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By Frans de Rond, Senior Engineer at Sound Liaison

My second day at High End Munich (HEM) was slightly less hectic than the first, yet equally rich in experience and connection. It gave me time to take a deeper breath and reflect on the beauty of music reproduction, and on the people and passion behind the systems that bring it to life.

The morning started with a visit to the Linkwitz room. I wanted to check in on how their day one had gone and see how they were doing. It was heartwarming to hear that they had played a few tracks from the Sound Liaison catalog. It's always an honor to know that our recordings are used to showcase high-end audio systems. While there, I had the chance to meet with a few like-minded professionals from the field, great conversations about recording, acoustics, and the nuances of critical listening.

Next, I reconnected with Harry van Dalen and Michael van Polen from Rhapsody. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — listening to systems together with them is like attending a masterclass in critical listening. Their experience and ability to discern what makes a great system truly great is unparalleled. Over the years, I've learned so much from their shared insights and willingness to pass on their listening and tuning knowledge.

A highlight of the day was a visit to the HIFIMAN booth. Their team was incredibly helpful, and I had the chance to do a comparative listen to some of their top-tier headphones. From the highly accessible Ananda Nano, a great entry-level model, to the breathtaking, master-grade SUSVARA UNVEILED, each product reflected a thoughtful design philosophy and sonic excellence. It's impressive to hear how far planar magnetic technology has come.

Another room that stood out for me was Genelec’s. Walking in, I immediately recognized the signature sound. For the first ten years of my active audio career, I mixed almost exclusively on Genelec 1030A monitors. That kind of early sonic imprint never quite leaves you. However, listening again now reminded me of the fundamental difference between studio monitors and high-end 'hi-fi' speakers. Studio monitors are analytical by nature, precise, revealing, sometimes brutally honest. But they rarely offer the 3D imaging and emotional depth that true high-fidelity speakers can provide. Once you become accustomed to the immersive nature of a well-tuned hi-fi system, it’s hard to go back.

As the day winds down, I find myself preparing for tomorrow, a special day at Linkwitz where I’ll have the honor of presenting the One Mic Recording Award. It’s a meaningful moment for us at Sound Liaison, where we strive to capture music with purity, realism, and emotional impact using minimalist microphone techniques.

Stay tuned for more impressions and stories from HEM Munich. Meanwhile, explore our catalog of one mic recordings at www.soundliaison.com and hear for yourself what makes a recording truly come alive.

By Frans de Rond, Senior Engineer – Sound Liaison

The first day at the High End Munich Show always has a certain energy to it. This year was no different. The sun was out, the halls were full, and that familiar buzz of anticipation was in the air. People from every corner of the audio world, designers, engineers, listeners, and enthusiasts, all gathered with one common interest: music and the systems that bring it to life.

It’s easy to get lost in the sheer number of rooms and systems, but a few really stood out to me.

One of the most memorable was the Marten Coltrane Quintet Extreme system. I’ve heard a lot of speakers over the years, but this one hit a special note. Exceptionally transparent, dynamic, and utterly effortless. There was no sense of equipment, just music, floating in space. For my ears, this was the best sound of the day. It reminded me of the feeling we try to capture in our one-mic recordings, pure, uncolored, and honest.

Had a good meeting with the team from Qobuz as well. We talked about high-resolution streaming and what’s next for getting better sound to more listeners. It’s encouraging to see their ongoing commitment to quality. Streaming still has a long way to go, but when done right, it can be a great partner to the kind of work we do at Sound Liaison.

On the headphone side, HIFIMAN’s flagship setup (Shangri-LA) made quite an impression. Their top system had an ease and intimacy that reminded me of mixing with nearfields, tight imaging, tons of detail, but never fatiguing. Definitely one of the best personal listening systems I’ve heard recently.

Wilson Benesch also had a strong showing. Their system was extremely well-balanced and controlled, with that kind of understated precision that doesn’t draw attention to itself but keeps you listening longer than you planned. And then there was Cessaro, a powerful, full-bodied presentation that still managed to stay refined. Horn systems can sometimes push too hard, but this one was dialed in beautifully.

A special moment came in the Zellaton room. They played one of our recordings: Four Scenes of Seasons by Atzko Kohashi and Eddy Koopman. Hearing that piece, the great dynamics, the space, the emotion, on their system was a real pleasure. It’s always rewarding when a playback chain can reveal the full nuance of a carefully recorded session.

All in all, a solid first day. There’s a lot of gear here, but ultimately, it’s still about the music. That’s what drives us at Sound Liaison, to capture performances that feel real, and to make sure they reach listeners without compromise.

Looking forward to what tomorrow brings.

Frans
www.soundliaison.com

Each year, High End Munich draws together those of us who are deeply invested in the craft of sound. This May, I’ll once again attend the show—not out of tradition, but out of a continued need to learn, observe, and evaluate where we are heading as a profession and as listeners.

