Hi Res Audio Central

Your source for all things hi res audio.

Show Floor Report: Indulgence Show 2016

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The inaugural Indulgence Show, born out of the Headroom Show in Chiswick, took place in West London this past weekend in the U.K. Attendees were treated to three shows in one, with the Headroom zone focusing on headphones and portable music players, while Audio London on the upper floors covered high-end hi-fi from the likes of Arcam, Audiolab, B&W, Chord, Clearaudio, Devialet, Dynaudio, KEF, Naim, PMC, and Quad. One of the most … [Read more...]

Gear Review: Optoma NuForce uDAC5 USB DSD DAC

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When we listen to music, there’s more often than not a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) in the signal path between the source, the amplifier, and the loudspeakers or headphones that ultimately deliver the sound to our ears. Those two components can make or break your audio experience. When your source playback device is a computer, the quality of the DAC you’re using becomes even more important. Computers are great at lots of things, but … [Read more...]

Gear Review: Sony Xperia X Compact Smartphone Features Built-In Hi-Res Audio Support

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While we have seen a lot of “mini” iterations of popular flagship smartphones, these devices tend to fall in the midrange category. Sony is the lone holdout in this regard, with their Compact devices only shrinking in size, while retaining the specifications and features of their flagship counterparts, which is the case with one of Sony’s latest offerings, the Xperia X Compact ($425-$500, depending on where you look). While the Xperia X … [Read more...]

Sony Introduces (Very) Upscale Portable DAP at IFA 2016

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Last year at CES in January 2015, Sony introduced a high-end music player called the Sony Walkman ZX2, featuring a price tag of over $1,000. Fast forward more than a year later to the present day, and the Japanese company took the veil off a new pricey state-of-the-art music player wrapped in gold. The device is known as the Sony Walkman MW-WM1Z, it builds on top of the Walkman ZX2 with new upgrades, and costs a whopping $3,199. As mentioned … [Read more...]

Google Kills Off Project Ara Modular Phone

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To a chorus of smug 'I-told-you-sos' from the technology media fraternity, Google has suspended development of its modular phone initiative, Project Ara. The research was supposed to produce a smartphone which could be taken apart, rebuilt, upgraded and have different components added or replaced easily by the user, making the annual upgrade cycle as we know it obsolete. Project Ara began life inside the Advanced Technology and Projects team of … [Read more...]

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