Music - Page 53 of 73

HomePod mini: Users complain of Internet dropouts

Potential disappointment after unpacking: Owners of the brand new HomePod mini report problems with the network connection of the small smart speaker.

Corresponding complaints is available in both the English-speaking and the German-speaking official Apple support forum. The ongoing operation of the Siri loudspeaker is interrupted with the message that there are “problems with the Internet connection”.

Home app is silent The HomePod Mini does not output any further error messages, for example in the Home application, but the music playback and use of Siri no longer work as usual at first. A restart via the home app usually helps, sometimes simply disconnecting the power. The devices do not have an on / off switch, they start up immediately after being supplied with power.

Like its big brother, the HomePod mini is connected to the Internet via WLAN. The spherical smart speaker comes with new network hardware that also supports the thread protocol for the first time. An affected user reports that he has already reset his device, switched from 2.4 to 5 GHz WLAN or addressed three of his minis individually. “It’s so annoying …” This never happened with the original HomePod.

Asus router problematic? It is conceivable that the HomePod mini has difficulties with certain WLAN routers. For example, models from Asus such as the Blue Cave were named. Sometimes it can help to relocate the router or HomePod mini – fortunately, the latter is easily portable and only requires a power connection. Apple itself no longer offers its own routers, but markets HomeKit-compatible models from Eero and Linksys.

Users who suffer from the problem can otherwise only wait to see whether Apple has the error via a software Update solves. The HomePod mini runs the well-known HomePod OS, which is updated regularly. Alternatively, you can only return the smart speaker within the warranty period. Apple support supposedly does not yet know the error. At 100 euros, the HomePod mini is significantly cheaper than its big brother, the regular HomePod.

(bsc)

Copyright reform: Artists run storm against free content snippets

A group of 576 artists appeals to politicians not to “play off copyright against us”. Music up to 20 seconds, remixes, samples – “everything should be freely usable, without a license”, the alliance railed against the draft of the Federal Ministry of Justice on copyright reform. Above all, the proposed new exceptions to the exclusive exploitation rights are “so outrageously contrary to European law” that “we can only shake our heads”.

The signatories of the heise online letter to members of the government and members of the Bundestag include the bands and ensembles AnnenMayKantereit, Antilopen Gang, Beatsteaks, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Doctors, Die Toten Hosen, Feine Sahne Fischfilet and Kraftwerk. There are also musicians, singers and DJs such as Blixa Bargeld, Herbert Grönemeyer, Joy Denalane, Leslie Mandoki, Paul van Dyk and Tim Bendzko.

“No adequate remuneration” “The Corona crisis hit us hard,” write the artists. It is all the more painful that “we are still not receiving adequate remuneration for our works in the only non-restricted market” of online platforms. The EU Parliament had the courage to shift “the unequal power imbalance” a little towards a new balance with the controversial copyright directive and the resulting tightened liability regime.

They had another concern The alliance emphasizes that EU politicians have been picked up and “the power of disposal over our artistic work has been put back into our hands: we should no longer have to fish out every bit of video in the flood of platforms ourselves, in which, for example, new rights or conspiracy theorists Make use of the awareness of our works without being asked. ”

The musicians are therefore” horrified “at how little of this intention has remained in the ministry’s project: the guideline is being watered down, the position of creative people weakened in negotiations. “Instead of a harmonized European market for licenses, we are getting a German self-service shop where our works are given away to everyone who says ‘pastiche’.”

Bagatellschranke Above all, the proposed “minor barrier”, with which snippets of content such as memes in social media are to be made license-free and subject to payment, must be dropped, the authors demand. User rights in the area of ”User Generated Content” should not be extended across the board through the back door. The tried and tested notice-and-takedown procedure for removing content should be retained.

That the legislative proposal (LB 2985648: very is controversial) $ shows, in addition to the objections from other ministries that have already become public, the high number of over 100 statements to the justice department. The spectrum of interest representatives ranges from rights holders to associations of the IT industry and initiatives such as SaveTheInternet, which have long been campaigning against upload filters, to the churches. For example, the German bishops are campaigning for the ability to continue streaming church services beyond the corona pandemic with a flat fee via the collecting society Gema.

Against upload filters Raise your voice for the first time 30 Social media greats like PietSmiet, Gronkh, Le Floyd, Rewi, Rezo and Tilo Jung, who say they have around 88 million users on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Twitch and Reach TikTok. They complain that the initiative “draws a line between the owners of copyrights and users of upload platforms” that “does not correspond to actual practice”. As a “content creator” they are both and have “as creatives and as a company in the cultural industry” against the article at the time 13 (now 17) protested the directive.

“We reject automated systems, Check the uploads for copyright infringement, in principle, “emphasize the makers. They could not understand the content of uploaded works and are therefore not suitable for correctly detecting copyright violations. This would actually suppress legal content. The creators expressly rate the “provided exceptions for the public reproduction of a tiny excerpt” of copyrighted works for non-commercial purposes as positive.

User rights and copyrights The Federal Association of Consumer Organizations (vzbv) praises the fact that the Ministry of Justice has given the freedom to design articles 17 actively intended to use. It is clear, however, that upload filters would not be prevented by the present proposal. In this respect, the government is breaking the promise made in the coalition agreement. That is why it is crucial “that user rights are protected as best as possible”. This is not a necessary evil, but a prerequisite for being able to implement the EU requirements in accordance with fundamental rights at all.

Wikimedia Germany also calls on the government to do so to pay more attention to the needs of the users and to maintain the balance of legal permissions. Even if Wikipedia is excluded from the article : If filter algorithms are used widely, the entire process of creation suffers from free Knowledge of social media, forums and video portals is massive. The fact that automatic systems should check content in advance contradicts the tenor of the executive’s protocol declaration.

Shift of responsibility In contrast to the discussion draft, the revised paper no longer contains any “innovative solutions”, regrets Google. The justice department is now making service providers “responsible for problems within the ecosystem that are beyond their control”. The obligation to acquire licenses for typically uploaded content is impractical and incompatible with European law.

The group considers the extended ancillary copyright for press publishers to be unnecessary. It was only in October 2020 that he announced that he would be giving journalists and press publishers increased support through the “News Showcase” and paying license fees for selected high-quality articles. Snippets with up to 200 characters or 30 Words should definitely remain license-free. According to VG Media, which represents many publishers, the draft, despite corrections, “secures the business models of the providers of services that use press products intensively and extensively”.

Technical concerns about the “Pre -Flagging System “has Facebook. Comparing billions of uploads with millions of files from rights holders in real time using complex technology “is not possible in many cases”. German users could face longer and frustrating waiting times when trying to post content. This is likely to harm their right to freedom of expression.

(jk)

heise + | The story behind the MP3 format

A conversation with Karlheinz Brandenburg, one of the fathers of the MP3 format. He had to 1995 learn that a superior technique does not assert itself.

(Image: Albert Hulm)

From

Imre Grimm Arne Grävemeyer The story behind the MP3 format Compressing Music: Problems and Solutions In competition with MP2 MP3 players and digital music sales Article in c’t 27 / 2020 read The electrical engineer and mathematician Karlheinz Brandenburg did his doctorate 1989 on the topic of music coding at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. He conducted research at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits (IIS) in Erlangen and at the AT&T Bell Laboratories in the USA.

Brandenburg, team leader Heinz Gerhäuser and seven other Fraunhofer engineers have received multiple awards: Harald Popp, Stefan Krägeloh, Hartmut Schott, Bernhard Grill, Ernst Eberlein, Thomas Sporer and Jürgen Herre. Since 2000 Brandenburg has headed the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology IDMT in Ilmenau. In the year 2020 he went into retirement.

Imre Grimm: Mr. Brandenburg, the story is just too beautiful: Da invents a handful of German inventors from the Fraunhofer Institute developed a revolutionary process to compress music files to a fraction of their original CD size with practically no loss of quality – and thus unhinge the way of listening to music. When was the moment when they felt: We are working on something bigger here?

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Steve McQueen’s film series Small Axe is an intimate experience

Steve McQueen’s Widows was one of the best movies to come out in 2018: it was a smart, slick crime thriller that showed the acclaimed filmmaker could follow up a challenging drama like Shame and 12 Years a Slave with tremendous crowd-pleasers. Two years later, he’s back with his follow-up effort: Small Axe, which is five whole movies now streaming on Amazon Prime. We knew McQueen was good, and now it’s undeniable that he has the range.

While it presents as a TV series — and that’s how the BBC is airing it across the pond — it’s best to think of Small Axe as five full-on movies, with a new one premiering every Friday. (My suggestion: watch it right after The Mandalorian.) Each film / episode features an entirely new story with a different cast every time — and each feels rich enough to live in.

The first three installments have been made available to critics. Mangrove recounts the true story of Frank Crichlow (played by Shaun Parkes), who was the proprietor of Notting Hill’s Mangrove restaurant as it was targeted by the police. Under the authorities’ constant pressure, a resistance movement is born, and the Mangrove becomes a hub for activism. The second half of the film transforms into a legal drama as Crichlow and his associates take on the corrupt police. The second film, Lovers Rock, is an ode to house parties and the slow-jam Reggae subgenre it’s named after. On the other hand, the third, Red, White, and Blue, stars John Boyega as a man who decides to join the police force in an attempt to reform it from within after his father is assaulted by cops. (His efforts are largely in vain.)

Though the scope of Small Axe seems large, each film is defined by its moments of intimacy. In Mangrove, it’s an impassioned conversation in the restaurant’s dining room after hours, as Frank Crichlow becomes convinced that he needs to take his grievances to the streets. In Lovers Rock — the series highlight — there’s an extended sequence where a single song washes over the dance floor and threads everyone together, transforming a room full of individuals into a single rhythmic organ. Red, White, and Blue, on the other hand, shows the warmth of Leroy Logan’s (Boyega) encounter with an old acquaintance while in uniform. It’s a moment of community Logan longs for and never quite manages to find again.

Small Axe is a prism, each film its own vibrant hue worth appreciating on its own, yet collectively illuminating one specific experience, the ways in which British Black folks formed neighborhoods and purpose and asserted their humanity in the face of white supremacy.

These are stories of community and about how those communities are intentional. They’re built through food, organizing, and protest; they’re sustained with music and dance. Small Axe takes its name from a Bob Marley line: “If you are the big tree, we are the small axe, ready to cut you down.” In McQueen’s telling, people push back against the institutional forces that would keep them oppressed. And through his eyes, we see the axe do its necessary work.

Vivo TWS Neo and Wireless Sport Earphone, proof of the Chinese manufacturer's audio proposal

We tried two Vivo earphones, two very different models that cater to very specific users. The Vivo TWS Neo are true wireless earphones, Vivo Wireless Sport instead a model with “flex headband” for sports lovers

of Nino Grasso published on 23 November 2020 , at 19: 31 in the Audio Video channel

Vivo

Vivo has recently landed on the Italian market with products well positioned across all ranges. Among the models we received in the editorial office we have already tried Vivo X 31 5G, great smartphone with 5G modem and gimbal camera, and some cheaper devices: Vivo Y 70 and Vivo Y 20 s. The manufacturer arrived in the boot not only with its smartphones, but also with an audio proposal consisting of different models of earphones. We tried Vivo TWS Earphone Neo and Vivo Wireless Sport Earphone , and in this article we tell you briefly how they go and the use experience they offer.

Vivo TWS Neo

I Vivo TWS Neo are true wireless earphones which are mainly characterized by the design, which is objectively very beautiful. There are two versions on the market: the most aseptic white and the most eye-catching in Starry Blue , which we received on trial. It is a very particular almost chrome finish, which reflects the surrounding light with evidence revealing a gradient in different circumstances, with lighter colors in the lower part and darker in the upper one. Vivo TWS earphones cost 129, 99 ?? , but can easily be combined with more expensive models without disfiguring.

Design is not, however, only aesthetics. Vivo did not choose the in-ear format, but the traditional one for its TWS Neo, marrying the needs of the public who cannot appreciate the rubber pads in the ears. Like Apple’s AirPods, each earphone extends through a cylindrical insert at the bottom, useful for balancing the weight once worn. The fit of the Vivo TWS Neo is excellent: they do not bother even during prolonged use and the low weight (4.7g) barely allows you to feel them on. While listening, they do not move and do not fall, even when exercising in an excited way.

The two earphones are also waterproof IP – 54 , so they can be used with all indoor and even outdoor sports without much worry. The first pairing is very fast, the following ones are practically lightning fast thanks to the support for Bluetooth 5.2. In fact, it is impossible to miss a call due to the fact that the earphones do not respond: from the moment we opened the box supplied (it can be done with the use of one hand) to the moment we wore the earphones in all the cases the pairing with the smartphone was completed successfully.

The earphones activate when they detect through an algorithm that they have been worn, and in the same way they deactivate automatically when they detect that they have been move away from the ear. This function can be configured on Android through the dedicated app, while the same possibility as iOS is not present, in the absence of a specific app for Apple’s mobile platform. Among the customization modes via app we also have playback controls and call management, which we will write about below.

