hi-fi+ Magazine      April 2026

  hi-fi+ is a magazine that is serious about hi-fi. Our articles are intended to help you get the best from your system, rather than simply telling you to buy another one. Our reviews only cover product that we think is worthwhile. You can read more about that by looking at our reviews policy, but lets just say that our attitude to equipment is rather different, and we hope, much more informative. We haven't forgotten that hi-fi is supposed to be fun!

Streaming Versus Local: When A Music Server Still Wins
How high-end servers improve streamed and local playback for superior sound.
Editorial By Alan Sircom
On the face of it, the continued rise of streamed music and the general shift away from physical or locally-stored music would tend to suggest there's no need for a music server anymore. With two new server products in this month's line-up, I'd argue that reports of the server's demise are greatly exaggerated. Until recently, almost every self-respecting enthusiast with a networked audio system used a server no matter what. This started because local NAS boxes (network-attached storage) were used to hold your collection of ripped CD files and downloaded high-resolution tracks. A server was needed to coordinate all this, and at a time when storage was cheap and bandwidth was still relatively narrow, this was a great idea. Now, however, broadband is rarely the bottleneck it once was. You can effortlessly stream even the largest file from a service provider, the likes of Qobuz, Spotify, and Tidal have 'Connect software that lets your streamer bypass the server, and that drive full of CD rips is now full of the tracks you loved to play a decade ago. We've moved on.
---> Streaming Versus Local: When A Music Server Still Wins.

Comment
7 Incoming!
Your Views On All Things Audio

Equipment Reviews
10 CH Precision 10 Series
Digital Replay System

22 Franco Serblin Accordo Unica
Floorstanding Loudspeaker 

33 Holborne Analog 3 Silver
Turntable And Tonearm

45 Innuos STREAM3
Music Server

55 LUMIN P1 Min
Streaming Amplifier

65 Kuzma SAFIR 12
Turntable Tonearm

74 Advance Paris A12 Apex
Integrated Amplifier

81 Synergistic Research Voodoo
Music Server

90 SV-Audio Gro
Floorstanding Loudspeaker

99 Stack Audio AUVA SW
Subwoofer Feet

Tech Talk Features
17 CH Precision Florian Clossy
On 10 Series

29 Franco Serblin Massimiliano Favella
On Accordo Unica

39 Holborne How Johannes Ineichen
Rebuilt The Brand

51 Innuos Nuno Vitorino
On STREAM3

61 LUMIN Angus Leung
On Developing The P1 Mini

71 Kuzma Franc Kuzma
On Tonearm Design And SAFIR 12

78 Advance Paris Cédric Léon
On Apex Series

87 Synergistic Research Ted Denney
On Voodoo

95 SV-Audio The Storgaard And Vestskov
Families On Loudspeaker Design

104 Stack Audio Theo Stack
On Making The AUVA SW

Competition
118 AudioQuest MacKenzie Win
One Of 10 Pairs Of interconnect Cables
Each Worth £319!

Music
109 Music Reviews Contemporary, Classical, And Jazz Music

Plus
106 Subscriptions
Subscribe And Save!

119 Advertiser Index

120 Next Month
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