Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Culture

Hi-fi Corner: Trade out your clunky gear for this silver sonic jack-of-all-trades

Ryan Waniata
By

hi fi corner trade clunky gear silver sonic jack trades sprout 2
There’s something beautiful about an utterly minimalist piece of gear that breathes versatility in function as well as it does simplicity in form. Such is the design of the Sprout from PS Audio, a sleek little piece of audio magic that can run your entire hi-fi system, from vinyl to hi-res audio, all from a slender silver box.

Related: Meet McIntosh McAire: the Rolls Royce of lifestyle audio systems

Related Videos

If audio minimalism were a religion, than devices like the Sprout would be its alter. Similar to the excellent Oppo HA-1, a simple flip of the dial transforms the Sprout into a Bluetooth streaming device, a digital to analog converter for high resolution audio (at a max 24bit/192kHz resolution), a premium headphone amplifier, and an input source for both standard analog devices, and turntables.

Related

But unlike the HA-1, the Sprout goes even further than that, offering 50 watts per side of high-quality stereo amplification to push anything from a pair of shelf speakers, to floorstanders. And if you’ve already got your power plant of choice, it can also be used as a preamplifier to sweeten up the sound before it takes the next step up in the transformer food chain.

Along the brushed-metal back panel are an ample collection of connection ports, including a USB B input for connection to a PC, a Coaxial digital input for a CD player or Blu-ray player, a 3.5mm analog input, an RCA phono input, and banana plug connections for your speakers of choice. The Bluetooth chip is also equipped with aptX for near CD-quality resolution from compatible devices.

The Sprout is fresh off a successful Kickstarter campaign over the Summer, in which it raised over $414,000, far surpassing its meager $36,000 goal. It’s too late to get this premium device for its Kickstarter steal-of-a-deal at $450, but even at its current $800 asking price, the Sprout could prove to be a very worthy investment, especially for those looking to step up while paring down.

If you’d like to trade out your cumbersome gear for something more simple, you can pre-order the Sprout from PS Audio’s website now for delivery in January.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
This Smart Side Table Will Launch Your Bedroom into the Future
sobro smart side table 01

 

With Google Home Assistant and Amazon’s Alexa taking our song requests, cracking jokes on command to entertain us, and finally ridding us humans of the mundane task of turning our own lights on and off, aren’t you getting sick of watching your slack-ass furniture just, like … sit around all the time? Seriously, one good scan of your house and you’ll probably feel like you’re living in the dark ages. Or at least the 90s. Well, here’s some good news: The Renaissance is upon us, and one company is making a play at becoming the Michelangelo of smart furniture.

Read more
These Amazon Echo Accessories Will Make Alexa Your New Best Friend
Amazon Echo

As we all settle into a fresh new year, many of us have a helpful, chatty new friend at home: Alexa. In fact, tens of millions of holiday revelers received an Alexa device this year — the Echo Dot was Amazon’s best-selling product across all categories during the height of shopping season, and the Alexa app swiftly topped Apple’s App Store charts as the gifting chaos drew to a close. If you were one of the millions of people who cracked open a new Amazon Echo this Christmas, you’re probably wondering how to get the most out of your new smart assistant. Should you go all in on a new security system, or start smaller with something that requires less initial investment? Sure, you could just spend 2018 playing Jeopardy with your new AI roomie, but you should at least be aware that there’s a whole world out there of handy accessories that can elevate Alexa from part-time pal to full-time personal assistant. To help you get started, we’ve gathered up a few of our favorites.
WeMo Insight Smart Plug - See It

So, home automation wasn’t really something you had been thinking about until you opened up that Echo on Christmas morn? Been considering it for a while, but still feel a little unsure about where to start? Worried if you go too far too fast, your home will morph into a Pierce Brosnan-voiced, all-seeing, all-knowing killing machine? Well, put those concerns aside, because Belkin’s WeMo Insight Smart Plug is a perfect entry-level, Alexa-compatible accessory for those who’d prefer to ease into the home automation scene. The device fits into any standard outlet and lets you wirelessly control whatever you plug into it from the WeMo app or via Alexa’s voice control. The smart plug has a slim, clean profile, so it won’t be an eyesore in visible outlets, and its ability to set timers and track energy usage propel its usefulness beyond a simple on/off switch.
See It

Read more
Tesla’s New Portable Charger Offers Pocket-Sized Juice for Your Devices
tesla powerbank

If you still want to be part of the electric revolution, but getting on the years-long waitlist for a new Tesla Model 3 sounds like too much of a commitment, then allow us to offer an alternative from the car manufacturer.

The Tesla Powerbank is a portable charger that brings 21st-century power to your pocket (and at a much, much cheaper price point). The innovative piece of tech is geared for all of the early adopters out there — the person who probably bought the first Roadster, then a Model X, and then stood in line to put down a deposit on that new Model 3.

Read more