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SoundStage! Simplifi
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Elac Alchemy DDP-2 Streaming DAC-Preamp

Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 01 July 2020

The American brand Audio Alchemy was founded in the 1980s and folded a decade later. It re-emerged in the early 2000s, and was purchased by Elac in 2016, where it has undergone a renaissance. Audio Alchemy founder Peter Madnick now acts as a consulting engineer for Elac, and is responsible for developing Elac’s Alchemy series of electronic components, now in their second generation.

Read more: Elac Alchemy DDP-2 Streaming DAC-Preamp

Focal Shape 65 Analog Active Loudspeakers

Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 15 June 2020

Reviewers' ChoiceIn the past few years, the French speaker maker Focal has had an amazing run on SoundStage!. Reviewed by Diego Estan on SoundStage! Access, the Chora 806 ($990/pair, all prices USD) received a Reviewers’ Choice award, and was later designated a Recommended Reference Component. The same honors were bestowed on Focal’s Stellia headphones ($2990), reviewed by Brent Butterworth on SoundStage! Solo; and on the Spectral 40th floorstanding speakers ($9990/pair) and Sopra No1 minimonitors ($9990/pair), both reviewed by Diego for SoundStage! Hi-Fi. The Spectral 40th was also named a SoundStage! Network 2019 Product of the Year in the Hall of Fame category. That’s a mighty impressive record.

Read more: Focal Shape 65 Analog Active Loudspeakers

HEDD Type 07 Analog Active Loudspeakers

Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 01 June 2020

When computer audio took off, a decade ago, many hobbyists opted to use active studio monitors, rather than the usual amplifier and passive speakers. It’s not hard to see why. Especially for desktop audio, where space is at a premium, speakers with built-in amps are convenient.

Read more: HEDD Type 07 Analog Active Loudspeakers

exaSound Audio Design Delta Music Server M100

Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 15 May 2020

Do you need a powerhouse computer just to play music? Not everyone does -- I use a nine-year-old, mid-tier Apple Mac Mini, and it does just fine. I’ve modified it for music playback, swapping out its spinning hard-disk drive for a solid-state drive (SSD), and bumping up its RAM from 4 to 16GB, so that music plays from memory rather than storage.

Read more: exaSound Audio Design Delta Music Server M100

Bryston BDA-3.14 Streaming DAC-Preamplifier

Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 01 May 2020

Can an audio component be more than the sum of its parts? Bryston’s new BDA-3.14 streaming DAC-preamp ($4195, all prices USD) invites that question. Essentially, it combines two products on one chassis: the acclaimed BDA-3 DAC ($3795) and a network streamer based on the BDP-Pi ($1495). The BDP-Pi derives its name from the Raspberry Pi single-board computer at its core. Hence the model number of the new integrated product -- 3.14 is an approximation of the mathematical constant pi (π), denoting the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter.

Read more: Bryston BDA-3.14 Streaming DAC-Preamplifier

iFi Audio Pro iDSD Streaming DAC-Preamp-Headphone Amplifier

Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 01 April 2020

A half-century ago, when I got into audio, most amplifiers had front panels that looked like jet cockpits. And the higher a model was in its manufacturer’s product line, the more knobs and switches it had.

Read more: iFi Audio Pro iDSD Streaming DAC-Preamp-Headphone Amplifier

Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar

Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 15 March 2020

Is there a hobby that’s less domesticated than home theater? Ever since people began connecting their TVs to their stereos in the late 1970s, audio manufacturers have been encouraging them to add more and more speakers -- and it’s gotten a bit crazy.

Read more: Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar

DALI Rubicon 6 C Hybrid Active Loudspeakers

Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 01 March 2020

Reviewers' ChoiceLast November in Warsaw, Poland, at the Audio Video Show 2019, I saw several products that fit Simplifi’s mandate to cover “convenient, lifestyle-oriented hi-fi,” many of which I knew I wanted to get in for review. At the top of the list were two new active loudspeakers from Danish Audiophile Loudspeaker Industries (DALI): the Rubicon 2 C stand-mount ($5799/pair, all prices USD) and the Rubicon 6 C floorstander ($7999/pair). DALI’s passive Rubicon models are just one tier below their flagship Epicon series, so the prospect of reviewing these new active versions was mighty appealing.

Read more: DALI Rubicon 6 C Hybrid Active Loudspeakers

Pro-Ject Audio Systems Pre Box RS2 Digital DAC-Preamp-Headphone Amp

Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 15 February 2020

The audio world knows of Pro-Ject Audio Systems as a major brand of turntables, but this Vienna-based company also makes an extensive line of electronics that lately have been winning all kinds of awards. For the past three years, Pro-Ject has received awards for its turntables and its electronic components from the Expert Imaging and Sound Association (EISA).

Read more: Pro-Ject Audio Systems Pre Box RS2 Digital DAC-Preamp-Headphone Amp

Klipsch RW-51M Wireless Powered Loudspeakers

Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 01 February 2020

“You want to put those in our living room?” Over the years, words like these have scuttled countless plans for new home-entertainment systems. If the components themselves didn’t push the spouse acceptance factor into the red zone, the cables needed to connect them did.

