An Audio Blog by Walden
Ideas & Insights on Audio & Good Sound
LUXMAN L-100 CENTENNIAL: A Century of Japanese Audio Heritage
If you like beautifully made Japanese audio equipment, it is difficult to ignore LUXMAN. The company traces the beginning of its business to 1925. This makes LUXMAN one of Japan’s longest-established names in audio.
On The Audio Note (UK) JINRO
The Audio Note (UK) JINRO is one of those amplifiers we were fortunate enough to live with for some time, and one we will not soon forget. The JINRO combines the purity and clarity characteristic of the finest single-ended amplifiers with a sense of power more readily associated with a push-pull design.
On The Secret of Musicality & The Work of Hiraga
Modern loudspeakers promise technical perfection. Manufacturers routinely claim frequency responses from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, vanishingly low distortion, and sophisticated crossover networks designed to optimize every driver within its ideal operating range. Yet experienced listeners often encounter a paradox: systems that measure impressively can still fail to communicate the vitality of live music. This contradiction fascinated Jean Hiraga, one of the most influential voices in high-end audio.
Network Players Matter
High-quality Network Players matter in a streaming system. While many devices today combine streaming and digital conversion in a single box, experienced listeners often prefer a dedicated network player paired with a separate DAC. This approach allows each component to focus on its specific task, often leading to greater musical refinement and system flexibility. Understanding the value of a high-quality network player therefore becomes an important step in building a truly high-end streaming audio system.
Digital-to-Analogue Converting
Streaming has become one of the most important music sources in modern high-end audio systems. Services such as Qobuz and Tidal now provide recordings in resolutions equal to - or even exceeding - compact disc quality. Combined with advanced network players and music servers, streaming offers an almost unlimited music library at the touch of a button. Yet one component ultimately determines how convincing streaming will sound: the digital-to-analogue converter (DAC).
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