The product and interface looked pretty slick and the company's sales and marketing director, Vital Gbezo, said that QAT is currently looking for US distribution. The MS5 is priced at around $6,000.
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New to me at this show is the QAT MS5 music server using an iPad (shown here) or a slightly smaller custom RP5 touch panel for control. There is a built-in Teac CD drive and 1TB of storage (around 2,500 CDs using FLAC) and the system supports a multitude of file formats and data rates up to 24/192.
Also available in February for around $3.500, the Paris DAC features Toslink, SPDIF and USB inputs and the processing is built around the AKM DAC chips. Both balanced and unbalanced outputs are available.
I entered the Oracle room and the Split Enz "I See Red" started singing in my head. This is not a shy red. This is a red that if seen out of the corner of your eye flashes and vibrates until you look right at it.
The new disc spinner is based on a Philips drive and the same processing as in the Paris DAC and also includes two SPDIF 24/192 inputs. It should be available next month for around $3,500
Control of the T+A Music Player is now greatly improved with the new optional $900 remote. At the top of the remote is a color screen that will show you the metadata and album cover art from UPnP connected drives that you are controlling with the Music Player.
When reviewing the Music Player a couple years ago, I was impressed with the build quality, sound quality and thinking that went into the design. There were a few nitpicks, and T+A was eager to show me the latest version where they claim to have addressed these (what I considered very minor) concerns.
The Music Player is still the same gorgeous form factor which includes a CD drive, DAC and preamp functions, but there is a bigger display and it now handles 24/192 via SPDIF or over the LAN connection and a handy new remote (shown below). There are five digital inputs and the device is…
I like good hi-fi in small packages. Here we see the 25Wpc Napa Acoustic NA-208A hybrid integrated amplifier ($399). It measures a friendly 7” W by 5” H by 9.5” D and its stainless steel chassis and aluminum front panel seem solidly built. It uses a pair of 6N1 vacuum tubes and offers three inputs (two rear-panel RCA and one front-panel iPod mini jack).
I listened to the NA-208A along with Napa’s NA-208CD CD player ($399), driving Wharfedale’s excellent Diamond 10.1 loudspeakers ($350/pair), and the sound was easy to listen to, easy to enjoy, and bigger than one might expect from…
I’m always encouraged when I see families at hi-fi shows, so I was happy to meet Alexander Vitus Mogensen, son of Vitus Audio founder, Hans-Ole Vitus; and I was even happier to learn that the 20-year-old Mogensen has started his own company, AVM-TEC, devoted to affordable OEM and DIY amplifier modules.
Mogensen has been working with Vitus Audio over the last five years, assisting in production and construction, and hopes to use the knowledge he’s gained to create his own successful brand. Currently, AVM-TEC offers modules in single-ended and balanced configurations, but an entire line…
Speaking of great things in small packages, here we see Parasound’s Zphono USB phono preamplifier ($349) and Zdac digital-to-analog converter ($450). Parasound’s Z Series products are handsome, truly affordable, and built like bricks. Interesting side note: The half-width, rack-mount design has its roots in a mic preamp that Parasound built for AMF bowling centers in the 1980s. I bet those mic preamps kicked butt, too.
I hope you’ll read all about the Zphono USB phono preamp in the March issue of Stereophile. I’ll tell you now that I love the damn thing. Parasound’s Richard Schram is…
While we’re on the topic of small things, TEAC America introduced their Reference 01 Series of budget-priced, room-friendly components, including the UD-H01 DAC, A-H01 stereo amplifier, and DS-H01 iPod docking station. (I’m waiting to hear back on the prices, but I’m fairly sure these products retail for hundreds, rather than thousands, of dollars.)
The DS-H01 docking station takes the digital audio input from your iPod, iPad, or iPhone using a 24-bit/192kHz Burr-Brown 1796 DAC. The A-H01 amplifier delivers 50Wpc of B&O ICEpower, includes a USB input which supports resolutions up to…
Today I’ve been enjoying Ring, the recent album from Cameron Mesirow (aka Glasser), and it led me to this enchanting piece of art:
The Auerglass is a two person pump organ created by Tauba Auerbach and Cameron Mesirow. The instrument cannot be played alone. Each player has alternating notes of a four-octave scale. Each player must pump to supply the wind to the other player’s notes. The composition is half scored and half improvised, therefore each performance is different.
The Auerglass organ was constructed by Parsons Pipe Organ Builders in Canandaigua, New York. I…