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HRT Music Streamer HD USB D/A processor
No history of the computer-audio marketplace could be complete without some mention of High Resolution Technologies, the California company whose Music Streamer was, in 2009, the first...
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Benchmark ADC1 USB A/D converter
Erick Lichte's review of Benchmark's DAC2 HGC D/A converter in this issue gave me an ideal opportunity to spill some ink on the company's ADC1 USB A/D converter. The ADC1 is housed in the same small...
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Arcam rBlink Bluetooth D/A processor
Am I the only one who values content and convenience over sound quality? There. I've said it. I am not an audiophile; ie, someone who's in love with recorded sound for its own sake. The search for...
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Channel Islands Audio Transient Mk.II & VDC•5 Mk.II USB D/A...
Most folks don't even know they exist, but the Channel Islands are a chain of eight moderately sized mountains poking through the Pacific Ocean along the coast of southern California, between Santa...
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ASUS Xonar Essence One Muses Edition D/A processor–headphone amplifier
Back in the summer of 2009, USB-connected D/A processors that could operate at sample rates greater than 48kHz were rare. Ayre Acoustics had just released its groundbreaking QB-9, one of the first DACs...
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AudioQuest JitterBug USB noise filter
I got an early start on computer audio. At the end of the last century I was using WinAmp with first a CardDeluxe PCI soundcard, then a similar card from RME, to play files on a Windows PC. After I...
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Roon Labs Roon v.1.0 music-playback app
There are dozens of music-playback programs for computers, touchpads, and smartphones, ranging from Amarra, Audirvana, JRiver, Pure Music, and VLC, which manage libraries or work with library software,...
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UpTone Audio USB Regen
UpTone Audio's USB Regen is a powered, single-port USB 2.0 hub that takes the USB signal from your computer, regenerates (ie, reclocks) the data, provides cleaned-up 5V power from a built-in,...
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Questyle Audio QP1R hi-rez portable player
The 2015 T.H.E. Show in Southern California clashed with my having to be in the office to ship our August issue to the printer, so I wasn't able to attend. But in devouring the online coverage on...
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Music in the Round #76
In my last column, in the November 2015 issue, I talked about Marantz's AV8802A preamplifier-processor and two accessories: UpTone Audio's USB Regen, and a DIY battery supply for my DAC. This month's...
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Inside MQA
Jim Austin briefly discusses MQA in his review of the Explorer2 in this issue, but a more complete description of MQA can be found in an article posted on Stereophile's website at the end of 2014. MQA...
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Music in the Round #85: Nimitra, exaSound, Baetis, Roon
It's been going on for a while now: Despite support for multichannel in audio/video receivers and A/V processors priced from as little as $200 to $30,000, there are still very few offerings that cater...
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Vanatoo Transparent One Encore powered loudspeaker system
Has Serinus been demoted? You might well ask. This month, instead of reviewing a $58,000 stereo amplifier, I'm tackling a $599 powered loudspeaker system. Truth be told, I'm always on the lookout for...
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Channel D Pure Vinyl 5 & Seta L phono preamplifier
Ever since I stopped using my Audio Research SP10 preamplifier in the early 1990sits eight phono-stage tubes used to get too noisy too quicklyI tried a variety of standalone phono preamplifiers....
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Mytek Digital Brooklyn Bridge II Roon Core preamplifier
The concept of streaming digital music files over distances great (as with internet-streaming services like Spotify, Qobuz, Tidal, etc.) and small (from a home-PC hard drive, NAS, or networked music...
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