Audiohifi

26/05/2026

Rockna meets Diretta. A new dimension of digital playback.
We are proud to welcome the Diretta audio protocol into the Rockna family — now natively integrated in two of our products.
🔹 Wavedream Reference — Diretta Target
🔹 Wavelight Server — Diretta Host + Target
Born from a refreshingly different philosophy, Diretta treats the network as part of the analog chain. By averaging packet timing and reducing power-supply fluctuations inside the player, it lets the analog stages of our DACs breathe — translating into a more natural, more emotionally engaging musical experience.
Whether you stream from your Diretta Host into Wavedream Reference, or use Wavelight Server as both source and target, you are now hearing Rockna at a new level of refinement.
To get started, update your Reference DAC to the latest version and set Diretta as your renderer. You can alternatively use your PC as a Host with the Rockna Diretta ASIO driver, available for download here:
👉 https://s.go.ro/1tsf71lc
Learn more about Diretta → www.diretta.link
Discover our products → www.rockna-audio.com
Delivering Technical Emotions. Since 1999.

26/04/2026

Your roadmap to 𝗛𝗜𝗚𝗛 𝗘𝗡𝗗 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 audio show in Vienna is live! 🗺️🔊

With hundreds of exhibitors and leading audio brands from around the world, there’s a lot to discover. Our 𝗘𝘅𝗵𝗶𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿 & 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 helps you navigate the show at the Austria Center Vienna, find the companies you’re most interested in, and plan your personal highlights in advance.

Whether you're targeting specific brands, exploring new innovations or simply looking for inspiration: this is where your HIGH END journey begins.

Start planning now:
» brands de: hifibit.co/HE2026-marken
» brands en: hifibit.co/HE2026-brands
» exhibitors de: hifibit.co/HE2026-aussteller
» exhibitors en: hifibit.co/HE2026-exhibitors

ℹ️ More info: www.highendsociety.de/high-end.html

08/04/2026

T.H.E. Show Vegas 2026 was smaller and delayed, but some great systems stood out. Did it deliver or come up short?

04/04/2026

Anybody can make an amplifier loud. Plenty can make it punchy. A good few can make it smooth, rich, or impressive in short bursts. But creating a headphone amplifier and preamplifier that sounds clean, effortless, organic, and utterly unforced at the same time? That is a different sport altogether.....

27/03/2026

March 1979, Joop Sinjou of Philips unveils the compact disc in Holland, a joint project with Sony. The CD would go on to become the standard for recorded audio.

14/03/2026

SuperHEAD. Now available.
Our first dedicated, fully balanced, headphone amplifier and line preamplifier. Deliberately minimal. Built to reveal what the recording always had to say. The final piece of the Super Series.
Link in the comments.

06/02/2026

**This video was originally in Cantonese and has been translated into English by AI. The content is identical to the Cantonese version.**feverSound E is a Yo...

06/02/2026

Pass Laboratories, known worldwide for class-leading, musically engaging solid-state electronics, has made the best even better with its new XS Pre 2. The award-winning XS Preamp has been at the top of the Pass range for a dozen years and remains a favorite of demanding audiophiles and reviewers. Suffice it to say that Pass Labs does not introduce new models unless
significant advances have occurred.

That change is evident the minute you see the XS Pre 2, now with a three-box design featuring separate mono amplification sections. The result is a preamplifier that is quieter and more
dynamic, revealing a greater sense of musical realism than the model it replaces—a difficult challenge, to be sure.

The three-box design also incorporates a wide range of innovations from the ground up. The power supply is also a dual mono design, with three double-shielded transformers to lower
mechanical and radiated noise—one for each channel and one separate digital supply. Of course, more capacitance and pre-regulators absent from the original design deliver the sheer brawn, while all the other subtle improvements add up to a flagship pre that is superior in every way.

The output stage has more class A bias and lower output impedance, so it can easily drive long cable runs and any power amplifier. The volume control offers 100dB of range in .5dB steps for seamless attenuation. The new ceramic-based, gold-plated circuit boards are updated, featuring Toshiba FETs in the input stage and MOSFETs in the output stage. These have always been
Pass’s choice for maximum sonics, and we have a vast stockpile to ensure a long product life.

And that’s only part of the story. You need to experience the XS Pre 2. Stop by and see us at the show to hear it for yourself.
Pass Labs’ Wayne Colburn – the mastermind behind the original XS Pre feels the new XS Pre 2 “is the best work I’ve done in 35 years.”

When you're ready, check it out:
https://www.passlabs.com/products/xs-pre-2/

21/01/2026

21/01/2026

For the first time in the wild, the new SuperHEAD - a fully balanced preamp and headphone amplifier! Focused on sublime audio refinement, build quality and user experience!

Deliveries begin February 2026.

Photo credits: SoundNews.net