Where we might have expected it to focus on connected speakers to break out of the streamer segment in which it has established itself in less than three years, China’s EverSolo has surprised everyone by first launching a model of passive 2-way speakers.
Designed to match the recent Play all-in-one, the SE100 stands out with its cubic shape and square front panel, made to fit perfectly into the Ikea Kallax shelf. Black and sleek in design, these speakers feature a 1’’ (25 mm) silk dome tweeter positioned on the same horizontal line as the front vent.
This innovative geometric design complements the mid-bass driver located below. Measuring 5.25 inches (13.3 mm), it has a paper pulp cone, excited by a Rapid Transient Coil (RTC) technology. If desired, a grille can cover the speakers by fitting directly into the frame, which is made of MDF to dampen vibrations.
Around a large Bevenbi filter capacitor, the small filter located inside near the vent also incorporates pure copper coils and is designed to process the signal from the rear terminals, which are available with bare cables or banana and spade connectors.
As is customary for the brand, these SE100s are competitively priced compared to the competition, at 499 € including tax per pair in Europe.
If you are a regular reader, you will know how much we love audiophile switches, so here is your chance to discover the one from Aurender!
Specializing in network servers, i.e., players with internal memory for downloading music files without the need for streaming platforms, the South Korean manufacturer has been showing a new dynamic since last year. First expressed in the new A1000 network player, which is more open than its predecessors and even includes Bluetooth, this new direction is now developing with an extremely important product to integrate into a dematerialized listening system between the player and the box: the Internet switch.
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In order to purify data coming from the network, the new NH10 offers six RJ45 (RJ48) ports and two SFP fiber ports, all usable at transfer speeds of 100 or 1000 Mbps. Connected to the box via the first port and then to the network player via the other ports, either RJ45 or fiber, this switch resynchronizes the signal using an OXCO clock with a jitter rate of less than 0.005 ppm. A 10 MHz BNC port can further improve this, with the data also being resynchronized by an FPGA.
Weighing 8 kg, the NH10 provides galvanic isolation to all ports and extremely stable power thanks to audiophile-grade power processing. Its price in Europe is set at 4 290 €.
The Canadian brand is already celebrating its 50th anniversary, adding a Christophe W. Russell & 50 serigraph amplifier and preamplifier to its extensive electronics catalog. The 28B mono blocks lose the “3” exponent and switch to an 18″ front panel; they cost 15 400 € per unit and boast the same enormous power ratings of 1,000 W into 8 Ω or 1,800 W into 4 Ω as the standard blocks. The BP-19 has a 19″ front panel and is priced at 5 890 €, with 2 pairs of XLR and 4 pairs of RCA inputs, plus an MM/MC phono option for 1 800 €.
With this new amplifier-preamplifier combination, Bryston highlights its ability to produce high-end products for half a century and gives you the opportunity to make all the speakers on the market sing.
Following on from the DAC Z6 and Z8, EverSolo continues to expand its range of digital-to-analog converters and its 10 series with the DAC Z10.
A true high-end preamp-DAC, this new model once again opts for conversion based on a chip structure that is new to the Chinese brand. Rather than using the best Sabre ES9039PRO chip from the DMP-A10 streamer (Vumètre 57 FR review; Remarkable), the Z10 leans towards a configuration closer to that seen in the Luxsin X9 headphone amplifier, with a pair built around the AK4191 and AKM’s best DAC chip, the AK4499. In this DAC, each channel integrates the pair of chips in a perfectly dual-mono architecture.
As with the DMP-A10, the volume is analog and based on an R2R system, which is also perfectly symmetrical here. Each element is perfectly isolated in the chassis, distributed according to a patented FIA™ (Fully Isolated Architecture) process where the DAC and volume control parts are each on a board placed at a higher level than the main board. In the center, an OXCO temperature-controlled crystal oscillator is combined with PLL (Phase-Locked Loop) technology.
To minimize power-related interference, the power supply is divided into three ultra-low noise (42 µV) shielded toroidal transformers positioned at the front of the device. On the far left, a small amplification module (1 W) allows headphones to be connected via a 6.35 mm output.
As is usual with EverSolo, a magnificent IPS touchscreen sits in the center of the front panel, here wide of 8.8″ (22.4 cm), next to a volume knob with a backlit outline whose color can be changed. The rear panel also features a plethora of inputs and outputs: analog XLR and RCA; optical digital, S/PDIF, AES, HDMI I2S and eArc, USB Audio, but surprisingly, no USB-C. However, Bluetooth is also included via a Qualcomm QCC5125 chip, and an FPGA chip is used to ensure signal reliability.
And if you think the internal 3.3 V clock running at 10 MHz is not good enough, you can always add external modules via the two 50 Ω and 75 Ω BNC ports, at 10 or 25 MHz. Thanks to all these technologies, files are supported up to DSD512 and PCM 768 kHz/32-bit formats.
Icing on the cake, the European price is set below 2 000 €, at exactly 1 990 € including tax.
Distributor Audio Focus has announced that it will become the distributor for the Berkeley Audio Design brand starting in 2026.
To start with, the Alpha DAC Reference Series 3P model will be promoted. Considered by some to be the gold standard in converters, particularly in the United States, this model does not use oversampling or offer the very high frequencies of current conventional DAC chips. Instead, it focuses on the essentials, namely playing PCM or MQA files at sampling rates of 32 to 192 kHz up to 24 bits, as well as DSD up to DSD128. As a reminder, this covers the vast majority of current audio files and, in higher sample rates, most of them are larger and more often oversampled or upsampled, and therefore non-native.
To achieve extremely high precision sound levels, the Alpha DAC Reference 3P implements exceptional electrical and mechanical isolation against noise, combined with extreme stability in the time domain. Aerospace-grade ceramic materials are used in all critical areas, and the housing is designed to minimize electrical noise and maximize mechanical and thermal stability. As proof, the device weighs 13.6 kg, and the entire housing is precision-machined from solid 6061-T6 aluminum alloy.
Of course, this comes at a price, and it matches the exceptional nature of the product: 39 990 €.
To avoid the pollution created by a USB port, even one that is shielded and electrically and mechanically isolated, this input is only available on the DAC by adding a second case, the Alpha USB Reference Series. Completely galvanically isolated in this smaller 1.27 kg box, the USB Audio 2.0 port is fully re-clocked by an exclusive ultra-low phase noise clock technology, identical to that of the DAC, and then sent back to the AES or coaxial port (BNC or S/PDIF, as desired). You can then connect to the DAC via these links. But here again, this box comes at a price, costing a whopping 7 000 € in Europe.
In a second phase, the importer will also bring the Alpha series to France, which is about three times less expensive, again with the DAC separate from the USB box.
