PACKAGING | CONTENTS

The S10+ comes very well packaged, and not just for the design, which is more than decent. The internals are all held in place with very dense foam, so there’s little to  no chance of the product inside getting damaged. The front illustrates what features the S10+ offers, which are things like direct connectivity to Spotify Connect, wireless connectivity, AirPlay, multi-room audio, and USB DAC. As regards Spotify, this isn’t the only streaming service offered, which also includes the likes of Tidal, Napster, Amazon Music, and a lot more. When it comes to multi-room audio, this can only be achieved with additional Arylic (or WiiM) devices, as AirPlay 1 isn’t capable of multi-room audio as such, which is the preserve of AirPlay 2 of course.

Some of the specs mentioned include a wired connection via an RJ45 port, as well as 2.4GHz WiFi being supported, so no 5.0GHz support I’m afraid. It does also offer Bluetooth 5.0 audio capabilities, and can be connected directly to a computer via a USB-A to USB-C cable for streaming audio, with the USB-C port also doubling up as a power connection.

In the box you get a manual, the S10+ streaming box, an IR remote control, a USB-A > USB-C power cable including power brick, a 1/4″ jack to jack cable, and a 1/4″ jack to stereo phono cable. The only thing missing is an ethernet cable and a digital audio cable.

THE S10+

This thing is smaller than you’d expect, at only 108 x 72 x 26.6mm (WDH) and as such it also feel exceptionally light. That shouldn’t matter though, as this is almost certainly going to be sat in one permanent place.

One of the first upgrades from the original S10 is the introduction of an LED display, which shows icons for the different input source being used at any one time. The S10 only has small labelled LEDs to let you know where the audio was from. However, these icons are pretty small, so maybe not a massively useful upgrade if you have this sat at a distance.

The S10+ now has an optical audio out, which was’t present on the S10, as well as have a dual purpose USB-C port. This port serves to provide power to the S10+, but can also be connected to a PC for streaming digital audio from your computer to the S10+ whilst also providing power.

There’s an ethernet port for a wired connection if you prefer that over WiFi, and of course you have standard Line in and Line out jack sockets to go with the provided cables. One big improvement is the inclusion of controls at the top of the device, with buttons for changing the input source, play/pause, and buttons to control the output volume.

Having the buttons on top of the device provide a modicum of usefulness, albeit way more limited in scope. although they may look more or less mechanical they are in fact touch sensitive, so a gentle but accurate touch works effectively every time. This is possibly one of the more useful upgrades, although possibly not one that would get too much use when factoring in access via your phone.

All in all, the package has it all apart from a digital audio cable and an RJ45 cable.

The image above shows four of the five icons that can be displayed on the front panel, with the first showing both a WiFi connection, as well as representing the ability to listen to audio from any of the aforementioned streaming services, which includes audio streamed from Apple devices using AirPlay. You can connect devices to the S10+ using Bluetooth, which also once again includes iOS devices. The third icon is for the Line input, which would include CD/DVD players, for example. The fourth icon shows up when a USB memory stick is plugged into the USB-A port at the back. The fifth icon (not shown) is displayed once you connect a PC to the S10+ via the USB-C port.

It certainly makes for a better visual than simple LEDs found on the original S10, although stated before, they are small, so maybe not so noticeable, but useful when you’re in front of the S10+ and are changing the input source.

THE IR REMOTE CONTROL

The infrared remote control that comes packaged with the S10+ is the same model you’ll find with one other Arylic products, like the  A50+ I reviewed a couple of years ago (Review HERE, video HERE) but it’s actually quite good. There’s nothing remotely (no pun intended) groundbreaking about it, but it has everything you’d possibly want in my opinion. It has the basics, like power, volume, and audio mute buttons, as well as a separate button to turn the display on or off. You then have individual buttons for the different input methods – USB, Aux-In (Line in), Optical in, Bluetooth, and WiFi. You then have buttons to control the bass and treble levels, as well as a ‘deep bass’ button, and a ‘Flat’ button, which resets the audio to its flat positions. Finally, you have six numbered buttons that allow you to call up presets, which are part of the 4Stream app’s ‘Favourites’ playlist feature, one of two compatible apps, that we’ll get to next.

