction were reflected by the heavier involvement of outstanding musicians such as Steven Wilson. Thus, in 2020, the HIGH END will again be a must-see event.

The HIGH END LECTURE SERIES was once again held in the large demonstration room K2A, inviting visitors to learn and emulate concepts and methods at home. Many high-calibre speakers reported on selected topics and enjoyed by all present. Among the most heavily-visited focus topics were the lectures by LowBeats, “Comparing hi-fi online – the virtual auditory room”, “Better placement of loudspeakers – understanding your space” from Dynaudio or the lecture by the successful YouTuber Hans Beekhuyzen, “A simple two-step approach on loudspeaker placement”.

If like us, you were not able to get to some of these presentations, the great news is that HIGH END will be making the presentations available on their YouTube channel and their website.

Save the date

The next HIGH END Munich will take place from May 14th to 17th, 2020 again in the exhibition area of the MOC.

Here's a recap of High End Munich 2019.

High End Munich Show Report Part 1

High End Munich Show Report Part 2

High End Munich Show Report Part 3

High End Munich Show Report Part 4

High End Munich Show Report Part 5

High End Munich Show Report Part 6