JPLAY introduces support for the UPnP Eventing protocol, enabling full bidirectional control between the iOS app and Grimm Audio’s MU1 and MU2 audio players.
With this development, Grimm joins the “JPLAY Certified” circle, which already includes 3D-Lab, Atoll, TotalDac, Hegel, EverSolo, Bryston, and dCS. Thanks to this partnership, the Dutch manufacturer’s MU1 and MU2 network players ensure better integration and optimal sound quality with the app.
This certification comes with a significant technical advancement, as the new version 1.4.3 of JPLAY adds support for UPnP Eventing technology, developed in close collaboration with the Grimm Audio team. Thanks to this, Grimm Audio’s MU1 and MU2 can now be synchronized bidirectionally: you can start and stop the MU1/MU2 from within JPLAY, but you can also start and stop JPLAY from the player itself using its main button or IR remote control.
In addition to Eventing, update 1.4.3 also introduces direct playback from the disc for HQPlayer and MinimServer configurations, improved HQPlayer playback, new Queue Radio modes, and a series of bug fixes and performance improvements. This update is available now for current users and is included in the app version priced at $49.99 per year or $199 for a lifetime license, available for download from the App Store.
Many of you still held them in high regard—or even owned them. Yet Sonus Faber’s Olympica Nova (version 2) models were beginning to show their age, which is why, at the start of summer, right after Fashion Week, the Italian manufacturer unveiled its brand-new Olympica G3 collection in Vicenza.
Named after the city’s theater—the Teatro Olimpico—designed by Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, this Sonus Faber series is perhaps the one that best defines the Italian speaker brand today. And this third generation, streamlined to five models, is likely to carry on the tradition, as its finish is even more meticulous, featuring hand-crafted real wood veneer adorned with a 45-degree herringbone pattern inspired by the flagship Stradivari speaker.
In fact, this new generation even draws on technologies developed for the Suprema, but it stands out above all for its Camelia midrange driver, inspired by the geometry of the flower of this shrub, which is itself integrated into an “Organic Basket” whose design mimics the natural structure of honeycomb cells.
On all models, the rear panel is reinforced and bi-amping is available starting with the Olympica I 2-way bookshelf speaker. Aluminum and leather are combined around the drivers, featuring a 28 mm silk dome tweeter with extended-response DAD™ Arrow Point technology and a 16.5 cm paper cone below for the midrange. On the 3-way Olympica G3 III and V models, two and three 16.5 cm paper woofers, respectively, extend the low frequencies down to 42 Hz and 37 Hz. For these three models, the overall sensitivity is 90 dB (2.83 V/1 m).
The Olympica G3 Center is available, like the others, in light walnut or dark wenge. But while it features two 16.5 cm paper cones, it is the only one to have a tweeter reduced to 18 mm and a 10.1 cm Camelia midrange driver. Its sensitivity remains at 90 dB, but the bass response stops at 58 Hz—1 Hz lower than the Olympica I—and the new 3-way crossover is set higher than on the floorstanding models.
The latest addition to the lineup, the Olympica G3 W on-wall speaker is similar to the compact model, using the same two drivers and a 2-way design, although it extends slightly less low (78 Hz). Like the others, its nominal impedance is 4 ohms.
Already very attractive in their previous Nova version, these new Sonus Faber Olympica G3 models further enhance their perceived quality with this new series. It remains for us to verify as soon as possible whether their performance lives up to their striking appearance.
They are available now, with list prices of €7,000 (Olympica G3 W), €10,000 (Olympica G3 Center), €12,000 (Olympica G3 I), €21,500 (Olympica G3 III), and €27,000 (Olympica G3 V) per pair.
To complement the Z10 DAC in its product lineup, the Shenzhen-based manufacturer unveiled a T10 network transport and a C10 external clock in Vienna.
Having unveiled no fewer than six new products at the High End show in May (download our free special edition here), EverSolo is rolling out its official launches one by one, starting with the T10 network transport.
To ensure compatibility with the upcoming C10 clock, this new top-of-the-line streamer—like the Z10 DAC—features two BNC clock ports operating at 10 MHz and 25 MHz under 50 Ω and 75 Ω. However, its internal clock is already very powerful, as it consists of a 3.3 V OXCO operating at 10 MHz, combined with a PLL synchronization system designed to reduce noise and jitter.
Surrounding it, a massive O-type toroidal transformer was developed specifically to deliver the purest possible current to all the T10’s circuits, including that of the 64-bit ARM 8-core processor. Integration with the network module can be achieved via a 2.5 G Ethernet RJ45 connection, fiber optic via an SFP port, or through two USB 3.0 ports (surprisingly, there is no USB-C).
For output (digital, since it’s worth noting that a network transport—unlike a network player—does not include a DAC and therefore performs no digital-to-analog conversion), the T10 offers the very best: the classic optical, AES/EBU, and coaxial outputs, as well as an I2S port and an isolated USB port.
