Day: September 17, 2018

Appearance:

The Elac Discovery is a very minimalistic looking machine with its chassis made out of aluminium and has a very solid feel to it. The front has nothing but just one LED which blinks when there is no network connection or something is amiss. The rear has a connector to power up the machine with a supplied wall wart, an optical and coaxial digital out, USB input to connect a thumb drive or a portable hard disk, Ethernet port and two analogue outs which can be used to connect directly to a power amp or powered speakers. Essentially, it can be used as a DAC with a preamp and also a network streamer connected to your external DAC. It can play different tracks to all the three zones i.e. digital out, analogue output 1 and analogue output 2. Note: you can only run one instance of Roon on your network at a time so you cannot run Roon Server/Core on another device in addition to running Roon Essentials on the Discovery. It can also read a shared network drive or folder on any other pc connected to the same home network the discovery is connected to. I won’t be getting into details of how roon works and difference between roon essentials and full fledged roon package. Everything is controlled by a Roon Essentials remote app which can be used from a mobile phone or a tablet. A tablet is always preferred as roon has optimised the working of the app for a tablet. So it is a different experience to browse through the whole music catalogue by a tablet. Inside Discovery resides a Quad Core ARM9 Processor running at up to 1.2Ghz, 512MB of storage for the OS, 8GB of flash memory for meta data storage, and Cirrus Logic CS4398 DAC’s (24-Bit/192kHz) with Burr Brown op-amps. There are two linear power supplies, one for each set of analog outputs. One is notified on the Roon Essentials remote app whenever there is an update for the main Roon Essentials and one just needs to press YES and rest is taken care of. Roon is always improving its eco system so that’s an added plus point It does not support DSD playback but Elac is almost ready with higher end streamer in the discovery series which would support DSD playback. Roon Essentials can only catalogue a maximum of 30000 tracks but that should not be a big worry for most users. It is most likely that Roon would increase the limit with its next major room essentials update as it did earlier increase the limit from 15000 to 30000 tracks, which to be honest is a LOT OF MUSIC!

To get the Elac Discovery going, one simply has to hook the network connection through a ethernet cable, connect an output of your choice and power. Download the Roon Essentials app on to your hand held device, post which just advise where the music is located, login to Tidal (if you have a subscription to Tidal) and which output to play through. Essentially it takes less than 10 minutes for you to get the Elac Discovery going and is very hassle free.

My System Details:

Power amplifier – Odyssey stratos extreme ++ Pre amplifier – DIY Salas hotrodded B1 (based on pass design B1 pre design) DAC – Burson conductor Speakers – Nibanna Dvee Computer transport – HP Pentium quad core laptop with Audiophile Linux OS and running Roon Core with Uptone Regen Reclocking USB audio stream Music Server – AMD based desktop running Roon Server

The Sound:

The Elac Discovery can provide two different sound signatures depending on whether the analogue out or digital outs are used. The final sound from digital outs will be obviously majorly influenced by the external DAC used but surprisingly I could find hardly any difference between coaxial out of the Elac Discovery feeding my Burson Conductor DAC and a laptop running roon feeding my DAC via USB. The laptop runs fully optimised audiophile Linux as OS and has an Uptone Audio USB Regen Reclocking USB signal connected to my DAC. I did listen to varied kinds of music in lossless Flac and WAV formats ranging from well recorded bollywood soundtracks to typical demo material for audio shows and some chesky records music. The Music sounds rich and warm. There’s also a nice weight to the sound and drive that keeps an engaging listening atmosphere. The analogue outs won’t have the ultimate resolution of a high end DAC but still the sound signatures is enjoyable and sort of forgiving with any kind of playback. Don’t get me wrong, it’s no way lo-fi but just that it lacks the ultimate resolution and is more leaning towards a forgiving sound probably helping to be good for all kind of playback methods including internet radio stations which the discovery can play from.

Conclusion:

Anybody using any kind of computer device as transport to play digital files or any streaming service would be aware about ROON, which is a playback software by Room audio labs. Add to it a network streamer which has lifetime of Roon embedded into it at no extra cost (don’t have to pay extra for Roon subscription) is what makes the Elac Discovery a very interesting product. With all its capabilities Elac has put into the Discovery it makes for a good product to be had in most audio setups except for the very high end setups which would be having a media server costing three or four times the price of the Elac Discovery. The only downside being the retail price being on the higher side for someone to consider it just as a network streamer. Keeping the pricing aside the Elac Discovery is a very well thought out product with an added bonus of a lifetime of Roon services included.

Elac Discovery WebLink

Early in February 2017, Oppo launched the Sonica DAC, this being the second product in the Oppo stable to share the Sonica name. M/s. Jay Multimedia, the distributors for Oppo Digital in India kindly sent us a unit to review for which we are very grateful as the Sonica DAC on paper looked very impressive and hence we were itching to put one through its paces.

Unboxing:

The Sonica DAC comes very well packed in a high quality cardboard box with lot of protection in the form of styrofoam compartment that house the main unit and the power cable with user manual & fold out poster.

