Cocktail music

Music servers and streamers are chic in digital audio these days, and some of their prices are jaw-dropping. But before you jump on the bandwagon and bust your wallet, please read on.

I wrote about and urged you to check out the technical potential of the Cocktail Audio X10. While surfing the Net, I chanced upon an article about it and became instantly interested. The Cocktail Audio X10 is the only high fidelity audio system with CD storage and music streamer that doesn’t hurt one’s bank account. The Cocktail’s advertised superiority in sound quality vis-a-vis its cost is definitely more bang for the buck.

I finally got hold of one, and heard for myself how this “singer” performs. I hooked it up in my main system, and did an analytical comparison between it and my CD player. Just before I bought my CD player, I had run comparison tests between it and more expensive brands, and found the former the hands-down winner. That is, until I heard the Cocktail. The Cocktail and my CD player (pardon me for not revealing its brand) both have a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) of 24/192 Hz resolution. Technically, they should sound the same, but in reality they do not. There may be other factors that contribute to this singularity, but that would be another story.

The thing that impresses me the most about the Cocktail is its spatial sound staging. It has that filling effect that makes you feel embraced by the sound. The separation between instruments is as profound as it is distinguishable. It may take some time — or maybe not even at all — that digital audio can surpass the sound quality of vinyl, but somehow the Cocktail Audio X10 can give you that certain “moment” of musical delight. 

The Cocktail’s quality music reproduction can make it on top of any music lover’s wish lists. It’s certainly user-friendly. You can access every function at the touch of a button. It can be used as a stand-alone or integrated into your existing stereo system. You can listen to a CD album, while ripping and saving its tracks as WAV or Apple Lossless files in its large database.

The Cocktail can store as much music as you want. It comes with a 3.5-inch one terabyte SATA hard drive that can be expanded to accommodate a growing music library. Think about all the CDs you have collected through the years that are competing for precious space in your house. You can load all the contents of your CDs to the Cocktail, and put your CD collection in storage. Just scroll down the Cocktail database, and with a light touch on the remote control button, let your favorite music envelop you.

The Cocktail Audio X10 has Wi-Fi capability, which allows access to internet radio. The coolest thing about it is that you can similarly record long-playing vinyl and cassette tapes into it through its various line-in and line-out connections.

While the Cocktail may not be what technology visionary Steve Jobs and music icon Neil Young were planning to achieve to make the quality of digital music closer to that of vinyl, it has what it takes to soothe your spirit.

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For comments or questions, please e-mail me at audioglow@yahoo.com or at vphl@hotmail.com. You can also visit www.wiredstate.com for quick answers to your audio concerns.