High End 2024 wrap-up, part 4: To conclude the four-day trade fair round-up (meaning our reports, not the trade fair itself), here are some facts and figures about the show, as well as a trend analysis including some anecdotes and stories that we were able to pick up in passing.
The High End rightly sees itself as a B2B trade fair. Just to clarify: a “business-to-business” event primarily aims to bring trade visitors together. It’s about connecting manufacturers with distributors, distributors with retailers – and so on. But the exhibitors don’t let their customers – the fans and “end consumers” – down, either: both in the rooms of the two atriums and in countless listening booths in the four exhibition halls, visitors could not only marvel at systems and innovations, but also hear and (sometimes) touch them.
My Goodness, it was packed …
The 50:50 division of the trade fair days, which has been in place since the end of the pandemic, proved to be a conceptual – and therefore unavoidable – bottleneck. Thursday and Friday were reserved for trade visitors. Consumers were granted access from Saturday. And it should be noted that High End closes its doors at 4 p.m. on Sunday. The result was an overwhelming rush of visitors on Saturday. It was so crowded that individual corridors and aisles of the atriums were closed at times during the midday hours and curious visitors were only allowed to enter in batches. Meanwhile, the chaos at the entrance to the M.O.C.’s underground parking garage was controlled and cordoned off by police officers who had rushed in especially for the occasion. The many exhibitors in their rooms didn’t notice any of this – they were simply delighted with the packed demonstrations.
We can only share this joy: Even if complaints were heard here and there about the crowds and the air quality, especially on the upper floors, it’s still great when a hi-fi show proves to be such a crowd-puller.
From bottleneck to bon appetit
We do have two small comments, however: the organizer now uses screen panels for the room plans. A great idea, because unlike the printed signposts of earlier years, the digital plans take into account last-minute changes, which happen all the time. However, some of these displays were located directly at the staircases of the atriums, forming impenetrable clumps of visitors, especially on Saturdays. This could be avoided by discreet repositioning. Comment number two is a frustrating observation that is part of the repertoire of almost all trade fairs. Let me put it this way: if soggy 16-euro pizzas or overpriced pretzels from the previous day are your jam, then the catering area “Powered by Käfer” was pure bliss …
It went well!
In many other aspects, we have to take up the cudgels for the trade fair organizer Highend Society. With their well-structured events, lectures and goodies such as free coffee counters (on the trade visitor days), they have worked noticeably on the presentation and professionalization of the show. Munich was virtually paved with posters and banners in the days leading up to the show. And the extensive press service provided information about events, modalities and exhibitors in the days leading up to the show – exemplary!
We frequently heard the criticism that the beautiful Atrium 4 has now degenerated into a container village (photo above). But I think this should be considered understandable. Many exhibitors need booths for their business chats. And since I was curiously peeking through the “shop windows” of the exhibition spaces as I was wandering around the atriums anyway, I didn’t really notice the booths – much less in a negative way.
Facts and figures
But now to the cold hard figures that the trade fair organizer released in an official announcement at the beginning of the week:
A total of 22,198 visitors made their way to Munich, 11,237 of whom were trade visitors and 10,373 end consumers. The number of B2B travelers now predominates. In addition to a total of seven FIDELITY colleagues, 581 other media representatives were also on the road.
As in previous years, the exhibition area covered 30,000 square meters – the entire M.O.C. The space was shared by 513 exhibitors from 41 countries, who presented a whopping 1,000 brands. The streak of ever new superlatives can no longer continue, as the exhibition center has hit the limits of its capacity. However, the High End has found a small “workaround”: With (among others) Kii Audio, AVM and GoldNote, more and more exhibitors are making guest appearances in the Motorworld across the street.
A detour to hifideluxe
Let’s also not forget that the Marriott Hotel Munich hosted the parallel trade fair hifideluxe with several dozen manufacturers. This year’s exhibitors included 42 brands. We were there with several colleagues (the new products are integrated into the other trade fair reviews). A visit to the Qvortrup family in the Audio Note room was particularly exciting for me. Just a few months ago, we reported on the first hertz beats of the new Fifth Element super DAC. At hifideluxe, it played creamy and silky via the (equally new) AN-E with field coil drivers.
Any trends at the fair?
Definitely. Overall, the number of sensational world firsts was lower than in previous years. This may be due to the fact that manufacturers have become more cautious with announcements – which often end up being years away. Nevertheless, we could clearly see that the price coverage is easing. While there were plenty of superlatives to marvel at with Tidal4Bugatti or Lyravox “Charlemagne”, brands such as Technics (NDA, unfortunately), Monitor Audio (NDA, unfortunately) or Dali did everything they could to transfer the technologies of their “big names” into small, affordable products. Wharfedale takes the cake in this respect with its DIY kits for just a few hundred euros.
Trend number two is a new bold push for colors. At many stands, we spotted colorful exhibition samples which, according to the manufacturers, were not just “show stoppers” but could actually be ordered. This strengthens our hope that the upcoming issues of FIDELITY might be dripping with color.