Audio quality and controls

We talked about calls: how am i with i Vivo TWS Neo ? Of good quality, even if the interlocutor’s voice is not very deep. Our voice, on the other hand, is quite clear even when we are outdoors thanks to the dual microphone noise reduction system supported by Artificial Intelligence. The shallow character of the calls is reflected in the music listening, which is also shallow : the sound reproduction is rather flat, with mids in great evidence and lows and highs somewhat hidden. Width of the stage, practically nothing. The audio quality is typical of low-mid-range earphones, despite the DeepX stereo effects mentioned by the company in the promotional materials.

The earphones have driver from 14, 2mm in composite biofibre material with copper coil, while we have aptX Adaptive codec support and a claimed latency of 88 ms. The listening experience during games and videos is excellent from this point of view, but also here of little impact due to the docile character at the ends of the sound spectrum. Excellent autonomy, despite the compact size of the box: 4 and a half hours with a single charge, 22 hours and a half with recharging the declared data by means of the case. In fact, in real use you just forget to put them in charge.

The touch controls on the earphones are also extremely useful and functional, as we have already written, customizable on Android via the app . Three default interaction modes: double tap, to accept calls, activate the voice assistant or pause and play music; press and hold to reject or end the ongoing call; and the Slide Control , which allows you to increase or decrease the volume simply by sliding your finger on the rod of each earphone. This is an intuitive and well-functioning mode of interaction, definitely a great find on this model.

Considerations

I Vivo TWS Neo are honest true wireless earphones that excel in design (in all its forms ) and that offer a very high level user experience. They are beautiful, solid and easy to operate in the features they offer to the user. Considering the price list of 129 ?? we expected something more in terms of audio quality, however if you buy from Chinese stores you can save a lot: at the moment on GearBest, for example, they cost only 54, 06 ??, an exceptional price in our opinion in relation to what they can offer to the user. Compared to other Chinese models of the same price, approximately 50 – 75 ?? are in our opinion a very good buy.

Vivo Wireless Sport

We also tested the model Vivo Wireless Sport Earphone , which in fact confirms the attention of the manufacturer regarding the design. This is a model that caters to a more vertical audience to use during any type of sporting activity thanks to the waterproof IP certification – 55. They adopt the in-ear format with interchangeable pads (with different sizes already in the original equipment) and are recharged via the USB Type-C port (a cable is supplied).

The design is with “flex” headband , light and comfortable even when you start to sweat, able to recover the natural shape of the neck after any type of movement. At the ends of the headband there are two balanced weight inserts, one of which with physical controls, and then the earphones hooked up with a cable. In addition to the in-ear grommets, it is also possible to install small rubber supports to fix the earphones in an even more stable way to the ears.

The first pairing is very fast even if you are not using a Vivo smartphone , while with the products owners just bring the earphones that are recognized and enabled for operation. When you want to stop music playback, you can use the integrated controls, or simply clip the two earphones thanks to the magnets present. Among the commands we also have the ability to manage calls or start the integrated voice assistant as native on the device.

But how do they sound? The audio quality is in our opinion very good, superior to that of the company’s true wireless earphones, also thanks to the support of the LDAC transmission codec , for a certified product Hi-Res Audio . Music listening with the Vivo Wireless Sport Earphones is tonally balanced, with a good representation of the music stage. The lows are there, even if not very prominent, the highs are crystal clear and do not distort and the voices – even if a bit backward – are reproduced clearly. The maximum volume is also optimal for outdoor use, higher than that unlined by the TWS Neo. The quality is good even with calls, thanks to the high volume guaranteed by the drivers and the noise cancellation integrated in the microphones.

The autonomy guaranteed by Vivo is 12 hours, even if in the real overall use it reaches about 7/8 hours, based on the listening volume. The integrated fast charge is very useful: in about 5 minutes you get about 4 hours of music or calls, according to the data released by the manufacturer, more than satisfactory for any training session.

Considerations

The price by Vivo Wireless Sport by 69 ?? makes them very attractive on the Italian market, in our opinion, especially by virtue of the audio quality offered. It is a product with attention to both design and the sound aspect, with support for Hi-Res Audio, LDAC and a very interesting quality in music reproduction for its list price. Here too we have the app support only on Android, but there is no possibility of performing a manual equalization that would have allowed the user to obtain a sound rendering closer to their tastes.

Amazfit Bip U Review

Huami launched three smartwatches under Amazfit’s Bip series this year – Bip S, Bip S Lite, and Bip U. The Bip U is certainly the odd one out, coming with a different design and dropping the transflective display that was the series’ signature feature.

To make up for that it comes with a few more features over its stablemates. We now set off to find if they are enough to make the Bip U a worthy purchase.

Amazfit Bip U specifications
Display: 1.43″, 320×302 pixel TFT color screen, 2.5D Gorilla Glass 3
Straps: Detachable silicone rubber straps, 20mm width, 76-118mm adjustable length
Features: Real-time heart rate monitor, Blood oxygen level measurement, Stress Monitor, 5ATM water resistance, Sleep Tracking, Menstrual Cycle Tracker, Sports Tracking, Step Counter, Call and App Notification alerts, Standing Reminder, Phone Finder, Weather Forecast, Camera and Music Control, World Clock, Pomodoro Tracker
Sports Modes: More than 60 sports modes, including Walking, Outdoor Cycling, Yoga, Pool Swimming, and Cricket
Sensors: BioTracker 2 PPG Biological Optical Sensor, SpO2 Sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope
Connectivity: BLE 5.0, Compatible with Android 5.0+ and iOS 10.0+
Positioning: Relies on connected smartphone’s GPS
Battery: 230mAh
Colors: Black, Pink, and Green
Dimensions: 40.9 x 35.5 x 11.4 mm
Weight: 31 grams
Design

The Amazfit Bip U is very lightweight at 31 grams, which makes it comfortable to wear during a workout and at night for sleep tracking. The main module is made of polycarbonate, and the 20mm wide detachable straps are made of silicone rubber and have an adjustable length of 76-118mm. These are quite soft and comfortable, and I didn’t really face any issues with them during my 15+ hours of usage per day for a few weeks.

The Amazfit Bip U sports a 1.43″ color touchscreen, below which is the Amazfit logo, and on the right side is the circular button that has a grayish accent, which is more pronounced on the Pink and Green color models.

The physical button offers good feedback and is used to unlock the smartwatch, wake the screen, return to a previous menu, scroll up and down during a workout, and pause it. Just like the Bip S and Bip S Lite, it’s also the only way you can access all the settings and features on the Bip U, and you can configure it to quickly access a feature with a long-press. By default, it brings you to the workout mode.

Around the back, we get charging pins keeping company to the SpO2 and BioTracker 2 PPG Biological Optical Sensor. Unlike the Bip S and Bip S Lite, these are placed inside an elevated circular plate, which helps them make proper contact with the skin for accurate measurements. It also helps prevent the accumulation of grime over time, which is the case with the Bip S duo.

Charging pins with BioTracker 2 PPG Biological Optical Sensor and SpO2 Sensor

The Amazfit Bip U also comes with 50-meter water resistance rating and can gather data about your swimming performance.

Display

The Amazfit Bip U features a 1.43″ color display of 320×302-pixel resolution with the protection of 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 3 and an anti-fingerprint coating. However, this isn’t the transflective type we’ve seen on the Bip S lineup.

Despite not being transflective, the visibility of the Bip U’s TFT screen outdoors under strong sunlight is good enough at 100% brightness, and I was able to operate the smartwatch and view the on-screen information without too much hassle. It’s not as good as the Bip S duo outdoors, but it gets the job done.

Outdoor visibility aside, this is quite a vibrant screen with a decent touch response. It supports 50 custom watchfaces through the Zepp app (formerly Amazfit) and comes loaded with four, two of which are customizable, allowing you to choose the information you want to see on the screen.

I personally like the watchfaces that are available on the Zepp app. They are quite colorful and funky and are grouped in eight categories – Digital Dashboard, Artistic & Creative, Exercise & Health, Simple & Modern, Quirky, Traditional & Classic, Mechanical punk, and Retro sentiment.

Custom watch faces available on Amazfit’s official app

If you don’t like any of them, you also have the option to create one yourself by uploading a photo from the paired smartphone. You can also select your favorite color for the time, day, and date that’s displayed on the homescreen.

You can create a custom watchface for Bip U using the Zepp app

Like many other smartwatches, the Amazfit Bip U displays app notifications and alerts you of incoming calls. It also comes with the Lit upon lift wrist feature, which wakes up the screen when you lift your wrist. It can be kept enabled all day or can be turned on/off at a given time daily. What’s better is that you can access this setting from the Bip U, which eliminates the need for a smartphone. But unlike the Bip S and Bip S Lite, it’s not accessible through the Zepp app.

Another feature worth mentioning is Auto Screen Off, which as evident from the name allows you to select screen timeout for the Bip U – minimum is five seconds, maximum is 15. This, too, is only accessible from the smartwatch.

Software

The Amazfit Bip U works with both Android and iOS devices and you need to download the Zepp app from their respective app stores to set up the smartwatch, sync data, and change its settings.

The Zepp app was previously called Amazfit, but despite the rebranding, it remains the same on the inside and that’s hardly great news. It still has shortcuts for the same settings at multiple locations, and those that aren’t supported by the device are grayed out instead of being hidden.

Amazfit Bip U data and settings in Amazfit’s Android app

Not just that, there are many fields in the app that aren’t related to the Bip U but are still visible without any data and no way to enter the value. All this often leads to a bad user experience and Amazfit really needs to come up with a redesigned app soon.

Amazfit’s Android app needs a design overhaul

While the official Amazfit app remains a mess, the custom OS running on the Bip U is responsive and has a simple UI, with some elements similar to that of Realme Watch and Oppo Watch.

The Amazfit Bip U is operated in the same way as the Bip S and Bip S Lite: a swipe up on the homescreen opens the Notification Center, and a swipe down opens the Control Center, which provides quick access to Do Not Disturb, Alarms and Screen Brightness. It also has a shortcut for the Settings app.

Swiping on the left or right on the homescreen lets you access Activity Goal, Heart Rate, PAI, Weather, and Music Control pages. You can rearrange the order of their appearance to your liking and remove or add new ones by heading to the Settings > Preference > Shortcut apps menu on the Bip U. But unlike the Bip S and Bip S Lite, you can’t tinker with these settings from the Zepp app.

To access all the features and settings and start a workout, you have to use the physical button. It can also be used to go back if you don’t prefer the right swipe gesture.

Features and Performance

The Amazfit Bip U comes with real-time heart rate monitoring, blood oxygen level measurement, sleep tracking, stress monitoring, and menstrual cycle tracker for women. It also supports 60+ sports modes and features idle alerts.

Aside from the health and fitness features, the Amazfit Bip U supports incoming call and app notification alerts and comes with a stopwatch, countdown timer, Pomodoro tracker, phone finder, alarm clock, world clock, weather forecast, and camera and music control.

For heart rate monitoring, the Amazfit Bip U has a BioTracker 2 PPG Biological Optical Sensor onboard, which can measure your pulse automatically at an interval of 1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, or 30 minutes. It can also be measured manually whenever you want, which on average took 10-15 seconds in my testing.

BioTracker 2 PPG Biological Optical Sensor

An overview of the daily heart rate data is available on the Bip U, but for a detailed analysis, you need the Zepp app. It’s also worth mentioning that a few times during workout with the sports mode enabled, the Bip U recorded higher pulse and reached the limit, which was totally inaccurate, so it’s advisable to not use the recorded data as a basis for diagnosis and treatment.

Heart rate monitoring on Amazfit Bip U

Moreover, the SpO2 sensor on our unit refused to measure the blood oxygen level most of the time. After discussing the issue with Amazfit, we were told our unit was faulty, and a new one would be arranged soon. We haven’t received it at the time of writing this review, so we’ll update it after we get the new unit.

Blood oxygen level measurement with SpO2 sensor on Amazfit Bip U

That said, sleep tracking on the Amazfit Bip U is mostly accurate. You can check the daily sleep data on the Bip U, and more details are available on the Zepp app. The Bip U also monitors REM sleep and records afternoon naps – that’s something the Bip S and Bip S Lite cannot do.

The Bip U can also measure sleep breathing quality, but the feature is in beta right now and doesn’t always work.

Sleep data

Moving on to sports tracking, we get more than 60 sports modes with the Bip U, including Walking, Outdoor Cycling, Yoga, Pool Swimming and Cricket. All are grouped into 10 categories – Run-Walking Sports, Cycling Sports, Indoor Sports, Outdoor Sports, Swimming Sports, Winter Sports, Ball Sports, Dance Sports, Boxing Sports, and Other Sports.

And what’s commendable is some of the sports modes allow you to choose the information you want to see on the screen during a workout. You can also set goals from the smartwatch like target duration, calories burned, laps, and more. These vary depending on the sports mode.

The exercise data is accessible on the smartwatch under the Workout History menu along with a graphical representation of your heart rate as well as speed, if it’s walking or running, for example. For more data about your workout, you can always head to the Exercise record section in the Zepp app.

Unlike the Bip S, the Bip U doesn’t come with an in-built GPS, so you’ll have to keep the smartwatch connected to the paired smartphone and keep its GPS turned on if you want route tracking.

Workout data

Next up is stress monitoring. Like heart rate, your stress levels can also be measured automatically throughout the day or manually whenever you want, which took around 30-45 seconds in my testing. You can enable automatic measurement from the Zepp app as well as the smartwatch. The data about your daily stress levels is accessible from the smartwatch, and a more detailed analysis can be found on the Zepp app.

