review – A few years ago, I bought a rather expensive bluetooth device from a major audiophile company so that I could stream music from my phone or tablet into my preamp and eventually into my audiophile stereo system. Last year was the last time I used it until my son used it as a toy and when I wasn’t paying attention he removed the antenna etc. When I had the chance to review this Arylic Audio S50 Pro+ Wireless Aptx HD Multiroom, I was delighted with a stereo preamp that offers wireless streaming as one of its features. Let’s see how much it really offers, and how well it meets my listening needs.
what is it?
The Arylic Audio S50 Pro+ Wireless Aptx HD Multiroom Stereo Preamplifier is a high quality preamplifier that adds wireless capabilities (WiFi, Airplay, Spotify Connect and Aptx HD, Bluetooth 5.0) to your audio system. Equipped with high-end ESS Sabre 9023 DAC and Aptx HD Bluetooth 5.0, it brings you an unprecedented listening feast. If you add the S50 Pro+ to all your rooms, you can design a whole-house sound system.
what’s in the box
1 Arylic Audio S50 Pro+ Wireless Aptx HD Multiroom Stereo Preamp
1 x User Manual
1 x L/R RCA to RCA cable
1 x L/R RCA to 1/8″ cable
2 antennas
1 AC adapter
Design and Features
feature
Specification
Arylic Audio S50 Pro+ Wireless Aptx HD multi-room stereo preamplifier is small and compact. It has a backlit LED screen on the front that includes an IR sensor, LED status indicators, and an information display. Ports and antenna connections are on the back. A remote control is included for full control.
Performance
The rear of the Arylic Audio S50 Pro+ Wireless Aptx HD multi-room stereo preamp provides all inputs and outputs. In my tests, I connected the L/R RCA outputs to a tube amp and streamed from multiple sources through my phone. I connect to my network wirelessly and it’s super easy. There is also an option to hardwire via an Ethernet cable.
I’ve attached the photo below to give you a preview of the preamp stacked on top of the amp. I will provide a review of the amp shortly.
In addition to connecting via the web, you can also connect via Bluetooth to stream music. You can stream from any device like tablet, phone or laptop. This device can be part of a multi-room setup by adding additional preamps in other rooms and streaming to them at the same time. I only have one so not included in my test. As shown in the image below, the Bluetooth icon appears on the display. When music is playing, artist and title information is displayed.
Here is a random screenshot from the 4Stream app used to control and stream to this preamp:
As shown in the picture below, I connected the preamp to Little Dot MKII tube standard hybrid headphone amplifier and listened to with Rode NTH-100 headphones. I love to sit and listen to this mix at night. The Arylic Audio S50 Pro+ Wireless Aptx HD Multiroom Stereo Preamplifier allows me to stream from numerous online sources and even USB flash drives and play multiple formats at up to 24-bit/192KHz. I’ve read the complaints about the 4Stream app and haven’t encountered any issues. I can’t wait to start rolling tubes on my headphone amp to get the most out of this combo. This preamp can be used in almost any system. This will work if you have a home office, if you are a student in a dorm, or if you want to play music at home or at work. Connected via RCA, optical and USB, it’s a thoughtful design.
what do I like
- Lightweight and compact
- Connection options
- feature
- The ability to stream music from almost any service
- Nice voice
- Play from multiple devices
- Multi-room streaming with multiple devices
- 24bit/192KHz
what would i change
final thoughts
As you can see in some of the photos, there will be another similar review featuring an amp matched to the Arylic Audio S50 Pro+ Wireless Aptx HD Multiroom Stereo Preamp. This device is a great way to stream or get hardware devices to play through your amp. As you can see in my pictures it also works with headphone amps. It offers multiple connectivity options as well as wireless and wired options for network connectivity. The Bluetooth connection is solid, and you can stream music from any source on your phone or mobile device, even outside the 4Stream app. I mainly use SiriusXM for testing. If you have a small studio, office, bedroom, etc., this is a compact product that allows you to enjoy your music with minimal distractions. I can imagine students being away from home on campus and using it to keep their sanity as they go through the ordeal of their studies. Also, it sounds pretty good. I’m doing fine.
price: $229 – Amazon; $219 – Acrylic
where to buy (this: Amazon, Acrylic website
resource: Samples for this review provided by Arylic
