Ask ten experts about the best portable music players on the market, and at least a couple of them will say Astell & Kern. They’re known in the hi-fi industry for making some of the best – and most expensive – DAP’s. With the A&ultima SP2000T, A&K have taken things up a notch by including …
In the 80s and early 90s, portable music players meant analogue cassette players you could clip to your belt. All of them were called walkman, although Sony had the original, and also copyrighted the word: Walkman, with a capital W. The Walkman name lives on Today, cassette players like these are mostly dead and …
This must be the quietest valve amp ever, I thought. The valves were glowing and reflected in the glossy black surface. The two Lexie valves in the middle told me the volume was 38. Still, it was quiet as the grave. No sound. At all. A quick look at all the connections gave me no …
The Marantz NR1200 is a full-sized network amplifier with more connectivity and features than any other in its class, including five (!) HDMI inputs and an HDMI output with audio return. This is where you connect your TV, so you can include your stereo in your TV entertainment. There are also a couple of digital …
Externally, the new Powernode looks like its predecessor: a black or white plastic box with rounded corners and a control panel on top. The panel is more advanced than before, as there is now a touch field for controlling volume, as well as five presets that can be programmed with internet radio stations or playlists. …
Cabasse Stream Amp came out a few years ago, but we haven’t gotten around to testing it until now. And since it’s still current, it now has to try its hand against a pretty tight field. The Stream Amp doesn’t have Chromecast or AirPlay, but is locked to Cabasse’s own Stream app. The latter supports …
Sonos Amp can turn a pair of old-fashioned speakers into full-fledged Sonos multi-room speakers. As well as the Sonos interface, which lets you stream all your music dreams via the Sonos app, the Amp also has HDMI input and, if you buy an adapter, optical digital input too. If you want, Amp can drive the …
The smallest amp in the test is from NAD and is called Amp1. That doesn’t mean it is less capable. With Chromecast streaming over Wi-Fi, it supports the vast majority of music services, and they’re controlled in the usual way from their native apps. Connecting the amp to the network is super easy: just open …
The Citation family from Harman Kardon consists mainly of wireless speakers and soundbars with built-in streaming, but the Citation Amp is an amplifier designed to drive a set of traditional speakers. That means you can blow the dust off your old favourite speakers and include them in the modern home. Many people think it’s difficult …
You tend to forget that the convenience of streaming music directly from your phone doesn’t have to come at the expense of sound quality. There is no need to settle for a small all-in-one speaker in the living room. Instead, you can put it in another room and dedicate your favourite seating area to a …
Which headphones or earbuds did you last buy? Most likely they were wireless, as over 80 percent of all headphones sold in 2021 were. And I understand that, because I have several pairs of wireless earbuds and headphones myself. They are convenient, not least because modern phones completely lack a headphone output. And wireless can …
NAD has recently had success with small but serious amplifiers, where you only need a pair of speakers to get a complete system. At the more expensive end we have the M10, which has everything you need in one box, including the streaming platform BluOS – which is the same as in Bluesound’s products. Including …
American Razer is known as a manufacturer of gaming gear. But the company has recently added equipment for those who have – or dream of – a career as a video anchor or internet radio star. The Razer Audio Mixer is – of course – an audio mixer, but it’s specifically designed for streaming, where …
The superb Marantz Model 40n amplifier plays music with infectious commitment and immediately became one of my favourites in its price range. It didn’t take long, either. A few minutes with the Keith Jarrett Trio on a pair of Klipsch Heresy IVs (test in progress) was enough. I was hooked. For those who are thinking …
I must admit I was a little surprised. It’s not that I’m prejudiced against valve amplifiers, but I wasn’t expecting this. Let me explain… Many people I talk to have an inherent scepticism about valve amplifiers. That someone uses vacuum valves to get sound into speakers is not only an anachronism, it’s also foolish, they …