Good German Hifi ?!

[DanielT]

I might go to Germany instead of England. Come on Germans, I know there is very good Hifi. Contemporary Hifi or something vintage, technical invention that influenced the sound history and so on. You get free hands to write what you want.

If I go with my rather rickety Volvo to Germany, I thought I would also go to some museums. Feel free to suggest fun technical museums about technology, sound and so on.

Similar thread here about English Hifi:
(and yes I will also visit England)

Rule, Britannia!, Britannia rule the (sound)waves!

That seems to be the case with Hifi in any case. Or let's say that there is very good Hifi coming from England. Two of my favorite brands when it comes to speakers are English : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wharfedale_(company) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KEF Feel free to add what you want...

audiosciencereview.com

 

[SaltyCDogg]

Oh you're not coming to England now?!? We'd cleaned the toilet and everything...

 

[pozz]

The German Hi Fi and Pro Fi have always been excellent.

First to come up with the moving coil design in the 1870s: https://www.aes-media.org/historical/html/recording.technology.history/loudspeaker.html

Some public address developments date back to needing to deliver speeches for mass gatherings during National Socialist times.

 

[DanielT]

Oh you're not coming to England now?!? We'd cleaned the toilet and everything...

LOL.

Why only one country when there are several. I can, as I have actually thought, when it will be easier to travel in the future, take the opportunity to travel around a bit in Europe and visit different countries. England is high on the priority list. Germany as well.

For those who live in Europe. Do you remember the interrail card? As we in Sweden said: "train hobo card". I wondering what happened to that?

I have visited Germany many more times than Englnad. About ten years ago when I lived in Stockholm, my friends and I then often took the flight to Berlin over the weekend. Took only about two hours by plane and then cost basically nothing with Ryan Air. Damn what fun it was in Berlin. Fun trips.

Nowadays, if you mention that type of travel Greta Thunberg will appears with a large megaphone and shouts straight in the ear: THINK OF THE ENVIRONMENT !!

Okay, she has a point, but it's still a lot of fun to travel.

 

[DanielT]

The German Hi Fi and Pro Fi have always been excellent.

First to come up with the moving coil design in the 1870s: https://www.aes-media.org/historical/html/recording.technology.history/loudspeaker.html

Some public address developments date back to needing to deliver speeches for mass gatherings during National Socialist times.

Thanks for the tip! I'll read that. I think the sound and Hifi history is very interesting.

 

[tomtoo]

A must see for all technic interested.

Meisterwerke der Naturwissenschaft und Technik

Erleben Sie die faszinierende Welt von Naturwissenschaft und Technik mit unseren Ausstellungen, interaktiven Vorführungen und spannenden Experimenten.

www.deutsches-museum.de

 

[Marc v E]

Neumann

 

[DanielT]

I can make it easy for you Germans. This if anything really has to do with Hifi (electronics, the foundation):

Ohms law
_________

Good speakers! Companies with ancestry. They are still very popular.

ELAC

Elac - The life of sound | Best Audiophile Speakers

Elac - The life of sound | Best Audiophile Speakers

www.elac.com

A whole new era in The Life of Sound.
In a world of ever-changing brands, products and trends, ELAC builds on its heritage with vision to push thinking beyond the present. This is ELAC, founded on a commitment to making the best sound in the world. It began on September 1, 1926 in Kiel, Germany, when Electroacustic GmbH was founded to focus on the development of sonar technology and the research of signal and sound channels in air and water.

Just take this speaker:

Elac Debut Reference DBR-62 Speaker Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Elac Debut Reference DBR-62 bookshelf speaker. It was kindly purchased new and drop shipped to me for testing. The DBR-62 costs US $600 a pair from multiple sources/dealers. The DBR-62 comes in black and walnut finish or the distressed Oak and...

audiosciencereview.com

 

[Katji]

Martion
Artisan type manufacturer, interesting background story, iirc he started with custom pro audio speakers for some place in India.
It seems like everyone [local] who hears the Bullfrogs likes them. The high-end expensive horns loved by dj Ricardo Villelobos.
[ I googled after checking my web browser history, and found this post - with the same pics i linked on local forum a while ago... ]

Unusual Speaker Designs

anyone? :) link1 / link2 What a catch:eek:

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Frgirard]

I can make it easy for you Germans. This if anything really has to do with Hifi (electronics, the foundation):

Ohms law
_________

Good speakers! Companies with ancestry. They are still very popular.

ELAC

Elac - The life of sound | Best Audiophile Speakers

Elac - The life of sound | Best Audiophile Speakers

www.elac.com

A whole new era in The Life of Sound.
In a world of ever-changing brands, products and trends, ELAC builds on its heritage with vision to push thinking beyond the present. This is ELAC, founded on a commitment to making the best sound in the world. It began on September 1, 1926 in Kiel, Germany, when Electroacustic GmbH was founded to focus on the development of sonar technology and the research of signal and sound channels in air and water.

