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SoundStage! Simplifi
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PSB Imagine T65

Kanto Audio Tuk Powered Loudspeakers

Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 15 October 2019

Based in Coquitlam, British Columbia, on Canada’s left coast, Kanto Audio has made a name for itself with budget-priced powered stereo speaker systems. These include the YU2 ($219.99/pair, all prices USD), a two-way desktop speaker with USB DAC and 3.5mm stereo analog input; and two bookshelf models, the YU4 ($329.99/pair) and YU6 ($399.99/pair), both featuring Bluetooth connectivity, a built-in phono preamp, a TosLink digital input, and a line-level analog input. The YU4 has a 4” Kevlar woofer and a 1” soft-dome tweeter, driven by a 35Wpc RMS class-D amp; the larger YU6 has a 5.25” woofer and a 50Wpc RMS class-D amp. Kanto’s most ambitious design yet is the Tuk powered minimonitor ($799.99/pair). Inside each rear-ported enclosure is a 5.25” aluminum woofer and a 28 x 45mm Air Motion Transformer (AMT) tweeter.

Read more: Kanto Audio Tuk Powered Loudspeakers

Lumin T2 Network Music Player

Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 01 October 2019

Do you have to be a propeller-head to enjoy Simplifi’d hi-fi? The question might seem nonsensical, but when you think about this site’s mandate -- to cover “convenient, lifestyle-oriented audio” -- it makes a perverse kind of sense, and the product reviewed here illustrates my point.

Read more: Lumin T2 Network Music Player

Naim Audio ND5 XS 2 Network Music Player

Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 15 September 2019

Like many music-lovers, I’ve changed my listening habits drastically in the last ten years. A decade ago, all of the music I listened to at home was stored on shiny discs. A decade later, those discs are long gone. My music library is now stored on a LaCie 2Big Thunderbolt RAID system connected to an Apple Mac Mini computer in my second-floor office. The Mac Mini runs Roon Core, and streams music via Wi-Fi to the music system in my main-floor living room.

Read more: Naim Audio ND5 XS 2 Network Music Player

Elac Navis ARF-51 Active Loudspeakers

Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 01 September 2019

Reviewers' ChoiceIn her song “Big Yellow Taxi,” Joni Mitchell famously observed “That you don’t know what you’ve got / Till it’s gone.” There’s a lot of truth in that. The converse is equally true -- you don’t know what you’ve been missing till you experience it. Both thoughts occurred to me as I reviewed Elac’s Navis ARF-51 active floorstanding speakers.

Read more: Elac Navis ARF-51 Active Loudspeakers

Devialet Phantom Reactor 900 Active Loudspeakers

Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 15 August 2019

Cute, adorable, funky -- you rarely read those adjectives in reviews of serious audio products, but they do describe the appearance of Devialet’s Phantom Reactor active loudspeakers. Perched on their matching tripod stands, the Reactors evoke memories of R2D2 from Star Wars (though each Reactor is much smaller), or characters from the game Angry Birds (the Reactors look way friendlier).

Read more: Devialet Phantom Reactor 900 Active Loudspeakers

PMC result6 Active Loudspeakers

Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 01 August 2019

As regular visitors to this site surely know by now, I’m a big proponent of active loudspeakers. My reference system is built around a pair of Dynaudio Focus 200 XDs, which have dedicated 150W class-D amps for their 1” tweeters and 6.5” woofers. This choice was driven by domestic considerations -- it would be almost impossible to fit a system of audio separates into the living room of the century-old row house I share with my much better half.

Read more: PMC result6 Active Loudspeakers

Bowers & Wilkins Formation Duo Active Loudspeakers

Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 15 July 2019

Reviewers' ChoiceIt was a deal that left many audiophiles scratching their heads. In May 2016, the venerable British loudspeaker manufacturer Bowers & Wilkins was sold to California-based EVA Automation Inc. If few people had ever heard of EVA Automation, that’s not surprising -- the Silicon Valley startup had been founded only two years before, and had never released a product.

Read more: Bowers & Wilkins Formation Duo Active Loudspeakers

Naim Audio Mu-so 2nd Generation Wireless Music System

Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 01 July 2019

Reviewers' ChoiceFive years ago, if someone had asked me if there was a market for a tabletop all-in-one music system that cost $1499 (all prices USD), I’d have replied, “You’re kidding, right?” For that kind of dough, you could get a nice integrated amp and speakers, or a really good set of powered speakers. I had nothing against all-in-one music systems -- not then, not now. But for serious listening, I want the immersive experience you get from a stereo pair of speakers spaced several feet apart.

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

McIntosh Laboratory MTI100 Integrated Turntable

Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 15 June 2019

When most people think of audio components from McIntosh Laboratory, they think of serious high-end separates: preamps and big, powerful amplifiers. But there’s another side to this iconic brand, which this year celebrates its 70th anniversary. McIntosh now offers several lifestyle audio products, including integrated music systems, streamers, headphone amplifiers, and the subject of this review: what they call an integrated turntable.

Read more: McIntosh Laboratory MTI100 Integrated Turntable

Yamaha WXA-50 MusicCast Streaming Amplifier

Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 01 June 2019

For people who want to enjoy their music in real-world living spaces, two of the most welcome developments of recent years have been the integration of streaming capability into integrated amplifiers, and the downsizing of these components. With a streaming amplifier and good pair of speakers, you have everything you need to enjoy a vast range of music, in sound quality far beyond that of most all-in-one tabletop speakers. And you can do this without breaking the bank, or cluttering up your living area with audio gear.

Read more: Yamaha WXA-50 MusicCast Streaming Amplifier

NAD Masters M10 BluOS Streaming Integrated Amplifier

Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 15 May 2019

Reviewers' ChoiceIn the Toronto home I share with my infinitely better half, the hi-fi lives in the living room. Of course, I want it to sound great -- and it does -- but it also has to look as if it belongs. We’ve put a lot of effort into the design and décor of our home: If the hi-fi is to occupy a public space, it must be suitable for civilized company.

Read more: NAD Masters M10 BluOS Streaming Integrated Amplifier

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

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Axiom
Axiom

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