Stress levels

The Amazfit Bip U also comes with an automatic step counter, and like many other smartwatches and fitness bands, the Bip U is not entirely accurate at it as it always records some extra steps, but it should still give you a fair idea of your movement. You can get a quick overview of your daily steps on the Bip U and use the Zepp app to check your daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly performance.

Steps and calories data

Another fitness feature on the Bip U is the Standing Reminder, which triggers a vibration reminder if no exercise activity is detected in the first 50 minutes of an hour. The smartwatch also comes with a menstrual cycle tracker for women.

Standing Reminder

The Bip U supports app notifications as well. It shows a maximum of 10 notifications at a time, and like the Bip S and Bip S Lite, it doesn’t display the corresponding icons of all the apps as well as some special characters – including the symbol for the Indian Rupee. However, the smartwatch does let you check new notifications during a workout, but you can’t delete them or check the older ones. You have to do that from the Notification Center.

App notifications on the Bip U

The Bip U can also alert you of incoming calls and allows you to reject or mute them. It also lets you reject a call and reply to the caller with an SMS. All you have to do is swipe up on the smartwatch’s screen when you get a call and select one of the preset replies. By default, the smartwatch comes with three SMS replies. You can either modify them or add new ones with a maximum of 140 characters.

Incoming call alerts, App Notifications, and SMS replies

The Music and Camera controls on the Bip U worked fine. The former is accessible even during a workout with a left swipe, and the latter needs to be enabled by heading to the Profile tab > Amazfit Bip U > Lab > Camera settings menu in the Zepp app.

The rest of the features of the Bip U I already mentioned are stopwatch, countdown timer, Pomodoro tracker, phone finder, weather forecast, alarm clock and world clock, which are all self-explanatory. But there’s one feature that deserves attention – custom vibrations.

Weather updates

The Bip U not only allows you to enable/disable vibrations for certain alerts, but also lets you create one yourself by tapping in different ways on the connected phone’s screen. This is a really nice addition as it should help users identify different alerts without having to reach for their smartphone.

The Bip U supports custom vibration alerts

That said, like the Amazfit Neo, the Bip U also takes long to reconnect with the smartphone at times and data syncing is also slow. Hopefully Amazfit will fix this soon with a software update.

Battery life

The Amazfit Bip U packs a 230 mAh battery, which the company says can offer nine days of endurance with the following settings and usage:

Default watchface
Lift-to-wake screen enabled
Automatic heart rate measurement interval set to 10 minutes
Smartwatch receiving 50 notifications per day
200 screen activations on raise daily
Outdoor running for 30 minutes and measuring the blood oxygen level twice daily
On average, I got four days of endurance with the following usage and setings:

Default watchface
Lift-to-wake screen enabled
Display brightness at 50%
Screen timeout set to six seconds
Automatic heart rate measurement interval set to one minute
Sleep tracking, sleep breathing quality, and all-day stress monitoring enabled
Receiving more than 100 notifications throughout the day which light up the screen and vibrate the smartwatch, consuming extra power
Around 15 minutes of walking daily
Once the battery is fully drained, you can juice it up with the bundled charger that snaps on to the smartwatch magnetically. Amazfit says it can fill up the Bip U in two hours, but like the Bip S, Bip S Lite and Neo, the Bip U over-delivered here. The charger filled up the cell in around 1 hour 45 minutes on an average.

That said, like the Bip S and Bip S Lite, the Bip U also displays the date, day and time on the screen when charging but not the exact battery level, and you have to use the Zepp app for that. You can also pause the charging and open the Control Center with a downward swipe on the homescreen to check the battery level, which is quite a chore.

Verdict

The Amazfit Bip U is the odd one out in the Bip lineup as it doesn’t pack the transflective display that has a loyal following, but it does sport a vibrant screen, which like the Bip S and Bip S Lite is protected by the 2.5D Corning Glass 3.

The Bip U also comes with features like an SpO2 sensor for blood oxygen level measurement, menstrual cycle tracker for women, stress monitoring, and support for REM sleep and afternoon nap tracking that’s missing from other smartwatches in the lineup.

The Bip U performs well in the real world, too, and that paired with its expansive feature set earns it an easy recommendation from us.

The Bip U was launched with a price tag of INR3,999 ($55/€45) in India and for INR1,000 ($15/€10) more, you can buy the Bip S, which isn’t as feature-rich as the Bip U but comes with a transflective display, built-in GPS and better battery life.

And if you don’t want to spend more than that, then you might want to consider the Bip S Lite, which is priced at INR3,799 ($50/€40) at the time of writing this review. It’s a toned-down model of the Bip S and skips a few features, but manages to offer a similar experience. You can read our Amazfit Bip S review here, and the Bip S Lite review over here.

Pros
Lightweight and comfortable
Vibrant screen
5ATM water resistance
Accurate sleep tracking with REM sleep and afternoon nap monitoring
Lets you create custom watchfaces and vibration alerts
You can tinker with some settings on the watch without requiring a smartphone
Cons
Notification management needs improvement
Official app needs a design overhaul
Takes too long to connect and sync data at times

Review: Auralic Aries G2.1 dissected a streaming platform

It is impossible to imagine life without , stream music in any form. From your own collection, from streaming services or just internet radio. If something has taken off and shrunk CD production, it’s streaming. Hardware manufacturers are reaping the benefits. The drives that are always susceptible to interference are gone, something new has to come into your home and if you don’t stream, children will look at you compassionately.

Now the hardware is still manageable, writing software for a pleasant operation is a completely different field. Not everyone is given the opportunity to write a user interface of which the user intuitively understands how things fit together. Often the control of the hardware is not always successful, which can lead to crashes. One of the positive exceptions to this is Auralic with its Lightning DS platform for software and Tesla G2 platform for hardware. Resulting in a range of digital transports and streaming server / DACs. Within the package, a key component is the Aries G2.1 streaming transport, an upgrade of the esteemed Aries G2. HIFI.NL had the honor of being able to use and listen to the Aries G2.1 down to the finest detail. Refined with the knowledge of previously reviewed Auralic products, the installation was child’s play.

Auralic Aries G2.1: Description The Auralic Aries G2. 1 streaming transporter connects optionally via a Tri-band wireless connection or via wired Ethernet with Tidal (MQA) and Qobuz, with internet radio, with USB drives, NAS systems and optional internal storage. The Aries G2.1 can be used for Spotify Connect, Bluetooth and AirPlay, is fully Roon ready. All using playlists, memory caching, gapless playback and bit-perfect multiroom support. With its high computing power, the Aries G2.1 can handle files in DSD resolution up to DSD 512 and PCM to 32 bit / 384 kHz (highest resolutions over USB only).

Updated in the Aries version G2.1 compared to the G2 the chassis is made of aluminum and with an extra reinforced bottom plate. After that, the inside of the housing is clad with copper to effectively resist RFI. The Aries G2.1 stands on spring loaded feet to avoid mechanical influences. Each foot is adjusted with six springs to suit the weight and weight distribution of the device. A 4 inch 300 ppi color display shows you key functions such as playback status, configuration and artwork. In addition to the mechanical adjustment, the Aries G2.1 delivers more power to the USB output compared to the G2 for better adaptation to various brands of DACs. The software has now been brought to version 7.2.2.

The Auralic Aries G2.1 streaming transporter offers internal space for an SSD or HDD of 2 .5 inches in any capacity available. Auralic has recently released a major firmware update, bringing the possibility to play CDs with an attached optical drive via the Lightning DS software or to rip the contents of the CD (at the same time) and store them on a USB drive. If necessary even on your NAS. During playback, all the possibilities of the Auralic models are used, such as jitter reduction and upsampling.

During the ripping process, each sector is read twice. If there is a difference between the first and second read, the same sector will be read eight more times at a slower speed to get a 100 percent accuracy. The Tesla G2 platform on which the Aries G2.1 runs is designed with the sole aim of being a high quality reproduction, upgradable and is purely focused on audio. Tesla G2 works seamlessly with its own Auralic App and is the most powerful platform available for digital music playback and streaming, according to Auralic. Tesla G2 runs on a 1.2GHz quad-core processor. With 1GB of memory cache and 8GB of data storage, multiple applications can be loaded simultaneously and network noise is reduced because circuits are open for less time.

To take the Aries G2.1 to such a high level, it internally uses two Femto clocks, digital clocks with an extreme accuracy of which Ã One always works for the digital technology and the other clock is assigned to the USB ports. Two linear power supplies work together, the first to power the processor circuits, the LCD display and USB connected sources. The second power supply is intended for all sensitive audio components such as the Femto clocks and the USB output. The ActiveUSB is therefore more than just an asynchronous controller due to its low jitter, precision clock and separate power supply for USB.

EMI from USB sources does not stand a chance in the Aries G2.1. The power supplies are galvanically isolated from each other to prevent EMI interference. The various electrical circuits are also galvanically separated from each other internally, such as clock, processor and data transmission. Are there wishes and comments to link to the price for the Auralic Aries G2.1 streaming transporter of € 4. 699, -? Perhaps, the Aries G2.1 is only available in black, can only be operated with Apple iOS and not with Android and â ?? ¦. I would appreciate that when music is playing the display stays on and when nothing is playing the display dims. Now the display is either always on or always off after a few seconds while playing and at rest. Difficult for the purist who never switches off his streamer and wants to save the display at rest, but wants to see what he or she is playing.

Technical details

Lossless file format: AIFF, ALAC, APE, DFF, DSF, FLAC, OGG, WAV and WV

Lossy file format: AAC, MP3 , MQA and WMA

Sampling: PCM 44. 1KHz to 384 KHz to 32 Bit, DSD 64 to DSD 512 DoP and native

Controls: Lightning DS App for iOS, BubbleUPnP, Kazoo, Roon

Inputs: USB Drive, LAN, WiFi antenna

Digital Outputs: L-Link, Toslink, S / PDIF, A ES / EBU, USB

Streaming: UPnP / DLNA Media Server, TIDAL and Qobuz, Sublime + streaming, Internet Radio, AirPlay, Bluetooth, Songcast, RoonReady, …

Options: SSD or 2.5 HDD, remote control

Network: Gigabit Ethernet, Wireless: 802. 11 b / g / n / ac Tri-Band

Housing: Black Anodized, chassis solid aluminum one piece

Dimensions: 34 cm x 32 cm x 9 , 6cm

Weight: 9.3kg

Environment The listening takes place in the familiar home environment where the power supply is built with an AudioQuest Niagara 5000 mains filter and CrystalConnect power cords. Music storage and ethernet switch are Melco N 11 and S 100, for most of the playback I make using Roon Rock on a NUC elsewhere in the home. The DAC is a Metrum Acoustics Pavane, analog coupled with a Yter XLR interconnect to an Audia Flight Strumento No.1 preamplifier and again with Yter XLR to a FLS4 power amplifier. Crystal Cable Speak Reference connects my Spendor Classic 2/3 monitors to the amplifier, the speakers have Townshend Maximum Super Tweeters, underneath Townshend Podiums and Custom Design Fish Tank stands.

The protagonist in this review is an Auralic Aries G2.1 Streaming Transporter as the thing is called in full. Just say a streamer, connected with AudioQuest Vodka on the switch and with AudioQuest Diamond AES / EBU on the DAC. The choice for these cables and method of connection stems from working with and Aries G1, where it turned out to me that the Metrum DAC performs optimally with an AES / EBU cable and a notch less with USB, Coax or Toslink. The Auralic Aries G1 is my reference in this and in daily use. The fact that my system is structured in this way says nothing about the performance of other power cords, ethernet connections and various digital cables on the Aries G2.1. Everyone has their own preferences, budget and maybe things on the shelf. By way of illustration, in my second system, the Aries G2.1 also played for a while and did so impressively via a Grimm TPR AES / EBU cable.

Auralic joins the series of streamers known to me like Lumin , Cambridge Audio, Naim, Bryston, Metrum, Bluesound, dCS and more, brands that all have their pros and cons. Sometimes being very quirky, working with an extensive own App or rather leaning on UPnP and Roon. As an enthusiastic supporter of the convenience of Roon and the extensive extra information that Roon provides, most of the players mentioned have been used as Roon Endpoint. Just like I do with the Auralic Aries G1 and G2.1. The fact that Auralic has an extensive own App gives me the opportunity to keep my own music collection, built up over the years, separate from music services such as Tidal and Qobuz. I use Roon for my music, the Auralic Lightning App for Tidal.

If I do not have Roon, the Lightning software fully meets all the requirements that can be set for a modern streamer. That’s why I played with the Aries G2.1 as Roon Endpoint and used Lightning to discover new music. A dedicated storage was not built into the Aries G2.1, also not necessary at all if a Melco N 10 music server is present. With that I am wasting one plus of the Aries G2.1 compared to the Aries G1 in which no internal storage fits, there are still plenty of pluses left, I have noticed in the past period.

From G1 to G2.1 With both my own Aries G1 in house and the Aries G2.1 that was made available, a comparison cannot be ignored. Because why would you spend a lot more money for the same functionality if you are not going to use internal storage options. The operation is the same, the software is the same, the number of connections is the same with only one exception, even the appearance is not essentially different. The only visible exception is the Lightning Link at the rear with which a Master Clock, Upsampler and / or a DAC from Auralic can be linked jitter-free. Anyone who has had the pleasure of listening to that stack (the undersigned) knows what a great result is achievable. Back to mutual comparison. The most essential, strikingly audible difference between the G1 and the G2.1 is the G2.1 adding foundation to the music. The G1 has a reputation for being light in sound and too puristic for some already clear systems, the G2.1 does not so much bring a heavier bass response, it is rather deeper, more present, more neutral and correct.

