Tag: Internet radio

Articles – From the horse’s mouth

Sony Europe

Sony’s expanded High-Resolution Audio line-up brings you musical clarity you’ve always dreamed of (Press Release)

My Comments

Sony’s new entry to the CD-receiver scene

Sony had launched some newer hi-fi components in to the European market including the STR-DN1050 and STR-DN850 surround-sound receivers and the BDP-S7200 optical disc player which can play SACDs or Blu-Ray Discs. All of these can be part of the home network by implementing at least DLNA functionality and access to varying online-content services with the receivers even supporting Bluetooth and AirPlay functionality.

But what drew my attention to this playlist was Sony climbing on to the high-quality network-enabled CD-receiver bandwagon by offering the MAP-S1 CD receiver. These are systems that have a CD player, broadcast-radio reception, amplifier functionality and, now. access to network-hosted and online content like Internet radio but are optimised for high-quality sound. They take on the spirit of the late-1970s music centre or cassette receiver (casseiver) where a very good unit of this class could offer what a baseline component-based hi-fi system of the time offered in both sound quality and functionality.

Previously, I had given a fair bit of space to the network-enabled CD receiver, including my review of the Rotel RCX-1500 as well as a fair bit of commentary about this product type in my coverage of the Australian Audio And AV Show 2013. This is due to the “lifestyle audio” product class becoming more relevant as the small elegantly-furnished apartment becomes more relevant especially for those of us whose children have flown the family nest.

This product is different from their CMT-series micros systems due to the idea of users being optimised for high sound quality. One of the factures was that a user could supply their own speakers for this system or they could purchase a pair of Sony high-grade bookshelf speakers and use them, very much like Onkyo’s FR-435 CD/MiniDisc “music-centre” system.

The Sony MAP-S1 offers the network connectivity for DLNA, AirPlay and access to online music services like Spotify and Internet radio, and also offers the ability to work with Bluetooth smartphones using the NFC pair / connect functionality and the aptX codec. As well you can have it become a USB DAC/amplifier for a computer thus exploiting the high-resolution audio content available for download if you host that on a Windows or Mac regular computer.

One question that can be raised with this class of network-capable AV equipment is whether the equipment will support dual-band wireless networks whether using 802.11n or 802.11ac technology. Similarly, there will also be the issue of network and online functions not being available with developments that offer “headline” Wi-Fi Internet that implements Web-based login. In these situations, the Sony MAP-S1’s Bluetooth and USB Audio functions would come in to their own when it is used with a regular computer or mobile device to “pull in” online music services including Internet radio.

As more of these network-capable CD receivers come on the market and yield the high-quality sound, especially from mainstream as well as boutique AV-equipment manufacturers, a compact hi-fi system for that apartment or house could be about buying one of the CD receivers and buying or resurrecting from the garage a pair of good hi-fi speakers.

Article

Cyrus Lyric Launches Down Under | Australian Hi-Fi

My Comments

Cyrus’s latest CD receiver

Previously I had reviewed the Rotel RCX-1000 as a network-capable CD receiver capable of high-quality sound from CDs, FM radio, DAB+ digital radio, Internet radio along with access to content held on one or more DLNA media servers. This, along with the Naim Uniti and a few others, was the kind of CD receiver you could pair off with a set of high-quality speakers of your choice, be a pair of new small bookshelf types that are on sale at the hi-fi store or that pair of good bookshelf or furniture-piece speakers that you had dusted off after finding them in your Dad’s garage.

This follows on from the music centres and casseivers of the 1970s and early 80s along with the steady run of high-grade integrated audio systems that Bang & Olufsen turned out i.e. the Beocenter 7000 series LP/cassette systems, the Beocenter 9000 series CD/cassette systems along with the Beosound 9000 6-CD system. This was also augmented with the Proton AI-3000 CD/cassette music system which came on the scene in 1988 and the arrival of the Bose Lifestyle music systems in 1990 and followed on with the Onkyo FR-435 CD/MiniDisc music system of the late 1990s.

Now Cyrus have launched the Lyric “full-width” CD-receiver range to the Australian market. This system which was premiered at the Australian Audio And AV Show which was held at the Intercontinental Melbourne The Rialto hotel, is one that follows from this lineage of integrated audio equipment that is about top-quality sound. Here, this unit can play CDs or tune in to FM, DAB+ or Internet radio broadcasts or stream in content from your NAS or PC-based network media server. It also uses Bluetooth with aptX to stream through content held on your smartphone or effectively work as your laptop’s sound-card. Here, I had seen the advance-preview sample in full-flight playing content from a smartphone via Bluetooth and driving a pair of newer “furniture piece” speakers that were being demoed at the show.

Even the way the product was styled eschewed various conventions like the classic “box with knobs and buttons” approach. Rather this used a touch-panel with a colour LCD screen for local control across the top half of the front panel along with a neatly-disguised CD-loading slot. This is similar to how the Bang & Olufsen Beocenter 9000 series was styled with a dynamically-lit-up touch panel below a large aluminium panel that had the CD and cassette bays hidden under doors that slid away.

