Verdict
A diminished and low-priced mode of taking your old hi - fi equipment and bestow them into the digital world . The re - streaming feature of speech with other Audio Pro devices is a plus for those already invest in the brand ’s ecosystem , and the rich , warm sound has solicitation , though anyone after more precision and a more analytic sound should extend their lookup .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
concord to Oxford Languages ( via Google ) , the word revivify bug out up in the 17thcentury to describe something that “ give(s ) new life or vigour to ” . That neatly sums up the Audio Pro Link 2 .
The second version of the Scandinavian company ’s streaming equipment gets a unexampled shape factor , an upgrade in features , but still adheres to the same doctrine as before in taking your honest-to-god analog equipment and play it into the forward-looking eld .
It ’s been a big trend in the hi - fi reality of late , with Cambridge Audio and WIM offering similar products at a more expensive price . Can the Audio Pro Link 2 breathe new life into your sometime hi - fi equipment ? Here ’s my verdict .
Design
The Audio Pro Link 2 is as small a music streamer you ’re likely to find . Even the titchyCambridge MXN10is bigger in all dimensions . What that essentially entail is that you may plump down the Link 2 among the rest of your hi - fi equipment without having to make space for it .
Aesthetically , the Link 2 is n’t the most visually get slice of kit . Aside from the shiny Audio Pro logo , this is a rather plain , minimalist banner that seems design to disappear into its milieu .
On its facia are four leave lights that signal which informant is in use , although , while the luminance are soft to see from afar , the lettering of the actual source is more difficult to see to it unless you ’re up close .
On top of the unit are trace sensitive dominance for power , source selection , Bluetooth pairing , playback , loudness , and presets ( of which there are four ) . Again , much like the inscription on the front , these black buttons against the dark grey surface of the Link 2 are not the easiest to make out .
Around the rear are the strong-arm connexion : an Ethernet for a severely - wired connection , USB for tote up a NAS , flash or hard - drive , digital output signal ( coaxal and optical ) , as well as RCA line comment and RCA line out : the output tie in to an amplifier ( and therefore speaker unit ) , while the input signal can be used to stop up in another source like a lazy Susan . It is missing the 3.5 millimeter mariner the Link 1 had for adding other physical devices .
riff the Audio Pro Link 2 over and on its underside are mounting holes to wedge it on a rampart .
Features
In addition to being a medicine streamer that props up your old hi - fi outfit , by having the RCA line in , you could plug in the Audio Pro Link 2 to a turntable , standard candle player or any other parallel machine . And if you have Audio Pro wireless utterer in your home , you may re - teem audio to them .
So you could , for example , have a cadmium player , but be able-bodied to stream it to an Audio Pro talker in another elbow room . This only works with Audio Pro gear , of course .
Otherwise , you have other means of cyclosis to the Audio Pro Link 2 . It ’s cover forSpotify Connect(naturally ) , Tidal Connect , Apple AirPlay 2 , built - in Chromecast , and Bluetooth 4.2 . There ’s noMQA supportwith Tidal however , nor is there any Roon compatibility like you ’d get from the more expensive Cambridge MNX10 web player .
Setup can be done via Apple Home , Google Home or the Audio Pro Control app , and feature will take issue depending on what you opt for . I used both Google and Audio Pro , and find the former to be very quick and easy to set up , but the latter support higher sample rates from the the like of Qobuz .
File support includes ALAC , AAC , FLAC , MP3 , and WMA but there ’s no AIFF or DSD compatibility .
The Audio Pro Control app propose four programmable presets ( same as on the Link 2 itself ) , as well as native versions of Tidal , Qobuz , Deezer and Amazon Music , so all that ’s needed is to sign in to control music flat from the app . you could also take a source , tie to other wireless speakers on the same internet , listen to Internet receiving set , violin with the preferences etc .
The app does look like it could use a unfermented coat visually , but it is antiphonal to use and easy to pilot , though I ’ve found if I leave the app opened for long enough it has a drug abuse of crash , demand a restart .
