PSB Alpha IQ

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

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

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

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

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

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