Author: Justin Peach

The 39th edition of the What Hi-Fi? Awards took place on November 4th which saw 21 Roon Ready and Roon Tested products win across 11 different categories. 

There were multiple awards up for grabs at the prestigious event in London, which included product ‘Best Buys’ and ‘Product of the Year’ awards across 26 product categories, as well as five ‘Special Awards’ – all of which featured products from the Roon family. 

You can read about them all below.

Product of the Year Awards

Five Roon partners were awarded the ‘Product of the Year’ accolade, celebrating the very best tech of the year. 

Bluesound Node | Roon Ready
Best music streamer

“At this money, it represents one of the most entertaining and comprehensive ways of adding music streaming to your hi-fi system.”

Cambridge Audio CX81| Roon Tested
Best stereo amplifier

“If you’re looking for a well-equipped integrated at this level, this is a great place to start.”

Chord Qutest| Roon Ready 
Best DAC

“Chord has managed to do it again. The Qutest sets a new benchmark at this price”

KEF LS50 Wireless II| Roon Ready
Best all-in-one system 

“KEF’s revisions have paid off; these sequels are among the most thrilling speaker systems we’ve heard”

Naim Mu-so Qb 2 | Roon Ready
Best wireless speaker

“The Mu-so Qb retains an inherently likeable presentation, but has matured over the three years since its first generation.”

In addition, a month before revealing the overall ‘Product of the Year’ winners, What Hi-Fi? announced all of their ‘Best Buy’ products, featuring thirteen Roon partner devices. 

Best Buy Awards

Arcam ST60 | Roon Ready
Best music streamer £1,000-£1,500

“If you’re happy with your hi-fi system but simply want to smarten it up by slotting a streamer next to your separates, the Arcam ST60 is a strong choice.” 

Astell&Kern A&futura SE180 | Roon Ready
Best portable music player over £1,000

“Astell & Kern’s quirkiest player yet is also one of its best value”

AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt | Roon Tested
Best DAC £200-£300

“If you loved the DragonFly Red as much as we did, and you’re looking to make the next step up without compromising on size or form, the Cobalt represents something of a no-brainer.”

Cambridge Audio CXA61 I Roon Tested 
Best stereo amplifier £600-800

“Class leaders are constantly being replaced in hi-fi, but rarely is it done so soundly as by Cambridge Audio’s CXA81 integrated amp”

Cambridge Audio CXN V2 | Roon Tested
Best music streamer £750-1000

“Making the best even better, the CXN (V2) is the best streamer out there at this price point”

Cambridge Audio DacMagic 200M I Roon Tested
Best DAC £300-£500

“Cambridge’s top-of-the-line DAC is a well-armed, high-performing all-rounder”

Chord Hugo 2 | Roon Tested
Best DAC over £1,200

“There isn’t another DAC around at anywhere near this sort of price able to communicate so torrentially, so unambiguously or so effortlessly. We like it a lot.”

iFi Zen DAC V2 | Roon Tested
Best DAC under £200

“One of the very best ways to upgrade your desktop headphone system.”

JBL Synthesis SDR-35 | Roon Ready 
Best home cinema amplifier over £3,000

“If you’re building a high-end home cinema, the SDR-35 should be the first AVR you audition”

KEF LSX | Roon Tested
Best all-in-one system under £1,000

“A neat, compact and entertaining all-in-one system of rare sonic quality”

Marantz PM7000N | Roon Tested
Best hi-fi system under £1,000

“A practical, well furnished just-add-speakers streaming system that impresses with its entertaining performance”

Naim Uniti Atom | Roon Ready
Best hi-fi system over £1,000

“Rarely does a product look and sound as good as the Uniti Atom, but here Naim has drawn big old capital S’s on Style and Substance”

Naim ND5 XS 2 | Roon Ready 
Best music streamer over £1,500

“The Nait XS 3 is a gentle upgrade but remains one of the most musically enticing options at this price”

Our friends at TIDAL also picked-up ‘Best music streaming service’: “TIDAL’s expansive, accessible and hi-res-inclusive catalogue remains the best option for streaming-savvy audiophiles”.