4STREAM | GO CONTROL (APPS)

There’s no need to create an account with either the 4Stream or go Control apps. Once the S10+ is plugged in, it will eventually be detected by the apps, allowing you to go through the process of adding it to your WiFi network. If you choose the wired option, the S10+ will be discovered even faster. The app is designed to work with a variety of third-party streaming platforms and supports multi-room audio with Arylic’s own selection of amps and streamers.

The home page for 4Stream has four tabs: Browse, Device, Search, and Settings. The main page provides access to preset content and favourites, library items (music on your phone or devices connected to the amp), and music streaming services. If you scroll to the bottom, you can also select the audio source – WiFi (labelled NET), Bluetooth, Line In, or USBDAC.

The Devices page displays any devices connected to the app, which in my case is the S10+ and below that a WiiM Mini (review HERE, Video HERE).

Clicking on the device reveals a more detailed screen with the track timeline, track details, and the usual play/pause/skip buttons, as well as volume controls. Settings for the S10+ includes basic options like naming the device, device info, and even an alarm clock, with a basic treble or bass eq option, which brings us to the other app mentioned, Go Control…

The Go Control app is slightly different in that in focuses more on control over the audio than the streaming options that 4Stream offers. Go Control offers you the chance to sign in or sign up, but this is optional, so you can simply skip this. Once inside, you’ll be presented with the devices you have and an option to select one. As you can see from the second screenshot above, the WiiM Mini is there, listed as Soundbar B, but there are also two instances of the S10+. This is because one option is for the device as it’s connected to your WiFi network, whilst the second is for direct connection between the S10+ and your smart phone or tablet, using Bluetooth. After you’ve made your selection, you can then control playback, as well as swap the source of your audio.

On the same page as the playback controls, you also have options for basic audio adjustments. Under the ‘Sound’ tab, you have sliders for;

• Treble
• Mid
• Bass
• Balance
• Max volume
• Crossover (frequency)
• Deep bass (intensity)

The ‘EQ’ tab gives you access to an 8-band equaliser, that offers a few standard presets, like Classical, Pop, Rock etc. You can also create your own EQ preset and store that in the app for recall later. This app doesn’t offer any way for you to select different streaming services like the 4Stream app does, but it does give you more control over shaping the audio to your liking so they both serve their own functionality.

AIRPLAY 1 | AIRPLAY 2

I’ll admit that when Arylic first contacted me regarding a possible review of the S10+, I was disappointed when I was told it only used AirPlay 1, given that AirPlay 2 has essentially been the standard on Apple devices for a while now. If you’re not familiar with the difference between the two, aside from improved latency and overall reliability that AirPlay 2 brings, AirPlay 1 doesn’t allow you to stream to the device in question in tandem with other audio devices.

AirPlay 2 brought what is described as Multi-Room audio, meaning I can stream a track from my iPhone, iPad, Apple computer, or Apple TV to other AirPlay devices, but I can also select more than one device at a time. Once playback begins, audio going to all devices is synced, so you can be listening to a track in your home office, whilst the same audio is playing from a kitchen AirPlay 2 speaker, if you decide to go and make a sandwich, so you never miss any audio when moving from one room to another. It’s pretty good, and works very well.

As you can see from the screenshots above, each device listed has the option to be selected with over devices – apart from the S10+, which can be selected, but not along with other AirPlay 2 devices.

So in that sense, AirPlay 1 is clearly inferior if you want multi-room audio. The question is how many people actually use this? Probably many, given how many laud airPlay 2 as a concept. In my case, I spend a lot of time in front of my computer, working. If I go to the kitchen or living room, I’m not going to be there long enough for me to justify going into my phone to have any music I’m listening to, stream to another part of the home, for the sake of a minute or two. This might be different if you’re listening to a live broadcast perhaps, but in my case I rarely need or use multi-room audio, so it doesn’t really matter to me, as long as I can stream the music to the S10+ when needed.

As already mentioned, if you have multiple Arylic or WiiM devices, you can achieve multi-room audio, but it’s not AirPlay 2.

