The MERGING+PLAYER offers a single box solution to playing files with Roon. It is offered in stereo or multichannel variants to cater for the former SACD enthusiasts, who can listen to the multichannel files as they should be heard. Since Roon 1.3, multichannel DSD playback has been implemented and this was a direct result of the Merging/Roon partnership which is ongoing with the intention to introduce other new features in the future.
The room will be staffed by Chris Hollebone, Sales and Marketing Manager of Merging, Fraser Jones, President of Independent Audio and Michael Broughton of The Audiophile Source who will be working his magic in setting up the room. Independent Audio is based in Portland, Maine and has been Merging’s professional distributor for many years. The company has an enviable track record of managing logistics and technical support throughout the USA and Merging is confident that the change will suit the dealer network.
RMAF will be the first North American demonstration of the MERGING+POWER. Reviewers have been unanimous in praising the excellent audio quality of the MERGING+PLAYER and MERGING+NADAC, so that would indicate that the designers did a fine job with the power supply. There is a body of opinion that maintains that removing all AC components from the chassis should improve the performance even more. MERGING+POWER is the company's answer. The unique hybrid design mixes switch mode and analog toroidal transformer technology to separate the different requirements of the key internal components. All major parts of the power plant meet aerospace or military specifications and have been selected to offer the ultimate in sonic integrity.
The advantages of using Ethernet were plainly obvious to other DAC and server manufacturers and there has been much interest in how this could be incorporated into their products. The Aurender X100 Digital Music Player will be connected to the network to show the versatility that this can bring to the home. This product takes advantage of Merging’s LINUX Virtual Audio Device which can be adopted by other devices using the same operating system. Merging has also developed drivers for OSX and Windows to ensure that RAVENNA can be used with any computer platform.
Merging will soon be introducing ZMan, a new compact and powerful RAVENNA circuit board which will be offered to OEM partners, bringing the advantages of a networked solution to audio components as diverse as loudspeakers, DACs and server/streamers. In addition to RAVENNA, this board will allow for a whole range of other capabilities like Roon Ready support, streaming services and DSP processing for advanced formats decoding or room correction.
Merging's RAVENNA network products allow real-time distribution of audio and other media content in IP-based network environments. Utilizing standardized network protocols and technologies, RAVENNA can operate on existing network infrastructures, is designed to meet the strict requirements of the pro audio market featuring low latency, full signal transparency and high reliability, and is fully AES67 compatible. With a capacity of nearly 8 x MADI streams over a single Gigabit Ethernet link, it is also the first and only Layer-3 based IP audio protocol with full support for high-channel count DXD and DSD signals.
www.merging.com
