Day 1 - High-End Show, Munich, 2023

The centre of Munich is deadly quiet, and all the shops are shut. It's Ascension Day, a German holiday commemorating Jesus's ascension to heaven. This means no morning coffee and a smattering of German men in traditional Bavarian dress. The only sign of humanity is the steady stream of music lovers heading to Munich High-End 2023. It has some of the biggest and best hi-fi on the planet with over 800+ audio brands housed in a gigantic exhibition hall 20 minutes north of the centre. On this religious day, we're hoping for a musical epiphany ourselves.

YG Acoustics Room

We arrive and head to the YG Acoustics listening room to catch the world debut of their new Reference 3 range of loudspeakers. Nearly every component in these speakers has been improved: from the Lattice tweeter to the custom-made crossovers - all helping to reduce distortion and produce a wider sound dispersal. YG Acoustics are renowned for using simulation, measurement, and thousands of hours of listening to engineer speakers that recreate the emotion of live music.

Reference 3 Loudspeakers

First up are the Hailey 3.2 floor stander loudspeakers with Burmester electronics. The drivers on the Hailey’s are designed to be perfectly matched - with an even amplitude & phase response. It sounds like one unified driver, creating a sweet spot and soundstage that is both deep and wide. The scale is off the charts. We tried every seat on the front row, and the sound was identical, no matter our seating position. And what a sound it is - very lifelike, clean and detailed, but crucially with warmth and soul.

Peaks Series Loudspeakers

We have the YG Acoustics Peaks Series loudspeakers on demo in the shop - and we instantly fell in love with them. At the show, the TOR stand mounts are matched with the Decent Subwoofer, and they can hold their own against the Hailey 3.2. However, it is the Ascent speakers that are on another level. Clean but not clinical, and with a huge effortless sound. The £250k+ XX3 Live Active loudspeakers are on display, with their two bass drivers on the side of each speaker - they look incredible. We are enamoured with the compact Carmel 3 floor standers. These would sit beautifully in anyone's living room with their machined tweeter and distinctive aluminium finish.

If this is the first room of the show we're in for a treat for the rest of the show.

Get in touch if you'd like to hear the YG Acoustic Peaks Series and you can have your own listening session.