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It’s been another busy month as we welcomed an array of new network players into the Roon Ready family from Cambridge Audio, FiiO, NAD, Primare and Volumio.
You can read all about them in our latest partner update below. For a full list of our partner brands – and every device that works with Roon – visit our Partners page on the Roon website.
This month’s round up features new releases of classics from an iconic brand, a range of top-level DAPs, and more.
A new year, a new round of exciting products to welcome into the Roon Ready family. This month we’ve got classic designs relaunched for the modern music lover, revolutionary audio solutions that integrate seamlessly with your home’s interior design, and a range of DAPs from ‘entry level’ to ‘top of the line’. Let’s get started!
A bumper round up of new Roon Ready products in this month’s partner update – from compact streaming speakers to elite level DACs. Check it!
Just in time for the holidays, we have a huge month of partner updates this December. We welcome two beautiful Volumio products to the Roon family, and reveal a new Roon Tested Astell&Kern DAC – the perfect hardware to take advantage of Roon ARC’s new Android USB driver. Let’s dive in and take a look.
Audio giant Astell&Kern’s brand new portable DAC, the AK HC3, represents a seriously exciting addition to the vibrant portable DAC scene. This compact little USB-C DAC lets you experience high performance audio wherever they’re listening – a plug and play solution that levels up your mobile listening experience.
The AK HC3 comes Roon Tested and fully compatible with Android devices, making it a great product choice for Roon ARC users looking to experience bit-perfect playback with ARC’s USB driver. But it’s not just mobile listening where the HC3 shines. It’s fully compatible with Windows and Mac computers with a USB-C port, making the HC3 an easy, compact solution for elevated home listening, too.
The POWERNODE EDGE is the new entry-level streaming amplifier from audio heavyweights, Bluesound. It’s the easiest way to add streaming to a pair of speakers you already own and combines streaming sources (including high-res streaming with Roon Ready!) control and amplification in a sleek and affordable package.
If, like us, you’re a sucker for beautifully designed gear that does it all – you’re going to love the HiFi ROSE RS520. South Korean audio specialists HiFi ROSE have cultivated a reputation for their ‘lifestyle-led’ approach to audio. They specialize in high quality products that put the user experience first, and the RS520 comfortably continues this trend.
The RS520 is an all-in-one, audiophile approved streaming solution that takes a no-compromise approach to power and sound quality. By pairing top of the line ESS DAC technology with a cutting-edge GaN based class AD amplifier, the RS520 achieves pure, low-noise, ultra-high-res sound whilst outputting up to 250W. Control is where this really streamer comes into its own. The full-front-panel 12.6inch LCD touch screen gives you Roon Ready functionality through a beautifully designed, easy-to-use display. It all adds up to make the HiFi ROSE RS520 a seriously smart addition to your audio set up.
The Rotel S14 is something of a game-changer in the high performance audio market. It represents Rotel’s first integrated amplifier with built-in streaming technology – making this a ‘just add speakers’ system that builds amplification, streaming services, wireless playback and connectivity into a single chassis.
Under the hood, a 150W AB class amplifier offers plenty of drive, and a large toroidal transformer demonstrates Rotel’s time-tested engineering and design practices. The Rotel S14 utilizes a Texas Instruments 32-bit/384kHz DAC with exhaustive tuning and hand selection of all critical components delivering a fuller, richer and more balanced presentation of your music. With Roon Ready tech built-in, the Rotel S14 is a near-perfect all-in-one HiFi solution.
We’re delighted to welcome Italian audio specialists ‘Volumio’ to the Roon Ready family – with two of their flagship products now officially certified Roon Ready. Here, we’ll take a look at both of Volumio’s Roon Ready products in a little more detail.
The Volumio INTEGRO is a high performance, slimline, all-in-one integrated amplifier solution. Despite its compact size, the INTEGRO packs quite a punch – boasting a powerful speaker amplifier (70w RMS / 4 ohm), a dedicated dual-mono headphone amplifier, and dedicated subwoofer output. It features Coaxial and Optical S/PDIF inputs, an RCA analog input, and plenty of playback compatibility – supporting Roon Ready, Spotify Connect, AirPlay, Bluetooth and USB drive playback.
The INTEGRO has been designed in collaboration with Red Dot award winners Design Narratives, and is the first Volumio product to be 100% built in Florence, Italy. null
The Volumio RIVO is a highly flexible ‘digital bridge’ – designed for optimized performance while adding audio streaming to your existing setup. The focus of the RIVO’s architecture is simplicity – its digital signal path is built as clean as possible without any unnecessary stages. There are plenty of connection options with AES/EBU, Coaxial S/PDIF, and USB outputs all available. To ensure the lowest possible noise floor, The RIVO utilizes isolated power supplies for each function block and multiple power filtering 1:1 OFC copper grain oriented transformers – ensuring full galvanic isolation of the AES/EBU, coaxial, and USB outputs.
A bumper round up of new Roon Ready products in this month’s partner update – from compact streaming speakers to elite level DACs. Check it!
