Heed Abacus S streaming DAC Hungarian hi-fi manufacturers are not two a penny, at least not among brands available in the UK. From what I have seen and heard from them over the years, Heed Audio like to do things a little differently. I purchased their Cannalot III, Class A headphone amplifier a couple of […]
Silent Angel Bremen SL1P In general, there are two types of streamer product: the Times Square light show and the moonless night no show. The Silent Angel Bremen SL1P is firmly in the latter camp, easily one of the most inscrutably understated yet. A display-less, button-less metal slab you wouldn’t even know was switched on […]
Euphony Summus 2c and 4c server/streamer How do you like your network player interface? Full fat or lean? It’s a decision that undoubtedly goes in Roon’s direction most of the time. Roon offers a blend of usability, stability, search and curation functionality that taken in the round is frankly unbeatable. Still, alternatives to Roon there […]
Audiolab 9000N streamer Audiolab has carved itself a firm niche in the market with affordable, value for money equipment, by designing in the UK and manufacturing in China. However, the 9000N is not a beer-budget model sitting, as it does, at the top end of their price range. The Audiolab engineers have lots of experience […]
Auralic Aries S1 streamer & S1 Purer Power Early this year Auralic announced their most ambitious component yet in the Aquila X3, a two box modular streamer, CD player, preamp and undoubtedly more with a price that starts just shy of £14k. We hope to see this beast at the High End show in a […]
Xact S1 Evo server/streamer Every now and then a component comes along that rearranges expectations to such an extent that its necessary to recalibrate the potential of that particular product category. The Xact S1 Evo has done just that for server/streamers, I now know that there is more, quite a lot more that can be […]
Cambridge Audio EXN100 streamer/DAC Sometimes a product arrives out of the blue with impeccable timing; so it was with the new network player from Cambridge Audio. The EXN100 is a complex beast, featuring a DAC to handle various digital inputs, comprehensive streaming abilities, internet radio and a preamplifier. Until Qobuz get their act together and […]
Electrocompaniet EC1M MkII streamer & DAC The ECM 1 MkII is not a new product but my attention was drawn to it by someone whose ears I have come to trust, namely Rich Trussel of Network Acoustics. Rich has a pretty fancy system with Vivid G2 speakers and a Soulution power amplifier, he must be […]
Bluesound Node Icon streamer A dealer friend recently told me that a streamer’s success is highly dependent on the quality of the control app assigned to it. Looking at the impact made by brands such as Auralic at the higher end and Wiim at the budget end suggests that this theory is a valid one. […]
Wiim Ultra streamer DAC preamp Wiim has taken the budget end of the audiophile streaming market by storm since the launch of the Wiim Mini three years ago. Followed by the Wiim Pro and Wiim amp range, these products have formed the basis of many entry-level and secondary streaming systems. The company is a subsidiary […]
Auralic Altair G2.2 streamer DAC preamplifier With their very similar if precisely executed cases you could be forgiven for not noticing differences between Auralic components. The flagship G2.2 models all look very much alike in their two thirds width, black anodised aluminium chassis with a central display, the only differentiation is the presence or otherwise […]
Primare SC15 Mk2 streamer, DAC and preamplifier A few months ago I received a pair of Phonar Match Air WiSA-enabled wireless speakers to review and, on realising that the the supplied streaming units were holding back sound quality, I asked for a Primare SC15 Mk2, purely with the aim of achieving a better sound from […]