Appearance:

The Sonica DAC is a complete black affair and rests on nice chrome ringed feet. The Front panel from left to right consists of the power button, source selector knob, a fairly small display screen, below which on the right is a USB type A port and a largish volume knob. The sides are flat black and have no screws attached. The rear consists of Co-Axial, Optical & USB type B inputs below which are the XLR & RCA Pre-outs. Next we have in & out Triggers below which are the Aux-In RCA connectors. A lan port, USB Host Port & a Ground Screw followed by a voltage switch & the IEC Power Cord 3 Pin Connector. Quality of the components used are very good and overall fit and finish is as expected from Oppo. The brushed aluminum face plate does look good & the Sonica DAC is surprisingly heavy for its size, due thanks to a large power transformer.

Build Quality: 5 Stars

We paired the Sonica DAC with the following Gears:

Source(Transport): Marantz SACD7003, Oppo BDP103, Marantz CD5005, Yamaha CD1000

Amplifiers: Marantz CD6006, Synthesis Nimis LE, PS Audio GCC-100, Jadis Orchestra Reference, Naim Nait 5Si

Speakers: Amphion Helium 410, Heco Victa Prime 302, Totem Rain Maker, Heco Celan GT202, Nibbana Dvee, Cadence Arista, PMC DB1Gold, PMC Twenty.23

Cables: Nordost White Lightning Speaker Cables and Interconnects, Transparent the Link Interconnects & The Wave Speaker Cables Nordost Purple Flare USB Cable Nordost Blue Heaven Co-Axial Cable AudioQuest Forest Optical Cable

Designs and specifications are subject to change without notice.

General
Dimensions (W x H x D)	10.0 x 3.0 x 12.2 inches, 254 x 76 x 360 mm
Weight	10.4 lbs, 4.7 kg
Power Supply	AC 110-120 V ~ / 220-240 V ~ 50/60 Hz
Power Consumption	30 W (operation), 0.5 W (standby)
Trigger Input	3.5 V – 15 V, 10 mA minimum
Trigger Output	12V, 100 mA maximum
Operating Temperature	41°F – 95°F, 5°C – 35°C
Operating Humidity	15% – 75% No condensation
USB Audio Input (USB B Type)
Input Format	Stereo PCM, Stereo DSD (DoP v1.1 or native)
PCM Sampling Frequencies	44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 88.2 kHz, 96 kHz, 176.4 kHz, 192 kHz, 352.8 kHz, 384 kHz, 705.6 kHz, 768 kHz
PCM Word Length	16-bit, 24-bit, 32-bit
DSD Sampling Frequencies	2.8224 MHz (DSD64), 5.6448 MHz (DSD128), 11.2896 MHz (DSD256), 22.5792 MHz (DSD512, native mode only)
Profile	USB 2.0, USB Audio 2.0
Coaxial and Optical Digital Audio Inputs
Input Format	Stereo PCM, Stereo DSD (DoP v1.1 or native)
Sampling Frequencies	44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 88.2 kHz, 96 kHz, 176.4 kHz, 192 kHz
Word Length	16-bit, 24-bit
DSD Sampling Frequencies	2.8224 MHz (DSD64)
AUX Audio Input
Input Impedance	10k Ohm
Maximum Input Level	2 Vrms
USB Ports (Type A)
Profile	USB 2.0, mass storage only
Audio Format Support	AAC, AIF, AIFC, AIFF, APE, FLAC, M4A, M4A (Apple Lossless) ALAC, OGG, WAV, WMA, DSF, DFF
Maximum Sampling Rate	PCM up to 192 kHz / 24-bit, DSD up to 2.8224 MHz (DSD64)
Wireless Standard
Wi-Fi	802.11.a/b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 4.1

DAC Performance Specifications

Specification	XLR Output	RCA Output
Output Level	4±0.4 Vrms	2±0.2 Vrms
Frequency Response	20 Hz – 160 kHz (+0/-2.4 dB) 20 Hz – 20 kHz (+0/-0.04 dB)	20 Hz – 160 kHz (+0/-2.4 dB) 20 Hz – 20 kHz (+0/-0.04 dB)
THD+N at 1 kHz (A Weight, 20 Hz- 20 kHz)	< -115 dB	< -115 dB
Channel Separation	> 120 dB	> 120 dB
Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A Weight, 20 Hz- 20 kHz)	> 120 dB	> 120 dB
Dynamic Range (1 kHz -60 dBFS, A Weight, 20 Hz- 20 kHz)	> 120 dB	> 120 dB

Performance:

