Audiophilepure

https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/system-one/1635-the-affordable-all-in-one-streaming-solution-that-surprises-bluesounds-new-powernode

This product pairing also taught me that even though the B600s are much more expensive than the Powernode, using them together wasn’t such an outrageous idea—because the Powernode wasn’t outclassed by the loudspeakers. Once again, it provided more than enough power for all the listening that goes on in this room in my house. That includes my wife listening to playlists of Latin music at high volume on house-cleaning day. I’m talking about volume levels such that the music can be heard in every room in the house, and high enough that the stereo can overcome the roar of the vacuum cleaner.

The sound quality from the system also took a significant step up with the B600s. For example, when I played “Pacing the Cage,” I heard quite a bit more detail in Cockburn’s singing voice than I had through the Albany IIs. The sound of his guitar was also better defined within the mix. I also heard better sound from Chemtrails Over the Country Club, as well as from every recording I played through the speakers. Chalk that up mostly to the PSB Synchrony B600s—but know that it was the Powernode driving them.

https://stereo-magazine.com/review/auralic-altair-g21-review

Change of scenery: despite all their independence, Michael Barenboim, the “lioness” Martha Argerich and the Staatskapelle Berlin are merged into a single entity when performing Debussy‘s “La Mer”, a unity that is not often offered in such an interlocked way. Here, the Auralic convinces with a very natural reproduction of the grand piano as well as all the instruments of the orchestra. Nothing is discolored or blurred, everything is just right. Localizing the dimensions of left/right and front/back is possible thanks to a precise layout of the different elements. The size of the room, created at the mixing console, can also be understood perfectly.

Sometimes, I have to please my sense of local patriotism for my hometown of Cologne. This time, I had to go on a nostalgia trip and found what I was looking for in a live recording of the Cologne cult band “Piano has been drinkin‘”, long since disbanded. Neither “Daach sin Juwele” nor “Anfürsich es et Blues” depend on an exuberant number of details nor on richness of tonal colors. Rather, they rely on the atmosphere and the joy of playing, as well as the almost physically perceptible stage presence of frontman Gerd “Jächt” Köster with his rough and deep voice and the band‘s ability to improvise. Here, too, the Auralic presents a convincing performance, as it does with “Ruude Jolf”, where all the ingredients necessary for an emotional rendition are found, including the relaxed playing of the bass.

TheAtrium de Musicae de Madrid’s Tarentule-Tarantelle (aka The Tarantula) [Harmonia Mundi, HMA 190379], is a collection of tarantellas that take you right back to the 15^th and 16^th centuries on a veritable carousel ride of bells, violin, recorder, guitar, hurdy-gurdy, drums, lute, and harpsichord, to name but a few instruments. The harmonies and melodies on The Tarantula are complex, musically dense, and layered, and the XS20U’s superb tonal exactness and timbral definition kept this sonic palette of instrumental voices finely resolved and accurately reproduced. The Atrium’s director, Gregorio Paniagua, always infuses these recordings with a real sense of fun and frolic, and this playfulness shone through with the Fidata. On La Tarantella, you could hear the “vapor trail” from the castanets as they decayed softly into the background of the recording studio, right before the definitive flamenco handclap that ends the song. This quality of reproducing the decay of notes into space is a particularly noteworthy attribute of the XS20U that really enhances the spatial and three-dimensional quality of the presentation. 

The XS20U doesn’t just shine on longhair music, either. Bryan Ferry’s Boys and Girls [Warner Bros. EG 9 25082-1] sounds every bit as sophisticated as The Tarantula, but here it’s a blast from the past, a heavily multi-mic’d studio recording from the mid-80s. “Don’t Stop The Dance” is enthusiastically kicky and energetic, and with the XS20U’s ability to resolve fine detail and reveal all the voices and complex instrumental layers, it was all I could do to keep from getting up and dancing while Ferry’s sultry voice floated ephemerally above the driving background of synth, guitars, drums, and brasses.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/antipodes-audio-k50-music-server

I listened to files on my NAS (accessed via Ethernet), the same files on the slide-in SSD, and streams from Tidal and Qobuz sourced, again, through Ethernet. Outputs included AES3, USB, and (very briefly) Ethernet. Noting that single AES3 cannot reliably transmit files >24/192 PCM or DSD higher than DSD64, I stuck with files that could be played with every combination and permutation available for testing (footnote 5).

I won’t bore you with a description of the unit’s front and rear panels; anyone who is interested in buying a music server can access antipodes.audio for far more information than this review can hold. It suffices to say that the learning curve was steep and the time limited; the bugs and quirks of beta software, combined with the lack of a manual (which will probably be remedied by publication time), were a challenge. But in the end 

https://www.whathifi.com/us/reviews/arcam-st60

Arcam has carried its decades of sonic expertise seamlessly into the streaming segment, both with and without amplification, in one box. Its proprietary software may not be exemplary, and its chassis design may not win a best-dressed award, but if you can get over that you will be rewarded with the best-sounding performer available for this money. 

If you’re happy with your hi-fi system but simply want to smarten it up by slotting a streamer next to your separates, the Arcam ST60 is a strong choice.

https://www.whathifi.com/us/reviews/bluesound-node-2021

We play Ludovico Einaudi’s Einaudi: Seven Days Walking / Day 1 – Golden Butterfly from the composer’s newly released Cinema album, and through the Audiolab the piano notes are precise-sounding, plotted in a soundstage that’s not short of space and breadth. We wish the Bluesound displayed a little more of the latter – especially during times we play denser tracks such as Mogwai’s Here We, Here We, Here We Go Forever, which can sound a little messy through the smaller-scale Node.

http://www.hifiplus.com/articles/auralic-aries-g21-network-streamer/

Having got to this point the listening continued with Patricia Barber’s take on ‘Summertime’ [A Distortion of Love,Antilles], an evergreen standard if ever there was. Her voice at the start is positively ethereal, expanding into depths way behind the speakers and forcing your eyes closed to experience the sublime. The darkness of the background and the subtle percussion work that builds so slowly giving the piece a mesmerising quality that contrasts violently with the following track, ‘Subway Station #5’. Here, the drums’ energy forces your hands to attempt to emulate its activities, and you realise it’s a good thing that listening is a solitary pursuit. The ARIES G2.1 is an exceptional streamer with an excellent feature range and an increasingly sophisticated control app that gives instant access to those streaming services that are worth buying. If you get the components that surround it up to the same standard, you will have digital audio the likes of which few have enjoyed.