Last weekend at the High End in Munich, one of Europe’s largest high-fidelity trade fairs, speakers were in the spotlight. Among the new releases that were announced, visitors were able to discover the new Dali Epikore 11, JBL L100 Classic MKII and the surprising McIntosh ML1 MKII floorstanding speakers.
Dali Epikore 11
The Danish manufacturer DALI, who already made a big impression last year in Munich with the DALI Kore, celebrated 40 years of loudspeaker excellence with the new DALI Epikore 11. A delight for the ears and eyes, this speaker is equipped with four 7.9″ woofers, a new 6.5″ EPIKORE midrange driver and an EVO-K hybrid tweeter module. All of this is housed in an elegant and luxurious cabinet. Its ultra-rigid design, curved lines, real wood veneer and sumptuous piano lacquer finish make it an aesthetic and acoustic masterpiece.
The Dali Epikore 11 speaker should be available in August, at around €40,000 per pair, half the price of its predecessor.
JBL L100 / L82 Classic second edition
JBL announced a “Performance Package” update to its vintage JBL L100 Classic and JBL L82 Classic speakers. Improved woofers offer better linearity and less distortion. The 1″ titanium dome tweeter in both models and the midrange in the L100 are optimized to “achieve higher levels of performance,” according to JBL. The crossover is also updated to allow bi-wiring and the terminal blocks are gold-plated.
The configuration and vintage aesthetics of these speakers remain unchanged. Lovers of the brand will find the famous Quadrex foam grilles in orange, blue or black.
These speakers should be available in the second quarter of 2023, at prices close to those of the current versions.
McIntosh ML1 MKII
Introduced in 1970, the ML1 was the first speaker made by McIntosh. It offered an amazing sound quality with high power handling and extraordinary bass. Abandoned in 1977, it is now reborn from its ashes in a new optimized MKII version.
This solid wood speaker with walnut veneer has a nice satin finish and a removable wooden grille, magnetically attached, with a black acoustically transparent fabric. This 4-way speaker uses five separate drivers to produce amazing sound. A 12″ woofer, two 4″ low-midrange drivers, a 2″ soft dome upper midrange driver and a 0.75″ titanium dome tweeter.
Designed to handle up to 600 watts, the McIntosh ML1 MKII is perfect for high-level listening sessions, driven by a powerful amplifier such as the McIntosh MC611 or McIntosh MC462.
The McIntosh ML1 MKII speaker is expected to go on sale for around €12,000 per pair, starting in July 2023.
Q Acoustics 5000 Series
Recently presented by the British manufacturer, the Q Acoustics 5000 speaker series attracted the attention of hi-fi enthusiasts at the show. A perfect blend of the Q Acoustics Concept line and the Q Acoustics 3000i series, the new Q Acoustics 5000 speaker collection promises to set new standards for music and home theater listening.
It uses an exclusive C3 Continuous Curved Cone midbass driver combined with a decoupled and mechanically isolated tweeter. The drivers are mounted in a designer cabinet that is reinforced with P2P internal braces with helmholtz resonators to ensure a natural and detailed reproduction!
Sonus Faber Stradivari Gen 2
Italian loudspeaker manufacturer Sonus Faber is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Among all the new models presented for the occasion, the second-generation Stradivari caught our eye at the High End in Munich.
Embodying the Sonus Faber philosophy and inspired by Antonio Stradivari, the world’s most famous violin maker, this speaker is beautifully finished. The woodwork adopts a new pentagonal shape, offering an improved listening experience compared to the elliptical shape of the original version.
Designed to deliver the best sound performance, this speaker features an ultra-low frequency tuning feature. This provides an exceptional acoustic experience in this register and effectively optimizes the room response.
The second generation Sonus faber Stradivari speakers will be available in red, wenge and graphite from June 2023, priced at around €50,000 per pair.