Performance
What type of execution can you require from the Audio Pro Link 2 ? You might intend that a music streamer would n’t influence the eventual sound that come from the speaker , but it – along with the other kit used – can touch on the overall audio performance .
And tonally , what I hear when the Audio Pro when plugged into a system made up of a Cambridge Audio CXA61 amplifier and Q Acoustics 3010i loudspeaker is a affectionate sound that gives euphony a rich sense of texture if not quite the level of brainstorm and detail more expensive streamers can relay .
Swapping in and out with the ( much more expensive ) CXN v2 streamer , and the difference is that the Cambridge vocalise clearer and more elaborated . With the Milan Promenade track from the Succession season 3 record album , it depict the soundstage in more spacious and bigger terms , it ’s clearer and sharper when dealing with mellow frequency notes and has a high ceiling in terms of moral force . I also do n’t have to turn the book up on the CXA61 as high with the CXN as I need to with Audio Pro to turn over a similar grade of performance .
With Radiohead ’s Everything In Its Right Place , the Audio Pro yield a lovely warmth to the synth chords in the cut , and there ’s enough zing on show partner off with the CXA61 to give the track heft and energy in its more soaring parts .
The midrange , and particularly vocal music , are relay swimmingly whether it ’s the Radiohead rail or Janelle Monae ’s in Ca n’t Live Without Your Love . With the latter , there ’s not the same sense of definition to the instruments in the caterpillar tread as I hear with the CXN – the Audio Pro Link 2 does n’t ( ironically ) snap into the fingerbreadth tear at the beginning of the song . Its warmness has the essence of smoothing details out for a performance that ’s more put back and not the most precise in terms of stab out point .
That warmth widen to the lower death of the frequency range too ; again , it ’s rich and warm in a pleasing manner , but perhaps lacks that sense of tautness and punchiness ; especially when it come to harder come to tracks like GoGo Penguin ’s Atomised .
It ’s proved coherent in damage of its tone across various wireless germ , whether Spotify Connect , Tidal Connect orGoogle Cast(Qobuz ) – the divergence consist in the details with Spotify ( of course of instruction ) sound the least delineate of the three .
The Audio Pro Link 2 propose an enjoyably warm execution , though its relaxed approach belike wo n’t curry the favour of those after more precision and particular from their digital music libraries .
Latest deals
Should you buy it?
If you ’ve got Audio Pro wireless loudspeaker system in the home , this can behave as a bridge in taking your old hi - fi kit and streaming it to your wireless speakers .
The specs deal the usual cyclosis options , and the laidback , affectionate tone of the Link 2 offers a well-heeled hearing experience . But if you ’re after higher faithfulness you ’ll need to go up in budget .
Final Thoughts
If you ’re someone who has induct in Audio Pro speaker , the Link 2 acts as a span to combining your old analog hi - fi equipment to digital wireless speakers . The specs are good for the price , covering most wireless streaming options in Spotify , Tidal Connect , AirPlay 2 and Chromecast .
The racy , tender strait is enjoyable too , but for those looking for higher - fidelity sound and more comprehensive specs , theCambridge Audio MXN10is another streaming solution to consider .
Trusted Score
How we test
We test every music streamer we review thoroughly over an extended period of time . We use manufacture standard tests to equate features decently . We ’ll always severalise you what we notice . We never , ever , accept money to review a mathematical product .
discover out more about how we test in ourethics insurance .
FAQs
You ’ve got three options for getting the Audio Pro Link 2 . you’re able to discharge the setup through the Audio Pro control app , or if you ’re using Android or Io , use the Google Home and Apple Home apps to link the Link 2 to your dwelling house internet .
Full Specs
Sustainability
Trusted Reviews ’ confine the fact that global warming is not a myth as a core value and will ceaselessly endeavour to aid protect our planet from harm in its business concern practices .
As part of this delegacy , whenever we review a product we place the company a series of dubiousness to help oneself us judge and make transparent the impingement the twist has on the surround .
We currently have n’t received answers to the questions on this production , but will update this page the present moment we do . you may see a elaborate equipment failure of the questions we necessitate and why in oursustainability information Thomas Nelson Page .
