Micromega Aria (£3600)

摘要

Such is the march of technology that wireless connectivity of audio and video components is now commonplace in today's networked homes. Since the advent of the Squeezebox and Apple's inexpensive AirPort Express, the ability to access music stored remotely on a computer from the comfort of your living room sofa has become the norm for many music consumers. Just ask your local hi-fi shop how many Sonos multi-room systems it has sold in recent years. Networking functionality now comes virtually free of charge in consumer electronics, modern AV receivers featuring Bluetooth or Apple's AirPlay wireless streaming - or both - as value-added features to capture a would-be buyer's attention. But does it have a place in high-end audio, where sound quality takes precedence over convenience? Micromega clearly believes so, having first created its circa-£1000 WM-10 'wireless DAC in early 2010. Gadget freaks may have howled with derision that a specialist audio firm should have had the temerity to take a £79 Airport Express module, put it in a posh box with a beefed-up power supply and charge 'delusional audiophiles' a grand for the privilege. (Of course, by that same token there's nothing wrong with those free-of-charge patch cables supplied with mass-market gear...)