Vienna Verdict: Did High End 2026 Deliver?

This week, host Jorden Guth sits down with SoundStage! Ultra’s Jason Thorpe and SoundStage! founder Doug Schneider to discuss their trip to Vienna for High End 2026—the first time the world's most important hi-fi show has been held outside Munich in more than two decades. Did the move affect the show? Was there a demographic shift among attendees? What were the most impressive products, rooms, and demonstrations? And perhaps most importantly, were the Vienna sandwiches up to par? Sources: High End 2026 coverage from Vienna, Austria, on SoundStage! Global: https://www.soundstageglobal.com/index.php/shows-events/high-end-2026-vienna-austria Chapters: 00:00:00 Announcement 00:00:36 Introductions 00:06:46 Taking attendance 00:09:22 Quantity and quality of the rooms 00:14:23 How’d it sound? 00:28:33 The best record Jason ever heard 00:31:30 Bowers & Wilkins 800 D5 00:32:40 A demographic shift? 00:35:02 The offsite controversy 00:36:27 A 21st century player piano 00:43:53 Outro music: "To Be the One” by Israel Wasserman