• Why "Simplifi"
  • Feature Articles
  • Equipment Reviews
  • All Articles
  • Letters
  • Our Other Sites
      • Back
      • SoundStage! Network (portal)
      • SoundStage! Access
      • SoundStage! Australia
      • SoundStage! Global
      • SoundStage! Hi-Fi
      • SoundStage! Simplifi (here)
      • SoundStage! TV (YouTube)
      • SoundStage! Ultra
      • SoundStage! Xperience
SoundStage! Simplifi
SoundStage! Simplifi
NAD M33
Naim
NAD M33
Lumin
iFi Audio

High End 2019, Simplifi'd

  • Print
  • Email
Written by Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 01 June 2019

There’s no doubt about it: Munich’s High End is the greatest audio show on earth. But don’t let the name scare you. High End isn’t only about big, expensive gear -- not that there’s anything wrong with that. Many affordable components made their debuts at this year’s show.

Read more: High End 2019, Simplifi'd

Yamaha WXA-50 MusicCast Streaming Amplifier

  • Print
  • Email
Written by Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 01 June 2019

For people who want to enjoy their music in real-world living spaces, two of the most welcome developments of recent years have been the integration of streaming capability into integrated amplifiers, and the downsizing of these components. With a streaming amplifier and good pair of speakers, you have everything you need to enjoy a vast range of music, in sound quality far beyond that of most all-in-one tabletop speakers. And you can do this without breaking the bank, or cluttering up your living area with audio gear.

Read more: Yamaha WXA-50 MusicCast Streaming Amplifier

NAD Masters M10 BluOS Streaming Integrated Amplifier

  • Print
  • Email
Written by Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 15 May 2019

Reviewers' ChoiceIn the Toronto home I share with my infinitely better half, the hi-fi lives in the living room. Of course, I want it to sound great -- and it does -- but it also has to look as if it belongs. We’ve put a lot of effort into the design and décor of our home: If the hi-fi is to occupy a public space, it must be suitable for civilized company.

Read more: NAD Masters M10 BluOS Streaming Integrated Amplifier

Active Voices, Part Two: Axiom Audio's Andrew Welker

  • Print
  • Email
Written by Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 01 May 2019

Most active speakers are all-in-one components, with built-in amplifiers and often built-in DACs as well, but no law says that active loudspeaker technology must be neat and compact. It’s possible to create an active speaker system with external amplifiers and crossover, like those offered by Bryston. Bryston’s active systems combine crossoverless versions of its Model T, Middle T, and Mini T speakers with the BAX-1 external crossover, plus amplifiers dedicated to each frequency range.

Read more: Active Voices, Part Two: Axiom Audio's Andrew Welker

Primare SC15 Prisma Streaming DAC-Preamp

  • Print
  • Email
Written by Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 01 May 2019

One thing that differentiates enthusiast audio from other areas of consumer electronics is the amazing proliferation of brands. Most CE categories are dominated by a few big names -- think TVs (LG, Samsung, Sony, TCL, Vizio), or smartphones (Apple, Huawei, Samsung again). But audiophiles shopping for speakers, amplifiers, source components, or cables can choose from among literally hundreds of brands.

Read more: Primare SC15 Prisma Streaming DAC-Preamp

Montréal Audio Fest Simplifi'd

  • Print
  • Email
Written by Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 15 April 2019

Like many audiophiles with limited space and limited funds, I often wonder why, at audio shows, so many companies insist on displaying ultra-expensive systems. Why not real-world systems that most people can afford? Systems they can use in day-to-day living spaces, not just man caves?

Read more: Montréal Audio Fest Simplifi'd

Naim Uniti Core CD Ripper/Music Server

  • Print
  • Email
Written by Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 15 April 2019

Is the Compact Disc on its deathbed? Not yet, but there’s cause for concern. According to the 2019 Global Music Report from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), worldwide sales of physical media declined 10.1% in 2018. Vinyl sales grew 6%, and now account for 3.6% of worldwide music-industry revenues. So based on a little back-of-the-envelope math, it looks like global CD sales declined by around 12% last year.

Read more: Naim Uniti Core CD Ripper/Music Server

Elac Navis ARB-51 Active Loudspeakers

  • Print
  • Email
Written by Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 01 April 2019

Reviewers' ChoiceThe German hi-fi brand Elac dates back to the 1920s, but has lately undergone a renaissance. Following a business reorganization in 2014, Elac established an American subsidiary charged with developing affordable, high-performance loudspeakers. That task was assigned to Andrew Jones, who in 2015 joined Elac as vice-president of engineering, following gigs at KEF, Infinity, TAD, and Pioneer.