A bass response that spreads further through the listening room, ensures that an orchestra can play to the full, that a person has a chest with air and a piano sounds longer in the dark notes . Almost the difference between a loudspeaker and the same loudspeaker with a high quality sighing subwoofer. In addition, in the G2.1 more subtle is present the degree of detail, the extra calm in the reproduction, the more holographic stereo image and the ease with which man and instrument are set off against the background. Even used exclusively as a Roon Endpoint, the G2.1 proves its added value in a beautiful system that knows how to reveal the differences. However, the memory of the observations does not so much concern the points mentioned, but rather the feeling, the experience, the imagination of the artist. n, the satisfaction of listening to music. If we were talking about wine, the G2.1 has a better finish while both are excellent in taste.

Sighs and pops After the direct comparison, there is much, very listened a lot to music, varying from French sigh girls to opera singers, from rough men to wimps, from solo instrument to orchestra or band. Divides into pop, jazz and classical. For example, I enjoyed a live recording of Carla Bruni at the Olympia in Paris. With only a small line-up and her own guitar, her voice is central, complete with recording errors, so that the CD has remained authentic. Introducing Bruni on a large stage is easy, sitting on a stool, radiating pleasure, which is rewarded by applause from an audience in which individual hands can be distinguished.

The live experience is even greater as piano and bass join in. The funny â ?? La derniÃ¨re minuteâ ???? closes the concert, it seems so simple, but somewhere heavy tones appear, small subtle sounds can be perceived behind her voice, the audience goes wild at the end and finally someone bumps into a microphone. The Aries G2.1 seems to enjoy uncovering everything.

Also live is â ???? Stairway to heavenâ ????, performed exclusively on guitar by Rodrigo y Gabriela from the CD â ???? Live in Japanâ? ???. A whole CD with only two guitars is a bit too much for me, this song by Led Zeppelin has so much eloquence, power, softness to the point that it is a classic. This is where that extra foundation of the G2.1 is very welcome. A blow to the body of a guitar should be echoing, strings should resound in the body of the instrument and the Aries is a master of that. It can be even wilder in â ???? Diablo Rojoâ ???? with which the concert closes. As a music chain, try to really keep separating the two guitars and still let them flow together. Combine speed with long extinction, maintain rhythm and whip up both audience and soloists in the living room.

It is â ???? Timeâ ???? Pink Floyd says in a cacophony of bells, a constant heartbeat, wavy low that rolls across the room, echoing drums and vocals. Addicted to the LP, streaming has come a long way in my home and the LP quality has since surpassed. That has cost effort and a lot of money, the result is there and the Aries G2.1 makes an extra contribution. I own the album as a CD 44. 1 / 16 and as DSD 64, where Roon works with the Auralic Aries G2.1 to move from DSD 64 to go to PCM 176. 4 / 24 which can lock my DAC. The Aries lets you hear the differences clearly, the resolution, the foundation of the heartbeat, the DSD file makes more of it.

The Aries is anyway serving when it comes to filtering and converting. While playing you can adjust the filter ring from precise to dynamic, to balanced and soft. From very detailed to pleasant on the ear. It took some headaches and hours of listening before I figured out that â ???? Smoothâ ???? I like the most. Nice and spacious and forming a nice balance between the three other positions. A few more hours were needed to figure out whether upsampling brings or removes what. My DAC is hardly sensitive to it and does nothing to up- or down-sample itself. The Aries G2.1 (and also the Aries G1) do the resampling so correctly and without frills that I have it permanently turned on to 176. 4 or 192 depending on the source resolution. It is not unique for a streamer to be able to do that, over the years I have discovered that you can do better in the Auralic than leave it to an upsampling DAC. Almost every DAC (usually excluding R2R) has a sample rate at which it is least burdened with computing and performs the best. Unfortunately, the DAC generally lacks pure computing power and an Auralic does bring it.

To the North Almost classical music is â ???? Myopiaâ ???? from Agnes Obel. Her latest album that can project a bubble of sound in the listening room. A bell in which the sounds of acoustic instruments and the strangest electronic sounds can be heard. In this case, it is important that the chain, and the streamer as part of it, is able to separate all sounds from the reproducers. Nothing is more disturbing than listening to speakers that cannot. You can even point out the exact location with your eyes closed.

The Aries G2.1 largely helps to prevent that annoyance. This gives Obel’s polyphonic singing an added value, here and there a voice pops up, differing in placement of height, depth and width. It makes “broken sleep” to an experience where the tendency arises to turn the head in the direction of the voices. The frequent use of the cello keeps the rhythm, while long tones have the chance to fade into nothingness. What emerges is a painting of sounds and timbres, which can be distinguished from each other to a high degree, whereby the coherence is not lost.

What I can’t get enough of lately is â ???? Quiet winter night: An acoustic jazz projectâ? ??? of the Hoff Ensemble. Jazz, vocals, beautifully recorded and full of minute details as well as a powerful bass and full piano. The fact that I don’t understand a word of what is being sung is irrelevant. The extent to which the Aries G2.1 manages to deliver the stream to the DAC and the rest of the system. Perhaps this is an exceptional recording that reveals that the streamer part does have its own sound and is certainly not a conduit of ones and zeros as some think. I would love to get rid of that prejudice, unfortunately that still doesn’t work. It is going too far again to explain exhaustively that ones and zeros do not exist, that they are indications of a voltage difference that unfortunately is affected in many ways before it reaches our ears as audible sound. Just listen to an Auralic Aries G2.1 compared to other brands or types of streamers and discover the results for yourself. Even mutual results, because it is not without reason that the urge arose to upgrade my second system with my Aries G1 and to continue to feed the main system from the Aries G2.1 for good. A win-win situation for everyone, except for my bank account. Money in the bank does not make you happy, a good music reproduction all the more as an excuse I tell my environment.

Shine on Lightning DS Auralic can be praised for its excellent software under the name Lightning DS, the consistent quality of the products and the well thought-out equipment. The higher in the segment, the more Auralic sees the basic principles faithfully refining equipment in order to achieve an ever better display. Not because you have to, not because more money will flow into the till, but to give more pleasure to experiencing music. It has long been known in serious audio that an enclosure affects playback, that disconnecting equipment from the substrate can help, and that equipment must be able to â € œseeâ € each other electrically. but should not influence. Combating RFI / EMI and galvanically separating all inputs and outputs is expensive if you want to do that properly, the gain by hearing is greater than is often thought. Exactly the things that Auralic has paid attention to with the upgrade from the Aries G2 to the G2.1. The extra budget available compared to the Aries G1 also ended up well. All this makes the Auralic Aries G2.1 an attractive asset for those who stream their music rather than play it via CD or LP.

The operation is clear and straightforward. The options are widely adjustable in the software and the installation of an internal storage is obvious. Expansions in the form of a master clock, upsampler or DAC can be purchased from the same brand. Competition is fierce in the streamer world and every brand tries to differentiate itself. Because it is such a busy market, I therefore have some hesitation in rewarding the device with 5 stars and I would rather give it the designation â € œ Recommended! Â € with full conviction. along. Because Auralic has succeeded in linking many consumer wishes, modern requirements, flexibility, design and seamless functioning with sound quality in order to win over the potential customer. Which â ???? sure enoughâ ???? will work with the Aries G2.1.

Auralic Aries G2 .1

â ?? ¬ 4. 699, – | Dynaudio Benelux

Review: Focal Aria 936 K2

Long ago, the French speaker brand Focal , then still under the name JMlab, loudspeakers with a very distinctive yellow cone. A Kevlar cone made from a sandwich of aramid fibers. Recently, because of the 40 anniversary of Focal released a Spectral anniversary model in a limited edition of 400 pair, now a limited edition model with kevlar cone material appears again under the name Aria 936 K2. Completely based on the Aria 936 that has been on the market for a few years.

Different cone material means a different filter and a limited edition a custom livery picked from the Utopia line. When Focal introduces such a model, it always has something special, so very curious about this creation, the Aria 936 K2 put down, connected and listened to. Unfortunately not at home due to a renovation planned by my dear wife, but at my second home base where I have access to a variety of resources to repair the Aria 936 K2 to perform optimally.

Plenty of choice I have thought about it for a while: what equipment do you use with the Focal Aria 936 K2 ? Because on the one hand I think it is a loudspeaker that will mainly appeal to the youth, where the budget for an amplifier and streamer may not be too big. Then NAD or Rotel quickly springs to mind. On the other hand, it is a serious driver of which you already know that a good amplifier can grow the set, which makes the case for PrimaLuna, Cambridge Audio Edge or Hegel.

The best choice is perhaps the brand that Focal owns, the English Naim Audio. For that reason, a Naim NAIT XS 3 amplifier and a Naim ND5 XS 2 streamer / dac were chosen. Partly because I highly appreciate both devices and know their performance. The NAIT XS 3 with its price of â ?? ¬ 2. 936 , – and the ND5 XS 2 with a price of â ?? ¬ 2. 925, – are of course not the cheapest, the quality has now been amply proven, just like the lifespan and the money they are worth later with an upgrade.

A cheaper alternative is a Naim Uniti Atom, but I do not think it is very popular with the target group for the Focal Aria 936 K2. The number of variables has been reduced to one for me with NAIT and ND5, namely the reproducers. Also not entirely unimportant.

Inside and outside Uninhibited and without prejudice listening is guaranteed, I don’t know anything about this speaker at the time except what I can see. A metal dome tweeter, underneath a mid-tone unit with phase plug and three woofers. Two reflex ports on the front and one in the bottom help the woofers to give an efficiency boost in the low end. Because there is a reflex port in the bottom of the housing, the Aria 936 K2 on a metal base in which spikes can be found. The nice thing is that the spikes can be turned out from the top, so you don’t have to roll over the floor. If you do not turn the spikes out, put the base of the speaker on rubber rings.

The most striking behind the included fronts is the Kevlar cone material of the midrange and woofers. Which of course immediately reminds of the Focal Spectral 50 th Anniversary loudspeaker and the earlier times when Kevlar was an important woofer material. Focal calls it â ???? K2â ???? material. The front and rear of the speakers are matte black leather look, the top is glossy black, the sides are Focal Utopia high-gloss gray, the base is finished in matte dark gray.

Anyone who finds the yellow of the K2 material too intense can use the supplied black fronts. Dark aluminum rings have been placed around the woofers and the midrange, unobtrusive yet very chic. On which is hardly visible at some distance: â ???? Aria K2 Limited Editionâ ???? and â ???? Focal â ???? Made in Franceâ ????. I would rather have continued the French touch with â ???? FabriquÃ © en Franceâ ???? and â € œdition limitÃ © eâ €, but that’s nitpicking. All in all, it has undeniably become a focal speaker that can attract quite a bit of attention.

Power woman After quite a while â ?? listened in ?? ?? We go for tricky music by Rachelle Ferrell and her CD “First instrument”. Difficult given the great voice of the singer, the often bold low and the amount of details known from experience that I would like to hear. The first thing I can and want to say about the reproducers is how easily the Focal’s let go of the music from the cabinet. Music is created in space, over and over again and with every piece of music so far. I know the two Naim devices contribute to that, but the reproducers have to make that heard. You don’t even have to close your eyes. The stereo image is realistic in size, has so far been located within the arrangement of the reproducers and has depth and height, but not to a very strong degree. Always difficult for a large floorstander to optimize that, a monitor can naturally do that much better.

Rachelle has a huge range in her voice and can make tweeting very difficult . Focal used to have the reputation of playing sharply and (too) clearly, that has been completely outdated for years. The Aria 936 K2 could be even brighter from me. Some more pointed with percussion, hissing in the cymbals. The reproduction is now on the quiet side of the line, so that the volume can be increased without problems. This makes the dynamics a bit smaller than that of a more expressive model, don’t worry, the dynamics are fine, as Ferrell says.

The display is relative to a strictly neutral display on the Aria 936 K2 on the dark side, a bit old-fashioned that does appeal to me. Not that excessive pushing of tones, often caused by resonance peaks or too bright a tuning. This calmer character listens more pleasantly and makes long listening possible. With the internal damping of the Aria 936 K2 is nothing wrong, no coloring off hearing that angle in the voice, at the same time the voice is not inhibited either by an excess of damping that can seriously damage details and dynamics.

The character in the low tones means that they are not among the tightest in the expected price range. Three ports and two woofers can go deep, the resolving power has suffered a bit. Or have I become too spoiled and used to tight woofers from a high-quality two-way system.

I would like to be able to distinguish the bass lines a bit better from the bass drum. What I get in change is a bass reproduction that is above average in depth and strength. A correct choice if the Aria 936 K2 is not only used for music reproduction but also must fill the room for an exciting series or spectacle film.

Piano pianoÂ Triggered by the lively and powerful piano notes on the Ferrell CD, I would like to give Marietta Petkova the opportunity to play a play four piano sonatas, composed by Joseph Anton Steffan. The sound of the classical piano is not disappointing at all. The solo instrument has a lively sound, with striking high notes and a wide sustain of the sound of the fuselage. The woofers take care of that. The middle is a bit mechanical and not as pleasing as other systems sometimes are.

