We spotted Sherwood’s DT-307A system (699 €) and thought is was distinctive and, well, cute. The system’s Digi-Tube integrated amplifier features a pair of unspecified tubes and is said to produce 25Wpc. The two-way loudspeakers were quite solid and well built.

Audiophile Gateway Germany’s brand Eternal Arts is both retro and 21st century. The products are older designs -- circuits that have been abandoned, in some cases long ago, and left by the audio wayside. By the company's reasoning, however, some of these circuit designs still have life left but in a more modern form: better parts, updated engineering, and improved manufacturing. So, in essence, the products are the best of the new and what’s great about the old all in one. Seen here is an update of an original Julius Futterman OTL (output-transformerless) amplifier design. The basic model shown above is 10,000 €, while a gorgeous-looking, completely 24K-gold-plated version is 14,000 €.

Germany’s Lehmann Audio always seems to have new products to show. Displayed here is the Black Cube Rhinelander headphone amplifier (left, 350 €), which features two line-level inputs and selectable gain settings. Also in the stable is the Black Cube SE II phono stage (800 €), which features better RCA connectors than the standard Black Cube, a more ambitious chassis and MKP capacitors.

Italian company Norma displayed a number of new products, including the Revo-50 50Wpc integrated amplifier (right, 2250 €) and the Revo CDP-1 CD player (2250 €). Norma’s styling is understated, but construction appears to be of very high quality.

German heavyweight Burmester had a new addition to the Classic line, the 082 stereo integrated amplifier (8000 €). The 082 features Burmester’s distinctive chrome heatsinks and outputs a rated 150Wpc into 4 ohms. That center part of the faceplate is so shiny that Doug Schneider just couldn't get his hands out of the picture when he shot it head on.

Just as striking (if not as shiny) are these electronics that came all the way to Munich from South Korea. They're from a company called Emilé, and their mixture of acrylic and aluminum, along with the distinctive meter and the glow of tubes, was beautiful. Seen in this picture are the KI-120 mono integrated amplifiers (left and right, 11,000 €/pair), which output 120W each. In the center is the the 40Wpc KI-40L stereo integrated amplifier (6000 €).

Scan-Speak, the driver maker owned by Danish firm Tymphany, introduced a new series of flagship drivers called Illuminator, reportedly surpassing those of the existing Revelator line. Shown here is the 5 1/4" midrange (which features a 9mm linear stroke) with a new kind of magnet and motor assembly. The curved lines that you see on the cone are intended to match the curved insert the matching tweeters have on their faceplates.

France’s Mimetism touts "Swiss precision" and "French creativity." The components are designed in France and made in Switzerland. At High End, the company showed two new products: the 27.2 CD player (3300 €) and the 80Wpc 17.2 integrated amplifier (above, 3300 €). Both products utilize the same remote control and are designed to be a perfect cosmetic match for each other.

Denmark's Holfi showed the new Batt2riaa, a battery-powered phono preamp (bottom, underneath the company's preamplifier) priced at (2150 €). Holfi claims its battery power achieves 20dB lower noise level than if it were designed to use AC from a wall.

Italy’s Audia showed the new Flight Phono two-chassis phono preamplifier. The smaller chassis on the right is the power supply, which is contoured to be a cosmetic match for the main chassis on the left. The price will be approximately 3500 € when available later this year.

Of course, you'll have no need for a phono preamp if you don't have a turntable. Austria's Pro-Ject appears to have a good one. The Extension (3500 € with Pro-Ject 'arm, 5000 € with Ortofon 'arm) is part of the Classic line and owes much of its 60-pound weight to the metallic sand that is loaded into its plinth for damping. The fine examples of wood finishes that we saw (four of them) were great-looking and offered a somewhat retro look sure to appeal to many vinyl lovers. In fact, Doug Schneider, who doesn't even listen to LPs, was so smitten by the way this turntable looks he wants to own it just to admire it.