5 of the most exciting hi-fi teasers we've seen for the High End Munich 2025 show
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The High End Munich 2025 show kicks off soon on May 15
Chord Electronics and iFi Audio have teased mysterious new products
Luxury cartridges, headphones and Qobuz Connect will star too
High End Munich is where the audio world shows off some of the latest and greatest audio equipment for audiophiles, often with price tags of the "if you have to ask, you can't afford it" variety.
And while it's true that some of the equipment you'll see at the show costs more than a helicopter made of diamonds, it's a fascinating insight into the world of ultra-high-end hi-fi.
This final event from Munich – it's moving to Vienna next year – is genuinely exciting, and some manufacturers are already teasing what they'll be showing next week. Here are five teasers of hi-fi heaven worth looking out for.
British high-end pro audio brand Chord Electronics describes its Ultima Reference range of pre-amps and power amps as "our absolute pinnacle of audio engineering", and it's teasing a "groundbreaking" new product that will be a "showstopper" at High End Munich.
So what is it? It's definitely analogue, it's going to be a flagship product, and it's apparently state-of-the-art, too. That's all we know so far, but it'll be unveiled by company founder John Franks, and we'll see it on the first day of the event, May 15.
Meze Audio make some beautiful and unusual headphones, and the new 105 SILVA promise "exquisite design" and "the next major step forward for audio innovation".
The new headphones have 50mm dynamic drivers with cellulose composite domes and titanium-covered surrounds, and Meze says the sound signature "is a new take on Meze Audio's iconic characteristics, including the technicalities of 109 PRO combined with the warmth and genre versatility of 105 AER."
They're likely to be somewhat pricier than the more consumer-focused, open-backed and wired 105 AER cans ($399 / £369 / AU$799 a pair) we saw recently, but we're intrigued all the same.
Nagaoka makes the highly regarded MP-200 cartridge as well as the MP-110 that came pre-fitted in the Fluance RT85N turntable.
For the High End Munich 2025 show it'll be unveiling its new flagship, the MP-700, which will apparently deliver "ever more refined and accurate sound reproduction, bringing listeners closer to the original performance."
Naturally, it won't exactly be a bargain, with the price expected to be $1,399 / £1,149 (around AU$2,400) when it becomes available later this month. But it certainly looks a fitting way for the company to celebrate its 85th birthday.
iFi Audio promises to launch "two new travel audio essentials – both for in-flight and in-car sound".
We're excited about that, because we really rate iFi's DACs: our most recent iFi review, of its flagship Valkyrie DAC, raved about its "staggeringly complete sound". It's not exactly portable, though, so we're all ears when it comes to these new products.
Qobuz, which is arguably the best music streaming platform for hi-res audio, is having a press conference on Thursday 15 May. Could this finally be the official launch of the long-awaited Qobuz Connect?
The feature is similar to Spotify Connect in that it lets you control your Qobuz playback remotely on compatible hardware. It's been in beta for a while and started appearing for non-beta app users earlier this week, which would make the High End Munich 2025 show a good place for a bigger reveal.
An official launch would likely coincide with more manufacturers announcing support and releasing the appropriate firmware updates.