Also this year, I’ll be making the trip with Harry van Dalen and Michael van Polen from Rhapsody. Our shared interest in high-fidelity sound and honest reproduction makes the visit both practical and meaningful.

Why HEM Remains Relevant

At Sound Liaison, we focus on capturing musical performances in a way that preserves their natural dynamics and space. High End Munich remains one of the few places where you can witness how playback technology evolves in real time. It's not about novelty, but about refinement. The rise of high-resolution formats such as DXD and DSD continues to impact not only how we record but also how those recordings are reproduced.

I’m interested in what these formats offer when approached with restraint and clarity, qualities that align closely with our One-Mic philosophy.

Presentation on One-Mic Recording in the Linkwitz Room

I’ll be giving a talk on our One-Mic Recording method in the Linkwitz Room, where the LX521 loudspeakers will be in use. These speakers are known for their transparency and imaging—useful traits when evaluating recordings made with minimal intervention.

One-mic recording is a method that prioritizes interaction, space, and performance. A single stereo microphone, placed correctly in a good room, can capture something close to what the musicians themselves hear. There are no layers, no artificial space added after the fact. The goal is coherence—not perfection.

One-Mic Recording Award Presentation

On Saturday, May 17, I’ll be presenting the One-Mic Recording Award, also in the Linkwitz Room. This isn’t a marketing exercise. It’s a way to recognize efforts, by young engineers, that manage to let the music speak without dressing it up too much.

This kind of work is becoming rarer in an era of overproduction. So it feels right to acknowledge those keeping it alive.

Focus Points at This Year’s Show

As always, I’ll be listening with specific intentions. I’m especially interested in:

• Continued evolution of DXD and DSD

• Improvements in digital-to-analog conversion

• Speaker and headphone designs that emphasize clarity over coloration

I’ll also be talking with other engineers and manufacturers. These conversations often yield more than any product demo can.

Meeting in Munich

If you're attending High End Munich and want to connect, I’ll be in and around the Linkwitz Room for much of the show. You can also contact me via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Whether you're curious about the One-Mic approach or just want to talk about recording in a more honest way, I welcome the exchange.

Final Thoughts

For me, this trip is part of an ongoing process of refining what we do at Sound Liaison. It’s not about trends or chasing gear. It’s about staying aware of how small decisions in recording and playback can lead to meaningful listening experiences.

I’ll share any useful insights or findings during and after the show.

Frans de Rond
Sound Liaison

www.soundliaison.com

#SoundLiaison #HighEndMunich2025 #OneMicRecording #DXD #DSD #HighEndAudio #LinkwitzLX521 #RhapsodyAudio

Today we spent time in the studio for something I’ve been looking forward to: sitting down and really listening to our first full DSD256 recording session at Sound Liaison. No hype, no expectations, just careful listening to compare how different high-resolution audio workflows influence the final sound.

We started by testing two trusted analog summing mixers: the Rupert Neve Designs 5059 Satellite and the AMS Neve 8816. Both are known names in the world of analog audio mastering, and both shape the stereo image in subtle but significant ways.

The 5059 gave us a wide, natural sense of space, more depth, a slightly softer focus. The 8816, by contrast, delivered a more compact, forward sound, with a bit more energy in the midrange. This kind of A/B comparison is where you realize how much nuance summing can bring to a high-resolution mix (especially in a DSD256 recording).

Next, we moved into the digital realm. Using Merging Technologies’ Pyramix DAW, we created a mix in the DSD-in-DXD format. It preserved the integrity of the original DSD signal but allowed for detailed digital editing. Compared to the analog versions, the DXD mix had sharper transients and more definition, but also less harmonic complexity in the low-mid range. What is immediately very noticeable is that there is clearly more information present from the space in which is being played (Studio 2) and it seems like there is more harmonic information from the instruments making them seem “more real".

Then came a test I’ve been curious about for a long time: mixing purely in DSD256 using Signalyst HQPlayer Pro 4. This software lets you bypass the DAW entirely, offering pure DSD mixing with detailed control over modulators and filters.

The result? The cleanest, most effortless sound of the day. The HQPlayer DSD mix had no noise floor to speak of, no harshness, just music. It sounded honest. Not like playback, but like presence. Almost like being in the recording room again.

This kind of critical listening session isn’t about finding the best format. It’s about understanding what each approach brings to the table. Whether it's analog summing, DSD-in-DXD editing, or a pure DSD256 workflow, each has its place in modern high-resolution audio production.

What I took from today is that DSD256 doesn’t just capture sound, it captures feel. It gives us a bigger dynamic range to work with, but more importantly, it lets the emotional nuance of the performance come through.

We’ll continue exploring these paths at Sound Liaison. Because making records that move people, that’s what it’s all about.

— Frans de Rond
Senior Sound Engineer, Sound Liaison
www.soundliaison.com