THE S10+ IN USE

As you can gather from the last set of screenshots, I do have a lot of AirPlay devices, almost all of which are AirPlay 2. The one device I have that I was thinking of replacing is the Belkin Soundform Connect, which along with being an AirPlay 2 capable device, is a fully fledged HomeKit device too, as it comes with an actual HomeKit QR code, which you don’t often see with AirPlay devices. It can connect to 5.0GHz WiFi which is a big plus for me, and has behaved very well, so I’m loathe to upset the apple cart on this occasion. So, whilst the S10+ has many benefits compared to the aforementioned Belkin – a wired connection, better input options, on-device controls, display – for the time being, the reliability of the Belkin, as well as it’s AirPlay 2 functionality (regardless of whether I use it) and HomeKit integration, are enough for me to hold off for the time being.

This doesn’t and shouldn’t reflect badly on the S10+ (apart from maybe the lack of AirPlay 2), as it’s a great device. I just don’t have a space for it in my smart home right now.

The post Arylic S10+ Wireless Audio Streamer w/AirPlay (review) appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

That said, if you don’t happen to have the need for multi-room audio, and simply want to stream music to your sole Hi-Fi setup, this may be the thing you’re looking for, given the low price point and decent specs. Whilst it’s an AirPlay capable device, it can also directly work with Spotify Connect, Amazon Music, Tidal, Qobuz, TunIn, BBC Radio, iHeart Radio, and many more.

The front is home to a minimalist LED display to let you know how its connected, which also includes an IR receiver for the company’s own fully featured remote control. The top of the device is home to four separate touch controls for volume, play/pause, and stop control.

The S10+ has impressive connection options too, with WiFi (2.4GHZ b/g/n only), or an ethernet port to connect to your home network, a USB port, should you want to stream audio files directly from a memory stick, Line in for connecting to a CD or MP3 player, and Line out to connect to your audio amplifier, AV receiver, or even an active speaker. If you prefer digital audio, the S10+ comes with a dedicated Optical Out. You can also stream directly to the S10+ using Bluetooth, with the unit supporting Bluetooth 5.3. The S10+ is powered via  standard 5V/1A DC USB-C port, meaning you can even power the amp from something like a laptop or computer.

The S10+ is also pretty compact, weighing 105g, and measuring 108 x 72 x 26.6mm (WDH), making it smaller than most smartphones. Below are the details specs for your information;

• Wifi – IEEE 802.11 b/g/n 2.4GHz
• Bluetooth – 5.0 SBC/AAC, 15M, BT Receiver
• Ethernet – Single 10/100M RJ45
• Streaming Protocols – AirPlay, Spotify connect, DLNA, UPnP, Qplay
• Power Input – 5V/1A Type-C Input
• Audio Input
  • Analog – Line In x 1 / 2 Vrms(3.5mm mini jack)
  • Digital – Type-C Input x 1
• Audio Output
  • Analog – Line Out x 1 / 2 Vrms(3.5mm mini jack)
  • Digital – Optical Output x 1
• USB Host – 2.0, For USB pen drive/stick, 1000 songs limited
• Music Format – FLAC/MP3/AAC/AAC+/ALAC/APE/WAV
• Sample Rate
  • Decoding – Up to 24bit/192kHz
  • Output – 44.1kHz/16bit, CD quality
• Frequency Response – 20Hz-20kHz
• THD+N – 0.03%
• SNR – 91dB
• Local Storage – Mobile device memory, NAS, USB pen drive/Stick

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You can preorder the S10+ directly from Arylic, with a 10% off discount using the code PRES10+, which brings the price down to US$62.10, once shipped from June 3rd.

The post New AirPlay Streamer Announced From Arylic appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

If AirPlay 2 is the only thing you’re considering right now (understandably), I wanted to save you the time reading this review, as the Arylic A50+ uses AirPlay 1 only. This means no multiroom audio, basically.

PACKAGE/CONTENTS

Having never really heard of Arylic before, I wasn’t sure what to expect when the company contacted me about the possibility of reviewing their A50+ digital amplifier. It wasn’t something that particularly interested me if I’m honest, but after one look at their website, I felt they were definitely worth a closer look.

