"Plugged into my father's 20-year-old Arcam amplifier, powering a pair of equally vintage Mordaunt Short floorstanding speakers, the Streamplayer works smoothly. It did require a 3.5mm to RCA cable (more in this below) but dad's box of old cables is a tech treasure trove. On first listen I was impressed by the ease of it all, and switching between Qobuz and Spotify Lossless certainly didn't offend. But when playing the same song side-by-side using a mid-range Cambridge Audio CD player, the difference was obvious."
"Playing the album "Music from Big Pink" by The Band, and the power and scale from the CD version easily eclipsed that of the Streamplayer. Rick Danko's bass lines soared and the layering of the instruments was wonderfully pronounced via CD, while they were noticeably subdued when streaming. Same speakers, same amplifier, very different DACs. It's by no means a disaster, and the streaming convenience-in lieu of a large CD collection-is difficult to argue with."
"Atonemo makes a big deal over being able to power "all" legacy speakers. Included in the box is a single 3.5mm to 3.5mm audio jack, giving the ability to plug into active speakers, old radios, cassette players, boomboxes, and anything with a 3.5mm aux-in port. But to power analogue speakers, you will need a separate amplifier and alternative cables, whether that's a 3.5mm to RCA or SPDIF RCA to 3.5mm jack cable."
Plugged into a 20-year-old Arcam amplifier and vintage Mordaunt Short speakers, the Streamplayer functions smoothly and switches easily between Qobuz and Spotify Lossless. A 3.5mm-to-RCA cable was required for connection. Compared to a mid-range Cambridge Audio CD player, the CD delivered greater power, scale, and instrument layering, with Rick Danko's bass lines more pronounced. Streaming playback sounded subdued in comparison despite the same speakers and amplifier, highlighting differences in DAC performance. Streaming offers convenient access without a CD collection, but overall playback fidelity depends on source audio quality and the equipment and cables used.
Read at WIRED
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