Munich has said goodbye to the High End show with a hearty wave and one hell of a bang, as Europe's biggest hi-fi show moves to Vienna next year.
High End Munich 2025 is the annual showcase of biggest launches from the heaviest hitters in the hi-fi industry, and this year continued that trend with a raft of audio products to get mouths watering and wallets sweating nervously.
Living up to its name, many of the new hi-fi products we saw at this year's showcase have been appropriately 'high end' in price, with five- and six-figure price tags being the norm rather than the exception in the sprawling halls. However, there were a handful of products available at real-world money that we're just as much excited about as the big, shiny, flagship products with the wow factor.
The What Hi-Fi? team spent a whirlwind couple of days at the last High End Munich 2025, and below are the biggest launches and most exciting hi-fi products we encountered. From giant subwoofers and transparent turntables to elegant floorstanders and a surprise reveal from a 40+ year brand... these are our pick of the best from Munich 2025.
Burmester Reference Line
We'll start off with one of the more wallet-busting new launches we saw at High End, and perhaps one of the most minimalist yet striking looking designs.
Burmester unveiled a brand new range of Reference Line products, comprising the 257 turntable, the 249 preamplifier and the 259 stereo power amplifier.
Which one do you fancy? If you need a turntable, the 257 boasts an inverted magnetic main bearing, two high-torque motors and an optical sensor system for outstanding rotational accuracy.
Or, you could splash out on the mighty 259 power amplifier: it has a claimed power output of 500 watts into a four-ohm load, which rises to 1500 watt when used as a monoblock. And the 249 preamp is modular, with the option to add streaming, phono and extra analogue inputs
Whatever you pick, you won't get one for cheap. While we don't have official prices just yet, we do know that the entire set is likely to cost you roughly €300,000, so we're dealing in very high end territory here.
Cyrus 80 Series
It was a surprise to see a Cyrus product in full-width form. We're so used to see the British brand's hi-fi separates in the half-width 'shoebox' chassis since its inception, but that's all about to change with the upcoming 80 Series. Cyrus' first full-width hi-fi range consists of the 80 AMP streaming amplifier, the 80 PRE preamplifier and the 80 PWR power amplifier – and we got a first look at the new design in Munich.
While they're all full-width, the new 80 Series borrows the same modernised and smart-looking design that we've admired in the 40 Series, with the anodised aluminium build and touchscreen display screen.
We're particularly excited by the prospect of the 80 AMP (pictured above), which has BluOS streaming platform at its heart and features 150W per channel of Class A/B amplification. For keeping you connected to your music, it's also equipped with support for Tidal, Qobuz and Spotify, and has an MM/MC phono stage inside.
If the 80 Series can match the 40 Series line in terms of five-star performance, exciting times could lay ahead for Cyrus. The 80 Series will officially launch in November.
Gryphon Audio Antileon Revelation
It hasn't been long since we had the five-star Gryphon Audio Diablo 333 integrated amplifier in our test rooms, which impressed us with a staggering 333 watts of power per channel. Now that is a spectacular amplifier.
At High End Munich, we saw the unveiling of a new Gryphon amplifier to fill the hole left by the Diablo 333. Designed to celebrate the 30th anniversary of its Antileon Series and the 40th year of the company as a whole, the new Antileon Revelation power amplifier is available in both stereo and mono versions, delivering 160 and 180 watts per channel of Class A power respectively.
If that wasn't enough, two custom-wound 1500VA toroidal transformers are fitted to each 90kg enclosure, while a third independent power supply takes care of the dedicated digital control circuitry.
And the price? It's cost you a cool €38,000 / $45,500 / AU$64,995 when it's available later this year.
JBL Summit Series
Considering how many rugged Bluetooth speakers they make and the popularity of these portables, it's easy to forget that JBL has a serious history in the world of high-end hi-fi.
The JBL Summit Series of loudspeakers are certainly talking a good game. There are three new additions unveiled at the show, and we like the way these large speakers look, especially when fitted out with a rich ebony veneer with gold accents. The trio are named after Himalayan mountains: the Makalu, the Pumori and the Ama. They join the extraordinarily large Everest and five-star K2 speakers in the flagship range.
The Makalu and the Pumori are the floorstanders of the family, whereas the Ama are the ones to go for if you want standmounts in your life. We had the chance to hear what the Makalu were capable of, albeit in a less-than-ideal trade show setting, and they certainly seemed to be comfortable pumping out some rather rowdy German rock/techno fusion to a room of eager punters and journalists.
Prices range from £15,000 / $20,000 to £37,000 / $45,000, so you might have a small mountain to climb in terms of paying for them.
Fyne Audio F704SP
We've been immensely impressed with the speakers Fyne Audio has been producing in their short lifespan. We think the flagship F1-8 speakers are fantastic; and more recently, the Fyne Audio F501E bowled us over as excellent 'economy' speakers at their £1000 price point.
The new F704SP ('SP' stands for 'Special Production') are a more high-end proposition. Joining the F701SP, F702SP and F703SP models, the F704SP is positioned as the lead model in Fyne's latest F700SP range of speakers, and priced at £20,000 / $26,000 / €24,000, they're easily at home within the high-end halls of the MOC Event Center Messe München.
Aiming to replicate the experience of live music in your home, the F704SP use a 30cm IsoFlare driver which combines a 30cm multi-fibre bass/midrange cone with a 75mm titanium dome tweeter, plus a 30cm multi-fibre bass driver.
When combined with an upgraded crossover, more premium components, high-density birchwood cabinets and downward-firing port harnessing Fyne's 'BassTrax' diffuser system, they're an alluring prospect on paper.
We can't wait to hear them again.
