March 2012
Changes To Technology
Editorial By Noel Keywood

 

  As the New Year kicks off we are faced with a deluge of “network players”. Designed to play music stored on your computer, through an Ethernet link, they can play iTunes through the hi-fi – or whatever Windows Media Player has stored we must not forget!

Computer audio files? They're low-fi aren't they? They were but Naim have come up with a player able to handle top quality 24/192 digital files and this raises a lot of issues. Find out more about this new player and the challenge it throws down to others in our round up of network players starting p13.

If you'd like a diamond in your life then Usher's new Dancer Mini-One is worth hearing. Diamond coated tweeters are a difficult technology, but their DMD process gets it more right than others they claim – and they're right! Read more about this interesting loudspeaker on p38.

I love Tannoy loudspeakers – and I thought classical musician Rafael Todes would too. But he had another view! Read about the ever controversial subject of loudspeaker sound quality in this discussion over Tannoy's re-vamped DC8T on p46.

Network players may be what we all end up using tomorrow, but plenty of interest remains in what the world used yesterday – the LP. With some of the world's greatest musical performances still sounding best on vinyl there's a tomorrow for turntables like Avid's updated Volvere SP reviewed in this issue (p92). We all understand something that goes round and round and defies remote control! Music pure and simple. Bliss! 

This issue covers the fast developing computer based technologies that we are going to see so much more of in 2012, but doesn't forget that the simple life has attractions too! I hope you enjoy it.

 

Noel Keywood, editor.

 

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