There are two variants of this music system – the Lyric 5 with a a 100-watts/channel amplifier going for $4000 and the Lyric 9 with a 200-watts/channel amplifier going for $6000. I asked the demonstrator men about how much a decent music system for a small apartment which is based around the Lyric 5 CD receiver and he could call the Lyric 5 with commensurate-standard bookshelf speakers for around $6000.

This is definitely a sign of things to come for “integrated” lifestyle audio solutions that can work with any regular speaker, yet lead the way to a neat sound system that puts up some high-quality music.

Article –From the horse’s mouth

Pioneer

New slim receiver from Pioneer: compact, powerful and feature-rich

My Comments

Pioneer VSX-S510 Slimline surround receiver with home-network abilities

A current-generation surround-sound receiver that is expected to reproduce a 5.1 channel soundmix through six passive loudspeakers would require the use of six power amplifiers. This has required the construction of very large units in order to cater for these power amplifiers as well as the signal-handling circuitry plus a broadcast-radio tuner and this requirement is underscored with power amplifiers that implement traditional design techniques.

The year before last, Marantz released a series of surround-sound receivers that are the same height as a CD player, tuner or other source component. Some of us would have thought of them as being stereo receivers but these are able to do the 5.1 channel surround-sound job through the use of Class-D amplification which can allow for a smaller cooler-running amplifier.

Now Pioneer has come to the fray with a pair of slimline surround-sound receivers that appear to be as big as a hi-fi tuner or CD player.One of these units, the VSX-S510 has network abilities including the new Spotify Connect feature that allows Spotify Premium subscribers to “push” playlists or similar content established on their smartphones to this receiver. There are of course the usual suspects like adding vTuner Internet radio to this receiver’s broadcast-radio abilities and working with DLNA or AirPlay network-media setups.

What I see of this is that it is a step in the right direction towards a neater surround-sound setup without the need to head towards an integrated home-theatre setup. Yet, this model is able to exist in a position for those of us who are moving up from an entry-level surround-sound receiver towards something more capable and able to the part of the home network.

Articles – From the horse’s mouth

Yamaha

Introducing a new concept in Hi Fi – Yamaha – Australia (Press release)

CD-N500 Product Page

My Comments

You may have your favourite hi-fi equipment no matter how old it is but you would like to replace that half-dead CD player, upgrade to a better CD player or simply add CD playback to the existing music system. But you would also like to gain access to audio content held on your home network and tune in to the “new short-wave” that is Internet radio through that hi-fi setup. Adding a CD player and a network media adaptor may result in two extra boxes and your may find that you don’t have enough line-level inputs on the amplifier for the exercise and this may require you to purchase a switch box.

Yamaha have released the CD-N500 which is a “full-width” component CD player that doubles as a network media receiver. This unit plugs in to any vacant digital input or analogue line-level input on an existing sound system to provide it with both the CD playback and network-audio-access functions.

It can connect to a home network only via an Ethernet connection, which would work properly with a house that is wired for Ethernet or with a HomePlug AV segment once you use the appropriate “homeplug” adaptor. These connections then allow for reliable media-streaming operation and is what I would prefer for equipment that is normally in a permanent location and plugged in to AC power.

As well, you can connect iOS devices, USB memory keys or MP3 players that present themselves as Mass-Storage Devices to the USB socket on the front panel. Here, whenever you play audio content from the iOS devices like the iPod Classic that is stuffed to the gunnels with music, the sound is passed along digitally and you can use the CD-N500’s remote control as the control surface for the iOS device.

The Yamaha CD player has access to DLNA-compliant network media servers and can be controlled from computers and other devices using AirPlay and DLNA compliant setups. But Yamaha also has a media-controller app for this CD player which allows your smartphone or tablet to be the player’s control surface while exploiting the portable device’s larger display. Of course you can control this player using controls on its front panel or supplied remote control but would have to contend with a single-line display.

It can work with the FLAC high-quality audio files as well as the regular CD-quality MP3 / WMA / AAC files. As for Internet radio, this is facilitated with the vTuner Internet-radio directory which most Internet radios and similar equipment use. Even the digital-analogue conversion circuitry and analogue signal path is optimised for best quality sound while you can connect this player to an external digital-analogue converter or a digital amplifier if these devices offer better sound quality.

At the moment, this unit doesn’t yet support Spotify, Pandora, Last.fm or other popular online music services but Yamaha could add this functionality through subsequent firmware updates.

But what I like more about this player is that, like the CD/MiniDisc decks released by Sony, Sharp, JVC and Marantz through MiniDisc’s heyday, this unit is a one-box setup that can complement existing hi-fi setups rather than unnecessarily replacing components in these setups. It underscores the fact that there are ways of heading to the online era without leaving the past behind.

A group of people that I do come across a lot are the expatriates and migrants who move from one country to another on a medium to long term basis. Some of them move out on a permanent basis whereas others do move on a temporary basis such as establishing a business in the new country.