We’ve got an absolutely bumper partner round up for you in November – with some seriously exciting new additions to welcome into the Roon Ready family.
There’s something for everyone this month – from compact streaming speakers that pack a punch, to an elite-level streamer DAC running Roon OS built-in. Let’s dive in.
Roon Ready
If you’re in the market for a compact streaming speaker that pairs slick design with great sound quality, the new Pulse M from Bluesound is a great bet. The Pulse M delivers clear, lush, room-filling audio from its pint sized chassis – giving you foot-tapping music streaming wherever it’s placed within your home.
It looks great, too. The subtle design and simple touch controls allow the Bluesound Pulse M to blend seamlessly into any room decor.
Roon Ready
From one aesthetically pleasing piece of kit to another – The Metronome DSS 2adds Roon Ready streaming to your HiFi system, and looks good while doing it.
Built in France, this sleek looking network streamer features an I2S output supporting rates up to DSD256. It comes featuring analog and digital connections for plenty of flexibility, and cutting-edge power supply circuitry for a cleaner sound. The DDS 2 now offers integrated WIFI and supports MQA playback.
Roon Tested
The Musical Fidelity M6x DAC bears impressive heritage. Going all the way back, the M6x is the proud successor to the Digilog model that started it all in 1988. The M6x USB DAC continues to build on Musical Fidelity’s rich legacy of world-class audio devices – providing superb build quality at great value.
Its Roon Tested USB input supports PCM playback up to 768 kHz, native DSD playback up to DSD512, and MQA Full Decoder functionality. It features the latest ESS DAC chips to deliver superb signal-to-noise performance. The built-in headphone amplifier delivers high bandwidth, extremely low noise, and up to 128dB of dynamic range.
Roon Ready
The Mytek Empire Streamer DAC is a seriously powerful streamer designed to challenge the most elite DACs on the market. The Mytek Empire comes with Roon OS built-in, brilliantly combining the power of a Roon core with Mytek’s legendary digital and analog audio designs.
It features two ultra-high performance ESS 9038PRO Sabre DAC chipsets in dual mono mode, powered by dedicated linear power supplies for each channel. The Roon OS and Mytek OS computer boards are fully isolated from the DAC and analog components with a faraday cage design and separate linear power supply.
For control, the Empire has multiple options available. On the device itself, there’s a neat little five-and-a-half inch touch screen that offers full control and browsing of Roon. Additionally, the Mytek Empire comes shipped with an iPad for control from anywhere around the home. It all adds up to make the Mytek Empire one of the most technologically advanced and best sounding hi-res music streamers available today. And it’s designed to be upgradeable, so you’ll be set for years to come.
Roon Ready
Since the 1990s, AVM has cultivated something of a legacy for developing compact all-in-one devices that don’t compromise on sound quality. The AVM Inspiration AS 2.3 integrated amplifier confidently continues this legacy.
The customized AVM X-STREAM engine supports Roon Ready playback up to PCM 384 kHz and DSD256. The AS 2.3 makes a huge leap in sound quality from its predecessors – carrying a powerful 140 W amplifier based on the full-sized OVATION CS 8.3 design.
Roon Ready
Looking for a high-end, Roon Ready speaker solution that looks as beautiful as it sounds? Then the KEF LS60 Wireless is about to jump right to the top of your Christmas list. The LS60 Wireless takes KEFs reputation for forward-thinking design with a classic grounding to a whole new level. It’s a celebration of 60 years of sound innovation – with a clear eye on the future of high fidelity experience and design.
In terms of aesthetic, the LS60 Wireless really stands apart from the crowd. Its iconic slim structure makes for a beautifully contemporary addition to your living or listening room. But the LS60 doesn’t just look the part – it sounds sublime, too.
It supports high-resolution playback via Roon Ready streaming and includes flexible input options such as HDMI eARC, optical, and analog RCA connections. The LS60’s Single Apparent Source technology is adapted from the flagship KEF Blade loudspeaker. It aims to achieve the acoustic ideal of a point source. Where low, mid, and high frequencies radiate from a single point which enables coherent, precise, and clear sound across the whole audio bandwidth. The LS60 is a beautifully designed, no-compromise speaker solution for discerning audiophiles with a real eye for internal design.
Roon Ready
If you’re looking for KEF sound quality and performance in a smaller package, KEF has a compact, budget-friendly Roon Ready option available to you. The KEF LSX II – a beautifully designed small-scale WiFi speaker – reflects KEF’s continued commitment to top-end listening regardless of speaker size or budget. Under the hood, there’s plenty packed into these bookshelf speakers. The LSX II comes with built-in support for Roon Ready streaming up to 24-bit/384kHz and dedicated amplifiers inside each speaker for added punch.
The KEF LSX II is super flexible, too. It can connect to your TV via HDMI ARC, your laptop via USB-C, and even a turntable, CD player or games console. And if you want your movies, music, or gaming to come with extra bass, there’s a dedicated output to connect a subwoofer. This comprehensive compatibility is backed up by an unquestionably reasonable price point. The LSX II is all you’d need to assemble a truly world-class sound system.
