REPRODUCEDFROMHI-FI+
ByAlanSircom AURALiCALTAIRG1DIGITAL AUDIOSTREAMER
“Itabsolutelyknocksthattight,fast,leading-edge drivenpercusivesoundoutofthepark.”
HeadingintoandoutoftheGreatLockdownof 2020,wealneedmusicinthehome,andthus need a musicsource thatisatonce good sounding,reliable,easytonavigateandoperate, andinparticular‘instalerfriendly’.Atatimewhen wearestilreluctanttoletanyoneintoourhomes andlisteningrooms,aproductthatrequiressome ‘heavylifting’–beitphysical,mentaloreven financial–ishardtojustify.Whichiswhyit’s perhapsno surprise thatthe ALTAIR G1 by AURALiCisverymuchindemand. Let’sunpicktheabovebecauseIsuspectitmay cometo defineaudio long afterthecurent ‘unpleasantnes.’TheALTAIRG1isanelegant, ‘justaddamplifier’al-in-onedigitalsolution.
Weighinginatashadeunder7kg,it’snotgoingto taskmostpeoplewhenitcomestohaulingitonto a shelf. Having a set of understandable connections(foraproductin2020)andusing AURALiC’snowrock-solidLightningappforboth set-up and use,geting itto makesound is comparatively unthreatening (as in ‘not as plug-and-playasaCDplayer,butdoesn’trequire anengineeringdegreetomakeitgo’)andthe priceisn’tintheheartstoppingcamp.Forthe appreciablefuture,Ibelieveit’sproductslikethe ALTAIRG1–asdistinctfrom aproductthat weighsasmuchasaplanet,ismorecomplexto understandthanacourseincelestialmechanics, andcoststheearth–thatwilsetthestandards fortomorow’sHi-Ficomponents.
14 MUSICATHOME+
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