Read more: Elac Navis ARB-51 Active Loudspeakers

Active Voices, Part One: Elac's Andrew Jones

  • Print
  • Email
Written by Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 01 April 2019

Two years ago next month, in a feature for sister site SoundStage! Hi-Fi, Doug Schneider posed a question: “Is it time for active speakers?” As Doug noted, audiophiles have traditionally been cool toward active designs, despite their many advantages. This is partly because active speakers take some of the fun out of hobbyist audio. Audiophiles want to choose their own amps and cables, rather than have someone else make those choices for them.

Read more: Active Voices, Part One: Elac's Andrew Jones

Bluesound Pulse 2i Wireless Speaker

  • Print
  • Email
Written by Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 15 March 2019

Last October, Lenbrook International announced a comprehensive upgrade of its Bluesound lineup of whole-house audio products. Bluesound’s 2i series offers such new features as Apple AirPlay 2 support, improved Bluetooth capability, Amazon Alexa voice control, and updated Wi-Fi connectivity.

Read more: Bluesound Pulse 2i Wireless Speaker

SVS Prime Wireless Active Speakers

  • Print
  • Email
Written by Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 01 March 2019

Over the past several years, Ohio-based SVS has earned a reputation for making affordable, high-performance loudspeakers and subwoofers. Its subs, of course, are active, but until recently, all of its full-range speakers were passive designs. Last year, SVS introduced the fully active, two-way Prime Wireless speakers ($599.99/pair; all prices USD).

Read more: SVS Prime Wireless Active Speakers

Let's Keep it Simple

  • Print
  • Email
Written by Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 01 March 2019

It’s a common fallacy to believe that things that come easily to you come easily to everyone. But as a recent experience confirmed for me, it’s just not so.

Read more: Let's Keep it Simple

Totem Acoustic Kin Play Powered Speakers

  • Print
  • Email
Written by Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 15 February 2019

I’ve never thought of myself as having sharp elbows. But here I am, the new guy in the SoundStage! neighborhood, and I keep muscling in on my colleagues’ territories. For my first review on Simplifi, I tackled LG’s G7 ThinQ MQA-compatible smartphone, a product that would fit nicely on SoundStage! Solo. More recently, I opined that the Kii Audio Three DSP-controlled active speakers would be right at home on SoundStage! Hi-Fi or Ultra.

Read more: Totem Acoustic Kin Play Powered Speakers

A Roon of One's Own

  • Print
  • Email
Written by Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 01 February 2019

One of my pet peeves is technology that thinks it knows more than I do. Sometimes, software developers will release a new version that removes a useful feature, supposedly to enhance ease of use, but usually to advance a corporate agenda. Sometimes, they’ll streamline a key function to make it simpler for inexperienced users, at the cost of restricting flexibility for experienced users.

Read more: A Roon of One's Own

KEF LSX Active Loudspeakers

  • Print
  • Email
Written by Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 01 February 2019

KEF’s little LSX active speakers ($1099 USD per pair) would seem to contain everything you need for high-resolution stereo sound. Each enclosure houses a KEF Uni-Q driver array comprising a 0.75” aluminum-dome tweeter mounted at the acoustic center of a 4.5” magnesium-aluminum midrange-woofer, each powered by its own amplifier. The LSXes are small enough to virtually disappear into your room, but if you look their way they’ll grab your eye. They’re available in five colors: white, green, red, blue, and black. Speakers in all colors but white are covered on four sides with a matching industrial textile. The white version, which I reviewed, has a high-gloss finish on all surfaces, and the driver is in complementary silver-gray. It’s gorgeous. The red and blue models have drivers of the same color as the cabinet; the others have drivers of a complementary color.

Read more: KEF LSX Active Loudspeakers

Bluesound Vault 2i CD Ripper-Server-Streamer

  • Print
  • Email
Written by Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 15 January 2019

Despite what the illuminati say about our brave new world “moving at Internet speed,” sometimes we just have to hurry up and wait. This review is a case in point.

Read more: Bluesound Vault 2i CD Ripper-Server-Streamer

Pro-Ject Audio Systems Stream Box S2 Ultra Music Streamer

  • Print
  • Email
Written by Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 01 January 2019

Most audiophiles know Pro-Ject Audio Systems as a maker of turntables. Indeed, more than any manufacturer, Vienna-based Pro-Ject is responsible for the vinyl revival.

Read more: Pro-Ject Audio Systems Stream Box S2 Ultra Music Streamer

How I Simplifi'd My Wi-Fi

  • Print
  • Email
Written by Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 01 January 2019

Keen-eyed readers may have noticed that I recently added a new category to the Associated Equipment section at the end of my reviews. In addition to listing the speakers, sources, and cables used for a review, I’ve started listing my network setup. For most of the products I review, every note I listen to is streamed over a network. That makes the network an important part of my home-entertainment system.