What is very positive is the power of the instrument, something that comes out very well. The game is lively, the tones could take a bit longer to die out. It is and remains an instrument that exposes all aspects of a loudspeaker and the better the recording, the more merciless the criticism. Within the price range, the Aria 936 K2 is best allowed to drop a stitch here and there . In higher price ranges, Focal has a lot more to offer to the piano â ???? howeverâ ???? to play. You already get so much for the money with this system.

If I am honest (and I like to be a lot) then I like the â ???? Arnold Ouverturesâ ???? performed by Malcolm Arnold & The London Philharmonic Orchestra on Reference Recordings Awful. However, they put the loudspeaker to the test in dynamics, the overwhelming position of the orchestra, the holding of the brass instruments and the bang of the percussion from cymbals to timpani. It’s all there, in the dynamic range specified by Roon software of 22! The WAV 176. 4kHz / 24 bit file puts the Naim ND5 XS 2 under considerable pressure and chases the amplifier into the current consumption. With the high efficiency of the Focal, that is no problem for the NAIT XS 3, it can handle that easily. Nowhere does the music close, solo instruments are released, the orchestra forms the basis against which the soloist can oppose. It’s impressive to say the least, but I turn it off for music I prefer to listen to.

Flip-out woofers Infected Mushroom is great on the Aria 936 K2, how hard it can be and it goes deep. Some sounds do stick to the baffles, nothing can be changed with a different location of the speaker or turning it in more or less. What happens between the speakers can scare the neighbors hard, the three cones of the woofers beat out quite a bit and that is all possible with this system. Fans of Infected Mushroom will definitely blush here. It’s fast, loud, intense, fundamentally good.

The ears less harassing is music by Laura Marling , guitar and vocals with some vague accompaniment in the background. Just rest and relax with this lady. Little love caster shows that a quiet song can also make an impression. The attention remains constant on Marling’s music and vocals. Her words are perfectly intelligible, the instruments used are enough of the voice to not merge too much, which can make the reproduction messy. The atmosphere is dark, the Focal’s keep that atmosphere very well. Mary Black is recommended for those who like to hear Irish traditionals. Her CD â ???? The holy groundâ ???? is full of it. The Aria 936 K2 is running as if Ireland is now part of France. Wonderful how the voice can transport you across the Irish countryside, taking you into the pub, where singing and playing are part of Irish life every night. Second voices remain separated, a soft guitar completes without sinking into the voices or the accordion. Here you can come for the day while enjoying a pint of Guinness.

Character of wine To what extent the quiet character of the Aria 936 K2 influences jazz music I would also like to know. Scandinavian jazz in particular can be full of dark sounds and the Aria tends towards the dark side rather than light-footedness. Too many heavy Bordeaux wines were drunk in St. Etienne instead of a lighter and happier Italian Bardolino. Let’s start with some â € œModulesâ € from Nik BÃ¤rtschâ ???? s Ronin. The sound is indeed dark, but with clear percussion that manages to maintain a strong rhythm.

The distinction between the bass and the low notes of the piano sometimes blends too much with the drum beats of Nik’s musicians, I would like to have more distinction there. What it did very well with Infected Mushroom, the power and intensity, is a bit lost with the more subtle music of BÃ¤rtsch.

a? Quiet winter night: an acoustic jazz project ?? of the Hoff Ensemble is less bothered by it. Here the atmosphere is correct, supplemented with singing by various people. Also some more instruments where the Focal does its best to let the listener discover them. Harmonious and pure, never disturbing, suitable for long listening. Wind instruments beautifully illuminated, piano runs clear and playful, bass not too bold, just enough to emphasize the atmosphere.

Each speaker remains a compromise, so also the Focal Aria 936 K2 Limited Edition as it is called in full, just like all living rooms where we would like to listen to music. With the jazz of Hoff a very pleasant compromise, with Infected Mushroom a power compromise, with voices like Rachelle Ferrell or Mary Black a lively compromise. Is it your compromise then? Listen for yourself, preferably on your own amplifier and source.

The papers

Eventually specifications and description become available and I can tell you some extras about the Aria 936 K2. As the eye noted, it is a 3-way system, according to Focal suitable for rooms from 25 m2. The tweeter is a Focal TNF inverse dome formed from aluminum and magnesium alloy suspended in Poron. A urethane plate has been placed around the tweeter for better radiation behavior. The woofers and midrange are all 16, 5 cm or 6.5 inch. The cone is always a sandwich of aramid fibers, trade name Kevlar. The housing is made of MDF, whereby no parallel walls can be found in the cabinet. The base plate is made of cast aluminum. The price for the Focal Aria 936 K2 is â ?? ¬ 1. 999,- per Unit.

Some technical data at a glance:

3-way bass reflex system 3 woofers 6,5â ???? midrange 6,5â ???? Al / Mg TNF inverted dome tweeter Frequency Response: (+/- 3dB) 39 Hz – 29 kHz – 6 dB Point: 32 Hz Efficiency: 92 dB Nominal impedance: 8? Minimum impedance: 2.8? Recommended amplifier power: 50 – 300 W Crossover Frequencies: 260 / 3100 Hz Dimensions: 1150 x 294X371 mm Weight: 29 kg Stuffed Ears The ears are filled with music, the specifications saved on paper and so it is time for a summary about what I could listen to. The term final judgment or conclusion is actually overloaded in this. After all, a loudspeaker performs as well as the surrounding acoustics allows and performance is partly dependent on the source and amplification that is used. I’m not worried about source and amplification, that’s fine for each other. Nor does the acoustics give cause for complaint, although it is less familiar to me than my own living room.

Let me start with the cone material that most brands step away from and which gives Focal a new lease of life. Well, there is nothing negative about it compared to the flax cone in the normal Aria series. Kevlar is said to have colors and a hard sound, the Aria 936 K2 is rather â ???? sweet ?? then â ???? hardâ ????. With its light dark color, the reproduction is far from aggressive, which results in the possibility to listen to music for a long time and intensively without the music getting tired.

The Aria 936 K2 is widely applicable, from classical to electro pop, where the high efficiency ensures that pop can be played loud to very loud. Classical with the very great dynamics of a symphony orchestra therefore does not experience any obstacles whatsoever. The Focal will have to rely on its performance in the musical field, because although the appearance is neatly finished with a beautiful color scheme, it is and remains a large speaker that will stand out in the listening room without the fronts for the yellow cones and that is not something everyone’s preference.

The ease with which the Focal plays and can be controlled makes it widely applicable for stereo and for home cinema application. In home cinema setup, the 936 K2 can of course be combined with other Aria models with a Flex cone. Let me conclude by noting that the Focal Aria 936 K2 is at least remarkable may be mentioned with the Kevlar application. It could just become a cult model that will be loved and cherished over the years.

Focal Aria 936 K2

â ?? ¬ 1. 999, – per piece | www.smart-audio.nl

https://hifi.nl/artikel/ 27942 / Focal-Spectral – 40 th-floorstander-because of – 40 – anniversary.html

Review: Marantz PM6007 and CD6007

Veddan at Listening Matters

Month of the HIFI

read more » Yamaha at Hemmers

Month of the HIFI

read more » Month of the HIFI

Overview Hi-Visits

Review: Panasonic TX 55HZW2004

At the top of the Panasonic line-up we find an OLED TV with striking advantages. A customized OLED panel, studio monitor image quality and Dolby Atmos sound system. Also a TV that is equipped with four HDMI connections that deliver the full HDMI 2.0 bandwidth and can therefore handle Ultra HD HDR in the best quality. A TV that we like to review.

Sober and elegant Black is timeless, and it always exudes a certain elegance. The “Little Black Dress” Coco Chanel from 1926 has become a fashion symbol for a reason. By this we do not mean that this Panasonic has little to do with the body, but that you should not expect a flashy design.

The thin OLED screen has a fine black frame, and at the bottom the speakers are hidden behind a metal grille. The base is a fairly heavy, central base plate in anthracite brushed metal. The whole is like a house. Keep in mind that the TV is relatively heavy, this 55 – incher Weighs about as much as some other 65 inch OLED models.

Cables can be run at the back via the foot and then concealed with the large cover plate. It’s a somewhat rudimentary cable management solution.

Connect! Who was hoping for HDMI 2.1 connections we must immediately disappoint. This model also has to do with HDMI 2.0. Two HDMI 2.1 features are provided, namely eARC (Enhanced ARC) and ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode).

The TV is equipped with four HDMI connections that provide the full Deliver HDMI 2.0 bandwidth and thus handle Ultra HD HDR in the best quality. You will also find three USB connections (one of which is USB 3.0), a component video input with stereo cinch audio input for your older analog sources, an optical digital audio output. The headphone connection can also be switched to a subwoofer output via the menus, if you want to give the bass some support.

Please note that some of the connections (including two HDMI and two USB) point to the rear and thus make wall mounting more difficult. There is of course also an ethernet connection and built-in WiFi. You can connect your wireless headphones, gamepad or mouse / keyboard via Bluetooth, but you can also send the audio from your smartphone to the TV.

Good news for TV viewers who do not want to use a set-top box. This Panasonic offers you three antenna connections, a dual DVB-T2 / C / S2 tuner with a double CI + slot. If you connect an external USB hard drive, you can watch TV and record another channel at the same time.

My Home Screen 5.0 Panasonic’s smart TV platform, now in its fifth iteration, has a beautiful, modern and uncluttered interface. Do you want to select a different input, a TV channel or connected USB device, or do you want to open an app? All those things can be found in the bar at the bottom of the home screen that takes up minimal screen space.

A second bar of content appears as soon as you select an app that supports it (YouTube and Netflix for example). The interface is fast, and you can change the order of the icons yourself on favorites.

Classic zapper

A top model comes with a more luxurious remote control. Panasonic has had this brushed alloy version of its classic remote for several years now. It may seem a bit clunky but it feels great in the hand, the layout is good and the keys are easy to press. Netflix has its own key and the â ???? My Appâ ???? You can assign the key (bottom left) to your favorite app. The â ???? Pictureâ ???? You can use the button at the top right to quickly change the image mode. Via the menus you determine which image modes appear in that list.

We would almost forget, this remote is also illuminated, and if you often go in the dark enjoy movies, it is very convenient. We think it is a pity that the playback buttons at the bottom of the remote are not illuminated.

Image quality On this top model, Panasonic uses an OLED panel from LG Display, just like all other manufacturers that offer OLED, but one that customizes it itself. The panel is equipped with better cooling and a different power supply. This allows it to achieve a higher peak brightness, Panasonic claims about 50 percent Lake. Whether that is the case, we will come back to that in a moment. In any case, the panel has excellent uniformity, even in dark images.

The HCX Pro image processor also gets the very best from this OLED panel. The processor provides excellent black detail, while retaining a lot of nuance. Another particularly strong asset: the TV handles low-quality dark images very well. Where this can sometimes lead to visible color bands or slightly flickering effects with other manufacturers, this Panasonic keeps that perfectly under control. This is thanks to the excellent noise reduction for both random and MPEG noise (block formation), but probably also the excellent control of the OLED panel.

Fast action images come out better, now that Panasonic has a modified Black Frame Insertion. technique. This makes even more detail visible in fast-moving images, without annoying flicker or excessive loss of brightness as a side effect. The â ???? Minimumâ ???? mode seemed the best choice to us, although you might want to leave it off in HDR to avoid losing clarity. Combined with the excellent “Intelligent Frame Creation” ???? technique, even fast pan shots are beautifully smooth and detailed. Keep “Intelligent Frame Creation” certainly on the â ???? minimumâ ???? mode, it must be said, even in the highest mode the results were very good.

The â ???? True Cinemaâ ???? image mode is exemplary calibrated. Accurate colors, a perfectly neutral gray scale, the images are indeed worthy of a studio monitor, an exceptional achievement. Panasonic also implemented “Filmmaker Mode”, which guarantees that you see the images as the director intended. Filmmaker mode deactivates almost all image processing, but delivers the same beautiful images as True Cinema.

With support for HDR 10, HLG, Dolby Vision and HDR 10 + you don’t have to ask questions about the format of your HDR material. But what about the peak brightness? It is indeed impressive. The HZ 2000 scores 1008 nits on one 10% window, that is indeed about 20 % more than most competitors. It also retains that lead on larger white areas (up to 55% white ). Combined with large color gamut (97% DCI-P3) and the excellent processing of HDR footage, the viewing experience is fantastic.

One last asset. Panasonic now also offers Dolby Vision IQ. The TV adjusts the Dolby Vision image based on the ambient light. For example, dark scenes are lightly brightened so that you see sufficient black detail even with more ambient light. And even more, under the name â ???? Intelligent Sensingâ ???? Panasonic offers a similar function for HDR 10; HDR 20 +, HLG and SDR footage. In a lot of ambient light, colors are made slightly richer and the image gets a little more clarity so that it retains its impact. Sound Quality With the â ???? Technicsâ ???? brand on the loudspeaker grille, we also expect good performance in the audio field. The TV is equipped with a 140 Watt audio system of which 2x 20 W in upfiring speakers is for Dolby Atmos. Everything has been tuned by Technics. During the installation you specify how far the unit is from the back wall and how far it is to your ceiling, so the TV can provide optimal results. And yes, the sound is very good. With the volume knob on half the music is sometimes too loud, so there is a lot of power in it.

