If I had to name one broad high-end audio product category that is growing rapidly and for all the right reasons, that category would be Headphones, Earphones, and the specialised electronics needed to drive them. No other product category can provide so much music rendered—in the best case—at exceptionally high levels of performance for so little money. For a new generation of music lovers (and more than a few traditional high-end audio enthusiasts, as well), the quest for serious high-end sound starts right here, and what’s not to like about that? Check out this report to learn about important new headphone and earphone offerings seen and heard at CES 2014.
This is Part 1 of a three-part report.
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Calyx
Calyx is entering the market for portable high-res digital music players with its new Calyx M ($999). When used as a DAC the Calyx M is quite versatile, decoding audio files in any/all of the following formats: AAC, MP3 MP4, MP4a, OGG, FLAC, WAV, DXD, DSD64, and DSD128, supporting PCM data up to 384/32-bit resolution levels. But what makes the Calyx M special, we think, is its form factor, which looks much like an oversized (or actually, Samsung Galaxy S4-sized) iPhone, complete with a 4.65” colour screen and a beautiful aluminium enclosure. Much like the Astell & Kern HD players, this one makes you want to hold it in your hand and to play with it—an impression further enhanced by the Calyx M’s highly intuitive, proprietary M:USE user interface. Connectivity options are simple, yet effective, giving user’s the choice of play music from the Calyx M’s 64GB of built-in RAM, from optional plug-in SD-micro cards of up to 128GB capacity, or from external USB or Wi-Fi connections.
The bottom line is that the Calyx M is priced similarly to the Astell & Kern AK100, yet offers functionality comparable to the more costly AK120 or the upcoming AK240. That sounds like a potentially appealing formula to us.
Chris Martens
Read the full article
If I had to name one broad high-end audio product category that is growing rapidly and for all the right reasons, that category would be Headphones, Earphones, and the specialised electronics needed to drive them. No other product category can provide so much music rendered—in the best case—at exceptionally high levels of performance for so little money. For a new generation of music lovers (and more than a few traditional high-end audio enthusiasts, as well), the quest for serious high-end sound starts right here, and what’s not to like about that? Check out this report to learn about important new headphone and earphone offerings seen and heard at CES 2014.
This is Part 1 of a three-part report.
_________
Calyx
Calyx is entering the market for portable high-res digital music players with its new Calyx M ($999). When used as a DAC the Calyx M is quite versatile, decoding audio files in any/all of the following formats: AAC, MP3 MP4, MP4a, OGG, FLAC, WAV, DXD, DSD64, and DSD128, supporting PCM data up to 384/32-bit resolution levels. But what makes the Calyx M special, we think, is its form factor, which looks much like an oversized (or actually, Samsung Galaxy S4-sized) iPhone, complete with a 4.65” colour screen and a beautiful aluminium enclosure. Much like the Astell & Kern HD players, this one makes you want to hold it in your hand and to play with it—an impression further enhanced by the Calyx M’s highly intuitive, proprietary M:USE user interface. Connectivity options are simple, yet effective, giving user’s the choice of play music from the Calyx M’s 64GB of built-in RAM, from optional plug-in SD-micro cards of up to 128GB capacity, or from external USB or Wi-Fi connections.
The bottom line is that the Calyx M is priced similarly to the Astell & Kern AK100, yet offers functionality comparable to the more costly AK120 or the upcoming AK240. That sounds like a potentially appealing formula to us.
Chris Martens
Read the full article