Audiophilepure

https://www.stereophile.com/content/ideon-absolute-stream-meta-2024-serverstreamer

Never before have I reviewed a stand-alone streamer/server so accomplished in the hardware department, yet so behind the best in software implementation. True, my review collection has been limited to five or six server/streamers from Innuos, Aurender, Antipodes, and Roon, many of whose initial software releases also cried out for improvement. But as the years have progressed, each of those companies has made great strides in software design while also upgrading their hardware.

Nonetheless, as much as Ideon has some catching up to do software-wise, some other companies could learn a thing or two from Ideon’s technological achievements. I fully believe you will hear the music you love to listen to via file playback or streaming better and sink deeper into its power and mystery if you listen through the Ideon Absolute Stream meta edition (2024). Your satisfaction will increase if you feed the Absolute Stream with a network switch that reclocks data and outputs via LAN (Ethernet). Your joy will increase even more if you feed it with the Ideon Alpha Wave, which reclocks data and outputs via USB. In fact, you may love this combo’s sound so much that you’ll stick with FLAC files, which the Absolute Stream’s proprietary software processes very well, or embrace the Absolute Stream’s easy-peasy option of Roon playback.