What we You can hear that, depending on how high you set the volume, the timbre changes slightly, presumably to prevent overdriving. The effect is not so pronounced as to be a nuisance. Technics tunes the sound relatively sharply, so that screeching guitars or solid snare drums come in very loudly. Playing around with the settings a bit can fix that. Also visit the â ???? Sound field creationâ ???? institution. Panasonic uses the upfiring speakers to create a different atmosphere experience: that of a recording studio, stage or cinema.

And what about Dolby Atmos? We dove into a Star Wars space battle and the TV gives an excellent feeling of spaciousness, with a clear portion of height effects. You rarely hear any noise above your head, which may depend on the settings and your room, but that is quite a challenge for all TVs. Either way, the Panasonic scores very well and will boost your movie experience.

Conclusion The Panasonic TX – 55 HZW 2004 (NL) / TX – 55 HZ 2000 ( BE) is the TV of choice for the movie buff. Its only downside: no HDMI 2.1 connections, so not the best choice for next-gen gamers. But unparalleled OLED picture quality, with deep contrast, many shadow nuances, rich colors and top HDR performance thanks to a customized OLED panel. A powerful audio solution with Dolby Atmos support and upfiring speakers complement the impressive images with room-filling surround. The price tag is hefty, which unfortunately belongs to a reference model.

Panasonic TX – 55 HZW 2004 (NL ) / TX – 55 HZ 2000 (BE)

â ?? ¬ 2. 999 | www.panasonic.com

Rating: 5/5

Review: Silent Angel Forester F1 linear power supply for the Bonn N8

RESUME Silent Angel delivers a switch that has become popular in the Netherlands, for which the brand now developed an upgrade in the form of the Forester F1. Happy with the Silent Angel Bonn N8 ethernet switch and ready for the next step forward? Then consider the Silent Angel Forester F1. Only try if you have the money, I’ve already got the hang of it.

PLUS POINTS Richer sound More Definition Larger stereo image Peace Better power cord possible MINUSES Slightly higher power consumption than the wall plug Addictive

Thunder Data, the company behind Silent Angel, is releasing a power supply for the Bonn N8 switch with the Silent Angel Forester F1, as an upgrade on the wall plug in the box. This power supply is suitable for powering two switches at the same time or a switch and a Raspberry Pi. Neatly executed in a metal housing, equal in width to the Bonn N8, but higher and deeper. The short version of the following: whoever is happy with his Bonn N8 ethernet switch, there are many among our readers, given the numbers sold according to retailers and importers, can now make a significant step forward for the same amount.

Of course we are again on thin ice, because prejudices say: â ?? a switch cannot make a difference let alone a switch’s power supply. If you are convinced of this, then further reading is pointless. If in doubt, continue.

Silent Angel Forester F1: Black and Small The Silent Angel Forester F1 linear power supply claims features such as total absence of noise and avoidance of corrupt data, and it always delivers sufficient power. In the box you will find the power supply, one power cord, two 60 cm connection cables for switches with 5.5mm x 2.1mm DC plugs and a USB cable for powering a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B with USB to micro USB type C. The Forester F1 has the following characteristics:

– An encapsulated toroidal transformer

– A symmetrically designed circuit

– Fast MOSFET semiconductors with low inherent noise

– EMI filter

– Dual outputs, also via USB

– Dampened metal housing

A toroidal transformer offers the advantage of smaller stray field compared to another type of transformer, can deliver a lot of current quickly, is efficient and has a smaller size. A symmetrical current circuit, as in any balanced circuit, eliminates its own noise because the two parts operate in opposite phase. MOSFETs monitor the output voltage and ensure that it is kept stable at 5 volts. According to Silent Angel, a MOSFET reacts faster than a normally deployed voltage controller, so the ripple in the output voltage is less. The F1 has meet 155 x 115 x 58 mm and weighs 1.3kg. It supplies 2x 5 Volt at 2A, as LEDs has 2x status and 2x overload. The power supply is only available in black. The Forester F1 consumes only 3 to 4 Watts with one switch connected, which is not much more than the wall plug. The price for the Silent Angel Forester F1 is the same as for the Bonn N8 switch â ???? already extensively tested â ???? and set at â ?? ¬ 395.A

Setup In my small listening room is a Bonn N8 connected to an AudioQuest Niagara 1200 Â mains filter and centrally located in the meter cupboard, wherever my Roon NUC is located, there is a second Bonn N8 fed via an Isotek EVO3 Sirius filter, always with its own Bonn N8 netvo eding. Ethernet cables are AudioQuest Carbon between the switches and AudioQuest Vodka to the equipment. I listen with a Metrum Ambre Roon endpoint, a Metrum Adagio DAC, CODA CSib V1 integrated amplifier and Falcon LS3 / 5a speakers. Most relevant is to swap the supplied Bonn wall plug with the F1 power supply in the listening room. Of course I also try it out with the switch in the hall closet. From the box to the wall plug What happens if I use the regular Replace Bonn N8 power supply with the Forester F1? It is remarkable, although that is not possible at all and cannot be demonstrated with a decibel meter, that the music seems to play louder. The following is the total tranquility that gives voice and every instrument more space, creates its own place in the space and gets closer to the listener. Both closer and further away thanks to the increased depth in the stereo image. Height placement and width show no difference.

The separation of voices and instruments makes second voices distance themselves from the first, so easily that I wonder what remains of the total system to get. On a scale of 1 to 10 impact is normally at 8 in this system, which now certainly rises to 9 â ???? Â despite the small displays. It is not even so much an increase in details, space, depth or timbre, the Forester F1 creates an impression where everything is bigger, more intense, brighter, more interesting and more colorful. From HD television to Ultra HD. The grain becomes finer, the background quieter, the experience increases further in a beautiful system.

If I remove the Forester F1, then a gray veil arises that I have never been so aware of and which until now could only be hitched with a Melco S 100 Ethernet switch with a SBooster power supply. The stereo image shrinks without the F1, music flows into each other, and electronically created space in recordings becomes more annoying than interesting. Music gets busy, closes, is a lot less interesting. Is the set suddenly not beautiful anymore? Oh yes, built with love and effort it is still more than worth sitting here â ???? but There is room for improvement. Where the price of 1200 euros for the upgrade actually contrasts sharply with the price of, for example, upgrading my speaker cables, power supply and even recently the crossover filters in the speakers. Things that have sometimes cost a lot more and not always made such a difference.

Then I change the standard Silent Angel wall plug for the Forester F1 in the hallway â ???? Â with noticeable effect, but to a lesser extent than when I picked up the switch from the set. The win rate is somewhere between 50 and 50 percent, not higher. The question is whether spending just under four hundred euros for a switch elsewhere in my network is justified. Is the F1 on the switch at the streamer mandatory in my setup, the hallway will come another time. I much prefer to hang the F1 on the switch next to the set for maximum profit.

Always that power Whatever you try with audio, the power supply is always an essential part. In all cases, poor nutrition will lead to an inadequate result, a healthy diet to a good result, optimal nutrition to more realism, experience, deeper timbre and finesse. It is still a strange and inexplicable fact for many that a network switch affects a streaming audio system, it becomes even more unfathomable that even the power supply of a switch can make a significant difference.

Silent Angel supplies a switch that has become popular in the Netherlands, for which the brand has now developed an upgrade in the form of the Forester F1 power supply. I cannot explain the improvement in the display in almost all areas, let alone measure it, but I can observe it very clearly. In short, if you are happy with the Silent Angel Bonn N8 Ethernet switch and want to take a step forward with your streaming audio system, consider the Silent Angel Forester F1. Only try if you have the money, I’ve already got the hang of it.

Silent Angel Forester F1

â ?? ¬ 395, – | www.dimex.nl

Review: Sound by Sweden Nitro X wireless

RESUME The Nitro-X is very basic in terms of functions, but it does good on the areas that count. The noise canceling is good and the sound quality is fine. Where the Sound by Sweden Nitro-X really scores are the good wearing comfort and excellent autonomy. And that’s the nice price tag.

PLUS POINTS Great balance price quality Superior autonomy Physical buttons and easy to operate Comfortable ear pads with little ear build-up More Balanced Than Many Other NC Headphones MINPOINTS No fine-tuning app SBC only

Headphones with noise -cancelling has become very popular in recent months. The range has also exploded, and it is noticeable that good noise reduction is no longer the sole domain of Bose. More and more affordable NC headphones are appearing, such as this Swedish Nitro-X of significantly less than 200 Euro.

Do you have to 300 spend euros and more for a good noise-canceling headphones? A while ago the answer may have been “yes”, but now you can also find cheaper headphones with noise canceling that perform quite well or even very well. With these affordable models you usually miss functions that not everyone finds important, such as augmented reality audio (such as with Bose) or sensors that compensate for air pressure during flights at high altitudes (such as with Sony). And then you have headphones like the Nitro-X that we look at in this review. For just no 180 euro you get a device that looks sober but still has a number of remarkable features. For commuters and travelers, the excellent battery life is a plus, for discerning music lovers the unusual presence of a cable from a well-known name in the hi-fi world: Supra. No coincidence, of course, because the builder of the Nitro-X Wireless is Sound of Sweden, a spin-off from Jenving Technology, the Swedish manufacturer that releases the Supra cables.

Wearable for hours That the Nitro-X is a bit cheaper than major rivals, is only noticeable at the checkout. The headphones present as a solid product, largely finished in plastic but also with metal elements. You can fold it into something compact, and the driver housings rotate 90 degrees so that the ear pads fit your ears perfectly. You can make all these movements without creaks or little other noises, which gives us a positive impression about the build quality. And the finish? Sound by Sweden opted for a matte black color that enhances the discreet and understated appearance. Pretty nice, although with intensive use you will notice that prints of dirty fingers show.

When we saw in the specifications that this device has an autonomy of 28 hours promised (with Bluetooth one NC, without NC it is 35 hours), we feared it would be heavy headphones. After all, the batteries needed for that very long autonomy make a significant contribution to the total weight. But with 285 gram, the Nitro-X is even a bit lighter than a number of affordable rivals, although there are also high-end models that weigh even less. In practice, we experience these Swedish headphones as comfortable to wear, partly due to the comfortable padding on the inside of the headband (something that bare audio viewers appreciate even more) and the thick ear pads. With those pillows, there is also more to it than you might think when you see them. The Nitro-X presses a bit more on the ears (which provides good passive noise isolation) and the cushions are made from an artificial leather clone. There is nothing wrong with that in itself, but with these properties you can usually count on some extra warmth to the ears. Can never be avoided completely because you cover part of your heat-producing body (and your head plays a very important role in it). But the Nitro-X is very good. According to Sound by Sweden, this is due to the use of BreathTex on the outside, a material that would breathe better (and therefore cool down).

Thanks to those ear pads, the lower weight and the ear pressure that is just fine-tuned (for our head shape), we find the Nitro-X to be very comfortable. Our favorite in this area remains the DALI IO-6, but it costs a bit more. For a longer train ride or an intense open-office wrestling match with a deadline just flew by with a whoosh sound in the words of Douglas Adams, the Nitro-X seems fine.

Simplicity Adorns Many noise canceling headphones come with an app in which you can set all kinds of things. The Skullcandy Crusher ANC, for example, comes with an app in which you can tune the sound by means of a personal hearing test. With others you have extensive equalizer settings. Not so with the Nitro-X. There is no app and the controls on the headphones themselves are minimalistic. On the positive side, all buttons are real, physical keys, so you can operate everything, even in cold weather and with gloves. You switch on the noise canceling function with a slider, so you do not leave it on unintentionally and the battery is drained. The noise canceling on the Nitro-X is also on or off. If you want adaptive noise canceling with multiple levels, you should look for a more expensive product. The question is whether you need it.

The Nitro-X comes with a solid case for easy transport of the headphones, with space for the charging cable and the audio cable that you can use as a backup to reduce the drain on the battery.

As we already mentioned, this cable is made by Supra. Given that using a cable with wireless NC headphones does not happen very often (but it does happen, for example, if you want to use the in-flight entertainment system on an airplane, because then Bluetooth is not an option), we do not think this is so important now. But it is a nice extra.

Effective Noise Canceling Just like earlobe, you can always get a little bit expect soft noise when no music is playing and you are in a quiet environment. It is usually not really bothersome; in a noisier environment and when you listen to audio it usually escapes your attention completely. Still, we are very pleasantly surprised if the Nitro-X has very little trouble with this. The noise is very quiet and non-existent when the noise canceling is turned off. The noise canceling itself also makes an impression, especially if we take the price tag into account. The good passive isolation already works fine, if you switch on the active NC, ambient noise is very well eliminated.

Since long train journeys and intercontinental flights are not on our menu, we turn to a four-hour YouTube video of a train journey through a snowstorm. For ASMR enthusiasts but a higher volume, also provide an accurate simulation of the typical sounds that you would rather not hear while listening to music or watching a video. Without playing audio we only hear the higher sounds of the train ride, with an album by French techno artist Rone at a normal listening volume it is completely gone.

