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When it first debuted, Arcam's irDAC proved to be a mighty impresive digital-to-anlaogue converter, winning a Group Test back in HFC 379. And now Arcam has unveilled the follow up to the succesful DAC in the shape of irDAC-II. The asyncronous USB DAC can also be utilised as a digital preamp, headphone amplifier and Bluetooth streamer. At its heart sits the ESS Sabre ES9016K2M DAC chip, while the headphone amplifier stage is taken from Arcam's flagship A49 amplifier.

Following on from our review of Arcam's classy rHead headphone amplifer (HFC 420), the company has added to the rSeries with the rPlay and rPhono. The rPlay adds network audio streaming services and internet radio to any system that it's partnered with. Using DTS PlayFi,Apple Airplayand UPnP-enabled music sources, it's compatible with Spotify,Tidal, Qobuz,Deezer andPandora, along with many more, thanks to regular updates. DTS Play-Fisupports hi-reso audio (24/192) from a wired network and enables lossless multi-room wireless audio streaming from the most popular music services and internet radio stations.

Brand new speaker range from Norway

Keep interference at bay with this new fully shielded cable

New portable from South Korea

Few would deny that it was Astell&Kern that first set the ball rolling when it comes to portable hi-res audio players, and the brand has consistently upped the anti with each model added to its continuously evolving DAP range. Billed as the most sophisticated high-resolution music player you can buy for under £500, the AK70has a 3. 3in touchscreen and supports music files up to 24-bit/192kHz – 32-bit audio and DSD is down converted to PCM. It includes plenty of features usually found on high-end players with wi-fi connectivity to stream music to and from the player, and a balanced headphone output option for optimum audio performance when using suitable headphones.

A trio of new products from A&K