The box gives you all the info you need and is solid, which is just as well, given the amp is rather nice, and although could stand a knock or two, the perspex front might not fare so well. The rear of the box really goes into more details for those of a more detailed bent;

• Audio System
  • Speaker Power – 24V 40hm 50W *2 / 24V 80hm 30W *2
  • Speaker Impedance – 4-80hm
  • Audio Format – MP3/AAC/AAC+/ALAC/APE/WAV/FLAC
  • Audio Decoding – Up to 24bit/192KHz
• I/O Interface
  • Audio Input – Analog RCA, Digital SPDIF Optical
  • Audio Output – Speaker out
  • Wireless network – IEEE802.11 b/g/n 2.4G
  • LAN – 10/100M RJ45
  • Bluetooth – 5.0
  • USB Host – Play USB Music
  • Micro USB – Connect to PC/Mac
  • Power Input – 24V/4 16A
• Music sources
  • Spotify, Deezer, Tidal, Qobuz, Amazon Music, Napster, Internet Radio, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, QQ Music*
  • Music stored on mobile phone, tablet
  • iTunes music stored locally on iOS
  • NAS (Network Attached Storage)
    3rd Party Streaming Software (DLNA compliant)
    USB disk drive

* Although Apple Music isn’t listed, you can still play music from some Apple Music-capable devices (iPhone, iPad, Mac computer) via the AirPlay option.

So as you can see, the A50+ is quite a capable device, as long as you have decent speakers to pair with them. In my home I own a pair of Fostex studio monitors, although they are powered, so they aren’t able to work with the A50+, so Arylic also kindly provided a pair of satellite speakers so I could test the amp out. Just to be clear, I am only focussing on the features of the amp in relation to how it can work in your smart home, as opposed to the finer details of its audio capabilities, as I’m not an audiophile capable of giving you an expert opinion on this part of the product.

The box packs a hell of a lot of content, as you can see above. In addition to the amplifier, you get a rather large power brick that uses an IEC socket and power cable, with the power brick connecting to the amp with a coaxial plug.

You get a manual in English, a couple of stereo cables – stereo phono to phono, and stereo phono to quarter-inch jack plug. A single Phoenix speaker connector that you wire your speakers up to, and then plug into the back of the amp. There are two antennae, one of which helps with the 2.4GHz WiFi connection, and the other for the Bluetooth 5.0 signal. I should note that the A50+ can work without either of these, although you’ll get a better reach with them for your WiFi or Bluetooth signal with them in use. The final two pieces are a fairly standard-looking IR remote control, and a screwdriver for use with the Phoenix connector.

THE AMPLIFIER

The A50+ is really quite minimalist looking, with an aluminium casing, and a black plastic front section, that only reveals the Arylic logo when turned off. If it’s powered up, the right-hand side has a small LED that displays different colours, depending on what audio-in mode it’s set to. The opposite side is home to an IR receiver that works with the IR remote, although you can’t really see it.

The rear is a totally different story, with a raft of inputs, supplemented by a couple of output options;

• Stereo line-in along with a subwoofer output
• Optical audio in for a digital audio input
• Micro USB to connect to your computer
• A USB port for connecting a USB stick or external HDD
• An Ethernet port, for a wired connection

This is in addition to the coaxial port for power, the connectors for the two antennae, the socket for the Phoenix connector, and a mode button that can also be used to reset the amp.

THE REMOTE CONTROL

The A50+ comes with a pretty well feature IR remote control that does pretty much everything required. It has the basics, like power and audio mute buttons,  as well as a separate button to turn the mode LED on or off. You then have individual buttons for the different input methods – USB, Aux-In, Optical in, Bluetooth, and WiFi. This last option includes connections for both wired and wireless connections and is also the connection used for AirPlay.

You then have buttons to control the bass and treble levels, as well as a ‘deep bass’ button, and a ‘Flat’ button, which resets the audio to its flat positions.

Finally, you have six numbered buttons that allow you to call up presets, which are part of the 4Stream app’s ‘Favourites’ playlist feature.

All in all, along with the remote, visually, I quite like the look of the A50+, with a build quality that’s really a lot better than expected. It feels well put together, with no feeling of loosely put-together sections, and all parts exuding that old-school ‘Cottage industry’ amp manufacturer feel. Does it do what it’s meant to, however? Let’s see (or hear…).

