Hi-Fi Choice

You might be forgiven for gaining the impression that there is really only one option when it comes to portable digital players capable of 24/192 resolution – Astell&Kern. But it was always only a matter of time before other players appeared. Those in search of an alternative to the somewhat pricey players from iRiver pricked up their ears whenFiiO trailed the availability of a more affordable unit using the same Wolfson WM8740 DAC. A similar frisson was felt when it released an excellent portable headphone amp – the E17 – a year or two ago.

By combining hi-fi sound quality with real world convenience, all-in-one digital music players signify a step-change for the hi-fi industry. Their allure is like that ofCD in the eighties, appealing to both audiophiles and music lovers alike who simply want a fuss-free way to hear music, which in the modern age could be stored on a smartphone, laptop or sophisticated NAS drive. Cambridge Audio clearly gets this and its Minx Xi combines features cherry picked from its affordable separates range, packed into an even more affordable do-it-all single box. So what you get is a 40W (claimed) Class AB amplifier derived from the company’s 351A integrated amp, dual Wolfson WM8728 DACs lifted from the 351C CD player, the streaming functionality of CA’s NP30 network player and Bluetooth connectivity courtesy of the company’s BT100 apt-X receiver.

Does the classic NAD 3020 integrated amplifier need any introduction? Most HFC readers will have owned one, heard one orat least known someone else who used one. It came out 35 years ago, for the princely sumof £59 in the UK, and was painfully uncool looking back then; its 3030 predecessor wasa far more fashionable beast with its broad expanse of brushed aluminium, inset with big chunky analogue power meters. By contrast, the 3020 had a dull charcoal grey plastic fascia, a miserly mono LED power meter,and precious few facilities by the standardsofthe day. Worse still, it put out a piffling 20W RMS of power into 8 ohms.

PRODUCT Stream Magic 6 V2 ORIGIN UK/China TYPE Network streamer/ DAC preamp WEIGHT 4kg DIMENSIONS (WxHxD) 430 x 85 x 305mm FEATURES ● Dual Wolfson WM8740 DACs ● Wi-fi, Ethernet and optional aptX Bluetooth streaming ● USB; S/PDIF; Toslink; Ethernet; Wi-fi inputs ● S/PDIF; Toslink; balanced XLR audio outputs DISTRIBUTOR Richer Sounds TELEPHONE 0333 9000093 WEBSITE cambridgeaudio. com ISSUE 393 . . .