EVENT: Striking the Right Chord
July 21, 2022
Upcoming Events at Home Media HQ
August 5, 2022
A big part of the enjoyment of working at ‘Home Media Towers’ is the discovery of pushing the boundaries with performance upgrades to hi-fi and home cinema systems. Particularly if said upgrades are of a similar size to that of an Apple TV and do not occupy precious shelf space…
So, what products have we to share with you on this occasion? We have no less than three models from a largely unknown brand within the audio market, called Waversa, which we recently road-tested.
The first product is the Waversa Smart Hub 3.0, featuring four ethernet ports and USB A and USB B connections.
The second of the bunch is the Waversa LPS H/P Linear Power Supply, which is an upgrade for the aforementioned Smart Hub 3.0.
Our final offering is the Waversa LAN EXT Reference, a passive inline device, featuring two ethernet ports and designed to sit in the network cable signal path (in/out) and without the need of a mains power supply.
Our objective with these products was to see if they could bring some improvements that are comparable to a source component upgrade, such as a music server or music streamer.
Having supplied an amount of our Home Media friends with network enabled products from perhaps better-known brands such as Auralic, Gold Note, Hegel, HiFi Rose, Innuos, Meitner and T+A, we set up a system comprising of an Innuos ZENith MK3, Hegel H390 and KEF LS50 META. Our chosen tracks for the ‘experiment’ were ‘Trouble’s What You’re In‘ by Fink, ‘Birds‘ by Dominique Fils-Aimé and ‘Carolina‘ by Taylor Swift (from the motion picture ‘Where The Crawdads Sing’).
Having reacquainted ourselves with the system, we introduced the Waversa Smart Hub 3.0 to our chosen setup, by routing both ethernet and USB cables into and out of the Smart Hub. This of course requires the use of two USB A-B cables and two ethernet cables. Returning to our chosen demo tracks, the presentation was airier and more spacious, with a sense of realism to voices and instruments.
With a brief pause, we connected the Waversa LPS H/P Linear Power Supply to the Smart Hub 3. 0. If you have observed the photos of the products already, you will no doubt have spotted two DC output sockets. One of the two sockets can be assigned to power the Smart Hub 3.0 and the remaining socket can be used to power an ethernet switch or router. In fact, the second port can be used with any device with a power requirement of up to 24-volt DC. Returning to our playlist, it was immediately evident that the Waversa LPS H/P brought further improvements in spaciousness, texture and depth of sound stage. We suspect that these further improvements are a result of a reduction in the noise floor.
With temptation looming, we fetched an additional ethernet cable and connected the Waversa LAN EXT Reference within the network signal path. Once again: more openness, realism and scale… and simply more enjoyable to listen to.
Such are the improvements; we are of the opinion that as a step-by-step upgrade, it is evident that the Wavesa trio that we auditioned provide a worthy upgrade to an existing music streamer or server. Even if you’re streaming via your amplifier’s own network connection, adding a LAN EXT Reference is worthy of a serious listen.
To arrange a demonstration of the Waversa products, please contact a member of our team on 01622 676703 or sales@homemedialimited.co.uk – you know you want to!
