Essential Install | Multi-Room Music Systems
DID YOU KNOW: Drake’s One Dance has been streamed over 882 million times on Spotify, the most ever
Bluesound is the
latest maker to
tailor its system
specifically for the
benefit of installers
Cabasse offers a six-strong range of steaming
products offering access to the user’s own music and
Internet sources from Deezer, Qobuz, Spotify a nd Tidal.
A USB connection provides direct access to music stored
on a flash drive or a hard drive and built in DLNA server
technology enables the content to be played across the
network. Multi-room capability is built into the range,
with the creation of different zones comprising multiple
Stream models achieved via the Stream Control App for
iOS and Android.
Some range highlights include the Stream AMP, a
compact four-channel amplifier with the ‘connect and play’
approach of the Cabasse Stream products. It is fitted with
four loudspeaker outputs, enabling stereo or mono use
with one or two pairs of loudspeakers. Included are two
RCA inputs, an optical SPDIF input, a preamplifier output
and a subwoofer RCA output.
The Stream Source is a stand-alone source product that
brings streaming connectivity to the main audio system in
the house or to an existing or new multi-room installation.
High quality digital to analogue converters take the digital
signal from the NAS drives in file formats from MP3 to
96kHz FLAC and present the to a Hi-Fi or distributed
audio system.
Cabasse boasts that the ease of set-up of its range is
without parallel. Using the Stream Control App, claiming
the system can be up and running in less than five minutes
and multi-room music zones created in equally fast time.
Another player worth checking out is a brand that until
this point had perhaps been best known in the retail sector,
picking up consumer magazine What Hi-Fi’s Best MultiRoom streaming system for the third year running recently.
That brand is Bluesound and given that its BluOS operating
system is fully High-Res, MQA and HRA of Japan approved
and embeds a large choice of Hi-Res service and portal
music access services, the manufacturer is ambitious to get
the concept in front of more installers who want to deliver a
high-end result.
If the Bluesound name is unfamiliar, installers will be
pleased to know it is part of the Lenbrook Industries group,
also manufacturer of the perhaps more familiar NAD brand.
Lenbrook recently announced a new distribution set
up for both brands as Anatech Distribution has been
appointed as its UK and Ireland distribution partner.
The move follows four years of increasing sales in the
UK through retailers Sevenoaks Sound & Vision and is
designed to open up Bluesound and the growing BluOSenabled NAD CI products to retailers and installers.
Like its competitors, Bluesound offers a range
of speaker options and recently added a new
networked Soundbar. “With the launch of Bluesound
Generation 2, we are adding an exciting range of NAD
branded BluOS products designed specifically for
the CI channel,” says David Cain, director of sales for
Lenbrook. “With the product road-map now complete,
we decided to appoint a distribution partner with the
focus on extending our reach in the UK market. We
selected Anatech Distribution because of their extensive
experience in the streaming sector, their professional
approach and the focus that they will bring to our brand.”
The new CI products include two BluOS multi-zone
streaming products designed for performance distributed
audio systems. The CI 580 is a 1U, four-zone BluOS
streamer designed to offer a flexible, cost-effective
package, while the CI 720 Network Stereo Zone Amp is a
single zone BluOS network streamer featuring a boost via
NAD amplification. Up to six CI 720 modules can be fitted
into a 2U rack bay using the RM 720 tray accessory.
Anatech Distribution is a dedicated division of
Levco Limited. “Distributing Bluesound is a natural
progression for us as a business,” says Simon Lever,
founder of Levco Limited and veteran of the technology
sector. “We are tremendously excited to partner with
Bluesound on their journey.”
Fleshing out the concept and in a similar way to Denon,
offering the ability to cross pollinate the advantages of
it operating system across more products, recent NAD
streamers also include BluOS functionality. Augmenting the
company’s CI Series and both with BluOS are the CI 580,
a four-zone streamer and the CI 720, a networked single,
modular stereo zone network streamer featuring NAD’s
hybrid digital amplification.
In a little more detail, the CI 580 offers four stereo zones
into a 1U rack space and the zones can be synchronized
(up to 36) or can play individual streams, all in 24-bit
resolution with sample rates up to 192kHz. Fixed or variable
line outputs also provide flexibility and a system interrupt
is also included, lowering volume so users can hear
HEOS Amp
WIRELESS AMPLIFIER: TURN ANY
SPEAKERS INTO A WIRELESS ZONE.
Distributed in the UK by AWE Europe Ltd
TM
[email protected]
+44 (0)1372 729 995
www.awe-europe.com
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