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How did you maintain harmony while navigating creative disagreements? That definitely happened. Early on, I struggled to give feedback to artists. I wasn't great at saying, 'Hey, try this.' Sometimes I didn't trust my ideas, or I wasn't sure I had the idea. So I'd let them do their thing while I made the music. It still felt collaborative, but I got a bit more comfortable speaking up by the end of creating the album. I'm shy, and sometimes I feel my ideas aren't the best. Maybe I'm still healing from past trauma where collaborators told me my ideas sucked. That shattered me and made me not want to speak up. But sometimes their ideas are better—so it's about merging ideas. I never want it 100% me or them. I'd rather have a 50/50 approach to show it's truly collaborative. From a listener's perspective, it's hard to imagine you struggling with that, especially with the album's cohesive flow. And it also marks the return of your brother Lou Phelps as a featured artist. 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He wasn't on my previous albums either, though he wanted to be, which was a scandal for my mom. She asked, 'Why not put your brother on?' But it didn't feel right until now. Lou was ready, and 'Call You Up' was just a demo of his that I grabbed for the album. This journey took understanding, communicating better, and maturity. We still collaborate. The Celestics haven't broken up. Lou's always been around. In both of your growth processes, you saw that family is family, and we just need to let them have space to be them. Exactly. Lots of patience and maturity. There's a vulnerability in that which extends to TIMELESS and its danceability. I told a homie some tracks feel like 'crying while dancing on the dance floor.' How'd you balance emotional weight while giving people something to move to? Life experiences, plus my favorite disco and boogie songs are often heartbreak anthems that are still upbeat. 'You broke my heart, but I'm going to be okay,' type songs. Think heavy instrumentation, bass, strings, drums — like seven or eight minutes, giving you a breakdown that feels so emotional. That's what inspired me. That was always my type of music. I've always loved danceable sad songs, with big chords and heavy drums but also a vulnerable message. Also, on TIMELESS , I explored more R&B, so some songs lean purely that way. That emotion also comes through on 'Stepped On,' where you follow in the footsteps of J Dilla and Madlib's Quasimoto by putting your voice on the track. What made you express yourself that way — where you're even more vulnerable than being behind the track? Pure self-expression. Nobody else has the melodies or ideas I have for my music, except maybe my brother. My beats are upbeat, but I don't always want house-style vocals. Sometimes I want it off-grid, like Raekwon or Q-Tip. In today's industry, people are often on the beat or even ahead of it, so I decided to do it myself. Also, as a Black gay man, I asked, What would I sing about? On 'Stepped On,' I wrote about a breakup and my personality as a yes-man—just feeling stepped on. The lyrics came easily. Being on tour with The Weeknd pushed me, too. I thought, I'm going to try to write a song for The Weeknd to challenge myself. During Bubba , I had demos singing with Thundercat playing bass; I wasn't confident, but everyone said, 'You sound good, Kevin.' I was like, really? Eventually, outside compliments—and compliments from somebody I was dating—pushed me to take it seriously. Now I have more demos stashed. 'Stepped On' was my test to see if people would like it, and it worked. In previous interviews, you've mentioned referencing punk, new wave, noise and genres known for being subversive and pushing sonic and cultural boundaries. How did they become tools for you to push your own or society's boundaries? In those genres, you don't need a perfect singer. It's purely self-expression, often dark, nighttime vibes. I found a link to some sub-genres of hip-hop—Dilla, Black Milk, Madlib—because they'd sample synthy new wave tracks, making them sound funky, electronic, but still hip-hop. When I started searching for those samples, I really listened and realized, They're just expressing themselves with synths and drum machines. They're not trying to stand out by doing something over-the-top or calling in extra producers. They're just being themselves. That was inspiring. I wanted that formula for my vocals: no rigid approach, just expression. Right, it's about letting go of those boundaries. In a way, you're paying homage to new wave/noise's ethos: Get on a track, say what you need to say, and move on. Exactly. TIMELESS is like a time capsule. Listening to those '80s and '90s artists, they'd just make an album—12 songs, here's how I feel. It could be their best album, their worst, or mid. Who cares? It's how they express themselves. I want my future albums to be that way, too. Not, 'Oh my God, gotta create the biggest album and do the biggest rollout.' No, just express yourself. Don't overthink it. Frankie Knuckles once quoted Robert Owens, saying, 'Give me roses while they're dead because I can't use them when I lay.' As an artist whose evolution has been visible, do you think you're getting the recognition you deserve, or is it too early to call? I'm still learning. I also feel not everyone hears what I'm doing—listeners can be lazy, skimming tracks too fast, creating quick judgments. So a part of me feels I have something to prove, but at the same time, I don't. Music is self-expression. I do it for myself and the people who are waiting for more—not for those who don't like it.
