I didn’t think there was going to be a “Return to Munich.” Back in 2019, I was able to attend the largest high-end audio show in the world, High End in Munich, and it was a landmark trip for me. I’d never been in Europe before, and I naturally had a blast. The only problem with my trip was that I didn’t schedule extra time to actually be in Europe. I flew in covered the show, and flew back home. Just a few days later it felt like a blurry dream. Did I really go to Germany for a few days?
Here was the consolation: “That’s okay. I’ll be going every year from now on. This time I made it simple because it was the first time. Next year, I’ll go a week earlier–or later–and explore a bit. Take a train and hit a few countries. See some friends, some manufacturers.” One day I will return to Munich, I thought, and I will feel like I’ve genuinely been somewhere this time.
In 2020, High End was canceled due to the pandemic–the first high-end audio show to do so. I think that’s when many of us in the industry realized the seriousness of what was happening. There would be no return to Munich this year. But 2021? Everything will be okay by then. We just need to shelter in place for 30 days, and the world will return to normal.
In 2021, High End Munich was also canceled, along with most of the other shows. You know this already.
In 2022, however, we started talking about an actual return to Munich. High End 2022 was definitely happening. Unfortunately, most of the Part-Time Audiophile staff who really wanted to attend slowly dropped out one by one. I was the only one left. I didn’t want to return to Munich alone. I’m a ditz sometimes. Occasionally I need adult supervision. Going by myself sounded like a recipe for trouble, so I quietly bailed out.
That, of course, didn’t last, because I am finally making my return to Munich for High End 2022. I will be covering it alone. It’s a HUGE show, and I will walk at least 20,000 steps each of the four days, May 19-22, so I won’t be able to see everything. But I’ll see as much as possible.
Over the weekend I’ll post as many photos as possible, with show coverage starting the week after. See you at High End 2022!
If you would like to hear even more coverage from HIGH END 2022, check out our recap report and highlights from our audiophile-oriented show The Occasional Podcast. You can stream the episode direct from the embed below, or from your favorite podcast platform including iTunes, Android, Google, Deezer, Spotify, iHeartRadio and more.
My wife and I went on a river cruise in Hungary and then made our way to Munich for the 2019 show. It was fantastic and quite the overload. I’ve been to a lot of shows (New York, Chicago, Miami, San Francisco, etc, but Munich was in a world of its own. We stayed at a nice hotel just a short ride to the show and met a lot of interesting and very nice locals and foreign visitors alike. Thanks to my wife’s miles this was all possible