There are those who consider network music servers as little more than glorified NAS drives in nice boxes, and it’s not hard to see why given that both do a the same job and contain the same basic elements. Which is some kind of disc drive or solid state memory that’s controlled by a computer […]
The analogue world figured out that the source is the most important part of the chain nearly fifty years ago when Ivor Tiefenbrun unleashed the Linn LP12, inarguably the best marketed turntable in the world ever. In the CD era the emphasis moved away from that philosophy with digital to analogue converters becoming the centre […]
When our esteemed editor asked if I would like to review the Naim Uniti Core as I have a UnitiServe with which to compare it, acceptance was inevitable. Other than Mu-so, all my experience with Naim has been from the Classic era, with a green logo and a black case. At one time I had two […]
If you want digital audio that can compete with the best of analogue get yourself a dedicated audio server, a data store for the bits ripped from CDs or high res downloads. See our reviews of servers by Innuos and Melco to get some idea of what such supercharged NAS drives can achieve. Yet they all require attachment to […]
When it comes to the bleeding edge of digital audio file streaming is where it’s at and servers are the most important part of the system, they are after all the source. We have had DACs for long enough now that progress is incremental, even streamers, which lest it be forgotten come from the low […]
The Chord Mojo DAC and headphone amp is a very nice piece of kit, compact and solid with coloured controls and amazing spec for the size and price, but it was designed to be used with a smartphone, which while undoubtedly very impressive devices are not the last word in high fidelity. A smartphone is […]
Way back in the day, let’s call it the early seventies, a clever Scotsman made it clear that contrary to prevailing theory that loudspeakers were where it’s at, the turntable was in fact the source of the signal and thus the most critical element in the system. He was right and went on to sell […]
If you’re looking to moving into streaming the array of options and the complexities of setting a streaming system up can look pretty confusing. But in practice it has got a lot easier than it once was and pretty well anyone with a broadband network can get started. As Aurender shows on the webpage for […]
Every streaming system needs a library, not the sort that furnishes a room but typically a hard drive where all your music is stored. You can get by on streaming services like Qobuz and Tidal if you want more music but there’s a monthly fee and a quality compromise. Most digital music libraries are stored […]
Melco shook up my reference system last year when they leant me an N1A music server with USB as well as a direct Ethernet output, a spinning disc hard drive with linear power supplies that meant I no longer needed a network switch in the system. Having both outputs from the one device means it’s […]
There are a few different ways to get music streaming into your life, you can hook up a laptop to a DAC or you can connect a hard drive and a streamer to your network. The former approach is popular because many of us have laptops, but these are compromised by the electrically noisy nature […]
Streaming music over your home network is a great way to enjoy a collection once it is ripped to any kind of storage device. For many of us this could be a (dedicated) computer, a hard drive, a NAS or a music server. Playback could be in one location only or in multiple rooms with […]