The only reason that CD still has a place in the hearts of sound connoisseurs is that they have so many discs and streaming systems add a layer of complexity that seems intimidating to the uninitiated.In practice setting up a streaming system is very straightforward especially if you have any form of network at home, […]
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 […]
This has been a great year for new hi-fi, so good that our list has once again expanded so we can include all the best pieces of kit. We have had to make some tough decisions, all of the products chosen by the ear’s reviewers have made a very strong, positive impression both at the […]
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 […]
YBA. Am I the only one who thought Young British Artists? Tracy Emin and unmade beds, Damien Hirst and pickled sharks? Wrong answer. In the context of good music reproduction, YBA can only mean Yves-Bernard André, whose initials grace the brand he launched way back in 1981. Since then he has been dedicated to combining […]
ifi Pro iDSD DAC & headphone amplifier Ifi have a good go at blinding you with science on the webpage for the Pro iDSD, the list of features and technologies is confusing even if you know what half the terms mean. This is a marketing approach that is often inversely related to the sound quality […]
When Auralic launched its G1 series they took the unusual step of using casework that looks almost exactly like that on the more expensive G2 range, at a glance you have to be reasonably familiar with the range to spot the difference. Which is in the knobs and buttons, G2s have black controls (that you […]
Most loudspeaker makers improve their products by degrees; they refine cabinets, drive units and crossovers and gradually make them better. You get the occasional jump in performance when a new cone or dome technology is developed but on the whole it’s an incremental process. Newcomer Kii Audio takes a rather different approach. Rather than using […]
The Auralic Aries started out as a compact network streamer in a curvy plastic case, it looked cool and sounded even better, eventually spawning an alternate LE version with a lesser clock and basic power supply and a Mini with onboard DAC. Last year the company launched a flagship Aries G2 with a fancy milled case and […]
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 […]
When Naim released news of their forthcoming network streamers (ND5 XS2, NDX 2, ND 555) it became apparent that their hierarchy is not as straightforward as you might expect. I had imagined that each of the three would have the same basic streaming engine and DAC and that the power supplies would be upgraded with every move […]