We also look further at â ???? The Old Guardâ ????, the prestigious Netflix action movie starring Charlize Theron. In the emotional conversation around a campfire, where Matthias Schoenaerts explains the downsides of immortality, those high-pitched train noises are more disturbing. But it doesn’t get in the way of intelligibility.

The sound quality can also charm us. With a mobile headset there should always be some extra bass, but with the Nitro-X it is not too thick. It makes electronic music like Rone or the eccentric â ???? Never Were the Way She Wasâ ???? by Colin Stetson (with Sarah Neufeld, the violinist from Arcade Fire) comes in impressively, but is not exhausting. The soft folk pop of Big Thief can also be heard on the Nitro-X, perhaps not with the fine detail or the largest spatial reproduction that we know from the IO-6, for example, but in an easy listening way that lets you listen in a relaxed manner. .

Conclusion The Nitro-X is very basic in terms of functions, but it does well in the areas that really count. The noise canceling is good and the sound quality is fine, with no bloated bass or lack of aa n detail. Where the Sound by Sweden Nitro-X really scores are the good wearing comfort and the excellent autonomy that is supported by a fast charging function. They are NC headphones that only need to be connected to the charger every now and then. And that’s the price tag â ???? which is totally fine for what you get.

Sound by Sweden Nitro-X Wireless

â ?? ¬ 189 euro | Â www.soundbysweden.com Â / Â www.viertron.nl

Rating 4.5 out of 5

Review: Belkin Soundform Elite

REVIEW

Quintijn Bulterman | 03 September 2020

SUMMARY For the young generation, music has to pop. With that in mind, the Belkin Soundform Elite hits the nail on the head. We just miss the opportunity to add a little more nuance to the â ???? boomâ ????.

PLUS POINTS Design Wireless Charger Devialet Sound MINUSES Price No adjustment possible for the level of the â ???? boomâ ????

At Belkin you think of chargers, charging cables, adapters and n covers for tablets. And yet we have a smart speaker from the brand here. The thought behind it is not even surprising. With a real audio brand, Devialet, Belkin has brought in a ton of knowledge. Is that crazy? No, absolutely not – we see such a partnership between two manufacturers more often. But how does the result sound?

Belkin has been around since 1983 and has grown with the production of computer cables. Based in the technology hub of Los Angeles, Belkin continues its mission. Although a few brands have been added since that time and they have not only made computer cables for a long time. The Linksys and WeMo brands also belong to the Belkin International banner. The latter focuses on smart home technologies, with a platform for lighting and electronic and household equipment. And then a smart speaker suddenly starts to sound a bit more logical. Certainly when we say that the cooperation partner is Devialet, in the world of hi-fi certainly no stranger .

A 3-in-1 product Anyone who thinks this is just another smart speaker, like many others on the market, will come home from a rude awakening. It is a wireless (hi-fi) speaker, a voice assistant and a wireless charger. These are three products, combined in one housing with a suggested retail price of 299 euro.

Charging and the voice assistant are a nice addition to the whole, a great relief. Talk to it and the Soundform will talk back. But the sound quality is of course what we are most curious about. There are two things that stand out about that sound. A technique called Speaker Active Matching (SAMÂ®) technology, no doubt known to Devialet enthusiasts, and the so-called Push-Push configuration. Two woofers are used to counteract vibrations and produce a deep bass.

The SAM technique must ensure a crystal clear sound, ‘just as the artist intended’ you know. When we take hold of the speaker, we feel that it is by no means a light unit. That is promising. The design is very neat. There is a speaker fabric around the speaker and at the top we see a sloping plateau to charge a telephone. We also see a few touch controls at the top. We see a control for Bluetooth, volume, play / pause and microphone. The connection for the power cord is a neat part of the design. This is how we like to see it.

Music Pleaseâ ?? ¦ Connecting and installing the speaker is easy via the Google Home app. Once installed, streaming to the Belkin Soundform Elite is a breeze. Stream via Spotify or just give a voice command to turn on Q Music, that’s all it is.

We set up the Belkin Soundform Elite in the kitchen. Exactly the place where we normally charge the iPhone or iPad. When we hear a first random song on the radio, we are surprised by the sheer amount of bass produced; really seriously low. We can immediately conclude that one of the promised techniques works.

We then decide to stream some music via Spotify. Four LED lights are incorporated under the fabric at the front. These can indicate the status of the device, but now indicate the sound volume when we turn it up or down. If we put on something completely contemporary, ‘Banana â ???? Conkarah feat Shaggy ‘, then the kitchen is immediately transformed into a party zone. There is so much BOOM in that little thing! (). With that, the Belkin Soundform Elite shows that there is a clear preference for music, which is confirmed when we listen to more pop and electronic music.

Just ask if the Google Assistant wants the latest episode of The Boom Room (SlamFM) play. For the techno and house music lovers, this is what should be listened to. And here the Belkin indeed shows that the speaker is completely delighted. A little rock also pumps away nicely. ‘Greta from Fleet â ???? Highway Tune ‘sounds good, but there is a limitation. The volume should not exceed 70 Ã 80 percent. If you come up here, it can get a bit sloppy. The layer, on the other hand, remains neatly in line. We must also admit that the volume up to 80 percent is more than adequate for the kitchen or even a small living room. And if we compare that with Sonos, for example, a Sonos One certainly does not reach this level of low. It would be nice to be able to switch the layer technique on or off with a software button. Suppose you need something more calm and quiet, then all that BOOM is not necessary.

For the audience Belkin wants to reach and the opportunities you get for 299 Euros, it is fine though.

Final Verdict The Belkin Soundform Elite is a fun wireless smart speaker with a built-in wireless charger. We can clearly hear that Devialet has contributed to this. The bass is impressive and very suitable for pop, rock or electronic music. There is really BOOM in it. This will also appeal to a specific target group. Belkin therefore focuses on the younger generation who want to stream music easily and simply. With that thought, we can imagine that a Belkin Soundform Elite is playing in the living room or in a bedroom. This target group just wants the music to be nice and full and pumping, and that is exactly what is happening here. An audio product that matches what a target group wants to hear; Â if you can find yourself in that image, then the Belkin Soundform Elite is definitely worth checking out.

Conclusion For the young generation, music has to pop. Thanks to Devialet that is all right. This target group does not want large pillars in a living room, but does want the accessible simplicity of streaming music and the nice extra to charge your phone. With that in mind, the Belkin Soundform Elite hits the nail on the head. Or it asks the Google assist to do it. We just miss the opportunity to add a little more nuance to the â ???? boomâ ????.

Belkin Soundform Elite

â ?? ¬ 299 | www.belkin.comÂ

Rating: 4/5

Review Yamaha A S3200: modern technology and sound in retro packaging

The Japanese Yamaha unveiled three new integrated amplifiers called AS Last spring , AS 2200 and AS 3200. The appearance and in particular the prominent centrally placed VU meters are very reminiscent of the past. However, according to the manufacturer, modern technology is hidden under the hood. Recently we have the AS 1200, the smallest model, looked at and listened to. Now it is the turn of the AS 3200, the largest model. Does the AS 3200 of Yamaha sail exclusively or mainly on feelings of nostalgia or is the AS 3200 just a good amplifier with a nostalgic look? We are going to investigate the AS 3200.

Yamaha: Maker of audio equipment, musical instruments, motorcycles, outboards and more

The Japanese brand name Yamaha has existed for more than a hundred years and has undergone many transformations. The company is owned by Torakusu Yamaha (1887 – 1916) Founded in 1887. Originally Yamaha built musical instruments and from the early twentieth century pianos were an important part of the portfolio. Specialist knowledge of production methods, plastics and metal alloys is used to continuously expand the product range. The amount of different products that Yamaha builds or has built is too many to mention. About ten years after the Second World War, Yamaha even started building motorcycles. These activities were also sold to car manufacturer Toyota in 2001.

Yamaha has continuously built musical instruments from the beginning. At first they were acoustic instruments (including guitars, pianos and wind instruments), but later synthesizers and electric pianos were added. Yamaha’s DX-7, a velocity-sensitive synthesizer, was on many stages in the eighties of the last century.

From the beginning of the seventies, Yamaha started making sound equipment and parts for sound equipment, both for the professional market and for the living room. Yamaha has roughly about a hundred years of experience building musical instruments and now about fifty years of experience building sound equipment. That is quite a long track record.

Those who make many different products run the risk of being the focus to lose. That doesn’t seem to be the case with Yamaha. Pianos, concert grand pianos and other musical instruments are continuously an important part of the portfolio, as well as sound equipment for the professional and consumer markets. Yamaha has an understanding of making music, but also of recording and reproducing music.

Sound equipment in the years 70 and 80 of the twentieth century, shortcomings

Sound equipment has of course been around for over a hundred years. It all started with radios and later on record players were added. Anyone who could afford it also owned a reel recorder. The cassette tape, invented by the Dutch company Philips, came onto the market in the 1970s. Affordability and reliability increased, also due to the invention of semiconductors.

From around the end of the 1970s, a certain standardization in the shape and dimensions of audio components. In the 1980s, many living rooms had a so-called hi-fi set: that is a stack of components from the same manufacturer where the front plates were tuned to each other and the stack usually consisted of an amplifier, tuner, cassette deck and record player, and of course a pair of passive speakers. The amplifier was usually an integrated model, but sometimes there was also a separate pre and power amplifier. The whole was in a matching cabinet of chipboard with a glass door and a glass lid. At the bottom there was room for LPs and / or cassette tapes. The IR remote control had yet to be invented. The amplifiers from that time were often equipped with VU meters. That gave a kind of professional appearance and buyers were apparently sensitive to this appearance.

The equipment from that time , more specifically the amplifiers, had roughly two disadvantages.

First, the noise level was so high that noise was usually noticeable, especially with good headphones. The noise level of amplifiers was not really a problem because the connected sources, ie record player, tuner and cassette deck had an even higher noise level. This changed with the arrival of the CD player. After all, a CD player has a much lower noise level and the result was that the noise level of the amplifier was much more prominent. At a rapid pace, the noise floor of amplifiers was pushed down in the late eighties and early nineties. A modern amplifier, also a budget model, has no noise, or at least not disturbing, and that was different in the sixties and seventies.

Second the components in the seventies and eighties might have looked nice and were sometimes well built, but the lifespan and trouble-free operation left much to be desired. Potentiometers (volume control, tone control, balance control) started on average after a few years of cracking. Source selector buttons had considerable crosstalk and sometimes contact problems after several years, resulting in channel inequality or annoying cracking. Loudspeaker connections were designed as spring-loaded tabs that could just hold a table lamp cord. The user could often choose between speaker pair A and / or B, but the power to the speaker buttons on the front sometimes ran through relatively small switches, which could also crack after a few years. Silent toroidal transformers were a rarity. Signal paths were more than once unnecessarily long and not well thought out and we can go on and on. Perhaps unnecessarily, of course it was possible to enjoy music. It might just be what you’re used to.

Besides pushing the noise floor down, these problems were also addressed later. Signal paths became shorter. Source selection buttons usually no longer carry a music signal, but control a dedicated relay (and this relay can also be controlled with an IR remote control). Loudspeaker connections were made much heavier, even with cheap amplifiers. And speaker selector buttons no longer had to process high current. This has increasingly been left to a relay with gold-plated contacts and gold-plated contacts are known to increase the transition resistance much less quickly with time than with a normal copper contact. Well-built gas-filled relays with gold-plated contacts are practically indestructible. A silent toroidal transformer has become increasingly the norm, also in budget amplifiers.

We seem to be a bit off wander. Why do these thoughts come up suddenly? Enter the AS 3200, the largest of a set of three new integrated amplifiers from Yamaha.

Yamaha AS 3200: retro appearance with modern technology

Before we Listening to music, we look at the technology of the AS 3200. After unpacking, we take a look at the exterior and the manufacturer’s specifications.

After the AS 3200 is connected, it will turn on. We hear a number of clicks in succession. These are relay clicks. On the front a small rotary knob is placed to choose between speaker pair A and / or B. Turning the knob causes fat clicks under the cover. At first hearing Yamaha has placed heavy speaker relays. So there is no music signal over the small button on the front. When we turn the source selector, we also hear the necessary clicks. The delicate music signal does not run over the rotary knob itself, but the rotary knob controls the underlying relays. The device is heavy in relation to the specified power. The two pairs of brass speaker connections, which are suitable for banana plugs, forks and bare wire up to a diameter of six millimeters, are among the heaviest ones we have seen in recent years, especially in this price range. Under the hood is a toroidal transformer that is supported by four smoothing capacitors of each 22. 000 uF.

The AS 3200 is equipped with a tone and balance control consisting of three rotary knobs. When the appropriate knobs are in the center position, tone and balance controls are bypassed and thus have no effect whatsoever on the signal.

Yamaha AS 3200: Analog circuits only

The entire signal circuit is fully balanced and the AS 3200 has two pairs of XLR inputs. In addition, four cinch inputs are available and a turntable input that is optionally suitable for mm cartridges or mc cartridges (selector switch on the front panel). Then there is also a power amplifier input with which the AS 3200 can be included in a larger system where another device takes care of the volume control. And the installed pre-amplifier output can be used to drive another power amplifier or an active subwoofer.

Completely in line with the amplifiers from roughly thirty years ago, the AS 3200 has no digital circuitry or entrances on board. A user will therefore have to connect a separate DA converter or streamer to be able to process digital signal.