Read more: How I Simplifi'd My Wi-Fi

Kii Audio Three DSP-Controlled Active Loudspeakers

  • Print
  • Email
Written by Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 15 December 2018

Reviewers' ChoiceThis corner of the SoundStage! Network is devoted to “convenient, lifestyle-oriented hi-fi,” to quote the blurb on the Network portal. To some diehards, the word lifestyle conveys a kind of superficiality, a lack of seriousness, but not to yours truly. As I wrote in my kick-off feature for SoundStage! Simplifi, there’s a lot to be said for integrating your hi-fi into your everyday life. Having your main music system in a living area, rather than hiding it away in an inner sanctum, means that everyone can enjoy it, not just the household high priest of audio.

Read more: Kii Audio Three DSP-Controlled Active Loudspeakers

Aurender S5W Battery-Powered Wireless Active Loudspeakers

  • Print
  • Email
Written by Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 01 December 2018

Once in a while, I come across a product that has me scratching my head: What’s this thing really for, and who needs it? Then a light goes on, and I get it: Hey, this product is really cool, and really useful. Why did it take so long for someone to come up with this idea?

Read more: Aurender S5W Battery-Powered Wireless Active Loudspeakers

Are Downloads Dead?

  • Print
  • Email
Written by Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 01 December 2018

This fall marked the 10th anniversary of file-based, high-resolution audio playback. The New York City-based website HDtracks opened its virtual doors in March 2008; in October of that year, it added to its catalog 24-bit/88.2kHz and 24/96 FLAC files.

Read more: Are Downloads Dead?

Cambridge Audio Yoyo (L) Wireless Speaker

  • Print
  • Email
Written by Brent Butterworth
Created: 15 November 2018

Wireless speakers have become like A/V receivers: it’s almost impossible to build one that’s still up to date a few months after launch. Cambridge Audio’s Yoyo (L) all-in-one home audio system doesn’t have voice command, the latest hot feature boasted by an increasing number of wireless speakers, but it offers almost everything else you might want in a wireless speaker, as well as at least one thing that’s likely to surprise you. It also packs a lot more audio engineering than do most wireless speakers.

Read more: Cambridge Audio Yoyo (L) Wireless Speaker

Hi-Rez Streaming: Tidal vs. Qobuz

  • Print
  • Email
Written by Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 15 November 2018

Sometime soon, hopefully before the end of 2018, North American audiophiles will have their choice of two high-resolution music-streaming services. One of them is a familiar name -- now available in 57 countries, Tidal has been operating in North America since 2015. The other is a relative unknown, at least on the west side of the Atlantic.

Read more: Hi-Rez Streaming: Tidal vs. Qobuz

DALI Callisto 2 C Active Speaker System

  • Print
  • Email
Written by Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 01 November 2018

Reviewers' ChoiceFor serious, sit-down stereo, active loudspeakers have traditionally been a tough sell. I’ve never understood why -- their domestic advantages are obvious. Active speakers can make possible audiophile-quality sound in spaces where traditional components are unwelcome -- as outlined in my recent feature on "How I Simplifi’d My Hi-Fi."

Read more: DALI Callisto 2 C Active Speaker System

Toronto Audiofest 2018 Simplifi'd

  • Print
  • Email
Written by Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 01 November 2018

Toronto has a new audio show. The first-ever Toronto Audiofest was held at the Westin Toronto Airport Hotel October 19-21. In one year, it has effectively supplanted the Toronto Audio-Video Entertainment Show (TAVES), which began in 2011 but gradually lost its way.

Read more: Toronto Audiofest 2018 Simplifi'd

Kanto SYD Bluetooth Speaker

  • Print
  • Email
Written by Kevin East
Created: 15 October 2018

So much is made these days of powered speakers with Bluetooth connectivity that, presented with one of these wonder puppies, I was prompted to plug it in, invoke Bluetooth, link it to my iPhone, et voilà -- music!

Read more: Kanto SYD Bluetooth Speaker

LG G7 ThinQ Smartphone

  • Print
  • Email
Written by Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 01 October 2018

Reviewers' ChoiceSmartphones are the quintessential jacks-of-all-trades. Beyond their basic function (telephony), you can use them to surf the Web, shoot pictures and videos, play games, feed the parking meter, check your bank balance, navigate strange cities, and a million or so other applications.

Does the trades corollary follow? Are they masters of none? You can tap out an e-mail on your phone’s screen, but you wouldn’t want to write a novel on it. Smartphone cameras are fine for snapshots, but if you’re a serious photographer, you’ll want a serious camera.

Read more: LG G7 ThinQ Smartphone

How I Simplifi'd My Hi-Fi

  • Print
  • Email
Written by Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 15 September 2018

A year ago this month, my missus and I made a life-changing decision. We would sell the Toronto home where she had lived for 26 years, and move to a smaller house in the same neighborhood. Our kids had long since left the nest (lucky us!), and that big five-bedroom house was way more real estate than we needed. Downsizing would free up money for our retirements (we are now both, officially, geezers) and simplify our lives.

