OP
- Thread Starter
- #21
Nope. 1ET400A is more powerful than both 122 and 252MP. It is mostly related to performance/cost and ease of implementation.
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Cambridge Audio is (also) moving to Ncore...
- Thread starter VintageFlanker
- Start date
Darkscience
Active Member
- Joined
- Dec 15, 2020
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This:
View attachment 123658
Verses This:
Which might as well be this:
If you don't get it, you're too young.
I get what you mean. The first picture is a work of art, and functional even better. Reading back I think what threw me off was when you said "The trend in hifi is going more and more the 'appliance' route", since in my opinion this trend started many many decades ago. I thought you meant something more recent was changing/happening and I wanted to know what it was because the unit the OP posted is beautiful compared to the Arcam unit you posted leading me to believe it is a better direction.
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?? no plaid on the Linn gear
MakeMineVinyl
Major Contributor
The more homogenized look of HiFi gear has indeed been happening for decades, and an inflection point I think was some of the mass market Japanese gear of the 70s and 80s. I prefer the look of functional gear such as this, one of the first MacIntosh amplifiers from 1949 before they focused on looking 'pretty'.
That Evo line are handsome devices.
Martin
Martin
OP
- Thread Starter
- #26
wgb113
Active Member
These look nice - on the list they go!
Soundstage
Active Member
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Room correction?
CA's streaming app is excellent, and compatible with a variety of protocols (DLNA, Chromecast, Roon w/volume). These look like winners to me. If they had EQ/dynamic loudness - awesome.
JSmith
Master Contributor
Meh... the price is a bit off still considering one can obtain the same or better functionality from separates. Like an AVR, not sure I want it all crammed in one box... would be interested how this measures, however could be average foe this reason.
JSmith
JSmith
Space. 2 1ET400A take the same surface as a nc252mp and you still have to add a power supply.
And $$$$$$. A lot.
Since we are talking about good looking devices, here is Linn's new Klimax DSM (I personally don't like the look much). Only $39,000 USD
https://www.linn.co.uk/us/network-music-players/klimax-dsm
https://www.linn.co.uk/us/network-music-players/klimax-dsm
MakeMineVinyl
Major Contributor
Oh, you mean something like this.....Since we are talking about good looking devices, here is Linn's new Klimax DSM (I personally don't like the look much). Only $39,000 USD
https://www.linn.co.uk/us/network-music-players/klimax-dsm
That's a great looking turn table!
You won't believe how warm and smooth it makes your records!That's a great looking turn table!
Once in a lifetime experience every time guaranteed
From the only picture of the inside available, it seems to be the case (along with a bit messy internals):
On the cool side, side plates are both included and removable:
That's nice. One set of side panels for people with taste, and another set for people without taste.
Very nice is the screen OLED?
Got my EVO 150 on Friday and been testing it trough weekend. My space for audio equipment is really constrained (living room wall upgrade in process) and sorry for the ****** handheld photo in dark:
The other 2 devices on the photo are Matrix Audio Mini-i Pro 3 and Audiophonics LPA-S500NC amp. Also have an Topping D90, but I was lazy to switch that many devices around all the time, so did just a brief comparison with D90 and most of the time I was comparing with the Mini-i Pro 3. Speakers are ELAC Debut DBR62. It may be not fair to compare Mini-i to this device, but it may show what you get for more money (the Mini-i Pro 3 + the Audiophonics amp is 1000 EUR less).
Except an issue with firmware update not working while USB plugged in (CA support immediately proposed to replace the unit for free) and one complete UI/remote freeze - sound was still playing (I've actually managed "break" the Mini-i too - it didn't play any sound until restarted) it is working rather well. I don't have any equipment with which I could take any meaningful measurements, so just my subjective few cents:
Pros
+ I like the sound. I can't really compare it to the others as I can't match the volumes properly (tried with some basic sound meter by matching few tones, but even then I couldn't really match them), but definitely bass is different from the other two. For me the Mini-i had tad better bass than the EVO - I can't explain exactly what, but it felt a little bit stronger but still precise. I've tried a lot of different music styles and didn't feel EVO struggling, it was more about the quality of source (I can't understand why would anybody listen to an internet radio with 128 kbps MP3 stream on this device).
+ Together with StramMagic app I'd call the device plug-and-play (except the issue with firmware update). It's really easy to do everything from your mobile phone and this was one of the main selling points for me. I don't like to have everything in one device, but due the inputs/sources I'd like to use, this was the best solution I could find without having to use several remotes/switch several buttons/cables to use the desired input/source.
+ Great screen, I can read it from the sofa (no chance with the Mini-i).
+ Great set of inputs - for me this was one of the main points, I require USB for connecting Nvidia Shield Pro, ARC for future use when I finally get a decent TV, LAN/WiFi for Roon/Spotify, RCA input to connect my guitar processor.
+ It's reasonably fast, compared to Mini-i it is really fast. For example, MQA decoding or playback from Roon starts much faster than on Mini-i. I assume that EVO is a more powerful "computer", so it is more future proof.
