After over a year in development, Audirvāna Studio is now available in version 3.0 for all Mac, Windows and Linux versions, as well as the Audirvāna Remote smartphone app for iOS and Android.
Featuring a new design called ‘Allegro’, the app has been improved in terms of usability and offers greater consistency across the three formats: computer, tablet and mobile. The brand admits that with this version, it aims to position itself amongst the best apps on the market, with simpler settings (or more advanced ones if you wish to utilize the numerous sound management options) and more intuitive information and functions.
Among other new features, Audirvāna Studio 3.0 now allows the new 10-band equalizer launched last year to be controlled via the Remote app as well. The Crossfeed function for adjusting the soundstage angle when listening via headphones (described on the Phonitor XE SPL in VU#56 FR; we’ll be testing it again soon in the iFi iDSD Phantom review in VU#65) also makes an appearance, along with a multi-channel balance feature, which allows for better speaker management when they cannot be positioned symmetrically in a room.
The Studio 3.0 version currently costs 7.99 € per month (Classic) or 6.66 € with a one-year Access subscription, i.e. 79.99 € per year. And if you’re already a subscriber, don’t change a thing – just update as soon as the update is available.
For nearly three years, Hifiman has primarily promoted the innovation in the ‘unveiling’ of its open-back headphones, which involved reducing the protection over the drivers to allow for better sound dispersion. Now, the manufacturer is adding WiFi connectivity to them.
Tested on the Susvara (VU#55 FR review) and then on the more affordable Ananda (VU#62 FR review), the Unveiled technology has recently improved most of Hifiman’s high-end models, as well as upgrading their planar magnetic diaphragms to a new generation with even thinner coils.
Now, the manufacturer is seeking to gain a technological edge over its competitors by doing away with cables, whilst maintaining musical quality. To this end, although recent Bluetooth chips are beginning to rival the internet, Wi-Fi remains the most reliable connection. That is why, from the start of this year, Hifiman is launching two models, including its excellent HE1000 (VU#24 FR review) and the Arya (VU#27 FR review), in brand-new Wi-Fi versions.
Equipped with the same module, both headphones feature a discrete mini DAC named ‘Hymalaya’ and developed by the brand’s engineers. Positioned inside around the left ear cup, this digital-to-analogue converter is paired with a power module and a Class AB headphone amplifier, as well as a network module. And to lighten these two 452g models, a new headband made from composite material saves 20 to 30g whilst improving the rotation of the ear cups. As true connected headphones, buttons appear on one of the ear cups to adjust the volume and settings.
And for the sake of ergonomics, both WiFi models also feature Bluetooth connectivity, which incidentally offers significantly longer battery life in this configuration—over 20 hours compared to just around 7 hours on WiFi. Thanks to the digital components, both DSD512 and 768 kHz/32-bit PCM can be decoded, with a USB-C port serving for both charging and wired listening.
Based on Nanometer Thickness technology, the HE1000 WiFi’s diaphragm remains superior to that of the Arya WiFi, which retains the already high-quality planar membrane of its wired counterpart, the Neo Supernano Gen.2.
As for prices, they are set at around 20% higher than the Unveiled models, at 2 959 € for the HE1000 WiFi and 1 599 € for the Arya WiFi. It will probably come as no surprise to you to hear that we have already received one of the two for a review to be published in our next issue…
A small revolution at Etsuro, a brand of the Excel Sound group, which is releasing its first non ‘Urushi’ cartridge.
Named Gin-nezu (literally “silver-gray”), this cartridge largely retains the same specifications as the Urushi Cobalt (nearly twice as expensive), but features a boron cantilever with a diameter of 0.28 mm. Although already considered high-end, this material had not yet been used by the brand, which had opted for sapphire on the Cobalt and Bordeaux models and pure diamond on the Gold.
The chassis, made of A7075 super-duralumin, remains unchanged from the three existing models, but it is no longer coated with Urushi lacquer, as the Gin-nezu features a matte silver-gray finish. The 80-μm microline shaped diamond stylus remains the same as that found on the two higher-end series, with a tracking force still rated at 70 μm at 2 g.
