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SoundStage! Simplifi
SoundStage! Simplifi
Focal DIVA MEZZA Utopia
Focal DIVA MEZZA Utopia
NAD C 700 V2
NAD C 700 V2

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

Naim Audio Mu-so Qb 2nd Generation Wireless Music System

Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 01 January 2020

Reviewers' ChoiceWhen Naim Audio introduced a new version of its acclaimed Mu-so wireless music system in May 2019, at Munich’s High End, it seemed inevitable that an updated version of the Mu-so Qb would soon follow. And so it did. In early August Naim announced the Mu-so Qb 2nd Generation ($899, all prices USD), and in late October my review sample arrived.

Read more: Naim Audio Mu-so Qb 2nd Generation Wireless Music System

Cambridge Audio CXA81 Integrated Amplifier-DAC

Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 15 December 2019

These days, it’s becoming increasingly common for audio manufacturers to offer integrated amplifiers with built-in, high-resolution DACs. For audiophiles who want a low-footprint system to use in real-world living spaces, that’s a very good thing. Add a pair of speakers and a digital source component like a notebook PC or network streamer, and you have most of the world’s music at your fingertips.

Read more: Cambridge Audio CXA81 Integrated Amplifier-DAC

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

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Axiom
Axiom

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