Network Audio Players/Servers

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Review: Jamie Biesemans, Lab: Paul Miller  |  Jun 06, 2025  |  First Published: May 01, 2025
hfnoutstandingWith its macho industrial design, large touchscreen interface, fibre network connection and cutting-edge digital technology, Eversolo’s flagship streamer/preamp raises the bar

Eversolo’s DMP-A8 was an indication of the Chinese brand’s ambition to progress beyond affordable but very capable DACs and streamers into ‘real’ hi-fi territory. The DMP-A10, which ratchets up both features and finish, is the next step. It’s also Eversolo’s first full-sized component, alongside a new AMP-F10 power amplifier that’s clearly been designed to be a perfect visual match.

Review: Jamie Biesemans, Lab: Paul Miller  |  Jul 20, 2024
hfnoutstandingIf ever the phrase ‘all-singing, all-dancing...’ could be applied to an audio streamer then Eversolo’s flagship model is the promise given form. The DMP-A8 should take a bow...

Search online and you’ll discover a groundswell of cheap DACs and streamers playing to every (hardware) whim, making it easy to overlook Eversolo’s efforts. But the company, which is the dedicated audio department of Shenzhen-based Zidoo, known for its EISA Award-winning Neo S media player, follows a different, more quality-focused strategy, as the affordable Z8 DAC and DMP-A6 have so far proved.

Review: Jamie Biesemans, Lab: Paul Miller  |  Jan 06, 2026  |  First Published: Jan 01, 2026
hfnoutstandingA compact amplifier that’s ready to integrate with every conceivable streaming platform and playback service – does Eversolo’s aptly named Play redefine the budget ‘all-in-one’?

In the wake of well-established products such as the Sonos Amp and Bluesound’s Powernode, we’ve seen a slew of compact all-in-one amplifiers from brands including Denon, Marantz [HFN Aug ’24] and WiiM [HFN Nov ’24]. Now Chinese company Eversolo enters the fray with an offering that, while not the most affordable of its ilk, is keenly priced if you consider its extensive list of features. The Eversolo Play, at £599, even boasts a touchscreen displaying the Android-based interface also found on the brand’s DMP-A10 [HFN May ’25] and DMP-A8 [HFN May ’24] streaming DAC/preamps.

Review: Andrew Everard, Lab: Paul Miller  |  Jan 11, 2025  |  First Published: Dec 01, 2024
hfnoutstandingFocal’s inaugural DSP-guided active loudspeaker is a true flagship, both in style, sound and under-the-skin engineering. But is this a one-off or just the start of a new range?

The latest member of Focal’s Utopia loudspeaker family is clearly cut from a different cloth – and that’s before you lay eyes on its felt cabinet wrap. Sure, at £29,995 the Diva Utopia boasts a similarly ‘high-end’ asking price to the likes of the £34,999 Scala Utopia Evo [HFN Aug ’17] and its overall styling isn’t far off its siblings either. But this is Focal’s first active loudspeaker, the result of a collaboration with Naim Audio, its stablemate brand since 2012. In fact, to call it a speaker doesn’t really do the Diva Utopia justice. It’s more like a full system inside a loudspeaker enclosure.

Review: Andrew Everard, Lab: Paul Miller  |  Jan 28, 2020
hfnoutstandingHere's a compact amp with both digital and analogue inputs, plus a full Roon-ready network audio implementation, and radically lowered price – what's not to like?

Alot can happen in three years, and while the amplifier we have here is very much the smaller sibling of the DIA-400S [HFN Oct '16], it's also boosted by the inclusion of the Danish company's NPM module, a complete network audio solution giving access to a wide range of streaming options.

Review: Andrew Everard, Lab: Paul Miller  |  Jan 04, 2021
hfnoutstandingThe dedicated music server is in the ascendant, and every company has a different twist on the idea. In the case of Dutch company Grimm Audio, the twist is especially unusual

The continued rise of network audio has created a new game in the hi-fi world, best summed up as 'Yes, but what is it?'. You see, all sorts of network-capable devices exist right now, and it seems each of them has a somewhat different approach. For example, perhaps the best-known name in 'audiophile servers' or 'music libraries', Melco, started out by making products designed to feed network players over a network connection, paying close attention to the isolation and optimisation of the Ethernet feed. It then reinvented itself as a maker of network transports, connecting directly to a suitable DAC using a USB output, again with isolation strategies implemented.

Review: Andrew Everard, Lab: Paul Miller  |  Jun 30, 2025  |  First Published: Jun 01, 2025
hfnoutstandingNo off-the-shelf chips for Holland’s Grimm Audio as the networking and custom code of the MU1 music server are joined by a Roon-equipped DAC/preamp in the same chassis

Network players have the potential to be a great leveller for ‘family listening’ outside of the exclusive audiophile world. It’s even possible that younger music fans will discover the joys of sitting and listening via a proper hi-fi system. Of course, that means everyone getting to grips with streaming music from internal storage or Tidal and Qobuz, putting together the odd personal playlist, and even routing the TV sound through the system.

Review: Mark Craven, Lab: Paul Miller  |  Jan 05, 2026  |  First Published: Jan 01, 2026
hfnoutstandingSucceeding the H120 as Hegel’s second-tier amplifier, ‘The Prodigy’ also includes the brand’s latest streaming platform and is the first to include support for external drives

There’s an easy way to understand the hierarchy of amps in the Hegel catalogue, be they pre, power or integrated. The higher the number, the ‘better’ the specification (you might think this would be the only way to go about it, but some rival companies – I’m looking at you, HiFi Rose – beg to differ). And so it is that the Norwegian manufacturer’s new H150 integrated, priced £2750, takes up a middle-of-the-range position, above the entry-level H95 [HFN Oct ’20], and below the H190v, H400 [HFN Oct ’24] and H600 [HFN Oct ’23].