And while the connectors are also in rhodium-plated, the coils in this MC (Moving Coil) cartridge have been redesigned, as the internal impedance rises to 5 Ω—a value that remains very low, but 1 Ω higher than the Gold (4 Ω) and 2 Ω higher than the Cobalt and Bordeaux (3 Ω!), while the channel separation boasts an excellent value of 30 dB (compared to 33 dB for the others).
Having already passed through our hands, this Etsuro Gin-nezu cartridge manages to retain the musicality and soundstage depth of the Etsuro Urushi, while offering a reduced price of 2 490 €. We’ll tell you more about it in detail very soon in a review!
Having been virtually unseen in our region in recent years, the Japanese Analog Relax cartridges are making a comeback in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Switzerland through the distributor Ana Mighty Sound, which is now offering listening sessions at its new Paris location at 77 Avenue de Ségur.
With a lineup of five models, Analog Relax has developed a proprietary process for integrating the stylus into the cantilever. Called “IF adhesive,” this bonding method involves attaching very fine diamond particles to a special adhesive to fill the gap between the stylus tip and the cantilever hole. By firmly integrating the stylus tip with the cantilever, this results in a significant improvement in the amount of information reproduced and the sense of presence in the sound.
At the same time, all Analog Relax’s current cartridges have been updated thanks to the work of a new engineer, who has overhauled their entire manufacturing process. This redesign significantly benefits the moving coil design, which now features extremely low internal impedances: 4.5 Ω for the EX300 and EX700, and even 4 Ω for the EX500. The top-of-the-line models feature an impedance of 8.8 Ω, with ruby cantilevers and a rare Yakusugi cedar housing for the EX1000, and a diamond cantilever, pure diamond Super Curve Line Contact stylus, and a Tyrolean spruce chassis for the EX2000.
Featuring an elliptical diamond stylus on an aluminium cantilever, the EX300 kicks off the lineup at 2 890 €, delivering impressive results—you can read our initial impressions in the review of the J.Sikora Aspire turntable in VUmètre No. 64. At 4 990 €, the EX500 upgrades the elliptical stylus and features a solid Romanian hard maple body, typically used in violin making. The EX700 uses the same spruce wood as the EX2000, along with a boron cantilever; it is priced at 7 790 €, with the EX2000 costing more than double that (16 990 €) and the EX1000 falling in between (12 490 €).
Also worth noting, the brand offers two antistatic brushes and two ranges of cables in its catalog for connecting cartridges to a tonearm or headshell. We will tell you more about one of the cartridges we’ve selected for a full review as soon as possible.
Pending final approval from the relevant authorities, the sale of VerVent Audio Holding for €135 million would bring the Focal and Naim Hi-Fi brands under Barco’s umbrella.
Just one year after Samsung acquired Masimo’s audio division (Bowers & Wilkins, Marantz, Denon, etc.) for $350 million and two years after Bose acquired the McIntosh Group (McIntosh, Sonus Faber, etc.), it is now VerVent Audio and its Focal-Naim brands’ turn to be acquired by a larger group.
Specializing in integrated audiovisual projection, as well as professional imaging solutions—particularly for the healthcare sector—the Belgian group Barco appears to be seeking products from Focal and Naim that are closer to high-fidelity and professional hi-fi.
With its Car Audio products and a strategy increasingly focused on hybrid and versatile solutions (Bathys headphones, Focal Diva Utopia speakers, MuSo, and MuSo Hekla), the Focal-Naim brands have already shown in recent years a tendency to break out of the mold of home hi-fi to tap into the massive market (>$5 billion) for connected audio and home theater integration.
Backed by a network of over a thousand retail outlets worldwide, including 80 dedicated Focal Powered by Naim stores or corners, the brands will be able to leverage the new group—which specializes notably in cinema projectors—to expand even further beyond high-fidelity. It remains to be seen whether this will bear fruit in terms of R&D and leave ample room to continue producing high-quality hi-fi products.