The huge 8.6-inch touchscreen on the front panel makes it easy to control all settings—a feature also found in the manufacturer’s smartphone app—allowing you to effortlessly manage any streaming service (even Apple Music and Deezer are built-in). And if you prefer the reliability of playback from an internal drive, two slots are available to accommodate up to two 8 TB SSDs.
Despite the high quality of the components inside the aluminum alloy chassis, the price—as always with EverSolo—remains very competitive compared to the competition, in this case at 2 190 € or $2 180. We’re looking forward to the clock’s launch so we can test the complete system and tell you more about the sound!
When you visit the website www.dual.de, you can see that the German brand clearly offers a choice between automatic and manual models for its turntables. In reality, even the manufacturer’s “manual” models are semi-automatic—that is, if you leave this function enabled, the tonearm lifts automatically at the end of playback and the platter stops, which is not the case with a purely manual turntable.
Because in the audiophile world, high-end turntables are inevitably manual. So, while Dual’s automatic lineup starts with the “3” series—beginning with the CS 329 (399 €) and extending through the CS 429 (699 €) and the CS 529 Bluetooth (999 €) to the CS 629 Q—the manual lineup begins directly with the number “4” and the CS 418 (549 €). It then expands to the CS 518 (699 €), followed by the CS 618 Q with its Direct Drive control (1 199 €). And since the last Vienna show, a new CS 718 Q has been added to the lineup.
A worthy successor to the 1973 CS 701—the first direct-drive turntable manufactured in Europe—the CS 718 Q is now one of three models in the lineup, alongside the CS 618 Q (see our review in VU#52) and the CS 629 Q, to feature Direct Drive technology. And like the models in the 6 Series, Dual’s new flagship turntable adds a “Q” to its model number to indicate that it incorporates a highly precise quartz speed control, ensuring a speed variation (more technically measured as wobble and flicker) of less than 0.05% (DIN), whether playing at 33, 45, or 78 rpm.
Its 1.9 kg aluminum platter, with a diameter of 305 mm, is topped with a 4 mm-thick rubber mat. It is mounted on a hardened steel spindle with a brass bushing, which is in turn inserted into an MDF chassis that brings the turntable’s total weight to 10 kg. To support this weight and minimize vibrations, four 68-mm-diameter feet with elastomer are positioned underneath and are height-adjustable to ensure perfect levelness.
Designed exclusively for the CS 718 Q, the tonearm’s tube consists of a carbon-aluminum sandwich that is both highly rigid and very lightweight, finished with a machined shell equipped with an azimuth locking mechanism. Its ball bearing, connected to the end of the machined rotation shaft, is paired with a high-precision double-gimbal spindle mount.
Available in walnut or satin black finishes, with a transparent cover included but without a cartridge, this top-tier turntable from Dual also stands out for its connectivity options—it can be connected to the phono preamp via either a pair of RCA or XLR terminals—and for its more exclusive price tag of 2 490 €.
The Vienna show was an opportunity for Acoustic Signature to celebrate its 30th anniversary with two new models. The first of these is a new entry-level turntable, the Merlin NEO, the only one in the lineup to be sold exclusively as a bundle with the TA-500 NEO tonearm.
While we go into detail about the Double X in VUmètre No. 66 FR, this article is an opportunity to discuss the brand’s new entry-level model. As soon as it arrives in France, we’ll give it a listen to determine whether we’ll approve it for a second review on Acoustic Signature, or if we’d rather start by telling you about a more established turntable like the Hurricane or the Typhoon -from which the Merlin borrows some of its technologies.
While the Merlin NEO is designed to make the German brand more affordable, it incorporates the key technologies found on all the brand’s other turntables, including the DTD (Duraturn Diamond Bearing) bearing and the CLD (Constrained Layer Damping) aluminum anti-resonance damping system, complemented by AVC vibration control.
The externally mounted, digitally controlled motor operates at 33.33 and 45 rpm; its decoupling prevents any transmission of mechanical vibration from the motor to the main chassis -except, of course, to the platter via the thin belt connecting it to the platter. And while the platter doesn’t weigh the 10 kg (20 Ils) of a Double X, it does weigh 5.8 kg (12.8 Ibs) -the same as the Maximus’s- and is also made of anodized aluminum with a layer of bitumen on the underside.
For this first Acoustic Signature model sold exclusively as a package, the Merlin NEO is paired with the excellent TA-500 NEO tonearm -the top model in the line- which is already perfectly suited to minimizing vibrations thanks to the ultra-rigid structure of its tube. The cable connected to it is an Audioquest Golden Gate, featuring RCA connectors so it can be plugged into any phono preamp.
Available for order now, the Merlin NEO is sold with the tonearm but without a cartridge, in a silver or black finish, for 3 998 €.
