Category: Hi-Fi

Streaming For The Hi-Fi System – An Overview

The ongoing evolution of music shifting out of the physical sound storage medium, coupled with the way to many modes and formates of music data of storing data on your computer, laptop, smartphone or server has altered the classic job profile of hi-fi equipment. Without question, this profile can be all together further questioned thanks to the possibility of streaming entirely online, it is theoretically possible to forgo a locally-stored library all together. In response to these changes in the market, countless solutions are now available to ensure the seamless integration of the digital sphere. In addition to the special accessories there are also those products which combine what were once orginally seperate equipment categories. It's very easy to loose track, so we're going to take you through slowly, showing you several examples of components that really matter.

Digital Music: How Does It Work? Conversion After the DSD Mode

After already digging deep in the previous article with the PCM method (Pulse Code Modulation) and having quite meticulously worked through some fundamental aspects of digitisation, let's get to the much-discussed alternative DSD (Direct Stream Digital). The focus again will be mainly on the technical implementation and the resulting consequences for our digital signal. In discussing the pros and cons of one or the other format, we're here to inform – ultimately the decision is yours

KEF Reference Series 5 now in stock!

At this year's high end hifi convention in Munich it finally happened: after the rumour mill had already predicted it in the correct direction, manufacturer KEF introduced the new and improved Reference Series. The flagship - the Reference Five - promptly won the European Imaging and Sound Association (EISA) Award 2014-2015. The speaker has arrived at our shop and its performance is waiting to be tested by you.

UKW and DAB+: The Official Rankings

For over a decade its technology has appeared to be on the brink of extinction and yet the analog FM radio is still here. Previously attempts to establish digital alternatives form a rather long list of rather ingloriously failures. Given the situation, it's not surprisng if you're left with a feeling of uncertainty. A couple of thoughts.

Digital Music: How It Works

As part of our series on The Source of Good Music we've already touched several fields of "Digital Music". We've compared different storage formats for music information presented and compared, it fell to assess the quality of these data mainly two concepts again and again: sample rate and word length. But what exactly do they actually mean? And what happens in the translation of analog signals in the digital world? Even at the risk of literally go here in a bottomless pit, we will try to provide some basic answers, focusing on the widespread PCM method (Pulse Code Modulation).

Room Acoustics

Describe the room you are sitting in. Even music lovers and the sound obsessed will probably begin with the visible. Spaces always have their own sound, but we are rarely conscious of it. Unless you're being swept away by the symphony in the concert hall, or by the blaring bass of the stereo as you moved through space. Maybe you've enjoyed participating in a lively discussion in a public place as well as in confined meeting room? To inform yourself on the strain on your nerves to hear sound in certain spaces and by what laws spaces otherwise react to sound, please refer to our article on some key terms on the interesting theme of room acoustics.

The Source of Good Music Part III: Online Streaming

What a couple of years ago sounded like science fiction in the truest sense of the word has now established itself as a serious foothold in the music industry. In 2013, the market share of online streaming services reached 5% of the total turnover of the music industry in Germany and a growth rate of 91% shows: Here the potential is far from exhausted. Meanwhile courting a number of providers for the favor of the customer. They differ not only in terms of the offered sound quality, but also in terms of compatibility and pricing model. So it's worth a closer look and what we have done in some of the great services on hand for you: .

The Source of Good Music Part IV: Vinyl

Who would have thought? Outdated technology, bulky size, susceptible material and yet despite all this – or perhaps because of – vinyls are all the rage. The good old vinyl record is the deathbed risen to unite generations of music listeners. A kind of "back to nature" in the world of music media. But seriously: it actually seems almost like an unreachable kind of defiance of music that has lost almost every monetary value and is organized by supposedly intelligent algorithms even in genius playlists. While the CD despite haptic component already perfected the suspicion of the digital entitled adheres is safe with the vinyl disc: The computer isn't yet at the finish line

The Source of Good Music Part II: The CD

After we explored local streaming audio in the first part of the series, and hopefully we've unravelled some of the key aspects of this comparitively complicated and relatively new technology bring us to the second episode of our mini-series. A true classic that, contrary to many predictions far from dead: The audio CD.