Made In Penang AA Audio Music Streamer
Based on a Windows multimedia PC and what I suspect are mainly off the shelf parts, the made in Penang AA Audio music streamer has a special sticker price of RM12000 for the Northern Audio Visual Penang show. It comes with a Windows OS and houses a music library in a 2T SSD. The power supply is a specially made low noise linear power supply.
I sat through a demo of a couple of music tracks from a Dire Straits album with the AA streamer feeding a pair of Harbeth speakers. Amplification was by McIntosh. Yes, the sound quality was certainly good. But RM12000 can buy you a very decent home theatre system with 5 speakers.
In 2016, I ordered the Vita music streamer, Wave DAC, Pulse linear power supply and Disc CD ripper from a crowd funded company in Hong Kong called Nativ Audio. See the YouTube video below.
The 4 Nativ products had a WoW factor with aluminium frames and glass sides. I recall the Vita music server even had good reviews by John Darko, a well known Hifi reviewer. But I think the company is no longer in business. The Facebook page is still around but the online website shop seems to be out of order.
The point I am trying to make is that if you are thinking of buying expensive, niche Hifi equipment like the AA music streamer which has no DAC, it pays to ponder if after sales service will be available 5 to 10 years later. If my Nativ DAC or Vita music streamer dies, I don't think they can be fixed.
Music streamers are getting cheaper and cheaper. In the past 6 years, even budget music streamers from major audio brands (eg Yamaha) now sell for well under RM2000. Some have bundled in multi room Multicast capability, Class D amplification, on board DACs, Bluetooth functionality for use with smartphones and iOS and Android control apps. Prices have fallen sharply because both Class D amplifier and DAC design and quality have improved greatly just in the past 3 years.
I own a streaming amplifier, the Hegel H90, a 60Wpc class AB amplifier with 4 digital inputs and a USB input, a 24 bit 192 kHz DAC and a ethernet port. It also has Spotify Connect built in support and a pair of analogue inputs for legacy hifi equipment like a turntable.
The Hegel H90 (now discontinued) does not have it's own control app - you have to bring your own (I use mConnect on my Android smartphone and iPad) . The price of the Hegel H90 is less than half of the AA Audiostreamer, which has no amplifier and DAC.
Even cheaper music streamer options abound. I have a Yamaha WXA-50 music streamer with Class D amplifier, Bluetooth streaming and multicast (Multiroom WiFi streaming) capabilities. It's less than half the size the Hegel H90 and also less than half the price, about RM1600. The Yamaha WXA-50 has its own Musicast control app available on iOS and Android. Further, it can controlled via a web page on PC and Mac. However you are limited to just one analogue input and one digital input (optical) . The sole USB input is for attaching a library of tracks on a USB stick. Through its ethernet port, I have my WXA-50 connected via WiFi to a DNLA compliant Olive One music server with a built in Class D amplifier and DAC in another room.
The sound quality of the H90 and WXA-50 is I suspect good enough to satisfy most people, including yours truly (an audiophile who has spent in excess of RM200,000 on hifi equipment over the past 40+ years). Of course you can spend more money on a stand alone music streamer if you want better sound but the incremental returns will be small. And you will have to deal with cable and power cord clutter.
Post Script -Hifi gear I've owned over 4 decades
Turntables - Mitchell Gyrodec Bronze edition with SME Model 10 arm, Clearaudio Champion TT with modded upgrade wired Rega RB250 arm, Revox B95 tangential arm TT, Yamaha M500 Musicast TT with built in phono stage and streamer, Sansui SR 221B TT, a cheap Technics tangential arm TT.
Headphones - Oppo PM3, Audeze LCD2, Audeze 3, Audeze MX4, Audeze iSine10 (2 pairs), AKG (702 pro_ made it Austria, q701 Quincy Jones edition, k550 (2 pairs). Senheisser (HD650, Momentum Over ears Gen 1), Beyerdynamic (DT1350, TP5p Astell & Kern Gen 1). B&W PX wireless, Earfun Free Pro Wireless Oluv special edition, Bion
Amplifiers - Trio (Kenwood) integrated, NAD 3020 integrated amplifier, Copland tube pre and power amplifiers CTA301 and CTA504, Conrad Johnson tube pre and power amplifiers PV10A & MV50, VtL ST80 power, Tube Technology Unisis Mk 1 integrated amplifier with all tube phono pre amp, Ekco EVA tube integrated amplifier, Audion tube ETSE power amplifier, Micromega Microamp, Metaxas Charisma preamp, TEAC 301A integrated, Trends TA 10.2 Tripath chip amplifier, Meridian 561 audio visual controller
Headphone amplifiers - O2 by JDS, Schitt Jotenheim, Lehmann Audio StudioCube & Linear preamp and headamp, Woo Audio WA6 SE tube headphone amplifier, Ekco EVH tube headphone amplifier, Geekout 450 portable DAC and amp, Oppo HA2 DAC & headamp, Chord Mojo DAC and amp, Rein tube preamp and headphone amp, Drop THX AAA 789 headphone amplifier, EIDA DAC headamp, Hidizs S30 DAC headamp, Zorloo DAC headamp
CD players & DACs- Meridian 500 transport, 563 DAC, Copland CD266, Brik Audio DAC, Micromega MicroCD & MicroDAC, TEAC VRDS, Nativ Wave
Speakers - Leak 3020 bookshelf speakers, Bertagni BES 300 electroacoustic speakers, Kef 104/2 floor standing speakers with Kube equaliser, Spendor SP10 bookshelf speakers, Audica CS satellites, SVS PB1000 Pro subwoofer, Audica subwoofer, M&K V75 subwoofer, Morel DIY bookshelf, LS3/5A DIY bookshelf, Focal DIY bookshelf, Triangle Genese Trio bookshelf speakers, Gallo Micro satellites
Music servers & streamers- Olive One with 2T SSD, Nativ Vita with 4T SSD, Nativ Pulse linear PS and Nativ Disc CD ripper, Allo Signature One music player, Allo Boss USB bridge, KEF LSx music streamer & powered speakers, Logitech Squeezebox Touch server with touch screen
All in one systems - Audica MPS with speakers, Mission NXT powered panel speakers & subwoofer
Cassette player- NAD
Tuner - NAD
Miscellaneous - Shun Mook Mpingo discs, Shakti Stone, VPI db5 brick, iFi power supply, no brand linear PS, WAE power supply conditioner, WAE isolation transformer, Townshend Seismic Sinks, Matsunaga voltage regulator
Network storage - QNAP 4 T NAS