We hooked up the Oppo Sonica DAC to a desk top computer, a laptop both via USB and optical inputs as well as CD Players which we used as a transport which we hooked up via Optical & Co-Axial. We also had a M2Tech Young DSD DAC which we used to compare in an A/B test. The Sonica DAC is controlled by the same app that was launched for the Sonica wireless speaker, so once we selected the DAC option, it was pretty much seamless from there on, with similar menu accessible as that of the wireless speaker. We never had any glitches using the app and were satisfied with its performance like before when we used for the wireless speaker. There is no option for a remote and neither is one provided with the DAC but then the app is meant to be used extensively which is why the absence of a dedicated remote isn’t felt at all. This though could be a deal breaker for some and so Oppo should think of providing a remote in future either bundled in with the Sonica DAC or as an option at additional cost. Using the display of the Sonica DAC, we weren’t too impressed by the rather basic resolution and black & white display as we feel that the display should be A) in colour and B) have higher resolution. This clearly appears to be done to cut costs but then once we hear the performance of the Sonica DAC, all is forgiven! The display can be dimmed but then the graphics and fonts get a little rough around the edges. Maybe a higher resolution screen in colour can be thought of in future models. Like the erstwhile BDP105, the Sonica DAC comes with a ESS Technology DAC Chipset, but with the current top of the line ES9038 PRO Sabre Chip. We applaud Oppo for choosing the top-of-the-line, audiophile-grade, ESS PRO Series Sabre chip, the ES9038PRO, which we are sure is likely to be more expensive being the flagship chip that ESS produces. A good feature to have is the bypass mode, which can be easily achieved for the AUX input or all inputs. Once the break-in took place, the Sonica DAC showcased its true colours. We were pleasantly surprised at how musical the Sonica DAC is keeping in mind the overall presentation across the frequency range. An area where the Sonica DAC truly excels is in the low frequency region where the bass is articulate, defined and extremely well represented. The Sonica DAC does justice to the midrange and mid bass particularly well. It also presents a more accurate soundstage in comparison to the M2Tech Young DSD DAC that we compared it with. I would not describe the Sonica DAC as especially revealing or clinical as the ESS Sabre32 Reference DAC chipset used in the BDP105, which is good as we actually preferred the much smoother and organic presentation of the Sonica DAC. In short, the Sonica DAC provides the resolution minus the overt digital and clinical detail.

Verdict:

The Sonica DAC, is the Oppo’s first dedicated stereo DAC/music streamer. The Sonica DAC can be used as a standalone DAC capable of decoding high-resolution sources up to PCM 32/768 and DSD512, a high resolution audio player capable upto 24/192 and DSD64 and or as a music streamer. The fact that the AUX input of Sonica DAC enables you to connect existing analog audio source to the Sonica multi-room network is another bonus. The Sonica DAC is truly a well thought out and superb sounding DAC, being adequately rich in features in the price segment it is competing in. We are sure that a lot of digital music enthusiasts will appreciate the Sonica DAC for what it offers. Also those who have been using the BDP105 as a stand alone DAC should seriously consider the Sonica DAC as an upgrade to the same. At Rs.79999/- we say it is pricy when one sees the US price but then we are to keep in mind the custom duties, allied taxes and logistics costs for a low volume product sold in India.

Klipsch, the famous Loudspeaker manufacturer has been evolving a lot than just being a loudspeaker manufacturer, getting into niche segments since the past 2-3 years. The powergate is one of these interesting new products which is a highly versatile product to say the least. It can be used as a traditional stereo amplifier, USB DAC, Headphone Amplifier, Wireless Streamer and used to play back form audio sources via network accessed in a room. We were pleasantly surprised to know that it has been launched recently in the Indian market. The Indian Distributor, M/s. Cinerama Pvt. Ltd.(Cinebels) very kindly sent us a unit to review and play with.

Unboxing:

The powergate came packed in a fancy printed plastic coated cardboard box which shows the powergate picture and shares quite a bit of the details on it on the box itself. The powergate comes packed in foam/plastic bags and is ensconced in an egg crate type paper mache cradle, with a compartment in the side having all the relevant cables as stated below. 1 post card sized leaflet which indicates how one can expand their wireless streaming experience with other klipsch products and a small instruction booklet with a warranty leaflet, safety instructions booklet and a spotify leaflet that is folded to the size of the instruction booklet, all packed together in a mini plastic bag. The quality of the packing indicates that they can be re-used for quite a number of times, which is good since one would like to carry it around keeping its small size form in mind.

Contents of the box were as follows:

Powergate Unit

Power Cords (3 pin & 2 pin)

3.5 Aux Cable

USB A to B Type Cable

Optical Cable

Remote Control with 2 AAA Batteries

Appearance:

We received our powergate in black color which is shiny at the front end and side edges, whilst the top and rear is a matt black finish. The front panel consists of a power button, a source selector button on the left side, a large volume/mute control/sub woofer gain dial in the centre and a 3.5mm head fone jack to the right. When powered ON, a red dot to the right of the volume dial which is essentially the stand by light goes off and the left side of the volume dial lights up in a white light with the blue tooth pairing light flashing continuously till the input is selected and a spotifiy connect icon lights up in white on the right side of the volume dial. One will find the following inputs light up once the relevant one is selected by pressing the input button(Wi-fi, Bluetooth, Aux, USB, Phono, Digital) The sides are lightly ribbed with perforations in between to ventilate the heat generated from within. We found the ventilation is rather inadequate as the power gate does get quite hot when in use for a couple of hours especially when the volume is over the half way mark. The rear end consists of (From left to right) Top Left to Right Ethernet Input, Ethernet Output, USB Service Port, USB Audio Input, Optical Input, WiFi Setup LED, WiFi Setup Button, Speaker Wire Binding Posts (L & R), Power Input Bottom Left to Right Phono/Line Input (L & R), Phono / Line Switch, Ground Screw Terminal, Auxillary Input, Analog Output (L & R), Subwoofer Output The remote is a nice slim one with all the buttons nicely spaced out and placed appropriately.

