Leema Acoustics Elements Streamer

Computer based audio has, until now, been seen by many as a triumph of convenience over substance. However, with today’s incredible advances in digital storage capacity and plumetting costs, high quality music from computer based sources is a reality. More and more people choose to archive their precious music to a computer or stand-alone NAS (Network Attached Storage) drive.

Lossy data compression techniques no longer have to be applied to save storage space, meaning that lossless formats such as FLAC, Apple Lossless or even native WAV can be employed, ensuring 100% data accuracy with no precious detail being lost.

Even downloaded music, once the scourge of quality, has moved on. Many companies now offer music in lossless FLAC format and, increasingly, in high-resolution formats at up to 24bit 192kHz, many times higher than 16bit 44.1kHz as used on CD.

There are however several major problems when using computers as music sources:

• They are very noisy, with cooling fans whirring away while you are trying to listen
• The quality of sound from their onboard sound devices is usually very poor by Hi-Fi standards
• They are hard to integrate practically into a domestic Hi-Fi set up
• Most computer music management software is awkward to use
• Remote navigation and selection of your music is next to impossible
  

Introducing the new Leema Elements Streamer. It looks and feels like a conventional Hi-Fi component. It runs silently, looks good, and when attached to a home network via a router, “finds” all of the music stored on configured DNLA or UPnP devices such as computers, NAS drives, tablets and even suitable smart phones, while attached to the same network. It then presents their collective music contents in a seamless and easily navigable way. All of the major encoding formats are supported, including including FLAC, Apple Lossless and even high resolution files up to 24bit 192kHz.

Internet radio is also included, via the industry standard vTuner portal, which presents thousands of stations from around the world as well as BBC and UK local radio, including higher resolution BBC radio 3 at 320kHz.

A convenient USB interface is also included for playing music from both Android and later generation Apple smart phones, Tablet computers, USB storage devices such as memory sticks and even USB hard drives.

The Elements Streamer also provides external analogue and digital inputs and has an on-board headphone amplifier.

All of this can be remotely controlled via a convenient smart phone or tablet computer app which presents all of your music, including album artwork, in an easily navigable and attractive form.