PSB Alpha IQ

There are many things I like about my gig on the SoundStage! Network, but what I enjoy most are my colleagues. They all share my passion for music and audio, and they’re all very knowledgeable. And they have strong opinions that often diverge in interesting ways.

Read more: Getting Spaced: What’s the Future for Atmos-Encoded Music?

“Push that button,” Doug Schneider suggested after Jason fired up Roon and began streaming some music. Jason Thorpe, senior editor of SoundStage! Ultra, had recently built a Roon server using spare computer parts. He connected the server to an ancient Squeezebox Touch streamer, and that, in turn, to the USB port on the Hegel Music Systems H120 integrated amplifier–DAC of his main-floor music system.

Read more: Little Colored Lights: Drilling Down in Roon

As readers of my articles on Simplifi will likely know, my primary music-management application is Roon and has been for almost as long as I’ve been writing for SoundStage! But before that I used Audirvana as my main music-player app, and I liked it a lot. Audirvana has been through many changes since I switched to Roon. I thought it would be interesting to revisit it.

Read more: The French Connection—Is Audirvana a Worthy Alternative to Roon?

Somewhere in the middle of 2015, the whole Apple ecosystem—at least with regard to ripping music and plonking it onto my iPhone—stopped working for me. In fact, I can pin it down to sometime between May 1 and August 1 of that year. I know this because, until very recently, the newest Grateful Dead CD rip to make its way onto my iPhone was Dave’s Picks, Volume 14 (Academy of Music, New York, NY 3/26/72). Thereafter, every time I tried to sync my ripped music to my iPhone (be it my 6s Plus, 8 Plus, or 12 Pro Max), I was met with a dreaded “Waiting for sync to start” error that never resolved itself, even when I left my phone plugged into my PC overnight.

Read more: Apple’s War on Windows

During the first few months of 2024, I’ve seen some killer deals on the kind of hi-fi gear I most like. Seeing these deals has led me to ask some questions about the nature of Simplifi’d hi-fi, and to wonder how widely my preferences are shared.

Read more: Fire Sales

Lately, I’ve noticed that a growing number of products reviewed on Simplifi and other sites on the SoundStage! Network are only available for purchase online. Here are some examples: Denmark’s Buchardt Audio, whose Anniversary 10 active loudspeaker I reviewed on February 1, sells exclusively over the internet. So does Norway’s Arendal Sound, whose 1723 Tower S loudspeaker Philip Beaudette recently reviewed on SoundStage! Hi-Fi. Fluance and Axiom Audio, both based in Canada, sell exclusively online. Thom Moon has enthusiastically reviewed several Fluance products on SoundStage! Access, most recently the RT81+ turntable and Reference XL8F loudspeaker.

Read more: Direct versus Retail

Harman International Industries, as many readers know, owns several highly regarded home-audio brands: AKG, Arcam, Harman Kardon, JBL, Lexicon, Mark Levinson, and Revel, among others. Fewer know that Harman is also involved in pro audio and automotive electronics. On November 27, Harman announced a further expansion to its ambit with the acquisition of Roon Labs, a move that caught almost everyone in the hi-fi world by surprise, including me. Harman itself was acquired by Samsung Electronics in 2017 and operates as an autonomous subsidiary of the South Korean giant.

Read more: Harman International Has Bought Roon Labs—What Comes Next?

There’s a short answer to the question posed by the title of this article: “Of course they do.” I could leave it at that, in which case this would be the shortest article ever published on the SoundStage! Network. A slightly longer answer is that the place of physical media in Simplifi’d hi-fi is declining, just as it is in hi-fi in general. But make no mistake—vinyl and CD are still relevant.

Read more: Getting Physical—Do LPs and CDs Have a Place in Simplifi’d Hi-Fi?

Since 2018, the SoundStage! Network has been a member of the Expert Imaging and Sound Association. Each year, EISA presents awards in six categories: photography, mobile devices, in-car electronics, home-theater display, home-theater audio, and hi-fi. The SoundStage! Network is a voting member in the hi-fi category.

Read more: Active Voices: Livio Cucuzza of Sonus Faber

In mid-July, a SoundStage! reader posed this question on SoundStage! founder Doug Schneider’s LinkedIn page: “Can someone point me to an article that tells me in simple terms why I should be using Roon?”