Build Quality: 4 stars

Specifications:

• 2 x 100 watt class D amplifier

• Wi-Fi connectivity for Klipsch Stream wireless multi-room audio integration

• USB Audio (Type B Connection)

• Bluetooth® wireless connectivity with AAC and apt-X decoding

• Phono pre-amp / RCA analog audio

• Optical (TOSLINK)

• Remote control

• 192kHz / 24-bit D/A Converter

• Headphone Output (3.5mm)

• Subwoofer Output

• Line level Pre-amp output (RCA analog)

Performance:

We tried a variety of gears along with the Klipsch PowerGate, namely:

Source:

Marantz CD6006

Marantz SA7003

Oppo Sonica DAC

Cocktail Audio N15

Marantz TT5005

Marantz TT15S1

Speakers:

Amphion Helium 410

Heco Victa Prime 202

Mission MX-3

Cadence Arista

Nibbana Dvee

Merlin TSM BME

Cables:

Speaker:

Taga TAVC-14

Nordost White Lightning

Interconnects:

Nordost White Lightning

USB: Nordost Purple Flare

We threw the PowerGate straight into the deep end of the test by pairing it with a variety of partnering electronics, hoping that it will show us a weakness or 2. At the end of the day, we expect a product with the Klipsch name to be ready for taking abuse. That the PowerGate took the challenge well and performed admirably well in most situations, bears as testament to its abilities. The only negative we found with the PowerGate was that it heats up quite a bit! Surely being class D, that should not be the case but it does heat up a lot which makes us think otherwise. Having hardly any sort of ventilation built into its case makes matters worse and is surely not a good sign for the longevity of the product. We observed the heat issue getting aggravated when we pushed the volume up for sustained periods of time(3-4 hours at a stretch) which could indicate that the PowerGate does not like to be played at higher volumes for long periods of time. We brought up this issue with M/s. Cinebels who assured us that it could be an isolated case with the unit we received for reviewing as none of the other PowerGates they tested had heating issues. We sincerely hope that is the case as the PowerGate is a good product indeed.

Verdict:

The PowerGate is an extremely versatile product. It can be used as a traditional 2-channel stereo amplifier, having a phono stage, a USB DAC, Subwoofer out or as a Headphone Amplifier. It can also be integrated with the Klipsch Stream Wireless Multi-Room Audio system for playback of the audio sources via your network in your room. The small form factor and light weight also helps in one being able to carry it around and make the most use of it. At Rs.68000/-, it does seem to be a tad overpriced but the features it offers does make it a viable option for today’s requirements of wanting the features as desired.

I have been using the Raspberry Pi as a media streamer since some time now. So, excuse me if my comparisons are with it but to be frank I would count them as fair comparisons as Raspberry Pi opens up so many possibilities to be used as streamer / storage device or a streamer cum DAC for your digital audio setup and with excellent interface and regular updates to the software from feedback.

The N15 can be used as a wired or wireless streamer for audio as a transport for your digital setup, as a NAS to store your audio files or an all in one component which can play files from the network (wired or wirelessly) or stored locally into the inbuilt DAC outputting analogue to your audio amplifier. It has a dedicated headphone out so headphone users can have a one piece solution for the digital audio though I have not tested the headphone out for audio. The DAC is DSD 256 capable and plays PCM at 352.8 mhz. That means it’s absolutely future ready. It also plays all the major audio formats. The company also provides firmware updates for the unit so any feature possible within the limits of the hardware can be added at a later date The unit also supports DLNA(UPNP) Client and server, Samba Client and server and Airplay. You can send or receive audio data depending upon how you use the unit. Wireless capability comes with a USB dongle which is sold extra as an accessory. The front panel has a power ON/OFF switch with a LED, headphone out jack and a USB slot where one can attach a portable HDD, thumb drive or maybe a WiFi USB dongle. A large volume/mute control dial is provided in the centre of the unit.

Surprisingly, there are no LED’s to denote what inputs/outputs are connected or to toggle between them. I feel this should never have been omitted. What I found surprising is USB audio in is micro USB type connector rather than the traditional USB B type. USB Audio IN will come into use when for some reason one wants to use the unit as a standalone DAC It can’t output audio data via USB, so no chance to use it as a streamer. But I have been told by that they can easily enable this if needed by a firmware update. Another good thing about the unit is that one can install an SSD into the unit itself. One does not need any NAS to store their audio files which is usually large in size. Many audiophiles believe music played from an SSD tends to sound better as there no moving parts inside it. Similarly, one can attach thumb drives too to the unit. I personally would always prefer to play music through on board storage rather than storing music on a NAS. I always found local storage to sound better and its more fuss free too. I have not been able to test sound via SSD as at the moment I don’t have any spare SSD with me. For someone who would like to play music stored on a NAS, or maybe songs stored in a PC HDD which is on the same network there is an option of connecting it by Samba server and FTP. One is covered in all possible ways as far accessing music on network. Cocktail Audio has given all its units a dedicated app called Novatron which can be downloaded for free from Google play store or Apple app store.