Review: Andrew Everard, Lab: Paul Miller  |  Oct 16, 2019
hfnoutstandingA little over half the price of the mighty H590 amp, in a slimmer design and with very similar facilities and output, this new arrival from Norway is a sure-fire bargain

They're clearly fans of the old buckled swash at Hegel: having evoked Master And Commander in announcing its £9000 H590 flagship amplifier [HFN Oct '18], the Norwegian company says it's calling the new H390 'Robin Hood'. Why? Well, it's all a matter of re-distribution of wealth, apparently, for the £4900 debutant takes much of the ability of its big brother, and makes it available to those of us of humbler means.

Review: Jamie Biesemans, Lab: Paul Miller  |  Apr 23, 2025  |  First Published: Oct 01, 2024
hfnoutstanding

With the H600’s streaming/DAC platform at its heart the new H400 – dubbed the ‘Streamliner’ by Hegel – looks set to take over as the sweet spot of the range

When Hegel’s reference H600 integrated amplifier [HFN Oct ’23] arrived to replace the H590 [HFN Oct ’18] last summer, it didn’t require much insight into the hi-fi industry to guess that the H390 [HFN Aug ’19] would also be marching in the general direction of the exit soon enough. It’s taken a year, though, before the replacement H400 – aka the ‘Streamliner’ – eventually pulled into port.

Review: Jamie Biesemans, Lab: Paul Miller  |  Nov 24, 2023
hfnoutstandingBuilt into an enhanced H590 chassis but featuring 'sound tuning' from the P30A/H30A pre/power, Hegel's fully-networked flagship integrated gets off to a flying start

After an extended period of Covid and component shortage-related calm, Oslo-based Hegel has seemingly shifted into overdrive, launching multiple new products in just half a year. First up in 2023 was a major update to its flagship pre/power system in the form of the P30A and H30A [HFN Jun '23], followed by the Viking CD player [HFN Sep '23]. The third act is the launch of the H600, which takes over from Hegel's popular, top-tier H590 integrated streaming amp, and sells for £10,500 in a very dark grey, almost matt black finish.

Review: Andrew Everard, Lab: Paul Miller  |  Nov 16, 2020
hfnoutstandingThe new entry-level model in the Norwegian company's amp range is a sensible mix of facilities and performance – or at least it would be, if the sound wasn't sensational!

Oslo-based Hegel has been enjoying something of a purple patch of late: not content with raising eyebrows with the sheer performance of its flagship H590 integrated amplifier [HFN Oct '18], it went on to get dangerously near that level with the much more affordable H390 model [HFN Aug '19], offering almost all of big brother's sound quality for not much more than half the price. Our HFN review concluded that it was 'sensationally good value, with a clean, powerful sound and bags of musicality, not to mention exceptional flexibility including onboard network streaming'. Unsurprisingly, it won the 2019-20 EISA Award for 'Best High-End Amplifier'.

Review: Andrew Everard, Lab: Paul Miller  |  Oct 01, 2018
hfnoutstanding.pngThe Norwegian brand’s latest amp is not just its most powerful integrated, but comes complete with network audio capability. Is this the ultimate one-box amp solution?

Obviously not afraid of a spot of (Russell?) crowing, Oslo-based Hegel describes its new Reference H590 integrated amp, just going on sale at £9000, as ‘Master and Commander’. Apparently it’s ‘A master at musicality’ and ‘The commander of any set of speakers’. Mind you, you might be tempted to forgive the company for its exuberance – after all, the new arrival is something of a monster, standing an AV-receiver-challenging 17.1cm tall, tipping the scales at 22kg and delivering over 300W per channel. Well, 301W a side actually, according to Hegel, making it at least 50% more powerful than its previous top integrated, the H360.

Review: Andrew Everard, Lab: Paul Miller  |  Nov 02, 2023
hfnoutstandingKorea's HiFi Rose has moved upmarket with its first DAC-less, transport-only network player – the result is an impressive combination of purity and innovative technology

As if on a one-company mission to prove all the variations possible when it comes to network audio, Korean brand HiFi Rose has gone in very short order from being an upstart newcomer to its current role as a pillar of the digital establishment. And it's done so not by the simple expedient of taking one platform and pitching it at a range of price-points, but rather by expanding its offering to fill every niche from the all-in-one 'just add speakers' system [HFN Mar '22] to the highly-focused high-end network component explored on these pages.

Review: Andrew Everard, Lab: Paul Miller  |  Jul 13, 2021
hfncommendedPowered by in-house hardware and software engineering from Korea's Citech group, the HiFi Rose brand combines slick visuals with the promise of state-of-the-art sound

One of the great benefits of the rise of streaming – be it network or online – is the flexibility it gives manufacturers to create just about any product they like. There are some basic formats, including the all-in-ones like the Naim Uniti [HFN Nov '17], NAD M-Series [HFN Aug '20] and the new Cambridge Audio Evo. There are also streaming amps and standalone playback components (network players or DACs), but within those parameters the engineers and designers have no shortage of freedom to create network audio devices in just about any shape they want…

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