The lack of streaming functions has an advantage. The user does not have to accept terms of use and cannot be spied on. Streamers have the annoying quality of being dependent on software and software updates, just like computers. The AS 3200 cannot suffer from updateritis because it has no software on board. Streaming functions cannot fail or be “improved” against the user’s wishes. The lack of a streaming platform is not a disadvantage; it is an advantage because it makes the AS 3200 future-proof. The AS 3200 has no aging-sensitive features on board.

Of course, a streamer is handy and offers a large well-stocked or perhaps endlessly full jukebox that can be operated from the couch. Streamers can no longer be ignored in the current audio landscape. The user of the AS 3200 can install a streamer / DA converter on the Connect AS 3200. Chances are that the streamer will age faster than the AS 3200. If the streamer needs to be replaced, the AS 3200 can remain.

Yamaha AS 3200: Modern Analogue Amplifier

In summary down that the AS 3200 at first glance is very reminiscent of the amplifiers of thirty to forty years ago. The appearance will evoke a nostalgic feeling in enthusiasts. But that’s just the looks.

When it comes to build quality, the AS 3200 completely broken with the past. The build quality it is nothing like the devices of the past. The AS 3200 has a negligible noise floor. All connections on the rear are of exemplary quality, especially the speaker connections. The power supply is of a much higher build quality than was usual in the past. Music signal and loudspeaker power no longer run over small crack-sensitive buttons. Finally, Yamaha supplies a nice IR remote control with the AS 3200. The earlier amplifiers with VU meters did not have that.

Oh, and who bothers to VU- meters, can turn off the VU meters of the AS 3200.

Let’s take a look at the specifications of the AS 3200, we’ll put it in the test environment and then we’ll do what it’s all about: listen to music.

Review: Hegel H95 sounds better for the same price

With the slim H 95, Hegel presents an accessible amplifier that can do a lot and yet is not overly complicated. Minimalistic in appearance, perhaps, but certainly not in terms of sound quality or possibilities. The recipe is recognizable from the high-end Hegel’s, but consistency is at the heart of the success of these smart Norwegians.

Hegel has recently come out with great amps that are nothing short of groundbreaking. The H590 , H 390 , H 190, Â H 120 Â and H 90 are all devices that leave little or no stitches and excel in sound quality in their quirky Norwegian way. But what if your budget does not allow for say 6. 15 euro to spend for a nice H 390? Or you simply don’t need such an immense power plant? Then there is now an update for the valued H 95, the cheapest of Hegel’s integrated amplifiers. Pay attention in the store, because it may not be noticeable at first. The appearance is completely the same and â ???? you don’t often experience that nowadays â ???? the introduction of a new generation is not accompanied by a price increase.

This new H 95 is thus again an amplifier with a relatively accessible almost 1. 700 – Euro price point that actually already provides ninety percent of the big boys’ Hegel experience. If you know the brand, you know exactly what it means. After all, Hegel believes in a clear story that is correct for all its devices, from entry-level to top model. Think how BMW retains its design language across all models â ???? but even more consistently. It is always clear what the Oslo brand stands for: interior-friendly minimalism, excellent sound quality delivered by its own Class AB technology and streaming options that are above all practical. In this case via a compact device that takes up little space and requires little attention in your living room.

Typically Hegel The H 95 is the smallest in the Hegel family of integrated amplifiers. Strictly speaking, that junior label is correct, but at the same time it is also a bit unfair. With its 2 x 60 Watt power (at 8 Ohm), this is really a serious hi-fi amplifier, equipped with the solid hardware platform of its big brothers and a substantial power supply that you need if you are going to play truly dynamic music. But to find out you would have to dive under the hood, because the nature of the beast is to convince with performance â ???? not to show off specifications or marketing blah.

Hegel has a contemporary take on hi-fi that differs from other high-end brands. You are given the choice. The Norwegians allow you to walk the high-end path and connect your own source devices to build an entire system. You can build a turret, if you wish. Or you can use the built-in streaming options â ???? and there are quite a few â ???? to listen in high quality without the need for many extras. That focus on ‘less is more’ has always been an important part of the Hegel philosophy, but with the H 95 the story is just a bit more true. This is really an amplifier that can gracefully stand in or on a TV cabinet, without necessarily wanting to be a design statement.

The slimmer housing finished in the characteristic matte powder coating and with a slightly curved front panel made of high-quality plastic, we feel it fits very well in a modern interior. Those are those Scandinavian roots, we think. A minimum of buttons â ???? two to be exact, volume and source selection â ???? and no led lights reinforce the humble approach. This also includes the centrally placed OLED display where things like the volume level and source are shown, with white letters on a black background. It has just enough information that you can easily read even from three to four meters.

The overall impression that you get from the H 95 is one of tranquility, not of technological brilliance. That means that this device also works well with a wall-mounted TV with very thin screen edges, for example. Just like a modern TV discards itself so that only the image is central, so wants the H 95 especially music. Blue VU meters or a large touchscreen with colorful album art are not part of that.

Not just streaming Integrated amplifiers are now with streaming built-in now not so uncommon either. Still, Hegel was one of the first to focus heavily on streaming and has now completely refined the all-in-one concept. In doing so, the company always made sure there was a choice between high-quality streaming and streaming options that were just usable for every family member. Not only the audiophile on duty wants to listen to music, after all. Hence the presence of AirPlay and Spotify Connect at the H 96, two options that other hi-fi brands often foresee, but still quickly portray as inferior. It may be (and you can argue about that), but the majority of people just listen through these two popular options; it is therefore interesting that the AirPlay function has also been tinkered with to make it sound a bit better than the standard implementations that are â ???? off the shelfâ ???? purchased and built in.

It may also seem strange that Hegel continues to swear by DLNA / UPnP, a streaming technology that is a bit older. Not everyone is a fan of it, but with the right player app, it’s a great way to play your own music files. Some apps, such as BubbleUPnP on Android or mconnectPlayer on the iPhone / iPad, also allow streaming via DLNA from Tidal or Qobuz. Hegel itself does not provide an app to do this, because the Norwegians think that hi-fi companies that build apps often do this badly because it is simply not part of their core competencies. If you then look at what is already available in terms of apps, that is not bad. Which is 6, 99 euros for say mconnectPlayer HD ultimately a small investment, especially if you then get an app that works well. There are also apps that do it for free.

At the back the H 95 you will discover a very clean rear panel, with a central role for the large speaker terminals. On the left you will find two pairs of analog inputs (plus a line output for a power amp or a sub), on the right five digital inputs (1 x coaxial, three optical inputs and a USB class B). Hegel himself speaks of six digital inputs, because they count the Ethernet connection as an input. WiFi is not available, because Hegel founder Bent Holter thinks a wireless module is a potential source of interference. Bluetooth is present for the same reason; adding it is easy with a box like the Zen Blue from iFi Audio.

Major update The analog hatch of the H 95 is not very different from the H 90, that’s what Hegel says. After all, the H 90 was already equipped with SoundEngine2, the latest generation of Hegel’s proprietary feedforward technology to take distortion out of Class AB amplification. During a visit to Bent Holter’s Hegel offices in Oslo last year, we got an extensive explanation about this innovative technology, read it here if you want to know more or SoundEngine2 (and more). Also the damping factor of 2000: 1 is the same as before, providing immense control over the connected speakers. You can also discover more about this aspect in the article that we link above.

The big improvements on the H 95 are included with the DA converter part, which is derived from the much better DAC that in the H 590, H 390, H 190 and H120 is built around a chip from AKM. Hegel does not say which chip is correct, but we suspect that it is a model from the Velvet Sound series. That may explain in part why we love the tone of the recent Hegel amps.

Hi-res files can be can be delivered via all digital inputs, but there is a difference between the USB class B port and the other digital inputs. Over an optical or coaxial cable, PCM audio is up to 24 – bit / 192 KHz welcome , via USB the bar is slightly lower at 24-bit/96 KHz PCM. This is a major distinction from the more expensive integrated Hegels, which (in the case of the H 390 and above) can also handle DSD and MQA audio.

Made more sustainable The H 95 is Hegel’s last amplifier to a new platform is brought. That means several things, like the new DAC and the switch to SoundEngine2 (but as we already mentioned: SoundEngine2 was also there with the H 90). But another advantage is that this new Hegel generation has just become a bit more sustainable. Making updates is now much easier over the internet. With other types of CE devices (such as AV receivers) this has been normal for some time, but with hi-fi amplifiers the concept of a firmware update is still a rarity. This is understandable in some way, because an amplifier does not necessarily have to run software. However, that is different with an all-in-one device like this H 95. The many streaming options on board sometimes need an update to keep up with the latest evolutions. We understand that the AirPlay function in the H 95 will be brought to AirPlay 2 in this way. In terms of playback via the AirPlay technology that should not change much, but thanks to version 2 you will be able to group the Hegel amplifier during playback with other AirPlay speakers that â ???? for example â ???? in the kitchen and dining room. However, the upcoming Roon update for the higher Hegels will not be available for the H 95.

Against a black background For our test, we remove the KEF R3 speakers from the storage space. In terms of price point (799 these sturdy upright speakers fit with the innovative UniQ driver excellent at Hegel, but also in character. We also know this from a previous review of the Hegel H 190, when we also combined that higher model with the R3 speakers. Hegel is distributed in the Benelux by KEF / GP Acoustics, and that is no coincidence. The two brands match well, although other combinations are of course also possible. With a set of DALI Rubicon 2’s for example, which resulted in a slightly warmer but perhaps also a little less tight rendering. Oo I have listened to that combination with pleasure for a long time, to return to the KEFâ € ™ s with their beautiful integration of the middle and high.

Besides some speaker cable to connect the speakers to the amplifier, you basically don’t need anything else to play music from the H 95 to get. After all, streaming is built in, remember? Nevertheless, we chose to connect a turntable (a Project X1) with the Primare R 15 – phono preamplifier as a helper in between and a Volumio Primo streamer that we connect to the USB class B port on the Hegel amplifier. This Italian-made box is a convenient way to supply the highest quality digital stream to the Hegel DA converter. Admittedly, in the end you will listen to one particular source very quickly during testing, but it is good to include all input types.

That you get far with a baby Hegel and that the Norwegian brand always delivers what it promises, we notice when our test playlist in Roon comes out at â ???? Hyper-Ballad (Family Tree Version )a???? from BjÃ¶rk (CD quality via AirPlay and Roon). The R3â € ™ s send those low bass tones into the room nice and fat, quite an achievement because they also effortlessly put down the voice of the Icelandic and the faster, higher beats. That can only be controlled as speakers tightly, something with this track but a little later with â ???? Manitoumaniâ ???? of French techno superstar -M- is clearly the case. That absolute control is what the Hegel amps always excel at, which will definitely appeal to electronics enthusiasts who love rousing tracks. Due to the perfectly timed playback on a totally silent background, the feeling of speed is always maintained, which is of course also nice with quiet electronics genres, such as the new â ???? Articulationâ ???? – album by the ambient lovers at Rival Consoles (24-bit/96 kHz via DLNA) where the H 95 in most tracks effortlessly playful synth melodyÃ Dance in a large space around an underlay of inexorable deep beats.

And completely different genres? They also benefit from the qualities of the H 96. The â ???? Overtureâ ???? from Maurice Jarre’s beautiful soundtrack to the David Lean film classic â ???? Lawrence of Arabiaâ ????, in 2011 re-recorded by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra (CD quality via Qobuz and DLNA), is a kind of musical summary of the whole film and the life of the eccentric desert Briton. That makes it very dynamic, with rapid changes between romantic, slow pieces with an Arabic theme, bombastic explosions of orchestral sound in which timpani provide drama and even military marching music. Interesting to know: if this film is shown as intended by Lean, you will hear this Overture without a picture, in complete darkness. In our listening room, we leave the lights on anyway, and note that the Hegel amplifier always switches smoothly, no matter how difficult it gets. Despite its modest power, Jarre’s masterpiece is rendered grand and with a lot of impact, and not exactly at low volume. Which in turn strengthens our belief that a label like “baby-Hegel” ???? really does not fit with this small but potent amplifier.

It is of course a shame that there is no phono input on the H 95 is present, although this is a typical Hegel choice. You should not put a phono preamplifier in the housing, that seems to be the philosophy of the Norwegians. Fortunately, this can be solved quickly with a separate phono amplifier or with a record player with the necessary built-in. When the doorbell rings and the postman throws in the new album of Irish punk rockers DC Fontaines with perfect timing, we gladly take the opportunity to put the disc on the X1 immediately. The group is a bit of a hype phenomenon and you have to love that Dublin accent, but there is little criticism in terms of recording. The Pro-Ject with its own cartridge introduces a bit more warmth than when we stream this album, but that’s no problem. Since the Hegel’s naturally add little color, it is not as bad as a source does. Depending on your taste of course.

Conclusion De Hegel H 95 is a leader in its class, an Integrated amplifier with excellent streaming options, an excellent DAC section and a clean sounding amplifier hatch. It excels in control and power, so you can control quite a few speakers well with this interior-friendly entry-level model from Hegel. Do take your time to find a good match with speakers. Because the Hegel amplifier hardly adds any color, you get to hear the real character of your speakers.

Hegel H 95

1. 695 euro | Â www.hegel.no

Rating 4.5 out of 5