With the app it is possible to listen to free online radio stations and also paid online streaming services like Tidal, Qobuz, Airable, Deezer and Spotify. This makes life very easy for someone into online streaming of music as all major services can be accessed by the official app for the unit. The app is otherwise well made but would like some polishing like better differentiation of sub-menus and some playback shortcuts like one click to play the whole folder. One more nifty feature via the app is that online radio can be recorded, but obviously one would need to connect a USB HDD, thumb drive or SSD to save the file. One can also set a sleep time for HDD which will cut off power to the HDD when the unit is not accessing it. A good feature for durability of the HDD. The unit has never exhibited any heating issues even if kept ON for several hours so safe to say it can be kept on 24/7.

Features at a glance:

High Performance System Resources ● Based on powerful dual core ARM Cortex A9 running at 1.0GHz ● UPnP(DLNA) Server/Client/Media Renderer/Samba Server/Client are supported ● Super Sound Quality created by Sabre ES9018K2M Reference DAC built-in ● 2.5 inch HDD or SSD storage deck is ready ● Giga Fast Ethernet LAN built-in ● High speed internal data transferring ● USB device port is available for convenient data transferring Other Great Features & Functions ● Dedicated USB Audio Class 2.0 Input is ready ● Major Online Muisc Services like TIDAL Qobuz, Deezer, Airable are integrated ● Apple Airplay is supported ● Intuitive, feature rich and speedy remote control app for iOS and Android devices ● Give networking capability to your existing DAC & Amplifier Hi-Res Audio Formats are supported ● 24Bit/192KHz HD WAV, FLAC are supported ● DSD64, DSD128, DSD256 files are supported.

Conclusion: I have been using a Raspberry pi 2, with Hifiberry digi plus add-on card (adds coaxial and optical digital out to the RPI) with Moode Audio and Daphile OS loaded on my laptop as my main streaming devices since the past year or so. There is no argument that these 2 combinations which I use are in no way the best streamers out there but still I feel for what they can do at a given price point it surely acts as a benchmark. In both cases software is absolutely free and all the developer ask for is to give feedback for any issues and bugs so it can it be worked upon in future updates. Also the developers leave it upto the users to donate how much ever money one can for the development of the project. One part which I surely want future N15 versions to have worked upon is the option to select between outputs. Even if the company does not option to give hardware buttons they can surely have that on the app like it is with the Raspberry pi and Moode audio combo. The firmware too needs to support audio data transfer from its USB ports to connect it to another USB DAC. It would be best for cocktail audio to have two versions of N15, one being a pure streamer without any DAC to cater to needs of people needing only a streamer to connect to their USB DAC’s. Dual band WiFi can be inbuilt to give aid wireless streaming. Comparing the sound from the coaxial and optical out of the N15 it surely is a level ahead then the RPI with digi + card combo. The sound is more spacious and natural. The changes suggested would surely not need a big change technically but would help in making N15 a master in one department rather being jack of all trades and master of none. At the retail price of Rs.49999/-, it surely will have takers in the audiophile market, especially making it attractive to those who like to have their music stored and played from one location. It also becomes an able option for people who are looking for a one box solution to play their music from, as all they have to do is hook up the unit to their existing amplifier, plug in the network cable or wifi dongle and they are good to go. I just hope that Cocktail Audio pays attention to the minor irritants that I found whilst reviewing the N15 and take steps to take care of them ASAP. I certainly hope it does so as the potential in the N15 is huge.

A perfect excuse to play with a bargain basement set-up, or atleast that was the idea when we got our hands on Arcam’s Mini Blink Bluetooth DAC. That things did not go exactly the bargain way turned out to be another story, what with the Mini Blink itself not being available at a sane price but then we are getting ahead of ourselves to begin with. We none the less began our test of the Mini Blink in the intended direction.

Appearance:

The Arcam Mini Blink came in a nicely designed box which had all the cabling/plug adapters neatly packed in mini designated pockets in the box with the centre area being where the Mini Blink was placed as the jewel of desire. It is pretty thoughtful of Arcam to provide various types of plug pin adapters so that wherever you are in the world, you can make use of the Mini Blink as your source enhancing companion. A Micro USB to USB cable and a very tidy USB mains adapter with interchangeable heads for the UK, US, EU and Australia plug point receptacles. But the beauty of choosing Micro USB is that the odds are high that pretty much everyone you know will have a Micro USB charger in their house. Nice touch! A 3.5mm to RCA and 3.5mm to 3.5mm audio cables also come with the unit. The Mini Blink’s very shape is like a flatted egg or a shiny black pebble, which actually feels like it was designed to be equally at home or carried in a pocket as it is rather small and unobtrusive. The body of the Mini Blink is plastic which while looks well made, we are not sure whether it will be able to take a couple of knocks or drops on hard floors so care has to be taken whilst carrying it around. Another irritant found was the rather close proximity of the USB power receptacle and 3.5mm output jack. Connecting the USB cable is a bit fiddly as well.

 

The only moving part on the Mini Blink is the pairing button, which has the Bluetooth logo, which lights up in one of three colours, depending on the status of the unit. Red is on standby, pink/purple means it is paired with a device, which then turns to blue once something is streamed through it. It takes a couple of seconds to pair, you simply turn on bluetooth on your phone or tablet, hold down the pairing button on the miniBlink and scan for it. Tap on Arcam bluetooth when it shows and you’re good to go.

