Rockna Wavedream Net & Wavedream DAC
Streaming audio is beginning to mature, there is a general consensus about how things should be done for best sound and ease of use, and even the spiky issue of which format to use is starting to become clear. But there are still two schools of thought, there’s the Mac and DAC with USB connection […]
Pink Faun 3.4 and 3.32
A faun is a mythological figure; half man, half goat. However, there is nothing mythological about the two Pink Faun audio components that have been been in my system for some time now. And the only pink I see is in the LEDs on the front of the DAC and streamer from this Dutch company, […]
Melco N1A
A former turntable manufacturer turned data storage giant has built an audio oriented NAS drive that gives streamers a real shot in the arm. Maki Electronics Laboratory Co was set up in 1975 to make high mass turntables with outboard motors and silk thread drives along with line level preamplifiers. No power amplifiers ever emerged […]
Novafidelity X12
Want a streamer but don't want get involved with networks and separates? Novafidelity's X12 is about the least expensive answer on the market. There are a number of ways to get into music streaming, apparently the simplest is to add a DAC to a computer but what that doesn’t reveal is that you need to […]
Bluesound Vault Node Powernode Pulse
Bluesound is NAD in disguise. Made by the same Canadian parent company this range of streaming audio products ticks all the boxes in RenĂ©'s list of what's required in a decent multiroom product. The market for products that can rip, store and play music is rapidly growing and has full press attention worldwide, but that […]
Cocktail Audio X30
Not many audio companies make streamers with built in storage and amplification, scratch that, nobody seems to make a streaming audio system in one box apart from Cocktail. There are a few streamers with onboard storage made by the likes of Naim, Sony and Olive and there are quite a few computer based options. But […]
Longdog Audio XLCR Naim Unitiserve power supply
The Naim Unitiserve is a dedicated music server made by a company with a track record for high quality and back up, Naim is also renowned for offering power supply (PSU) upgrades for its preamplifiers and source components. Thus far however it has not made one for the Unitiserve, which is supplied with an inline […]
Aurender S10
I have been using my Mac as a digital transport for some time now and get spectacular results with a good USB DAC and the right software. I’ve worked through software from Pure Music, Audirvana Plus and Decibel and each change has delivered even greater sonic delights, so much so that it has got to […]