Network Media Players

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Network Media Players
Cambridge Audio Minx XI - £600
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Jan 14, 2015  |  0 comments
By combining hi-fi sound quality with real world convenience, all-in-one digital music players signify a step-change for the hi-fi industry. Their allure is like that ofCD in the eighties, appealing to both audiophiles and music lovers alike who simply want a fuss-free way to hear music, which in the modern age could be stored on a smartphone, laptop or sophisticated NAS drive. Cambridge Audio clearly gets this and its Minx Xi combines features cherry picked from its affordable separates range, packed into an even more affordable do-it-all single box. So what you get is a 40W (claimed) Class AB amplifier derived from the company’s 351A integrated amp, dual Wolfson WM8728 DACs lifted from the 351C CD player, the streaming functionality of CA’s NP30 network player and Bluetooth connectivity courtesy of the company’s BT100 apt-X receiver.
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Network Media Players
Cambridge Audio NP30 - £400
Ed Selley  |  Oct 13, 2011  |  0 comments
Cambridge Audio NP30 Small and attractively priced, but have corners been cut on performance? A simple, unassuming little box, in keeping with the rest of the Sonata range, the NP30 keeps things simple on the input and output front, without actually scrimping. There is wired Ethernet (the one interface common to every device in this group) and a wireless connection via the supplied antenna, plus front and rear-mounted USB sockets for local media players. Output is analogue on phono sockets, or digital electrical and optical. In addition to the obvious functions of playing from local media and the computer network, various internet streaming services are accessible via UuVol, Cambridge Audio’s platform for streaming content.
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Network Media Players
Cyrus Stream X - £1,400
Ed Selley  |  Oct 12, 2011  |  0 comments
Cyrus Stream X The digital-only output may restrict the appeal, but Cyrus’s latest has some nice features to it Cyrus offers a range of three Stream devices, of which this is the simplest, offering as it does just a digital output. It’s Stream XP includes a DAC and hence analogue outputs, while the flagship Streamline goes the whole hog and includes a power amp and speaker outputs. For the purposes of this review we alternated between Cyrus’s own DAC X and a Cambridge Audio DacMagic, the latter keeping the total price more in line with the rest of the group. In terms of features, this streamer is rather out on a limb in present company.
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Network Media Players
Cyrus Stream XP - £2,000
Ed Selley  |  Jun 16, 2011  |  0 comments
Game- changer After 25 years in hi-fi, Cyrus has launched three new streaming-compatible products. Jason Kennedy examines the new technology Streaming is the bandwagon to be on in 2011. Any electronics manufacturer worth its salt has realised as much and many are already fighting for a slice of what is considered to be the future of audio. Cyrus has jumped in with three new streaming-compatible products that compete head-on with the leaders in the field, each contained within the iconic half-width Cyrus case and bursting with features.
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Network Media Players
Denon, DNP 720AE - £300
Ed Selley  |  Nov 29, 2011  |  0 comments
Denon gets on stream Denon has entered the network audio player market with an inexpensive, iPod-friendly player. Malcolm Steward streams his tunes The Denon DNP-720AE is quite a late arrival at the network player party, but it compensates for its tardiness by bringing with it a genuinely useful gift: Apple Airplay, to cater for those who keep their music library in iTunes and that is an extraordinarily large group of people. Despite the number of services and features it offers, the appearance of the player is delightfully simple. The fascia contains only an on/off button, a push button for input selection, a rotary cursor control, which will be familiar to iPod users, and a centrally mounted, three-line, Organic Electroluminescence Display.
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Network Media Players
FiiO X3 - £159
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Jan 15, 2015  |  0 comments
You might be forgiven for gaining the impression that there is really only one option when it comes to portable digital players capable of 24/192 resolution – Astell&Kern. But it was always only a matter of time before other players appeared. Those in search of an alternative to the somewhat pricey players from iRiver pricked up their ears whenFiiO trailed the availability of a more affordable unit using the same Wolfson WM8740 DAC. A similar frisson was felt when it released an excellent portable headphone amp – the E17 – a year or two ago.
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Network Media Players
Google Chromecast Audio
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Feb 01, 2019  |  0 comments
Our recent Group Test of entry-level network music players (HFC 442) showed there are some very impressive low-cost models to help you get started in streaming, but Google perhaps offers the bargain of the lot. It has a growing range using its own Cast streaming platform and for £70, the Chromecast Ultra supports video, but we’re more interested in the Chromecast Audio at just £30.
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Network Media Players
HiFi Rose RS150
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Apr 25, 2024  |  0 comments
With a design that rivals would be smart to emulate, this South Korean network-attached music player is about to land on UK shores. Will it have a trick or two to teach its rivals?
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Network Media Players
iFi Audio introduces NEO Stream music streamer/DAC
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Nov 11, 2022  |  0 comments
New addition to the NEO series
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Network Media Players
Krell Connect - £3,500
 |  Jan 21, 2015  |  1 comments
What the world needs now – to quote the great Burt Bacharach – is love, sweet love. Well perhaps, but there’s a sizeable number of consumer electronics companies who think this is no longer quite so pressing, and instead we should all be given network music players to play with. So much so that now it feels like you can’t move for the things. Love isn’t all around anymore – as The Troggs once sang – audio streamers are! Krell’s new Connect needs to be special then.
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Network Media Players
Leema Acoustics Elements Streamer
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Aug 21, 2019  |  0 comments
The compact networked music player that boasts an impressive spec at an attractive price
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Network Media Players
Leema Acoustics Stream IV is here
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Jun 14, 2019  |  0 comments
Next-gen digital hub that wowed Bristol Hi-Fi Show now available
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Network Media Players
Lindemann Limetree Network
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Jul 10, 2020  |  0 comments
Despite its compact dimensions this network audio player is surprisingly flexible and capable
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Network Media Players
Logitech Squeezebox Touch - £240
Ed Selley  |  Oct 11, 2011  |  0 comments
Logitech Squeezebox Touch From the makers of mice and keyboards comes one of the niftiest bits of audio user interface we’ve ever seen The photo will already have told you that this is in many ways a horse of a very different colour. All the same, its basic input and output features are close enough to those of the rest of the group. Ethernet and wireless network access are joined by a USB socket at the rear and an SD card socket at the side, both of which allow the use of local music storage devices. Output is on the usual pair of phono sockets, or a mini-jack for headphones, or electrical and optical digital connections.
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Network Media Players
Marantz Melody Stream M-CR510 - £250
 |  Jan 15, 2015  |  1 comments
If you were one of the few people who bought a style system during the last decade you probably risked derision from your cleaner, never mind your tech-savvy mates unable to fathom why you’d accept all of the compromises of such a purchase. Now style systems appear to be enjoying a revival. This is partly fuelled by an austerity-induced nostalgia for simpler times. Then there is the need for better quality sound when watching TV on a skinny flatscreen, plus the evolution of contemporary audio delivery mechanisms such as internet radio, hi-res audio, home networking and wireless streaming from smartphones and tablets.
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