Displaying items by tag: streaming - StereoLife Magazine

Denon is expanding its wireless Denon Home family with three new speakers - the Home 200, Home 400 and Home 600. The company presents them as the next step in its premium home multi-room system, combining wireless operation, HEOS integration and a more refined approach to industrial design. The Denon Home line has become one of the more important pillars of the brand's current portfolio, and the new models are intended to broaden it both in terms of scale and functionality. As Denon explains, the project began not only with questions about power, drivers and connectivity, but also with a more practical one - how a speaker should function in a real living space. That is why the new models use seamless fabrics, anodised aluminium, smooth finishes, soft silicone elements and simple geometric forms designed to blend more naturally into modern interiors.

JPLAY has added HighResAudio as its third integrated streaming service alongside TIDAL and Qobuz, further strengthening its position as a playback application focused on high-quality audio and multi-source library management within a single interface. The new partner service specialises in studio-quality hi-resolution recordings, offering lossless streaming up to 24-bit/192 kHz together with access to a virtual storage space for purchased music. This combination may be particularly appealing to listeners who treat high-resolution files as a primary listening format rather than simply an extension of conventional streaming. Integration with HighResAudio is already available in the latest version of the JPLAY app. After signing in to a HighResAudio account from within JPLAY, users gain access to the platform's full streaming catalogue and can browse it in the same unified environment used for other supported services.

Roksan is expanding its Caspian Series 4G electronics into a fully modular ecosystem, bringing streaming, pre-amplification and power amplification together under one design and engineering philosophy. The award-winning range, originally introduced with the Caspian Streaming Amplifier and Integrated Amplifier, now gains two new models - the Caspian Streaming Pre-Amplifier and Caspian Power Amplifier. Hand-built at Monitor Audio Group's headquarters in Rayleigh, Essex, the new components are designed for listeners who want to separate control and amplification, build more ambitious stereo systems or move towards mono-block configurations while staying within the Caspian family.

Harman Kardon is returning to the market with a new generation of one of its most recognisable speakers. Aura Studio 5 is the latest incarnation of the brand’s transparent audio system, designed not only to fill a room with music but also to shape the atmosphere with light that matches the moment, from a calm background glow to the visual backdrop for an evening with friends. The new model immediately stands out through its form. A slim, transparent dome with an undercut edge reveals a multi layer interior that creates a sense of depth and visually draws the eye into the centre. Light plays across the subtly tinted, slightly mirrored surface, while the whole structure sits on a soft looking base finished in a high quality acoustic fabric. As a result the iconic Aura silhouette has gained a more contemporary, slightly more substantial profile that is at home in both minimalist and more cosy interiors.

Triangle Electroacoustique is introducing a new generation of its premium wireless loudspeaker system with the launch of Capella 2, a pair of active bookshelf speakers designed and manufactured in France and supplied with a dedicated network hub. Building on the versatility and musicality of the original Capella concept, the new system aims to offer a more intuitive user experience and a higher level of performance, combining the brand's acoustic know how with modern streaming technologies and fully wireless communication between speakers. The idea is to provide a complete all in one solution that can handle television sound, vinyl and high resolution streaming with equal ease, while remaining compact enough to integrate discreetly into a wide range of living spaces.

In 1997, Radiohead released their album OK Computer. It was a record that not only startled the band's loyal followers but also anyone who happened to hear it. It explored themes of technology, alienation, and social unrest in a rapidly shifting world, and it's often read as a darkly prophetic commentary on the dehumanizing influence of the digital age - a message that, almost thirty years later, still feels unnervingly precise. The lyrics, often delivered in a weary, detached voice, paint a grim, inevitable future where people lose themselves in virtual realities. They trace the moment when tools meant to serve us quietly begin to own us, turning convenience into dependence. The album became legendary for its unorthodox production and haunting, atmospheric sound, both of which heightened its sense of unease and disorientation.

Marantz introduced two exceptional new products to its portfolio of high-performance hi-fi components. The first is the latest addition to the brand's long-established and widely celebrated heritage as the world leader in CD player design - the new CD 50n Networked CD Player. The CD 50n is perfectly partnered by the new Marantz Model 50 Integrated Amplifier, an all-analog design combining exceptional realism and transparency with a purist approach sure to find favor with vinyl devotees. The resulting combination is a harmoniously designed and contemporary hi-fi system blending timeless elegance and outstanding performance with all the flexibility and cutting-edge technology that redefines modern musical luxury at its price point.

Sonus Faber announced the launch of its new active wireless stereo speaker - Duetto, a wireless stereo speaker system featuring a multicomponent hi-fi system with distinct characteristics across design, sound quality, connectivity, and ease of use. The external design of Duetto follows the Sonus Faber decades-old philosophy of the most natural sound reproduction through the use of natural materials. The Duetto lute-shaped wood cabinet merged with an elegant and custom-designed heatsink guarantees stiffness and musicality while avoiding internal resonance, creating the Sonus Faber signature Natural Sound. It also has a leather top interface Senso which allows for the user to control and set up the speaker functions such as volume, input selection, and connections.

NAD Electronics launched the C3050 stereophonic amplifier. The unit draws upon aesthetic cues from the 1970's while boasting class-leading amplification - a HybridDigital UcD output stage and high-performance Texas Instruments PCM5242 differential DAC work together to deliver wonderful detail, immersive three-dimensionality, and thrilling dynamics. The C3050 also features NAD's MDC2 future proofing technology. By installing an optional module into the MDC2 expansion slot on the rear panel, listeners can add exciting new capabilities like BluOS high-resolution multi-room streaming and Dirac Live room correction.

It's not surprising that more and more people are interested in hi-fi equipment that is luxurious, beautiful, and offers excellent performance, but at the same time is as simple to use as a network speaker. Some audiophiles believe that increasing the comfort of our music experience automatically reduces the sound quality. If we have a pile of sources and amplifiers connected with expensive cables, if our living room has been transformed into an anechoic chamber, if before each listening session, we carry out an elaborate procedure of warming up the system while checking the humidity of the air and the voltage in the socket, we deserve great sound, and if we buy easy-to-use active loudspeakers, we don't. Is it true? Manufacturers of audio electronics have already discovered that it can all be simplified. Almost every new all-in-one system is an instant sales hit because all you have to do is add a pair of decent speakers and your home stereo is ready. But what if you could go one step further and eliminate the need to buy any electronics? This mission has already been undertaken by many companies, as the idea itself is not new or revolutionary. However, it has usually involved rebuilding budget boxes so that, with additional electronics inside, they don't cost a fortune. The result was cheap speakers powered by poor electronics, meaning lots of compromises and a sound far from ideal. Now Pylon Audio introduced its first series of wireless speakers. And it has done it quite differently.