+ Great build quality. It may be not as sturdy as the smaller Mini-i, but considering the size, it is well made.
+ Nice looks.
Cons
- No PCM or DSD filters. But to be honest, I never could tell any difference when switching those on other devices.
- No Room correction. Arcam SA30 and NAD M10 have it at this price level. I've never had a device with it, so I can't say how much it would change in my room.
- No dynamic loudness or EQ.
- Fiddling with volume is much easier than on Mini-i, still, it would be nice to be able to have separate volume saved per input (especially for the sucky USB output from the Shield Pro that needs some boost compared to others).
- Sometimes the album art didn't update properly from Roon and also the song playback restarted after few seconds, but honestly I have no idea if it was Roon issue or EVO's fault.
- No LDAC on Bluetooth. I rarely use Bluetooth at all for pushing data to DACs, but it would be nice to have.
Is it worth it? Probably for most not. You can get a RPi + good DAC (even with MQA support) + good NCore AMP for much less (even less than the Mini-i + Audiophonics LPA-S500NC amp combination costs). For me the convenience of usage is why I'm willing to pay the bonus and will try to forget about not being able to upgrade/replace different parts of system. So far it looks like I will keep the EVO and return the Matrix Audio Mini-i Pro 3.
I didn't want to do a deep review and I didn't try everything the device can do, but if you guys have any question I may be able to answer, feel free to ask.
The other 2 devices on the photo are Matrix Audio Mini-i Pro 3 and Audiophonics LPA-S500NC amp. Also have an Topping D90, but I was lazy to switch that many devices around all the time, so did just a brief comparison with D90 and most of the time I was comparing with the Mini-i Pro 3. Speakers are ELAC Debut DBR62. It may be not fair to compare Mini-i to this device, but it may show what you get for more money (the Mini-i Pro 3 + the Audiophonics amp is 1000 EUR less).
Except an issue with firmware update not working while USB plugged in (CA support immediately proposed to replace the unit for free) and one complete UI/remote freeze - sound was still playing (I've actually managed "break" the Mini-i too - it didn't play any sound until restarted) it is working rather well. I don't have any equipment with which I could take any meaningful measurements, so just my subjective few cents:
Pros
+ I like the sound. I can't really compare it to the others as I can't match the volumes properly (tried with some basic sound meter by matching few tones, but even then I couldn't really match them), but definitely bass is different from the other two. For me the Mini-i had tad better bass than the EVO - I can't explain exactly what, but it felt a little bit stronger but still precise. I've tried a lot of different music styles and didn't feel EVO struggling, it was more about the quality of source (I can't understand why would anybody listen to an internet radio with 128 kbps MP3 stream on this device).
+ Together with StramMagic app I'd call the device plug-and-play (except the issue with firmware update). It's really easy to do everything from your mobile phone and this was one of the main selling points for me. I don't like to have everything in one device, but due the inputs/sources I'd like to use, this was the best solution I could find without having to use several remotes/switch several buttons/cables to use the desired input/source.
+ Great screen, I can read it from the sofa (no chance with the Mini-i).
+ Great set of inputs - for me this was one of the main points, I require USB for connecting Nvidia Shield Pro, ARC for future use when I finally get a decent TV, LAN/WiFi for Roon/Spotify, RCA input to connect my guitar processor.
+ It's reasonably fast, compared to Mini-i it is really fast. For example, MQA decoding or playback from Roon starts much faster than on Mini-i. I assume that EVO is a more powerful "computer", so it is more future proof.
+ Great build quality. It may be not as sturdy as the smaller Mini-i, but considering the size, it is well made.
+ Nice looks.
Cons
- No PCM or DSD filters. But to be honest, I never could tell any difference when switching those on other devices.
- No Room correction. Arcam SA30 and NAD M10 have it at this price level. I've never had a device with it, so I can't say how much it would change in my room.
- No dynamic loudness or EQ.
- Fiddling with volume is much easier than on Mini-i, still, it would be nice to be able to have separate volume saved per input (especially for the sucky USB output from the Shield Pro that needs some boost compared to others).
- Sometimes the album art didn't update properly from Roon and also the song playback restarted after few seconds, but honestly I have no idea if it was Roon issue or EVO's fault.
- No LDAC on Bluetooth. I rarely use Bluetooth at all for pushing data to DACs, but it would be nice to have.
Is it worth it? Probably for most not. You can get a RPi + good DAC (even with MQA support) + good NCore AMP for much less (even less than the Mini-i + Audiophonics LPA-S500NC amp combination costs). For me the convenience of usage is why I'm willing to pay the bonus and will try to forget about not being able to upgrade/replace different parts of system. So far it looks like I will keep the EVO and return the Matrix Audio Mini-i Pro 3.
I didn't want to do a deep review and I didn't try everything the device can do, but if you guys have any question I may be able to answer, feel free to ask.