THE 4STREAM APP

There’s no need for you to create an account with the 4stream app, and once the amp is plugged in, it will eventually be detected by the app, where you’ll then go through the process of adding it to your WiFi network, although if you opt for the wired option, it will discover the A50+ even faster. The app is ultimately designed to be used with an array of third-party streaming platforms initially and is also designed to work with multi-room audio from Arylic themselves, using their own amps.

The home page has three tabs – Browse, Device, and Settings. The main page gives you access to preset content/favourites, library items – music on your phone or devices connected to the amp, and music streaming services.

The Devices page shows any devices connected to the app, which in my case is the A50+. If you have other products from Arylic or even other manufacturers that use the same app, you can add them here. Clicking on the device reveals a more detailed screen with the track timeline, track details, and the usual play/pause/skip buttons, as well as volume controls.

The streaming services you can access directly from within the app include TuneIn, Pandora, Deezer, iHeartRadio, Spotify (Connect), Tidal, Napster, Qobuz, QQFM, QQMusic, and Amazon Music. For all these services you need to sign in/sign up in order to access them, as standard. On the main screen, you can also control the audio input source.

APPLE MUSIC

With AirPlay you can stream audio from your phone, and as seen here, I can directly stream from my music library on my phone. In this case, I’m using the AirPlay tile in the Control Centre to quickly access my music and from there stream to the A50+.

You can also do the same within the Apple Music app, where both AirPlay and AirPlay 2 devices are available.

AirPlay isn’t restricted just to music of course, and in the instance above, I can stream audio from a YouTube video on my iPhone directly to the A50+ or any other AirPlay device.

The same applies to any Apple device capable of streaming, which includes Apple computers; I have a late 2012 iMac running macOS Mojave and I’m able to stream to AirPlay devices including the A50+, and a 2019 iMac running macOS Monterey also capable of the same. This says a lot for Apple’s commitment to AirPlay in general but also to AirPlay 1 and its continued support. That’s not to say that AirPlay 2 isn’t superior of course, which it is, but for those that don’t require multiroom audio, AirPlay still works very well compared to Chromecast in my opinion.

To go one step further, the A50+ can be used in combination with your Apple TV as a temporary audio output, although as already outlined, if you choose the A50+, you can’t choose other AirPlay devices at the same time.

IN DAY-TO-DAY USE

Having used this on and off in a small box room for the past 6-7 weeks, whilst it’s hard to really judge the audio quality of the products outputs – which I’m really not qualified to speak on – it has performed just as well as any other AirPlay product in the home. That it’s not an AirPlay 2 device is a minor issue for me, as in all honesty, my own music tastes aren’t shared by the other members of the home, and so multiroom audio isn’t something I tend to use, although having used the multiroom feature in the past, I can easily see why people like it, and would be a reason to pass on this device. I think where this has its uses is in a home where not everyone uses either the same streaming services or even have different devices that they might want to connect to the amp – Android phones for example. It’s equally hard to fault the ton of input options the A50+ offers, and as this is a digital amp, not an AirPlay speaker, you’re really mostly just limited by the size and quality of the speakers you attach to it.

The one issue I did find was with the remote control and its varied reliability when it comes to the play/pause/skip functions; In practice, these all work regardless of whether you’re streaming from your iPhone, a USB stick, or your Apple computer, but I found some options worked more accurately with the remote buttons than others. with some situations resulting in a long delay when pressing the pause button, to the extent that you end up pressing the button again, only for the amp to finally catch up, resulting in it continuing to play…

That all aside, the build quality is really something else, and it really did go beyond what I was expecting, despite what I initially saw on the company’s website. As I favoured a wired connection in my tests, I found no issues with connectivity at all, although, in the early stages of testing, I did connect the amp using WiFi, and didn’t really notice any issues there either.

The bottom line here is if you have some decent spare audio speakers lying around and want agnostic streaming options, you could do a lot worse. If, on the other hand, you’re all in on multiroom audio, the A50+ is not for you. It’s really that simple for the most part.

You can purchase the Arylic A50+ Digital Amplifier direct from Arylic.com with 5% OFF any purchase using the code NEW003 and free shipping for any purchase over US$90.00.

Full disclosure: Arylic provided HomeKit News with Arylic A50+ AirPlay Digital Amplifier for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was made, requested or has not in any way influenced our opinion of this product.

The post Arylic A50+ AirPlay Digital Amplifier (review) appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.