One example that I deal with regularly is my barber who is an Italian and who has family members who are at home in Italy. Here, I spend a fair bit of time with him making sure his computer and home network works properly because he uses Skype and Facebook a lot to communicate with his relatives in Italy rather than using the telephone service.

But this class of user is very dependent on communications with their home country. This can be underscored by regular telephone and email communications between relatives and friends in their own country along with a desire to benefit from content that reflects on what is going on in that country while they exist in their new abode.

One technology that I have noticed that has swept expats and migrants off their feet lately is Skype. These people can engage in long video chats with their relatives who are based in their home country for nothing. The software is available across nearly all regular and mobile operating systems and an increasing number of smart TVs are being equipped with Skype, with the user just buying an accessory camera-microphone kit in order to have these videocalls on the big screen.

Similarly, an increasing number of network-capable video peripherals like Blu-Ray players are being equipped with Skype functionality which comes alive when the user buys the accessory camera-microphone kit. Here, this enables people to add Skype to their existing large-screen TVs in a similar manner to what the video recorder has done for older and cheaper TVs.

Another technology that pleases this market is the availability of newspapers and news services online through the Web or the mobile interface, provided by the news publishers themselves. This allows the expat to know what is going on at home and benefit from the publisher’s look and feel that has the “homely” taste rather than the weekly print editions that appear at some newsstands. In some cases like Britain’s Daily Telegraph, this is augmented by the establishment of a dedicated online department who furnishes resources targeted at this market.

Yet Another technology that also helps the expat and migrant community is Internet-based broadcasting. Typically this allows these people to benefit from content that is broadcast from home in their new country. It manifests in the form of the Internet radio with access to Internet streams of radio stations that broadcast to particular towns and neighbourhoods. This has been assisted through the use of TuneIn Radio, vTuner and similar Internet-radio directories.

As for TV, some companies and groups have targeted the expat market well with the AFL providing an overseas-only IPTV service for Aussies away from home wanting to know what the team they barrack for is up to. As well a few companies are running similar IPTV services but there needs to be a lot more work done on discovery and provisioning of these services. This includes integrating them in to the main smart-TV platforms, allowing for “buy from the couch” opportunities and providing a good-quality service.

At least the broadband Internet is showing itself as being highly relevant to the expat and migrant community and I always recommend the establishment of a good broadband service and home network for such groups.

From the horse’s mouth

Marantz

Product Page (Australia. Asia market, USA, UK)

Microsite

My Comments

Marantz Audio Consolette speaker dock

Over the past sixty years and for as long as the existence of the “hi-fi” concept, Marantz has been known for high-quality sound reproduction with unforgettable legends such as those gold-finished hi-fi receivers and amplifiers that appeared through the 1970s. At times, this brand has dabbled in car and portable audio in order to broaden the scope of their name being associated with this high-quality sound.

Now they are celebrating this concept with a tabletop speaker dock that has a name that throws back to their first hi-fi amplifier. This device, known as the Consolette, has been reshaped so there is better stereo separation compared to most single-piece speaker docks, wireless speakers and boomboxes. This has been achieved through the use of a V-shaped back profile and a wooden back as well as the use of specially-arranged speakers. There has been further attention paid towards how the sound is reproduced from that smartphone, DLNA-compliant media server, Internet radio station or other audio device.

Even the aesthetics of this system remind users of the Marantz heritage like tue use of a jog wheel that is similar to the large thumbwheel that you used to tune in stations on a 70s-era Marantz tuner or receiver. As well it could be controlled by a high-quality remote control or an app that runs on your smartphone or tablet.

But the Marantz Audio Consolette has become another representative of high-quality audio for the connected home as I have seen over the last few years and commented on in HomeNetworking01.info. This is where I have seen and, in some cases, heard in action equipment that reproduces music held on a computer, mobile device or network-storage device to highly-exacting audio-quality standards while there are other systems that can do the same job at a cheaper price although not as exacting.

Articles – German language

19. Dezember – Albrecht DR870 HD-TV,7′ Internet Radio-TV Media Player zu gewinnen | GIZMODO DEGIZMODO DE

Product Page

Albrecht DR870

My Comments

Here is another Internet radio, pitched for use in the kitchen, that has the typical features of a set of its class. This set, known as the Albrecht DR870 and available in Germany, has the FM, Internet radio, local media playback via SD card and access to the DLNA Home Media Network. It would mean that it can play whatever is on the NAS or a Windows computer running Windows Media Player.

But it is also pitched as an auxiliary TV which can pull in DVB-T digital TV as well as various Internet TV services and show these on a 7” LCD screen. This class of compact AV product could earn its keep a fair bit more for “glancing” at news, sports or other events in the kitchen or similar location while you do other activities.

What I see of this is that it could raise the bar as far as a compact radio that is destined for the kitchen, office or small shop. Here, this can integrate TV reception as well as radio reception and media playback in that class of unit and shows what the direction is for a tabletop radio or similar device.