Last fall, turntable Victrola launched the $799 Stream Carbon, a document participant that would wirelessly hook up with Sonos audio system so you possibly can play data throughout your own home. As a vinyl nerd who additionally has a bunch of Sonos audio system, this product felt prefer it was made for me — and whereas it is undeniably good, it is also fairly costly. Just a couple of months later, although, Victrola is making good on its promise to increase its Sonos-compatible lineup with the Stream Onyx. Visually and functionally, it is similar to the Stream Carbon, nevertheless it prices $599, 25 p.c lower than the Carbon.
It appears the principle distinction between the 2 turntables are the supplies used, although Victrola’s spec sheets word that the Stream Onyx is constructed with a “low-resonance” MDF plinth (or base) mixed with metallic turntable parts. The tonearm right here is aluminum, fairly than the carbon fiber selection discovered on the Stream Carbon. The Carbon additionally has an aluminum headshell for the cartridge, whereas the Onyx seems to make use of plastic.
The all-black design of the Stream Onyx does away with the hanging silver entrance that made the Stream Carbon a particular piece of {hardware} — however in case you’re not in it for seems to be, the Onyx looks as if a strong technique to get the identical streaming expertise whereas saving some money. The Onyx has the identical easy counterweight system for the tonearm that I discovered extraordinarily straightforward to arrange, and it retains the massive and helpful quantity knob proper up entrance.
And naturally, this turntable can hook up with principally any Sonos speaker (or group of audio system) that has been launched within the final decade. I examined the Stream Carbon with my outdated Play:1 audio system from 2015, in addition to some newer fashions, and all the things labored seamlessly — I count on that’ll be the case with the Onyx, as effectively. If you have already got a superb set of wired audio system, the Onyx retains the traditional RCA output along with its wi-fi capabilities.
Somewhat surprisingly, the Stream Onyx will likely be obtainable very quickly. Victrola says that it will be up for pre-order straight, on Amazon or from plenty of audio gear retailers for $599 beginning on January seventh. The turntable ought to ship in February.
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