audioXpress.com - The Most Popular Stories of 2020

We looked at the most-read articles of 2020 in audioXpress.com (which also includes selected articles from Voice Coil magazine), and we created this Top 10 list of news stories and online articles. 2020 was another record-breaking year for audioXpress.com, with visitors from all over the world returning often to read the more than 6,600 stories available. Which of the topics and stories published online in 2020 were the most popular? Here are the results!

Following the successful launch of the original PecanPi Streamer and Streamer USB, which was quickly followed with the Starkrimson (formerly BOSC) monoblock GaN-based amps, New Jersey-based Orchard Audio is now promoting the launch of PecanPi Streamer Ultra. The Ultra builds upon the affordable and highly reviewed PecanPi Streamer by adding a 5” touchscreen, built-in RCA connectors, and moving all of the connections to the back of the device.

Stuart Yaniger examines new amplifier solutions from two disrupting audio companies. Purifi Audio from Denmark, founded by Bruno Putzeys, Lars Risbo, and Peter Lyngdorf, together with a remarkable engineering team; and Orchard Audio, with a product developed from the creativity and entrepreneurship of Leonid (Leo) Ayzenshtat, in this case exploring the latest gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor technology. This article was originally published in audioXpress, July 2020.

Orchard Audio announced that its versatile PecanPi DAC has now received Roon Tested certification from Roon Labs. This is an important achievement for Leonid (Leo) Ayzenshtat's company, which until know has been widely recognized by the excellent quality of it's products and designs, but was lacking the support of a major software player. With the Roon certification, more users will be encouraged to try The PecanPi DAC, knowing they will be able to use Roon, with its superior music browsing experience and rich metadata.

Orchard Audio announced the launch of the Starkrimson Integrated HiFi Stereo Amplifier, a concept that combines two-channels of the company's existing BOSC amplifiers (recently reviewed in audioXpress) and its popular PecanPi DAC into a single slim enclosure. The inputs are either balanced analog, USB or S/PDIF and it already ships with XLR jumpers to allow side-chaining external preamps or DSPs. An ideal system to bridge a streaming source and a Dirac Live processor. Just add speakers.

audioXpress July 2020 is now available, and there's a quiet revolution happening in audio amplification. Essentially it is the direct result of strong innovation in Class-D technology, with incremental improvements introduced on multiple fronts. In this month's Market Update, J. Martins details a few of the "Class-D Products Getting Smarter" and then Stuart Yaniger discusses Class-D amplifiers from two of those companies: Purifi Audio and Orchard Audio. Also, Ward Maas details his visit to Purifi Audio. Dimitri Danyuk shares his "Fully Balanced Transconductance Preamplifier" project, Roger Russell is "Hunting the Elusive Transient," and Ed Simon concludes his "Powering Your Circuits" series. And there's much more valuable content in this edition. Download or view your issue online now.

There is a very interesting new audio project being promoted on Kickstarter. Coming from Orchard Audio, the BOSC is a well engineered hi-fi monoblock audio amplifier that explores the latest gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor technology to achieve ultra-high performance in a small package. This compact and affordable 150 watt amplifier shows a lot of potential, with an impressive circuit design and high-quality sound, and is available in 3-4Ω (13.8dB gain) or 6-8Ω (16.8dB gain) versions.