RADIO PARADISE MQA ON BLUOS PLAYERS
BluOS, Radio Paradise and MQA have collaborated to add an MQA audio option to the global internet radio station.
FRANK ZAPPA QOBUZ HI-RES 24-BIT ALBUMS
Zappa Records and Qobuz, the Hi-Res music streaming and download service, have exclusively partnered together to release several key Frank Zappa albums in Hi-Res, only on Qobuz.
Peachtree Audio, the amplifier manufacturer known for its compact retro aesthetics, and Lenbrook International, the owner and developer of the BluOS high-res multi-room platform, have announced a global partnership that will bring the BluOS streaming platform to upcoming Peachtree Audio products.
Gold Note of Italy has announced the launch of the PSU-10 EVO, the new external power supply designed for the DS-10 and DS-10 PLUS streaming DACs.
The Chord Company has launched the Shawline streaming cable a digital interconnect designed bring the benefits of Chord’s cable expertise to a wide range of music streaming systems. The new cable benefits from design cues and construction techniques developed for the company’s flagship ChordMusic and high-end Signature Super ARAY streaming cables, whilst retaining affordability. More »
Native DSD and Emerging UK are giving visitors to some of the upcoming UK Hifi and Audio shows the chance to win a free Native DSD album download of their choice. More »
PS Audio has announced an update which provides Bridge II-equipped DirectStream, DSJ, and PerfectWave DACs with full unfold of MQA up to 192 kHz/24 bit, and provides access to the streaming service Tidal.
ADVERTISING PROMOTION
Christmas is coming and whether you are wanting to find those special gifts for your nearest and dearest, or you want to treat yourself, you are bound to find some inspiration in our Christmas Gift Guide Promotion! More »
Arcam of Cambridge have introduced several price cuts in time for Christmas. Arcam say that they “want to take a big bite of the Christmas market for quality home audio and the new prices are designed to do just that.” More »
Mytek Digital, the second MQA® license after Meridian to ship an Audiophile DAC with MQA technology, will be introducing their MQA-capable Manhattan II DAC. The new Manhattan II DAC is a reference USB/Network DAC/Preamplifier with MQA decoder, 384k PCM and DSD256, phono and line analogue preamplifier and a reference quality headphone amplifier. More »
The dCS Network Bridge acts as an interface between your digital music and your DAC. The hardware platform in Network Bridge enables you to stream high resolution music files from network attached storage, connected USB drives, online streaming services as well as Apple devices via Apple Airplay, outputting bit perfect audio direct to your DAC. More »
Bryston has announced new firmware version S2.28 for their digital music players that delivers Roon Ready capability. When using Roon, there are three components involved: The Roon Core, which must exist within a computer (PC or MAC) or a compatible drive on the home network so that it can have local access to your digital music collection, a remote or user interface (iOS or Android device as well as any computer) also on the network, and an end point—which in this case would be any Bryston digital music player. Adapting the Bryston BDP music players so that they are now Roon Ready devices enables users to benefit from the sound quality of Bryston’s BDP-1, BDP-1USB and BDP-2 players with a bright, colourful and intuitive user interface that provides new features and accessibility to the listening experience. Roon transfers the audio files to the Bryston BDP player using a bit perfect system, enabling Bryston’s clock, linear power supply and custom integrated audio device (IAD) to convert the content to a digital bitstream that is ready for an outboard DAC. Another advantage of the Roon interface is their unique approach to TIDAL lossless streaming integration for subscribers. Now BDP users can have their TIDAL favourites aggregated with their local music library so that searches and playlists can include content from both sources.
With a simple firmware update, all BDP-1, BDP-1USB and BDP-2 devices become Roon Ready. BDP owners can use the Update Firmware function in Settings to update to the new version S2.28 firmware. Bryston is offering a free 60-day Roon trial coupon for a limited time within the services menu of the BDP after firmware has been updated.
Autonomic, makers of whole-house music systems, has announced new features and enhancements as part of their Mirage OS firmware version 5.3 release. The new firmware includes the addition of iHeartRadio, a free streaming music and digital radio service that enables users to easily access thousands of live radio stations from across the country as well as create custom stations based on a favourite artist or song. Mirage OS firmware version 5.3 also includes more album art available throughout the browsing experience using the Mirage Media Controller app for iOS/Android, enhanced KP-6 keypad functionality, auto-discovery for Lutron HomeWorks QS controllers as well as the introduction of Lutron Radio Ra 2 support. The addition of iHeartRadio gives Mirage Audio System (MAS) and Mirage Media Server (MMS) users the capability to create personalised custom stations featuring their favourite music by tapping in to a vast catalogue of more than 24 million songs from 830,000 artists. As the user identifies favourite songs with a “thumbs up,” iHeartRadio will curate stations just “For You” based on the music they enjoy most. iHeartRadio also features live streams of music events and thousands of on-demand podcasts from the best in news, sports, finance, comedy and entertainment. The “My Stations” feature enables users to save and easily access their favourite stations using Autonomic’s exclusive TuneBridge® feature, and the “Live Radio” function allows them to tune into live AM and FM radio stations based on geographic location and/or preferred genre of music. Control4: Mirage OS firmware version 5.3 is compatible with the latest Control4 driver (version 4.8X), improving the user experience significantly. New functionality includes single button access to stored favourites from the LISTEN menu—and stored favourites are added to Control4 favourites as well, making them accessible from keypads that do not have a built in display. Users will enjoy two-pane browsing on iOS, Android and new C4 panels, easier access to contextual menu item selection (play now, play next, etc.), intuitive switching between streaming service accounts, additional artwork throughout the interface resulting in a richer presentation and configurability to output various bitrates when pairing MMS with any 3rd party amplifier.
“This new firmware including the addition of iHeartRadio gives integrators critical functionality and an enhanced user experience to address the needs of their clients,” explained Autonomic CEO Michael de Nigris. “As the demand for whole-house entertainment grows and the marketplace matures, discerning consumers will seek out solutions that provide easy access to their favourite programming to be enjoyed anywhere in the home.”