Three of our audio partners also won in the ‘Special Award’ category which acknowledges their outstanding innovations and contributions to the audio industry. 

Special Awards

Cambridge Audio Evo 75 | Roon Ready
Readers Award

“The Evo 75 is a shining example of just how appealing a just-add-speakers streaming system can be”

Linn Klimax DSM AV | Roon Tested 
Temptation

“When it comes to insight, clarity and dynamic expression, Linn’s exceptional range-topping Klimax DSM is second to none”

Marantz PM6007| Roon Tested
Hall of Fame

“Clearer and punchier than its award-winning predecessor, Marantz’s latest entry-level amplifier never puts the formidable 6000 Series dynasty in doubt” 

Congratulations to all of our award-winning partners this year! You can find out more about the What Hi-Fi Awards 2021 and see all 109 winners here.

We kicked off this fall with an impressive array of 9 new Roon Ready and Roon Tested devices from audio pioneers NAD, Onkyo, Primare, Rotel, Silent Angel, and T+A Elektroakustik. Read all about them in our latest partner update below. For a full list of our partner brands and every Roon Ready and Roon Tested device, visit our Partners page on the Roon website.

NAD C700 and M10V2
Roon Ready

NAD added their 23rd and 24th devices to the Roon family with the NAD C 700 and M10 V2. 

Both devices are powered by BluOS with the C 700 featuring a HybridDigital UcD amplifier within its aluminium housing and the M10 V2 combining a network streamer with a 100W per channel amplifier in one device. 

Onkyo TX-NR5100
Roon Tested

The TX-NR5100 is a 7.2-channel 8K AV receiver designed to be the center piece in your home theater. It’s tailored to deliver the best possible in-class entertainment experience and is Onkyo’s eighth device to become Roon Tested.

Primare NP5 Prisma MK2
Roon Ready

Adding to our family of Roon Ready audio devices in October was the new version of the popular Primare NP5 Prima network player, the NP5 Prisma MK2. 

The NP5 Prisma MK2 provides full network player technology to virtually any component with a digital input and is designed to slip inconspicuously into any system.

Rotel P5, X3, X5
Roon Tested

Rotel’s integrated amplifiers, the X3 and X5 and controlled amplifier, the P5 are now Roon Tested. 

The Rotel X3 delivers 350W of Class AB amplification and the X5 ups the power to 600W.The P5 features specially selected power supply, circuit design and critical component selections to ensure the highest integrity of the audio signal eliminating unwanted noise and distortion

Silent Angel Munich M1T
Roon Ready

The Munich M1T is the 2nd Roon Ready device from Silent Angel. It is a digital transport designed to be used with an external DAC, and supports USB, S/PDIF and AES EBU conections

T+A Elektroakustik MP 200
Roon Ready

T+A Elektroakustik added their 15th device to the Roon family with the MP 200. The MP 200 is a multi source player,  combining a compact design matched with the other Series 200 components with a flexible array of inputs including streaming and CD playback.

This month we have welcomed a new partner, Mission, as well as new devices from Astell&Kern, Mètronome and Zidoo.

You can read all about them in our latest partner update below. For a full list of our partner brands and every Roon Ready and Roon Tested device, visit our Partners page on the Roon website.

Astell&Kern SE200
Roon Ready

The latest Astell&Kern digital audio player to become Roon Ready is the SE200. Featuring interchangeable DAC modules from the A&futura series, the SE200 is Astell&Kern’s seventh Roon-compatible device.

Mètronome DSC
Roon Ready

Mètronome’s DSC is their third Roon Ready certified device.

DSC is Métronome’s first ‘three-in-one’ device: a top converter, streamer, and digital preamplifier all within a chassis machined from high-grade billets of aluminium.

