NAD

On the various websites of the SoundStage! Network you’ll find reviews of all kinds of source components -- CD players, streamers, DACs, turntables, cartridges, and phono stages. But to my knowledge, in its 24-year history SoundStage! has reviewed only one smartphone: the LG G7 ThinQ.

Read more: Hi-Rez à-Go-Go

Is classical music in danger of dying “a digital death”? That prospect worries Thomas Steffens, CEO of Amsterdam-based Primephonic, a streaming service that specializes in classical music. “The world is moving toward streaming, where there are no CD stores anymore, and download stores are disappearing,” Steffens told me in an interview. “At the same time, classical music is massively underrepresented on streaming services. Classical music accounts for 5% of all global music consumption, but only 1% of streaming music, and 0.5% of streaming royalties.”

Read more: Streaming the Classics

Is a music-management application that costs $499 USD expensive? That’s what you’ll pay for a lifetime subscription to Roon, and I’ve occasionally called it “an expensive option.” If you don’t want to plunk down half a thou, you can pay $119 for a one-year subscription.

Read more: Play Nice Together -- An Interview with Rob Darling of Roon Labs

If anyone made a list of the 21st century’s most successful hi-fi speakers, that list would surely include the KEF LS50, introduced in 2012 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the BBC LS3/5a minimonitor. Since then the LS50 has received countless honors, including Reviewers’ Choice and Product of the Year awards from SoundStage!.

Read more: Active Voices, Part Three: KEF's Jack Oclee-Brown

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  1. Are Downloads Dead?
  2. Hi-Rez Streaming: Tidal vs. Qobuz
  3. Toronto Audiofest 2018 Simplifi'd
  4. How I Simplifi'd My Hi-Fi
  5. Time to Celebrate: Five Years of Google Chromecast
  6. How Good Can Voice Recognition Get?
  7. Are Smart Speakers Any Good for Audiophiles?
  8. High End 2018, Simplifi'd
  9. Is the Smart Speaker a Dumb Idea?
  10. What's Up with Apple AirPlay 2?
  11. The Spotify Dilemma
  12. CES 2018, Simplifi’d
  13. Farewell, CES
  14. Room Tunes
  15. Social Streaming
  16. CEDIA 2017, Simplifi’d
  17. Classical Prime Time
  18. The Röst Reconsidered
  19. High End 2017, Simplifi'd
  20. Vinyl: There's an App for That
  21. Metadata: Life with Roon
  22. The Internet and Audio: The Good, the Bad, and the Impossible
  23. The State of Streaming
  24. CES 2017, Simplifi'd
  25. Why "Simplifi"

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