Page 7 - Hi-Fi World (January 2020)

NEWS

news
email:news@hi-fiworld.co.uk

JUST FOR K1X
New from Teac’s upmarket brand Esoteric is the K1X CD/SACD player. The K1X sells for...wait for it!..£36,200. Although outwardly-similar
to the model it replaces - the 3 year-old K1 - we are assured that “every aspect of the K1X’s internal engineering has been completely-
revamped”.
The K1X incorporates a ‘best-ever’ Esoteric-developed ‘VRDS Atlas’ transport, a robust mechanism that alone weighs in at 6.6kg.
Similar attention has been paid to the electronics. On board is a ‘Master Sound Discrete’ (MSD) DAC, based on circuitry found in
Esoteric’s Grandioso D1X. This sophisticated 64-bit MSD DAC is based on a custom Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). Its output
feeds circuitry to drive balanced (XLR) and unbalanced (phono) outputs.
Also helping is an evolved version of the Custom VCXO II clock circuit originally-developed for the Japanese firm’s Grandioso P1X/
D1X transport/DAC combo. A 10MHz external clock input however enables the K1X to work with the £18,000 Grandioso G1 timing-
source, said to be of atomic accuracy.
External DC power supplies – one for each channel – are another upgrade possibility. Given how expensive the K1X is, you’ll want to
make the most of its capabilities.
The player’s MSD DAC section will accept external digital signals - up to 22.5MHz DSD and 768kHz/32-bit PCM - via rear-panel USB,
coaxial and optical inputs. Oh, and it’s MQA-compatible too.
The K1X, reckons Esoteric, is capable of an “incredibly-dynamic” sound with “musicality that’ll stop listeners in their tracks”.
More information: www.esoteric-highend.eu

FAIR PLAY
It comes as no great surprise that Naim gear of recent vintage
has been upgraded to support AirPlay 2 for “advanced multi-room
functionality and Siri voice-control”. First and foremost, though, the
proprietary Apple technology will allow music to be streamed to the
relevant Naim gear from an iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Mac or Apple TV
running iOS software version 11.4 or later.
Following similar updates to Naim Audio’s Mu-so and Uniti ranges,
AirPlay 2 will now be available “across the company’s entire family of
music-streaming products...including its £20k ND 555 flagship reference
network player”.
Among the other Naim units to benefit from the
(free) over-the-air upgrade are the NDX 2 and entry-
level ND5 XS 2 network streamers. As soon as the
update is ready, the Naim app will prompt customers
to perform the update painlessly. Naim’s streamers already support Spotify Connect, Tidal, Bluetooth, Chromecast (and
hence Deezer and Qobuz), Internet radio, Roon and UPnP streaming – as well as playback of high-res WAV, FLAC and
DSD content.
Contact: Naim Audio, (01722) 426600. www.naimaudio.com

HUEI-DE-HUEI!

Previewed at the Munich High End show in May, Chord Electronics’ “next-generation” Huei
phono preamp is now available worldwide. This British-built microprocessor-controlled
unit, the compact design of which was inspired by the Kent manufacturer’s Qutest DAC,
draws on three decades of Chord amplifier experience; as with the Qutest and other
products from the Kent firm, the Huei’s case is precision-machined from an aircraft-grade
aluminium billet. Comprehensive gain and impedance-matching options enable the £990 Huei
to be compatible with a wide range of MM and MC cartridges alike. The front-panel’s “polychromatic
control spheres” – long a feature of Chord products – work with the “ultra-low-noise” microprocessor to
provide the user with access to the Huei’s main features. Among these are “multiple options for impedance-matching,
seven-stage switchable gain and a switchable rumble filter”. A “convenient memory function” will, no doubt, prove useful to
vinyl fans with more than one cartridge or turntable. The Huei features both balanced (RCA) and unbalanced outputs (XLR)
with unbalanced connectivity for your record-playing equipment, and is supplied with an external 12V power supply.
Details: Chord Electronics, (01622) 721444. www.chordelectronics.co.uk

www.hi-fiworld.co.uk JANUARY 2020 HI-FI WORLD 7