Mission LX CONNECT
Roon Tested

Joining our family of audio partners this month is British loudspeaker pioneers, Mission. Founded in 1977, Mission was immediately recognised as one of the leaders in the development of acoustic engineering.

Fast forward to today and Mission is still innovating. The new LX CONNECT, which is Roon Tested, is Mission’s first all-in-one hi-fi system. The LX CONNECT consists of a compact hub with an OLED display, plus a pair of 60W active wireless speakers based on their LX-2 Mk II which have been specially engineered with high-power digital amplification modules.

Zidoo Z10 Pro and Z1000 Pro
Roon Ready

Since joining our family of audio partners, Zidoo has launched three devices. Joining our list of compatible audio devices in September was the Z10 Pro and Z1000 Pro which are both Roon Ready. 

The Z10 Pro and Z1000 Pro are both high performance 4K media players combining Dolby Vision enhanced video playback with high-resolution music playback.

What does it mean to be Roon Ready?

Roon Ready network devices have Roon’s streaming technology built in, and are certified by Roon Labs to provide the highest level of quality and performance in network streaming.

What does it mean to be Roon Tested?

Roon Tested devices work over USB, HDMI, AirPlay, Google Cast, and other protocols. They have been profiled by the Roon team to ensure simple setup and effortless daily use.

It’s been another busy month of partner launches at Roon! We’ve welcomed new brands Argon Audio, Silent Angel and Zidoo, as well as new devices from Astell&Kern, Matrix Audio and Soundaware. 

You can read all about them in our latest partner update below. For a full list of our partner brands and every Roon Ready and Roon Tested device, visit our Partners page on the Roon website.

Argon Audio SOLO
Roon Ready

Joining the Roon family in August, Argon Audio are a Danish hi-fi specialist with almost 20 years of heritage. Their mission is to bring their customers affordable high-quality audio solutions, which is something they achieved extremely well with the SOLO.  The SOLO is an easy-to-use network streamer, boasting an array of features including Roon Ready. It has a built-in DAC with an impressive signal-to-noise ratio of over 120 dBA and 64-bit volume for ultimate audiophile sound quality as well as optical and coaxial S/PDIF outputs. 

Astell&Kern SE180
Roon Ready

The latest Astell&Kern DAP to become Roon Ready is the SE180. Featuring an interchangeable all-in-one module from the A&futura series, the SE180 offers a fun new experience while on the move. Astell&Kern now have six Roon-compatible devices.

Matrix X-Sabre 3
Roon Ready

Matrix added the X-Sabre 3 to their line-up of Roon Ready devices this month. The X-Sabre 3 is housed in a brand-new chassis and features a refreshed user interface and vastly improved sonic capabilities.

Soundaware A1, A1Pro and A300
Roon Ready

We welcomed three new Roon Ready devices from Soundaware this month. The A300, A1, and A1Pro are all powered by SOUNDAWARE’s FPGA processing and capable of streaming up to 384kHz PCM and DSD256. Upgrade to the A1Pro for SOUNDAWARE’s state of the art power supply and DC filtering technology. 

Silent Angel M1
Roon Ready

Joining our family of audio partners this month is Silent Angel. Founded in 2014, Silent Angel develops high-end audio products including streamers, network switches, and more. The Munich M1 is a flexible Roon Ready device featuring a built-in DAC, a high-quality headphone output, and coaxial S/PDIF and I2S connections.

Zidoo Z9X
Roon Ready

Zidoo was founded in 2014, developing high-end media players, network streamers, and DACs. Joining our list of compatible partners this month, the Zidoo Z9X is now Roon Ready.  

The Z9X is a swiss army knife 4K UHD media player that can satisfy audiophiles and videophiles alike. It can Roon Ready streaming your existing DAC or receiver via its HDMI, Optical, or USB outputs or one can take advantage of its built-in 3.5mm AUX output to easily add a zone to your Roon setup.