Read more: How I Simplifi'd My Hi-Fi

Pro-Ject Audio Systems Juke Box E Turntable-Integrated Amplifier

  • Print
  • Email
Written by Brent Butterworth
Created: 01 September 2018

Pro-Ject Audio Systems’ Juke Box E shows how stereo systems ain’t what they used to be. That statement is not a lament for an imagined better past, but an observation of what kinds of systems today’s listeners want and need. The Juke Box E ($499 USD) caters not to the traditional audiophile, but to a new generation with different listening habits. It combines a turntable, phono stage, integrated amplifier, and Bluetooth receiver, all in a package no larger than a typical budget turntable. All you add is speakers.

Read more: Pro-Ject Audio Systems Juke Box E Turntable-Integrated Amplifier

Time to Celebrate: Five Years of Google Chromecast

  • Print
  • Email
Written by Sathyan Sundaram
Created: 01 September 2018

Music lovers have been trying to solve a problem ever since they began collecting recordings: How to have convenient access to large music libraries?

Read more: Time to Celebrate: Five Years of Google Chromecast

  1. NAD D 3020 V2 Bluetooth Integrated Amplifier-DAC
  2. How Good Can Voice Recognition Get?
  3. Polk Assist Wi-Fi Smart Speaker
  4. Are Smart Speakers Any Good for Audiophiles?
  5. MartinLogan Unison Wireless Preamplifier
  6. High End 2018, Simplifi'd
  7. Dynaudio Music 7 Wi-Fi Speaker
  8. Musical Fidelity M6 Encore 225 Music System
  9. Cocktail Audio X35 Music System
  10. Is the Smart Speaker a Dumb Idea?
  11. Peachtree Audio decco125 Sky Integrated Amplifier-DAC
  12. Technics Ottava f SC-C70 Music System
  13. What's Up with Apple AirPlay 2?
  14. JBL Link 500 Wi-Fi Speaker
  15. The Spotify Dilemma
  16. Trinnov Amethyst DAC-Preamplifier-Processor
  17. Control4 Triad One Streaming Amplifier
  18. Elac Discovery Z3 Wi-Fi Speaker
  19. CES 2018, Simplifi’d
  20. Klipsch Heritage Wireless Three Wi-Fi Speaker
  21. Farewell, CES
  22. Paradigm PW 300 Wi-Fi Loudspeakers
  23. Thiel Audio Aurora Home Wi-Fi Speaker
  24. Room Tunes
  25. Hegel Music Systems H190 DAC-Integrated Amplifier
  26. Social Streaming
  27. Yamaha R-N803 Network Stereo Receiver
  28. Onkyo TX-8270 Network Stereo Receiver
  29. CEDIA 2017, Simplifi’d
  30. Dynaudio Focus 20 XD Active Loudspeakers
  31. Riva Audio Festival Wi-Fi Speaker
  32. Naim Audio Uniti Atom Wireless Streaming DAC-Integrated Amplifier
  33. Classical Prime Time
  34. NAD Masters Series M50.2 Digital Music Player
  35. Bryston BryFi BW-1 Wi-Fi Speaker
  36. The Röst Reconsidered
  37. Arcam rPlay Music Streamer
  38. Auralic Polaris Wireless Streaming DAC-Integrated Amplifier
  39. High End 2017, Simplifi'd
  40. Simaudio Moon Neo ACE DAC-Streamer-Integrated Amplifier
  41. Vinyl: There's an App for That
  42. Metadata: Life with Roon
  43. NAD C 368 DAC-Integrated Amplifier
  44. The Internet and Audio: The Good, the Bad, and the Impossible
  45. Lumin M1 Integrated Amplifier-Network Music Player
  46. Arcam Solo Music DAC-Integrated Amplifier-Universal Player
  47. McIntosh Laboratory RS100 Wi-Fi Loudspeakers
  48. The State of Streaming
  49. Hegel Music Systems Röst Integrated Amplifier
  50. CES 2017, Simplifi'd
  51. Naim Audio Mu-so Qb Wi-Fi Speaker
  52. Why "Simplifi"
  53. Bang & Olufsen BeoSound 2 Wi-Fi Speaker

Page 3 of 5

  • Start
  • Prev
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • Next
  • End
McIntosh Labs
Kii Audio
Rotel
Sonus faber

SoundStage! Simplifi is part of

SoundStage!

All contents available on this website are copyrighted by SoundStage!® and Schneider Publishing Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.

This site was designed by RocketTheme, Karen Fanas, and The SoundStage! Network.

To contact us, please e-mail info@soundstagenetwork.com

To Top
feed-image

Visit NADElectronics.com