Rapallo | Altair G2.1 Digital Audio Streamer

EQUIPMENT REVIEW
AURALiC ALTAIR G2.1
springs within them, three of one size and three of another;
the idea being that the combination serves to keep out a
broader range of vibration frequencies.
The ALTAIR G2.1 is a fully featured device that goes so
far as to include a phono stage among the roster of inputs
on the busy rear panel, it only has enough gain for moving
magnet (MM) rather than the audiophile’s usual MC choice
but you could use a step-up transformer to pair it with an
MC. There’s a single line input on RCA sockets and the
full gamut of digital inputs including an XLR for AES/EBU
connections, and a USB input which is not something
usually found on a streamer. Theoretically a streamer
doesn’t need USB because this input would typically
be used with a streaming device but there are always
streaming services that are not available from dedicated
audio devices. The obvious one is YouTube but those
interested in new music might want to play Bandcamp or
similar from their PC. Apart from the quality of digital to
analogue conversion on offer the ALTAIR can be used to
upsample the low bit rates available from such services and
extract as much as possible from the stream.
It offers balanced or single-ended analogue outputs
which can be xed or volume controlled, and a headphone
jack on the front panel, there are no digital outputs.
AURALiC make the ARIES streamer for those looking to use
a separate DAC.
There are of course the most popular lossless streaming
services available in the box with Qobuz, Tidal and High
Res Audio among them alongside bigger brands like
Amazon Music and Spotify Connect. The only omission
would appear to be Tidal Connect but that’s because this
feature is hidden within the ‘Additional Operations’ area of
the app. That app being AURALiC’s Lightning DS which is
still limited to iOS but remains one of the best looking in the
business, and the access to streaming services being as
good as any. I used it primarily with a Melco music library
on the network and Qobuz but it’s possible to access data
stored on a USB drive where the Lightning server software
comes in handy for sorting and playing the music of your
choice. With larger libraries it takes a while for the Lightning
server to scan all the data but once that is done it’s just a
case of setting an auto scan for new material or doing so
manually once a week or so.
Not hard to drive
The ALTAIR has the option to add a hard drive, HDD or
SSD, so that your music can be stored onboard which
saves the cost and extra box of an external drive. It also
means high quality storage, the like of which would set you
back a lot more than the asking price of a NAS drive, and
there’s no need for a fancy ethernet cable.
There’s no mention of the actual DAC chip onboard
but whatever it is it’s very capable if the specs are any
indication. The ALTAIR can deal with PCM at up to 32-
bit, 384kHz and DSD up to DSD512 or 22.57892MHz in
old money. It works with all the useful le formats and
some of the less appealing ones too, needs must and all
that. AURALiC make much of the passive volume control
that’s based on an R2R resistor ladder network, the latter
being powered only when volume is being changed so
That app being AURALiC’s Lightning DS, which is still limited to
iOS but remains one of the best looking in the business.
Reproduced from hi-fi+ Issue 208 hifiplus.com