2026 Awards – Streaming Amplifier

The most sophisticated of the two models in Lindemann Audio’s more affordable Woodnote range, the COMBO has a relatively conventional streamer, DAC and amplifier configuration, complete with the not-so-conventional RCA and digital outputs that allow it to work solely as a preamp or streaming transport if desired. As the fully fledged streamer it is first and foremost designed to be though, it is a masterfully executed demonstration of what the German manufacturer does so effectively.

The network streaming module, primarily developed by Lindemann Audio, can handle PCM 384kHz and DSD256 audio, supports most major streaming services, and is controlled by a well-designed companion app that reflects the Woodnote’s seamless overall user experience. 

It may be the company’s entry range, but it sports coaxial, optical and HDMI ARC sockets at the half-width chassis’ rear, which allow you to plug in your TV and digital audio sources, too.

Forgiving and convincing

The 30-watt Class D COMBO effortlessly powers Neat’s Petite Classic stand-mounts. In his review, Ed Selley says it “can perform some genuinely impressive feats”. Indeed, with Yazz Ahmed’s La Saboteuse, “the stunning, Middle Eastern-inspired tracks [are] almost holographic in their immersive quality,” he notes. “There is a richness and decay to the lead trumpet that subtly draws your focus and makes it utterly believable.”

Ed also praises the streamer’s “highly forgiving edge with less-than-perfect material”, its “ability to refine without softening” seemingly ingrained into its sonic identity and also advantageous when it comes to the TV experience. While he notes that certain bass extension and dynamic limitations reflect its modest power output, larger, more sensitive speakers would likely improve upon that.

Reviewed in Issue 246

Lindemann Audio • lindemann-audio.de/en/

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With Roksan securing a license to use the Lenbrook Group-developed BluOS streaming platform, it has been able to turn its established integrated amplifiers into essentially all-in-one systems. Add a grand to the Roksan Caspian integrated’s price tag, then, and you not only have a 105-watt Class AB amplifier based on the company’s Euphoria amplification system, but also an all-inclusive gateway to streaming services, PCM support to 24-bit/192kHz (plus DSD to PCM conversion), and HDMI ARC socket that expands on the ‘normal’ Caspian’s generous connectivity of aptX Bluetooth and RCA, XLR, moving-magnet phono, optical and coaxial inputs.

Balances Roksan’s past with the demanding present

Despite the design’s new and novel elements, the Caspian 4G Streaming Amplifier still, to the relief of reviewer Ed Selley, “sounds like a Roksan and, more importantly, like an amplifier from the Caspian line”.

“This manifests itself in a sense of consistently unforced music flow that is sufficiently propulsive that more exciting and dynamic material doesn’t sound languid or shut in,” he says as the streamer effortlessly keeps up with the frenzied piano playing in Regina Spektor’s live version of Us while ably communicating the high-speed changes to her tone and inflection.

Genuinely good detail retrieval and tonal realism through the phono input show how all this digital wizardry hasn’t hindered the analogue amp section. Finally, bass delivery is pleasing too, with a BlusOS app setting for augmenting the low-end at low volumes proving particularly useful for late-night listening.

Reviewed in Issue 239

Roksan • roksan.com

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The arrival of WiiM at the lower end of the music streamer market has been a cheerfully disruptive one. The inaugural Pro and Pro+ proved that you can get decent sound and comprehensive connectivity for the price of a modest family night out, and the latest flagship Ultra builds on that success by expanding performance and functionality.

In addition to the WiiM streaming platform – with its extensive support for streaming services (essentially everything except Apple Music), a commendable internet radio and Google Chromecast – and optical and analogue inputs, the Ultra also accommodates stable and responsive TV integration via an HDMI ARC socket. Also elevating the Ultra above anything else in a similar price range is its inclusion of a phono stage (moving magnet and moving coil cartridges are supported) and a suite of outputs – RCA, USB, optical, coaxial and sub.

Relentless pursuit of affordable digital

This extraordinary amount of functionality for the asking price is complemented by a performance that also spurs the question as to why you would ‘need’ to spend more on a streamer. Listening to House from London Grammar, reviewer Ed Selley is impressed by how the Ultra “showcases the drum and bass-adjacent lower registers with sufficient control, texture, and speed to keep them engaging while ensuring that Hannah Reid’s vocals above it possess the space, clarity, and tonal realism required to capture your attention and anchor the track”.

Connected to a turntable, the Ultra proves to Ed that “it isn’t just ‘good for a streamer digitising the signal on the fly’; it’s a genuinely enjoyable listening experience”. And as a USB transport, it operates “flawlessly” too.

Reviewed in Issue 240

WiiM • wiimhome.com

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