Audiolab D7
We were super-keen to see Audiolab's latest additions to its stable of standalone DACs, the D7 and D9, as these models are set to follow in the footsteps of the original M-DAC, a five-star, multiple Award-winner that we still hold dear in our memories.
What surprised us was just how compact the Audiolab D7 DAC/headphone amp/preamp was in person, and we can see it easily fitting into many desktop surfaces – especially for laptop and headphone users who might be short on space.
It has a welcomingly petite footprint compared to the larger (and pricier) D9, the latter sporting a display screen and more advanced technology, circuitry and connectivity.
But the D9 has plenty going for it in its compact form. It uses the same ESS 32-bit DAC as the 7000A and 6000A MkII integrated amplifiers, supports up to 32-bit/768kHz PCM and DSD512 high-resolution files, and is Roon Tested.
There are multiple analogue and digital outputs crammed into the rear panel, including balanced XLR outputs and USB type B and type A ports.
Price at £449 / AU$999 (around $600), it goes up against strong desktop-friendly rivals such as the Chord Mojo 2 and Cambridge Audio DacMagic200M.
Mark Levinson 600 Series
Mark Levinson's 600 Series of amplifiers consists of three models, the No. 626 dual-mono preamplifier, the No. 632 stereo power amplifier and the No. 631 monoblock. We've seen them in the flesh and, while we've not heard them hooked up to an actual system, they certainly look the business, especially the No. 631 mini-tower with brooding red vertical lights.
The amplifiers use Class A/B amplification, boast multiple analogue and digital connections, and are built on Mark Levinson’s proprietary Pure Path circuit philosophy that aims to deliver "uncompromising musical purity and an engaging listening experience" thanks to discrete components chosen for specific, precise functions.
Prices range from around 24,000 / €28,000 / $25,000 to £38,000 / €44,000 / $40,000, and we are seriously impressed with the build quality and aesthetic which blends an anodised aluminium chassis with silver controls and glass panels atop each unit.
Very much a 'If Batman had a sound system' kind of affair.
Dali V-16 F
It's always exciting to see what Danish brand Dali is up to. High End Munich 2025 was a relatively busy one for Dali, heralding the arrival of a swathe of new colourways for its IO-8 and IO-12 headphones as well as its flagship Kore loudspeakers, and, as we have here, a brand new subwoofer.
The Dali V-16 F is a big boy. At 53kg, it's something of a beast, employing a wide-band, low-loss design with low harmonic and non-harmonic distortion, with Dali promising that the V-16 F has plenty of precision to go with all of that power.
With 2500 watts of Class D power, the V-16 F is billed as Dali's "most powerful subwoofer yet". The new sub's 40.5cm driver is the main attraction, incorporating aluminium for the driver diaphragm for a rigid yet lightweight design.
It goes on sale in July for a whopping price tag of £4499 (around $6000 / AU$9000).
Audio-Technica AT-LPA2
Audio-Technica has a new premium turntable, and its name is the AT-LPA2. We're always excited to see a brand record player, especially from such an established brand, and it's sweetened even furtherer by the fact that it's a completely see-through design!
Based on a limited edition AT-LP2022 that commemorated the Japanese company's 60th anniversary, the AT-LPA2 features a belt-drive design, a carbon-fibre tonearm, and comes fitted with the brand's AT-OC9XEN dual moving coil cartridge. The transparent effect is thanks to the clear acrylic chassis and platter; a separate power supply is also included.
Audio-Technica was only offering listening demos through headphones at the show, so we'll have to wait until we get a sample in our test rooms to really hear what this new spinner can do.
Want one? The AT-LPA2 is available now, for £1699 / €1999.
Eversolo Play (+CD Edition)
Now here's something a little bit different. We've been dealing in what's generally been reasonably high-end gear, especially from the likes of Burmester and Gryphon, but as ever, High End Munich also attracts emerging brands targeting more budget tranches of the market, such as WiiM and Eversolo.
The new Eversolo Play is a versatile streaming amplifier that aims to offer a seemingly-endless list of functionality to rival most hi-fi brands, and for less money. The compact form houses a Class D amplifier, and AK4493 DAC chip and Eversolo's excellent streaming platform and interface, complete with support for hi-res audio, UPnP, Tidal Connect, Qobuz, Amazon Music and more.
Physical connections are impressive too, and include HDMI ARC plus optical and coaxial inputs, a sub out and a phono input. There's even a 5.5-inch touchscreen; when seeing it at the show, it seemed just as clear, responsive and delightfully packed the Eversolo DMP-A6 music streamer that we liked using so much.
More excitingly for physical music fans, there is a CD Edition that includes a CD drive that pops out from the side.
We think that one might be rather popular, especially considering the prices. It's €699 (around £600 / $790 / AU$1200) for the standard version and €799 (around £680 / $900 / AU$1400) for the CD Edition.
Chord Electronics Ultima Phonostage
And finally, here is a product that we don't know too much about, but it makes up for it with abundance of overt styling.
Chord Electronics took the lid of the Ultima Phonostage, the new flagship phono preamplifier in its flashing Reference Ultima range.
It has a dual mono design and features the brand's Ultima technology; we've rather liked the UItima integrated and Ultima Pre 3/Ultima 6 amps, so we already have high expectations.
It supports MM and MC cartridges and you can configure the analogue inputs independently to work with up to three turntables or three tonearms.
The visual blueprint Chord's 'spaceship' aesthetic, complete with a glowing LED orb in the middle – but we were mesmerised by the two VU meters that were going full tilt during the demo.
The Ultima Phonostage will launch later this year, but we're told that the price will be around £18,000. Phew.
MORE:
High End Munich 2025 highlights: all the news and hi-fi launches
7 of the quirkiest and strangest pairs of speakers we saw at High End Munich 2025
I've had a first look at the HomePod-rivalling WiiM Sound smart speaker – and Apple should be worried
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