Performance:

We paired the Mini Blink with a variety of speakers, as listed below:

Heco MusicStyle200

Amphion Helium 410

PMC DB1 Gold

Philips Micro Compo

OEM SE420

Cambridge Audio Minx SL

ELAC Debut B5

For amplifiers, we paired the Mini Blink with

Naim Nait 5Si

Dayton DTA-1

No name chinese nude chip amps

Topping T-20

Dared 300B Mono Blocks

Cambridge Audio AM-10

Once we had the Arcam burned-in for a while, we started doing some critical listening with various amps and speakers as mentioned above, but keeping the cost factor of the Mini Blink, we dialed in on the combo of the OEM SE420 Speakers, Dayton DTA-1 Amp and used our Android Phones to stream the digital music files in flac/wav format through the Mini Blink AptX Bluetooth Interface. We played a variety of music genres to see how the Mini Blink fares and surprisingly we rather enjoyed the appreciably detailed, warm sound, punchy bass and nice soundstage, which completely transformed the above speakers and amp set-up making them both sound like more expensive setups than they really are. The music sounds smooth and surprisingly well crafted which is not at the expense of loss of details. Notable tunes such as Led Zeppelin’s ‘when the levee breaks’ and AC/DC’s ‘back in black’ came to life as did ‘Jo bhi main’ from Rockstar OST, at which point a friend of ours who is really well accustomed to true high end remarked that the set-up played like a 2 lac rupees set-up, high praise indeed!

Verdict:                                   

The house sound of Arcam’s gears, which is rhythm and musicality is intact in the Mini Blink. It is very impressive that Arcam boffins have been able to derive such a sense of refinement and quality from a device like this. At a retail price of Rs. 13500, the Arcam Mini Blick is by no means cheap given it can only stream via Bluetooth. The fact that the very modestly priced ideal speaker & amplifier combo that we zeroed in on shone like crazy is testament to the quality of the output given by the Arcam Mini Blink. That the amplifier and speaker together cost less than the Mini Blink says another telling story! Had the Mini Blink being sensibly priced, we don’t see any reason why people would not be buying it a lot lot more than what it costs at the moment. Maybe a point that the Arcam distributor can drive across to the company? Food for thought!

We were given a sneak peak of one of Yamaha’s soon to be launched Wireless Music Speaker called the WX-030, which will be launched soon in our market under the Yamaha MusicCast Series of Products. The WX-030 is a relatively small form factor speaker packing a decent punch performance wise and is going to enter the already crowded segment of lifestyle portable speakers flooding our market. Wireless is a relative term as the speaker plays music wirelessly via bluetooth or wifi, but it still needs to be powered the conventional way, which is kind of a let down as its usability is still limited to it being fed power via a electricity plug point. The brief experience we had today was at a dealer’s place as the yamaha rep had got a demo piece to train the dealer about its features and how it needs to be showcased to the end user. We played with it briefly to get an idea of how it works and sounds. We could only play music via bluetooth as the time factor was limited but we have been promised a unit for a full review in the near future.

What we heard we liked as it played admirably well, with good sound clarity and appreciable bass keeping its rather small size in mind. How it will face up against the competition will be interesting. We hope to do a shoot out with some of its competition as and when we get it for a long term review.

The indicative retail price of the WX-030 is around rupees 25 thousand.

WX-030

We recently had an in-depth listen to the Canton DM8.2 Soundbar, which is part of the Movie Series of Canton Models. Canton via their Movie Series, provides a rather compact, yet very high quality active speaker system that serves course primarily intended for relatively great sound while watching TV.

Unboxing: The DM8.2 came well packed in a pretty large carton. The unit was packed with sturdy thermocol encasing the unit securely. All the accessories were placed in little cut outs on the top thermocol packing itself. The items included in with the DM8.2 as follows: 1 Unit Sound Bar 1 Remote Control with Cell Optical Cable (1.5m) Owner’s Manual Packing Quality: 5 Stars

Appearance: The DM8.2 soundbar is quite substantial, having a width of 85 cm, a height of just 13 cm and a depth of 31.5 cm. It weighs around 12 Kg and the housing is substantial meaning that a Flat Screen Panel can be placed on top of the sound bar itself. Canton tech specs indicate four bass drivers with a 110 mm aluminum cone and two 25 mm tweeter with fabric dome drivers. These are powered by a Class D power amplifier with an output of 100 watts and are intended to cover a frequency range 40-22000 Hz. One can also connect an active subwoofer to augment the bass response of the unit. Canton indicates the crossover frequency of 150 Hz for achieving best results and seamless integration with the DM8.2. The exterior of the DM 8.2 was an all-black affair with matt lacquer polished surface, to enable it to fit easily into any living environment. The housing rests firmly on four solid footers, which are made of metal and thus visually set a nice contrast. The DM8.2 comes with an infrared remote control, which has option of changing between the three inputs, set the playback parameters of the integrated DSP and the volume can be controlled as well. The DM8.2 connection options include two RCA analog inputs, one optical input and a subwoofer output. At the front there is a metal grille protecting the drive units and the centre has a largish display for indicating source selected, volume and which preset equalizer setting is selected. The display is bright and legible having a pleasing blue back lit light, which is non adjustable. Surprisingly the DM8.2 has no HDMI inputs or USB for a flash drive or hard drive full of music/movies. With no WiFi or Ethernet built-in, it means the only way to connect the DM8.2 is via the analog inputs & solitary optical input. Strange for the present times indeed!

