The Geek Out DAC caused quite a kerfuffle in the forums when its maker Light Harmonic started making all sorts of claims for its performance. I even had comments from competitors, and they were not entirely positive, something was clearly afoot. How could a pocket size USB DAC make so much impression in an increasingly […]
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 […]
Small is beautiful. This elegant Japanese desktop proves that size need not limit musical enjoyment nor aesthetic style.Desktop speaker systems take many forms but none as elegant as Eclipse’s ovular TD-M1. Not only does it have looks but it ticks all the boxes as far as audio technology is concerned too: active drive from an […]
The waiting is over, a classic Japanese cartridge is back in full production after a twenty year hiatus. René finds out that it more than lives up to the brand’s reputation? Kiseki is the Japanese word for miracle, Kiseki is also a cartridge brand owned by Durob Audio in the Netherlands. Durob Audio was once […]
Somehow I have never managed to experience one of the great BBC loudspeaker designs like the LS3/5a or the LS5/9. Although I have heard many speakers that claim to come close to these originals from the likes of Harbeth, Rogers and Spendor. So when the chance to lay my hands on a pair from a […]
Norway is not the first country you think of when looking for manufacturers of great audio equipment. But it is home to companies that are well known all over the world. Some will remember Tandberg, famous in the seventies and eighties for tape recorders and receivers, these days they only make pro gear. Of course […]
The RP10 is Rega’s latest and most ambitious turntable aside from the as yet to be finalized Naiad. It features many of the ideas developed for Naiad yet costs considerably less than the £20k expected price of that model. It is a bargain in both technological and sonic terms. The RP10 is built around a […]
Released into the wild in September 2013 the Loki is Schiit’s first dedicated DSD-capable USB DAC. As DSD is essentially a sub-niche within the existing niche of high resolution audio. While it remains to be seen whether DSD will achieve – and more importantly maintain – a meaningful toe-hold in the marketplace, the recent trend […]
An almost cubic DAC with a knob on it, from Bulgaria, with my reputation? Not half. Turns out that Antelope Audio has its origins in the US but all the R&D and marketing comes from Sofia, so Bulgarian enough then. I tried the first Antelope converter (now dubbed Zodiac 192 kHz) when the digital streaming […]
The mu-so is Naim’s first foray into the world beyond separates hi-fi. An all in one wireless sound system designed to sit on the sideboard of music lovers who want quality without clutter and the ability to play tunes straight from their mobile phones. It’s a brave move for a company that’s steeped in less […]
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 […]
A long, long time ago I had a teenage urge to become a DJ and built myself a mixing console. Unable to work with electronics I made a passive version with some sliding pots, I was too young to understand that a passive preamp or console changes more than the volume when moving the sliders. […]