Introduction
Remember when everyone had to lug around a bunch of electronic devices just to get through the day? We carried pagers, flip phones, iPods, laptops, and—when needed—a camera. This was an unsustainable situation—and the electronics industry knew it. So manufacturers set about creating a new sort of device that would combine some subset of these functions into one versatile, intuitive form factor. However, until Apple hit upon the magic formula we now call a smartphone, there was nothing approaching industry consensus on what the new device would look like, which functions it would incorporate, or how it would operate.
Today’s digital audio terrain, on frenetic display at this year’s CES, resembles that pre-iPhone era. Recent technology advances, such as streaming audio and downloadable DSD files, have presented designers with an opportunity to offer more fully-featured products. But each of those features requires still more decision; for instance, should the streaming be via Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or all three? At the same time, the desire to capture a younger and wider audience entices designers to include certain Gen-Whatever capabilities like Internet radio, a headphone amp, portability, and an attainable price.
This surfeit of options has led to a mish-mash of devices, each an attempt to hit on just the right combination of features, interface, packaging, and price. Sony was first out of the gate when, last year, it introduced a complete line of enormously flexible yet user-friendly high-res audio components. They should be hitting a big box store near you soon after you read this. But until the Sony products prove their market mettle, everyone else has their own take on what a high-res audio “iPhone” looks like.
Calyx M ($995, now)
The M, which stands for music and mobility (and, I suppose Calyx hopes, money), is a high-res music player in the same vein as—but notably larger than—the Astell&Kern devices. Calyx harnesses the extra real estate for a more smartphone-like user interface. I loved the M’s magnetically-sealed sliding volume control, as well as its stellar sound via a pair of Furutech ADL headphones.
Alan Taffel
Read the full article
Introduction
Remember when everyone had to lug around a bunch of electronic devices just to get through the day? We carried pagers, flip phones, iPods, laptops, and—when needed—a camera. This was an unsustainable situation—and the electronics industry knew it. So manufacturers set about creating a new sort of device that would combine some subset of these functions into one versatile, intuitive form factor. However, until Apple hit upon the magic formula we now call a smartphone, there was nothing approaching industry consensus on what the new device would look like, which functions it would incorporate, or how it would operate.
Today’s digital audio terrain, on frenetic display at this year’s CES, resembles that pre-iPhone era. Recent technology advances, such as streaming audio and downloadable DSD files, have presented designers with an opportunity to offer more fully-featured products. But each of those features requires still more decision; for instance, should the streaming be via Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or all three? At the same time, the desire to capture a younger and wider audience entices designers to include certain Gen-Whatever capabilities like Internet radio, a headphone amp, portability, and an attainable price.
This surfeit of options has led to a mish-mash of devices, each an attempt to hit on just the right combination of features, interface, packaging, and price. Sony was first out of the gate when, last year, it introduced a complete line of enormously flexible yet user-friendly high-res audio components. They should be hitting a big box store near you soon after you read this. But until the Sony products prove their market mettle, everyone else has their own take on what a high-res audio “iPhone” looks like.
Calyx M ($995, now)
The M, which stands for music and mobility (and, I suppose Calyx hopes, money), is a high-res music player in the same vein as—but notably larger than—the Astell&Kern devices. Calyx harnesses the extra real estate for a more smartphone-like user interface. I loved the M’s magnetically-sealed sliding volume control, as well as its stellar sound via a pair of Furutech ADL headphones.
Alan Taffel
Read the full article