Just take this speaker:

Elac Debut Reference DBR-62 Speaker Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Elac Debut Reference DBR-62 bookshelf speaker. It was kindly purchased new and drop shipped to me for testing. The DBR-62 costs US $600 a pair from multiple sources/dealers. The DBR-62 comes in black and walnut finish or the distressed Oak and...

audiosciencereview.com

Geithain

 

[Willem]

RME

 

[DanielT]

Aha, thanks for the detailed answers. Interesting!

Home - RME Audio Interfaces | Format Converters | Preamps | Network Audio & MADI Solutions

RME Audio Professional Live, Studio, Recording and Broadcast Solutions. Unrivalled Quality, Performance & Stability MADI Interfaces, Converters & Preamps.

www.rme-audio.de

musikelectronic geithain gmbh - Home

Studiotechnik, Highendtechnik, Beschallungstechnik. Lautsprecher aus deutscher Manufakturarbeit

www.me-geithain.de

I suspect you are not teenagers so I ask. If you were interested in Hifi in your teens, what were the Hifi brands that you bought? German brands or .... Japanese?

 

[DanielT]

Martion
Artisan type manufacturer, interesting background story, iirc he started with custom pro audio speakers for some place in India.
It seems like everyone [local] who hears the Bullfrogs likes them. The high-end expensive horns loved by dj Ricardo Villelobos.
[ I googled after checking my web browser history, and found this post - with the same pics i linked on local forum a while ago... ]

Unusual Speaker Designs

anyone? :) link1 / link2 What a catch:eek:

www.audiosciencereview.com

Aha aha , exciting. Have you heard any of them?

 

[Zensō]

ADAM Audio - High Precision Studio Monitors from Berlin, Germany

ADAM Audio studio monitors for sound engineers in recording studios, broadcast facilities and for use in home studios and as DJ equipment.

www.adam-audio.com

 

[muslhead]

Any love for Violectric?

 

[Shorty]

BRAUN

Braun Audio Online Shop und Zuhause der LE Lautsprecher

Mehr als ein Webshop: Braun Audio ist für HiFi-Kenner, Technikbegeisterte und Musikliebhaber. Ein Ort für Geschichten, Meilensteine und gutes Design.

www.braun-audio.com

 

[AnalogSteph]

I suspect you are not teenagers so I ask. If you were interested in Hifi in your teens, what were the Hifi brands that you bought? German brands or .... Japanese?

Those who were around in 1980 (in the West, anyway) may have bought something by Grundig, SABA, Dual or perhaps Telefunken or even Siemens, if they didn't go for one of the big Japanese brands which were quite prevalent even then (including now-defunct ones like Sansui and Nikko) or even the lesser Japanese or Korean-built gear available from mailorder outfits' house brands. The odd Polish Unitra-built gear seems to have made it in as well though I can't imagine it would have been in huge numbers.

Grundig made the mass-market receivers with the lowest residual noise level at the time (good performers in general, with a focus on 4 ohm loads), the mini series are classics as well, not to mention their active speakers and matching preceivers. Their loudness is quite heavy-handed but arguably more correct than some Japanese efforts. The SABA receivers of the time still enjoy a reputation for excellent radio tuners. Grundig had some rather good standalone tuners throughout the decade (hardly surprising given their long tradition in the radio world), including the very first with RDS support.

Braun would have been a bit more upmarket (along with B&O), and T+A would be getting into high-end terrain. I think Burmester would have been more of thing towards the late '80s.

Grundig dragged on into the late '90s (under the Philips umbrella) but most everything else mass-market was firmly in Japanese hands by the start of the decade.

 

[_thelaughingman]

Grundig was a benchmark back in the day when I was growing up in Asia. If you had a Grundig, you were a serious audiophile.

 

[Willem]

BRAUN

Braun Audio Online Shop und Zuhause der LE Lautsprecher

Mehr als ein Webshop: Braun Audio ist für HiFi-Kenner, Technikbegeisterte und Musikliebhaber. Ein Ort für Geschichten, Meilensteine und gutes Design.

www.braun-audio.com

Braun were of course the manufacturers of the most beautiful audio gear ever, designed by legendary Dieter Rams. The current company seems to trade on that heritage with a new line of Sonos inspired lifestyle speakers, but I could not find any other information. The original Braun/Rams restyled Quad ESL57 electrostats are now manufactured by Quadmusikwiedergabe.

 

[Willem]

I suspect you are not teenagers so I ask. If you were interested in Hifi in your teens, what were the Hifi brands that you bought? German brands or .... Japanese?

No not a teenager. At the time (1971) and as a student I was so impressed by the Quad ELS57 electrostatic loudspeaker that I bought the Quad 33/303/fm3 electronics, since those were just about the only ones that could be used safely with this speaker. Around 1970 this was also one of the few high end solid state amplifiers on the European market. I still have the speakers and the electronics, though they are no longer used (I should realy sell them to save some space). I last used them a few years ago when my modern Quad 2805s had to be repaired. The combination still sounded remarkably good.