Build Quality: 5 Stars

Performance: The DM8.2 is remarkably sound in tonality and delivers very good mids and pleasing highs keeping its profile in mind. The bass is quite alright but when one is watching action movies, a sub will most certainly be required to helped flesh out gunshots and explosions to blend with the rest of the soundstage. For movies/tv channels viewing and music experience, you get a choice of four preset options. They are ‘Stereo’, ‘Surround’, ‘Loud’ and ‘Voice’. For music and speech, we found the DM8.2, to be very good with good vocals presence and pleasant performance musicality wise, as tonally it is very hard to find fault with. For movies, one might not appreciate it much and that’s where it has its limitations minus a sub woofer showing rather tellingly. We have to applaud Canton for its well-designed remote handset and the way it feels to hold, as it is well weighted, compact and performs flawlessly. The remote has a premium feel, is just the right size and weight, and has logically placed buttons that are instinctive to use.

Verdict: Simplicity and ease of use are the main advantages of the DM8.2. A good amount of current technology is surprisingly absent in the DM8.2, which might go against it, for most considering a sound bar purchase, but for what it does, one cannot find much wrong with its capabilities. If one is looking to boost the soundstage of a display and augment the sound for basic viewing and or listening to music, then one will be fully satisfied with the DM8.2. For persons expecting more, they need to either buy a separate active sub woofer to augment the effects for movies or simply are better off looking at other options available in the market.

Retail Price: Rs.56000/- Available at: M/s Innovative Information Technology Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai

 

Unboxing: The YSP-2500 came well packed in a pretty large carton. The YSP-2500 consists of 2 parts, a sound bar and a sub woofer. Both were well packed separately with sturdy thermocol encasing the 2 units securely. All the accessories were well packed in little cut outs in the main thermocol packing itself. The items part of the YSP-2500 as follows: 1 Unit Sound Bar (YSP-CU2500) 1 Unit Wireless Sub Woofer (NS-WSW120) 1 Remote Control 2 X AAA Batteries Optical Cable (1.5m) IntelliBeam Microphone (6m) Cardboard Microphone Stand Non-Skid Pads(8 Pcs) Owner’s Manual CD-ROM Quick Reference Guide Safety Brochure Screws(M4, 22mm X 2) Mounting Template

Packing Quality: 5 Stars

Appearance: The soundbar of the YSP-2500 is uncommonly slim, thanks to a frame that barely extends beyond the edges of its tiny beam drivers. The feet of the soundbar are height adjustable, or can be entirely removed depending on your placement requirements in relation to the proximity of the TV panel, especially if it’s a wall mounted arrangement. The sound bar is encased in a brushed aluminium exterior, which gives it an understated classy look. The YSP-2500’s 16 drivers, each of which is 1.125-inches in diameter, are individually powered, pulling a meager 2 watts each from the sound bar’s allocated 32 watts. The rest of the system’s claimed 162 watts of power are all directed at the wireless sub, which houses dual 4-inch woofers working in tandem to provide the low stuff. System frequency response is rated at 40Hz-22kHz. The soundbar’s connection options include three HDMI inputs and an ARC HDMI output, dual optical digital inputs, a coaxial digital input, an RCA analog input, and a subwoofer output. At the front is an input for the setup microphone and a virtual surround sound headphone output. Bluetooth with aptX for near CD-quality streaming (and access to Yamaha’s controller app) complete the feature set. Atop the bar is a slim control panel for power, input selection, and volume control. A largish display is present on the front left side of the soundbar. The display is bright and legible, which can be adjusted via the dimming feature. The subwoofer is also slim, yet quite heavy, with a largish port placed in the centre of the front end. The subwoofer is discreet and can be tucked away in a corner either vertically or horizontally. The feet attached to it are quite large & provide a good foot print to the sub woofer. Employing the Intellibeam microphone is necessary to optimize the unit’s sound for your room. To do so, simply set up the makeshift stand and microphone in the room’s centralized listening position, plug in the mic, and follow the onscreen instructions. Once you press return, there’s a 10 second countdown to exit the room, followed by 3 minutes of processing done to ensure optimal sound presentation as per the rooms dimensions & surrounding walls. To Yamaha, walls are a benefit because they can reflect sound. Digital Sound Projection takes advantage of this by figuring out how sounds reflect off your walls. Once it learns how sounds move around your room, it uses that to its advantage by bouncing audio off the walls to create the effect of surround speakers. Your ears don’t realize that the surround audio is coming from the front but bouncing off the walls first. You hear the sounds coming from behind you because they actually are. The Bluetooth feature(with apt-X) allows one to stream music to the YSP-2500 wirelessly via any iphone/pad or android based hand held devices. The Bluetooth standby mode allows the speakers to be turned on/off as and when a device is connected to them. The Yamaha controller app allows one to use their hand held devices to adjust surround and DSP modes or beams effortlessly, which is a useful addition if one wants to control the YSP-2500 entirely without using the dedicated remote. Surprisingly the YSP-2500 has no USB input for a flash drive or hard drive full of music/movies. With no WiFi or Ethernet built-in, it means the only way to stream music to the YSP-2500 is with Bluetooth.

