Rewind: Naim and Cambridge Audio music streamers tested, why we love Philips Ambilight and more
Welcome to the latest instalment of Rewind, our weekly column where we break down the biggest developments in hi-fi and home cinema that have occured over the past seven days.
It was another busy week for our team of intrepid testers and reporters with two big-name streamers arriving at our listening rooms and fresh announcements from key players including Roon, Vivid Audio and more.
Here’s what you need to know.
Naim’s premium music streamer impresses
One big bit of hi-fi news was our testers offering their definitive verdict on Naim’s NSS 333 music streamer. Expensive? You bet it is, but based on our checks it more than justifies its price by delivering engaging and emotionally charged audio that’ll delight any audiophile. Our testers liked it so much that they even said:
“The Naim NSS 333 is one of the most musically satisfying music streamers we have heard.”
Read our Naim NSS 333 review
Cambridge Audio’s latest streamer lives up to its predecessor’s legacy
The NSS 333 was one of two big-name streamers to impress our reviewers this week. We also gave our definitive verdict on the Cambridge Audio CXN100. The successor to the CXN (V2) which won six What Hi-Fi? Awards in a row and entered our Hall of Fame last year, it had some pretty big shoes to fill. Thankfully, based on our tests, while its sonic character has changed, focussing more on precision and clarity, it is still an excellent performer. Our reviewers’ conclusion says it all:
“If you’re after a music streamer that can do it all and reveal more about your music collection than you’ve heard before, this Cambridge streamer remains the one to beat at this level.”
Read our Cambridge Audio CXN100 review
One of our main home cinema testers revealed why he loves Ambilight
Philips Ambilight is a Marmite feature, with some of the What Hi-Fi? team feeling that it’s light pollution, pure and simple. But over the past week, our staff writer Lewis Empson pushed back on the negativity detailing why he loves the feature – with one pretty big caveat…
Read the full article: I've fallen in love with Ambilight but only after changing this key setting
Classé's new preamp made its debut
Another big news item was the arrival of the Classé Delta Pre MK II. As well as looking pretty darned classy – see what we did there – the new preamp comes with a wealth of future-proof features including support for the multi-room streaming platform HEOS. This, plus its "extensively upgraded digital front-end" makes it a pretty alluring bit of hi-fi that we can’t wait to get into our test rooms.
Read the full article: Classé's versatile preamplifier promises extensive streaming smarts alongside "truly world-class performance"
Roon targets audiophiles with its latest server
Roon unveiled its new Nucleus One server, promising it will deliver audiophile-level performance for a surprisingly affordable price. Costing $500 (approximately ￡400 / AU$780) it’s Roon’s cheapest server at the moment, sitting well below the $3699 Titan. For the price, it has a solid spec sheet featuring SATA drives with an 8TB storage capacity and the ability to run six multi-room streaming zones.
Read the full article: Roon's Nucleus One server pairs audiophile performance with unprecedented affordability
Vivid Audio launches its founder’s ‘dream speaker’
Vivid unveiled its new Moya 1 speakers. The speakers were designed by the company’s founder Laurence Dickie while he was quarantined in a hotel over the pandemic. Described as his “dream” speaker, the Moya 1 look very interesting and feature a five-way, 13-driver design including side-firing, proprietary bass drivers. This plus their atypical looks left our testers hankering to get them in for testing ahead of their launch later this year.
Read the full article: Vivid Audio’s majestic, 13-driver Moya 1 speakers promise "thrills at every octave"
MORE:
These are the best music streamers we’ve tested
Check out our picks of the best floorstanding speakers
We detail the best stereo amps money can buy