Read more: Klipsch RW-51M Wireless Powered Loudspeakers

iFi Audio Aurora Wireless Music System

Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 15 January 2020

At a press event last May at High End 2019, in Munich, a chorus of oohs and aahs rippled through the audience when iFi Audio unveiled, for the first time, its Aurora tabletop music system ($1399, all prices USD). A glance at the photographs accompanying this review make it easy to understand this reaction.

Read more: iFi Audio Aurora Wireless Music System

  1. Naim Audio Mu-so Qb 2nd Generation Wireless Music System
  2. Cambridge Audio CXA81 Integrated Amplifier-DAC
  3. Hegel Music Systems H120 Integrated Amplifier-DAC
  4. DALI Katch One Soundbar
  5. NAD Classic C 658 BluOS Streaming DAC
  6. Kanto Audio Tuk Powered Loudspeakers
  7. Lumin T2 Network Music Player
  8. Naim Audio ND5 XS 2 Network Music Player
  9. Elac Navis ARF-51 Active Loudspeakers
  10. Devialet Phantom Reactor 900 Active Loudspeakers
  11. PMC result6 Active Loudspeakers
  12. Bowers & Wilkins Formation Duo Active Loudspeakers
  13. Naim Audio Mu-so 2nd Generation Wireless Music System
  14. McIntosh Laboratory MTI100 Integrated Turntable
  15. Yamaha WXA-50 MusicCast Streaming Amplifier
  16. NAD Masters M10 BluOS Streaming Integrated Amplifier
  17. Primare SC15 Prisma Streaming DAC-Preamp
  18. Naim Uniti Core CD Ripper/Music Server
  19. Elac Navis ARB-51 Active Loudspeakers
  20. Bluesound Pulse 2i Wireless Speaker
  21. SVS Prime Wireless Active Speakers
  22. Totem Acoustic Kin Play Powered Speakers
  23. KEF LSX Active Loudspeakers
  24. Bluesound Vault 2i CD Ripper-Server-Streamer
  25. Pro-Ject Audio Systems Stream Box S2 Ultra Music Streamer
  26. Kii Audio Three DSP-Controlled Active Loudspeakers
  27. Aurender S5W Battery-Powered Wireless Active Loudspeakers
  28. Cambridge Audio Yoyo (L) Wireless Speaker
  29. DALI Callisto 2 C Active Speaker System
  30. Kanto SYD Bluetooth Speaker
  31. LG G7 ThinQ Smartphone
  32. Pro-Ject Audio Systems Juke Box E Turntable-Integrated Amplifier
  33. NAD D 3020 V2 Bluetooth Integrated Amplifier-DAC
  34. Polk Assist Wi-Fi Smart Speaker
  35. MartinLogan Unison Wireless Preamplifier
  36. Dynaudio Music 7 Wi-Fi Speaker
  37. Musical Fidelity M6 Encore 225 Music System
  38. Cocktail Audio X35 Music System
  39. Peachtree Audio decco125 Sky Integrated Amplifier-DAC
  40. Technics Ottava f SC-C70 Music System
  41. JBL Link 500 Wi-Fi Speaker
  42. Trinnov Amethyst DAC-Preamplifier-Processor
  43. Control4 Triad One Streaming Amplifier
  44. Elac Discovery Z3 Wi-Fi Speaker
  45. Klipsch Heritage Wireless Three Wi-Fi Speaker
  46. Paradigm PW 300 Wi-Fi Loudspeakers
  47. Thiel Audio Aurora Home Wi-Fi Speaker
  48. Hegel Music Systems H190 DAC-Integrated Amplifier
  49. Yamaha R-N803 Network Stereo Receiver
  50. Onkyo TX-8270 Network Stereo Receiver
  51. Dynaudio Focus 20 XD Active Loudspeakers
  52. Riva Audio Festival Wi-Fi Speaker
  53. Naim Audio Uniti Atom Wireless Streaming DAC-Integrated Amplifier
  54. NAD Masters Series M50.2 Digital Music Player
  55. Bryston BryFi BW-1 Wi-Fi Speaker
  56. Arcam rPlay Music Streamer
  57. Auralic Polaris Wireless Streaming DAC-Integrated Amplifier
  58. Simaudio Moon Neo ACE DAC-Streamer-Integrated Amplifier
  59. NAD C 368 DAC-Integrated Amplifier
  60. Lumin M1 Integrated Amplifier-Network Music Player
  61. Arcam Solo Music DAC-Integrated Amplifier-Universal Player
  62. McIntosh Laboratory RS100 Wi-Fi Loudspeakers
  63. Hegel Music Systems Röst Integrated Amplifier
  64. Naim Audio Mu-so Qb Wi-Fi Speaker
  65. Bang & Olufsen BeoSound 2 Wi-Fi Speaker

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Axiom
Axiom

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