Specifications: (From Yamaha Website) General Output Channel 7.1-channel Output Power 162 W total power: 2 W x 16 beam drivers + Dynamic 130 W subwoofer Power Consumption 25 W (Center Unit) , 75 W (Subwoofer) Standby Power Consumption 0.4 W (Center Unit) (HDMI Control off, Bluetooth standby off), 1.6 W (Subwoofer)(Wireless subwoofer mode) Beam Drivers 1-1/8″ x 16 beam drivers Subwoofer Dual 4″ cone woofers Dimensions (W x H x D) 37-1/8″ x 2-7/8″ (with stands) x 5-5/8″; 37-1/8″ x 2″ (without stands) x 5-5/8″ (Center unit), 5-3/4″ x 17-1/2″ x 13-7/8″ (Vertical subwoofer) Weight 8.8 lbs. (Center unit), 17.4 lbs. (Subwoofer) Input / Output HDMI 3 in / 1 out Digital Optical 2 in Digital Coaxial 1 in Analog Audio 1 in Surround Headphone Jack Output Yes Subwoofer Output Yes HDMI 4K Pass-through Yes (60p) Deep Color Yes x.v.Color Yes 3D Pass-through Yes ARC Yes CEC Yes Auto Lip-Sync Yes Sound Technology Surround Technology Digital Sound Projector CINEMA DSP Movie 3 (Sci-Fi, Adventure, Spectacle) CINEMA DSP Music 3 (Music Video, Concert, Jazz Club) CINEMA DSP Entertainment 4 (Sports, Talk Show, Drama, Game) Listening Mode 5 Beam, 5 Beam Plus2, Stereo+3 Beam, Stereo+3 Beam PLUS2, 3 Beam, My Surround UniVolume Yes Compressed Music Enhancer Yes Audio Formats HD Audio Format Decoding Yes Dolby TrueHD Yes Dolby Digital Plus Yes Dolby Digital Yes Dolby Digital EX Yes Dolby Pro Logic Yes Dolby Pro Logic II Yes Dolby Pro Logic IIx Yes DTS-HD Master Audio Yes DTS-HD High Resolution Yes DTS-HD Yes DTS Yes DTS-Neo 6 Yes DTS-ES Yes DTS 96/24 Yes LPCM Yes Connectivity Wireless Music Streaming Yes (with Bluetooth) Bluetooth Version/Profile (Version) Ver. 2.1 + EDR (Profile) A2DP, SPP Wireless Subwoofer Yes Other Features IntelliBeam Yes On-Screen Display Yes On-Screen Display Languages English, German, French, Spanish, Italy, Swedish, Dutch, Turkish, Japanese and Chinese ECO Mode Yes App Control Yes Other Features TV Remote Repeater, system memory

Performance: The YSP-2500 is just a tad light in the midrange at times, but in most cases we were surprised at how well the sub and sound bar worked in tandem, covering the full sonic spectrum with good balance. The sub also helped flesh out gunshots & explosions in action flicks with decent results, blending well with the rest of the soundstage. For movies/tv channels viewing experience, you get a choice of ‘Beam’ or ‘Playback’ modes, which adjust the speaker configuration to suit your source, while Yamaha’s Cinema DSP modes have a fun selection of sound-effects to play around with. Our only real complaint is that the YSP-2500 only performs to its full potential in an optimal environmental setting, when it has obstacle-free, right-angled walls on its left and right off of which to bounce sound. If one’s room is not as desired, then one has the option of purchasing the YRB-100 reflective sound panels, to provide the desired reflective surfaces for bouncing the sound beams. One should also ensure that there aren’t any obstructions around the soundbar, as any obstacles will affect its sound projection capabilities and spoil the surround effect. For music performance, there are plenty of tweaks which can be used to perk up the sound quality of the YSP-2500, each offering a different type of sound useful to one’s own personal tastes & requirements. The YSP-2500 is capable of good vocals and at par performance musicality wise, but it doesn’t pretend to replace a dedicated hi-fi system. We have to applaud Yamaha for its well-designed remote handset and control app too. The remote has a premium feel, is just the right size and weight, and has logically placed buttons that are instinctive to use. Verdict: Simplicity, ease of use & decluttering are the main advantages of the YSP-2500. A good amount of technology is present in the YSP-2500. There’s the Yamaha app control, 3D and 4K passthrough, 3 useful memory presets on the remote control for saving preferred settings, namely for action movies, dialogue-heavy movies and music. The sound projection is effective at creating immersive sound once properly calibrated, while the subwoofer performance is noteworthy and integrates well with the soundbar. The YSP-2500’s big soundstage, punch and scale are impressive, and it’s the most appealing solution for those that want cinema-style sound without the tangle of wires & placement of speakers all over the room. The YSP-2500 is pricey but a good solution for people wanting ease of use in a smallish package with good performance as well.

Retail Price: Rs.1.10Lac

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