![]() ![]() This is where Antipodes makes the difference: by tuning the motherboards and using no standard filtering techniques but clever methods that shift noise to frequencies where they do no harm. And any filtering used to counteract this usually has detrimental side effects that lower the audio quality. It’s the stuff that travels along with the data stream over cables and into digital devices where it is often aggravated by the internal circuitry. Mark Jenkins of Antipodes Audio is convinced that one of digital’s biggest enemies is noise. But there’s another factor that seems to be often overlooked: noise. Slowly, we are collectively discovering the importance of influences that were previously thought to be unimportant such as jitter, clock quality, and bit accuracy. But in all matters digital it is important to think outside of the box. Any computer can be a server and digital is digital, right? Well, as far as the data stream is concerned, perhaps yes. What’s so special about Antipodes servers?Įven now that I am writing my fourth Antipodes review it remains difficult to describe what makes Antipodes servers so very special. The drives simply click into place via rear panel slots. The user can very easily install up to 4TB of HDD or up to 8TB of SSD storage, without having to open the enclosure. Any USB ripper can be used or one can transfer files via the network share, and Antipodes also has a separate external CD ripper in their portfolio, the P1, which has the same footprint as the EX and CX. Also, like the EX, there are two Ethernet ports and no integrated CD ripper. Like the EX, the CX has a new ODAPS2 power supply that reduces high-frequency noise without resorting to filtering that would impede the speed of current delivery. ![]() For this review, I’ll focus on the sound and only using Roon. For a full description of all the technicalities and possibilities and a wealth of screenshots, please refer to the earlier DX, DS and EX reviews. In short, Antipodes servers can be set to function in various capacities, such as Roon Server, RoonReady renderer, Squeezebox (including UPnP server), MPD renderer and HQPlayer NAA. These components are extremely versatile and can do so much that I can easily fill several pages describing what they do. ![]() During my use of regular music replay without any filtering or upsampling the CX barely got any warmer than the EX.Ībove: the main Audio App Switcher screen. While the EX’s modest internal heat sink is easily sufficient to keep it cool, the CX uses a heat pipe system without any fans that effectively uses the entire housing as a heat sink. The CX has very powerful processing to enable snappy browsing as well as complex filtering and real-time DSD upsampling. However, the sound is much better when the EX is used as a server and that’s precisely what makes the case for the CX: to provide the best possible platform for a server while being designed such that its high power does not affect the sound quality. It can perform both functions just fine but you can indeed notice that browsing Roon is not as snappy as it is when I use my main Windows computer as the Roon Core. The EX is intentionally low-powered to obtain the best possible sound quality as a Renderer but its low power makes it less ideal for server purposes. In most cases, the best results are obtained by performing both tasks by the same machine (the Antipodes DX is a good example) but extra efforts have been made to provide even better results using the independent EX + CX devices, specialized for each task.Īll Antipodes servers are available in a Black or Silver finish. The former holds the music and creates an index of the library that you can browse via a tablet or computer and the latter receives the music stream via the network, plays it back and outputs it, in this case via USB. When thinking of Roon or any other streaming audio solution, there are two main functions: the Server and the Renderer. While the use cases for the EX and CX might seem to overlap and this might lead to confusion, it’s really quite clear, once you understand the different tasks at hand. When the EX was released, however, plans were already in the making to create a matching component called the CX and after having anticipated it with my usual impatience, now it’s here! I’ve lived with the Antipodes EX for half a year now and as can be read in the review, it is the best Roon Server and Renderer that I have heard. Retail prices in the Netherlands incl 21% VAT: Review sample supplied by Antipodes Audio
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