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...
View ArticleClik here to view.
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,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
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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AudioQuest DragonFly USB D/A converter
"This product is an industry disrupter." Thus spoke AudioQuest's Steve Silberman, VP of development, of their brand-new USB D/A converter, the DragonFly. "There are a lot of very good DACs out there,"...
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Ayre Acoustics QA-9 USB A/D converter
Since its founding in 1993, Colorado-based Ayre Acoustics has made its name with amplifiers and preamplifiers based on truly balanced, solid-state circuitry that didn't use the ubiquitous panacea of...
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iFi Audio iDAC & iUSBPower USB D/A processor & outboard power supply
Bratty, mollycoddled, and altogether spoiled consumers such as you and I have inflicted on computer audio the same injustice that laparoscopic surgery, antilock brakes, mobile telephones, word...
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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...
View ArticleClik here to view.
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...
View ArticleClik here to view.
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...
View ArticleClik here to view.
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,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
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,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
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...
View Article