The Munich High End show is back, which means lots of shiny, expensive hi-fi, and few do shiny and expensive hi-fi as well as Focal and Naim.
The French and British brands have been linked together for 11 years now and at the Munich High End show they will showing off a special edition system.
What they’re showing is the Focal Aria K2 926 & Naim Uniti Star Ash Grey system, which is a bit of a mouthful to say. This set-up combines a new K2 version of Focal’s bestselling Aria 926 floorstander and Naim’s swiss army knife of hi-fi in Uniti Star system which brings its ability to stream music services, play and rip CDs and connect to a TV to the table.
We reviewed the Uniti Star many moons ago, awarding it five stars for its terrific performance and versatility. As mentioned above it can rip CDs, stream music from Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal and Qobuz, while connectivity options such as AirPlay 2, Chromecast and Bluetooth offer a few more ways of flinging audio at the system.
Its HDMI connection allows for the opportunity to connect to a TV, or you can choose to hook it up to a turntable through its other connectivity options. Voice control is onboard via Apple’s Siri and Google Assistant.
Focal’s Aria K2 926 speakers feature an update of the iconic K2 sandwich cone that first launched in mid-1980s, bringing the design into a contemporary appearance that Focal says looks and sounds superb. The three-way floorstander design also features Focal’s 25mm TNF Aluminium/Magnesium inverted dome tweeter design above the midrange K2 driver and twin 6.5in bass drivers. Focal’s multi-port Powerflow design, ultra-rigid cabinet construction and solid aluminium-alloy bass aids their “dynamic, high-impact performance”.
The shiny aspect of this system is that it comes in an Ash Grey finish, with a 4m pair of Naim NAC A5 speaker cables to tie everything together. The expensive part is revealed with its suggested retail price of $8999 / £6799 / €7899.
If you’re at the Munich High End show, head to A4.1, Stand F105 to go hands-on with the system.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