Read more: Is Roon Worth It?

Sometimes when things don’t work out the way you’d planned, it’s all for the best. This article is a case in point. In my June 1 feature, “Lakeside Streaming,” I explained how I’ve made it simple for guests to stream video and music to the various TVs and smart speakers in our vacation home. In the conclusion of that article, I noted that I use Roon for music playback at home and explained how the Roon ARC app lets me access my Roon library when I’m away from home. “But Roon ARC is a subject all of its own,” I added, “which I’ll tackle later this summer.” That time has now come.

Read more: Out and About—Using Roon Away from Home

  1. Lakeside Streaming—Network Entertainment at a Vacation Home
  2. Streaming Update—Spring 2023
  3. Active Voices: An Interview with Paul Barton and Rob Nicholls of PSB Speakers
  4. The State of Streaming—2023
  5. Gordon's System, Re-Simplifi'd
  6. Mix Master: PMC's Heff Moraes on Making Music in Atmos
  7. Toronto Audiofest 2022, Simplifi’d
  8. The Great Debate: Is Component Hi-Fi Dead?
  9. Evolving Hi-Fi: My Journey with a Fleet of Devialet Silver Phantoms
  10. Simplifi'd Hi-Fi at Munich High End–and Elsewhere
  11. How We Listen
  12. Wayback Playback
  13. Listen While You Work
  14. The State of Streaming—2022
  15. Why "Simplifi"—Five Years Later
  16. The Evolution of BluOS: An Interview with Lenbrook's Andrew Haines
  17. Dolby Atmos Music in Your Home
  18. The Big Switch
  19. I'm Only in It for the Money
  20. Encore! Encore! An Interview with Patricia Barber, Jim Anderson, and Ulrike Schwarz
  21. The New Apple Music
  22. Moving Forward with Formation: An Interview with Andy Kerr of Bowers & Wilkins
  23. Glory Days
  24. Spotify Goes Lossless
  25. In Defense of Streaming
  26. Tinkering Simplifi'd
  27. Simplifi Defined
  28. Going Deep with Artison
  29. A Simplifi Yearbook
  30. A Perfect Pair
  31. The Critical Component
  32. Has the Time Come for Surround Music?
  33. My Top Ten Products of the Last Two Years
  34. Turning Pro
  35. All About That Bass
  36. Gently Down the Stream
  37. Big Events
  38. Rules of the Game
  39. The Name Game
  40. January 1, 2020: The State of Streaming
  41. Warsaw’s Audio Video Show 2019, Simplifi’d
  42. Toronto Audiofest 2019, Simplifi'd
  43. Hi-Rez à-Go-Go
  44. Streaming the Classics
  45. Play Nice Together -- An Interview with Rob Darling of Roon Labs
  46. Active Voices, Part Three: KEF's Jack Oclee-Brown
  47. High End 2019, Simplifi'd
  48. Active Voices, Part Two: Axiom Audio's Andrew Welker
  49. Montréal Audio Fest Simplifi'd
  50. Active Voices, Part One: Elac's Andrew Jones
  51. Let's Keep it Simple
  52. A Roon of One's Own
  53. How I Simplifi'd My Wi-Fi
  54. Are Downloads Dead?
  55. Hi-Rez Streaming: Tidal vs. Qobuz
  56. Toronto Audiofest 2018 Simplifi'd
  57. How I Simplifi'd My Hi-Fi
  58. Time to Celebrate: Five Years of Google Chromecast
  59. How Good Can Voice Recognition Get?
  60. Are Smart Speakers Any Good for Audiophiles?
  61. High End 2018, Simplifi'd
  62. Is the Smart Speaker a Dumb Idea?
  63. What's Up with Apple AirPlay 2?
  64. The Spotify Dilemma
  65. CES 2018, Simplifi’d
  66. Farewell, CES
  67. Room Tunes
  68. Social Streaming
  69. CEDIA 2017, Simplifi’d
  70. Classical Prime Time
  71. The Röst Reconsidered
  72. High End 2017, Simplifi'd
  73. Vinyl: There's an App for That
  74. Metadata: Life with Roon
  75. The Internet and Audio: The Good, the Bad, and the Impossible
  76. The State of Streaming
  77. CES 2017, Simplifi'd
  78. Why "Simplifi"

Page 1 of 9