Page 23 - Hi-Fi_News_-_December_2020 video

Hi-res on the move

ASTELL&KERN ‘BLACK EDITION’ A&NORMA SR25 AUDIO PLAYER
Following the debut of its that of the SR15 and longer
A&norma SR25 high-resolution than any other A&K player. The
portable audio player earlier SR25 supports PCM sample
this year, Astell&Kern has rates up to 384kHz/32-bit, in
announced a ‘Black Edition’ addition to 2.8/5.6/11.2MHz
for the same £650 price tag. DSD, and offers internal storage
Part of the company’s most of 64GB with a microSD card
affordable DAP range, slot enabling expansion up
3.6in touchscreen Return of a vinyl legend
it’s built around to 1TB. Framing its
the same Cirrus
Logic CS43198 – which runs a
‘MasterClass’ DAC custom Android OS B&O BEOGRAM 4000C RECREATED LIMITED EDITION

as the entry- – is an aluminium The first model in Bang & Olufsen’s new Classics series is the
level SR15, albeit chassis that ‘Beogram 4000c Recreated Limited Edition’, a modern £9000 take
augmented here Astell&Kern says on a deck the brand originally released in the early 1970s. Yet this
with a quad-core suppresses noise. is not a straightforward redesign. Instead, B&O says it ‘identifi ed’
CPU for faster For partnering 95 existing Beogram turntables (to celebrate its 95th anniversary)
processing, a new headphones, the and brought them to its manufacturing facility in Denmark for
PCB design, and player features a restoration process involving full disassembly, component

Bluetooth LDAC unbalanced 3.5mm replacement and fine-tuning, and the addition of an RIAA preamp
connectivity. and balanced and new pick-up. The updated design features a solid oak frame,
Battery life has also 2.5mm outputs. smoked acrylic lid and anodised ‘warm champagne’ aluminium
been extended to Astell&Kern, 01279 finish. ‘We have applied the same passion, precision, and care to

a claimed 20 501111; www. this restoration as you would to any masterpiece’, says B&O.
hours, double astellnkern.com Bang & Olufsen, Denmark; www.bang-olufsen.com

Flagship of the Empire

MYTEK ANNOUNCES ‘COST NO OBJECT’ DAC/STREAMER/PREAMPLIFIER, POWERED BY ROON
Pitched at a heady €20,000 differential analogue preamp, (including MM/MC), plus USB,
when it arrives in December, dual mono ESS9038PRO S/PDIF, AES/EBU and HDMI
the Empire DAC/streamer/ Sabre DAC stage and Roon- digital inputs. An 8TB SSD IN-AKUSTIK CABLES

preamplifier is described as an powered high-resolution provides internal storage, Germany’s long-established cable
‘all-out assault on the state- streamer. Mytek has also with playback from USB and brand, In-Akustik, is now available
of-the-art’ by manufacturer created a new DAC/preamp network drives supported. once again in the UK. The cables
Mytek. This networked platform, dubbed ‘MytekOS’, Black and silver fi nishes will are ranged across four quality levels
one-box solution introduces which will accommodate be available for the Empire’s from ‘Star’ through ‘Premium’ and
a new flagship category for additional functionality and milled alloy chassis. ‘Excellence’ to its fl agship ‘Reference’

the New York-based outfi t (it DSP upgrades in the future. Mytek US, New York (EU class cables which employ silver
as well as copper conductors. The
will be followed by Empire Reflecting its system hub distributor HEM Sp. z o.o., metal is refi ned locally from selected

monoblock amplifi ers in status, the Empire features Poland, +48 22823 7238); stock while features include helical-
2021), and combines a seven analogue inputs www.mytekdigital.com winding and good use of both
foamed PE dielectrics and ‘air’ (the
ideal dielectric) by the use of internal
spacers within its top-end cables.
www.in-akustik.de/en/
TINY TORLYTE
Still going strong after the best
part of 40 years, Russ Andrews’
lightweight but very rigid, cellular-
construction Torlyte support solutions
have now been ‘shrunk’ into a series
of mini-width platforms. The smallest
occupies just 220x50x200mm (whd)
for £174 while the ‘Medium’ £205
platform is 250x50x390mm – ideal
for today’s smaller components.
www.russandrews.com

DECEMBER 2020 | www.hifi news.co.uk | 23