Recommended Components

Complete Audio Systems:

A:

Dynaudio Focus 10: $5500/pair (stands necessary)
Class A rating is as a Complete Audio System; class B (Restricted LF) as a regular loudspeaker. See Loudspeaker Systems. (Vol.46 Nos.2 & 11 WWW)

Focal Diva Utopia: $39,999/pair
(Vol.48 No.3 WWW)

Grimm LS-1c: $26,500/pair and up, depending on cabinet material and finish.
See Rogier van Bakel's review on p.127. (Vol.48 No.4 WWW)

JBL 4329P: $4500/pair (stands necessary)
Class A rating is as a Complete Audio System; class B (Restricted LF) as a regular loudspeaker. See Loudspeaker Systems. (Vol.46 No.10 WWW)

Klipsch The Nines: $1499/pair (stands necessary) $$$
Class A rating is as a Complete Audio System; class B (Restricted LF) as a regular loudspeaker. See Loudspeaker Systems. (Vol.47 No.2 WWW)

B:

Naim Mu-so 2nd Generation: $1299 with standard grille fabric $$$
This slim, all-in-one, Roon Ready networked music system has a tweeter, a midrange unit, and an oval-shaped woofer for each channel, all powered by direct-digital, class-D amplification. The integral DSP offers three room compensation settings. There is also an alarm and a sleep timer. The major digital streaming services, including Spotify, Tidal, and Qobuz, are handled natively, and the Mu-so also offers AirPlay 2 (iTunes and Apple Music) and Chromecast. There are analog, S/PDIF, USB, Bluetooth, HDMI ARC, and wired and Wi-Fi network inputs, though other than the USB port, the physical inputs are inconveniently placed on the bottom of the chassis. The Mu-so can be controlled by a remote control, by its own touch controls, and by the Naim app for Apple iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, and Android devices. JMu was well-impressed by this app. She was also impressed by the sound, writing "a few sonic characteristics stood out: crisp clarity with more detail and dynamic output than I expected. Subjective impressions of bass extension seemed to exceed what's possible from small drivers within a smallish box." How did JMu conclude her review? "The musical Mu-so 2nd Generation offers serious sound and engineering from a respected maker, but it's also built for fun. I wanted to keep on listening, and that speaks volumes." Additional grille color options add $90 to price. (Vol.43 No.10 WWW)

Sonus Faber Omnia: $1999
RvB was impressed by the sound of this single-box, Bluetooth- and Wi-Fi–enabled, DSP-optimized, active stereo loudspeaker system. It uses a single 6.5" woofer, two 0.75" silk-dome tweeters, a pair of 3" midrange drivers, and two 1.75" drivers that fire to the sides to widen the soundstage. The Omnia includes an analog line input, a MM-compatible phono input, an HDMI ARC input, and an Ethernet port. While there is a remote control, the Omnia can also be controlled by a web page or by Roon. As you might expect from a 6.5" woofer in a small enclosure, the lowest octaves were restricted, though RvB found that definition and timbre were still quite good. "Most music I played had a proper foundation, with enough bass weight to satisfy, even seduce," he wrote. His conclusion: "The Omnia wireless speaker is beautifully designed, well built, and sonically gifted." (Vol.45 No.8 WWW)

Technics SC-CX700: $2999.99/pair (stands necessary) $$$
See Kal Rubinson's review on p.151. (Vol.48 No.4 WWW)

Music Surround-Sound Components:

A+:

StormAudio ISP Evo immersive sound preamp/processor: $18,999–$22,999 depending on channel count and digital format
See Digital Processors. (Vol.47 No.3 WWW)

A:

Arvus H2-4D multichannel Dolby ATMOS® digital processor: $4990
The H2-4D combines HDMI and word clock inputs with 16-channel digital (AES3), balanced analog, and LAN outputs. It decodes and renders all extant varieties of Dolby (including Atmos), DTS (including DTS-X), and stereo and multichannel PCM (up to 24/192). Set-up and control is via a local webpage, accessible via the user's network. After wrestling with setting up the channels, KR found with the Arvus's digital outputs that while Apple Music's Atmos is lossy and limited to a 48kHz sample rate, he found it a credible alternative to high-rez stereo, "swapping the latter's clarity and immediacy for a huge enhancement in the acoustic space." In the test lab, JA found that while the Arvus's digital outputs preserved the resolution and sample rate of hi-rez files, the analog outputs downsampled the data to 48kHz, with not much better than 16 bits of resolution. He felt that this rules out the H2-4D for use in a system where the owner wants to play back hi-rez music files as well as movies, with just one processor. Nevertheless, KR concluded that the Arvus H2-4D "is the single piece of audio hardware that can deliver Atmos into a component audio system," (Vol.46 No.5 WWW)

exaSound s88 Mark II: $7599
See "Digital Processors."

Okto dac8 PRO: €1289 $$$ ★
An 8-channel DAC with USB input and output, 8 channels of AES3 input, 8 channels of balanced (XLR) analog output, a headphone output, and a choice of seven reconstruction filters, the made-in-Prague dac8 Pro so impressed KR that he bought the review sample. JA's measurements indicated that, with just over 20 bits of effective resolution and vanishingly low linearity error and distortion, no compromises had been made to pack eight D/A channels into the Pro's slim chassis. (Vol.43 No.12, Vol.44 No.2 WWW)

B:

Primare A35.8 8-channel power amplifier: $5500
See Power Amplifiers. (Vol.45 No.11 WWW)

Deletions
NAD M28, not auditioned in a long time.