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Direct versus Retail

Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 01 March 2024

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 Has Bought Roon Labs—What Comes Next?

Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 15 December 2023

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?

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

Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 01 December 2023

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?

Active Voices: Livio Cucuzza of Sonus Faber

Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 01 November 2023

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

Is Roon Worth It?

Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 15 August 2023

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?

Out and About—Using Roon Away from Home

Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 15 July 2023

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

Lakeside Streaming—Network Entertainment at a Vacation Home

Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 01 June 2023

Among my better half’s innumerable gifts is an acute nose for real estate. I experienced this firsthand seven years ago, when we were enjoying a two-week holiday in Southampton, Ontario—a funky little Canadian beach town on Lake Huron. In addition to its lovely beaches, Southampton has some excellent restaurants, good shopping, an interesting history, and glorious sunsets.

Read more: Lakeside Streaming—Network Entertainment at a Vacation Home

Streaming Update—Spring 2023

Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 01 May 2023

Making predictions is a risky business. You can look like a genius if things work out the way you say they will, or a doofus if they don’t. In my annual “State of Streaming” feature, which was published February 15 on Simplifi, I made four predictions: Spotify would finally launch its lossless music service; Apple would release its long-awaited classical-music app; Apple might introduce an enhanced version of AirPlay that supports hi-rez audio (and possibly spatial audio as well); and Tidal might make it easier for subscribers to listen to Atmos-encoded multichannel music. I was quite confident about the first two predictions, moderately confident about the third, and only mildly so for the last one.

Read more: Streaming Update—Spring 2023

Active Voices: An Interview with Paul Barton and Rob Nicholls of PSB Speakers

Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 01 April 2023

Canada’s PSB Speakers was founded in 1972 by Paul Barton. PSB celebrated its 50th anniversary on July 1 (Canada Day) last year with the release of the Passif 50 ($2499/pair, all prices in USD): a retro-inspired design that evokes PSB’s Passif I and Passif II models from the 1970s.

Read more: Active Voices: An Interview with Paul Barton and Rob Nicholls of PSB Speakers

The State of Streaming—2023

Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 15 February 2023

Typically, articles predicting developments for the coming year come out in early January, or even late December. But here we are, two weeks into February, and Simplifi finally has a feature outlining what we can expect from music streaming in 2023. Do I feel badly about this delay? Not in the least. Because when it comes to lateness, I have nothing on Spotify and Apple Music. Those streaming giants have both missed self-imposed deadlines by well over a year. With that excuse out of the way, here are three streaming stories I’ll be watching in 2023.

Read more: The State of Streaming—2023

Gordon's System, Re-Simplifi'd

Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
Created: 15 January 2023

Sometime last spring, it became clear to me that I’d be upgrading my hi-fi setup before the year was out. Not that I was dissatisfied with the gear I already owned—quite the contrary. I loved listening to that system, which comprised an NAD C 658 streaming DAC-preamp ($1999, all prices in USD), a pair of Elac Navis ARF-51 active floorstanding speakers ($3999.96/pair), and an SVS Micro 3000 subwoofer ($899.99). That system has provided countless hours of listening pleasure for me, my music-loving missus, and visitors to our home.

Read more: Gordon's System, Re-Simplifi'd

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

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