Description
The K50 heads the KALA Series, adapting the technology used in the Oladra to deliver many of its strengths at a more affordable price level. Timbral accuracy and natural musical flow are its main sonic strengths, allowing it to effortlessly reveal the sheer beauty of music. Prepare for some long late-night sessions, because this level of musicality is going to engross you in every performance.
An alternative to the K50 is the identically priced K41+K22 combo, offering the same electronics in two separate cases, enabling further optimisation via power cord and Ethernet link choices. If USB is your preferred output then the lower-priced K41+K21 combo offers the same performance, without the clocked synchronous outputs.
FOUR PROCESSORS
The K50 uses four separate processing engines (illustrated in the process map below) and each is optimised for the process it performs. The Server engine provides a high-power buffer and signal generation stage. Turning a file or a chaotic internet stream into a well-timed stream is managed by Server apps and benefits strongly from a high level of processing resources. The Player engine runs Player apps and buffers/re-generates the signal in a low-noise environment to provide an even cleaner digital signal. In the third step, USB signals are isolated, and re-generated/clocked, or synchronous signals (S/PDIF, AES3, I2S) are isolated, and re-generated/clocked separately. The cascaded processing stages progressively improve the digital signal before it goes to your DAC.
The Server engine is the heart of the system, managing your files and streaming services, and controlling what is played. Play over your network to multiple end-points, and to the DAC in your main system by either Direct Ethernet, USB, S/PDIF, AES3 or I2S.
Antipodes provides you with a wide range of application choice.
Antipodes also enables the use of ROON with any DAC, whether it is Roon Ready or not. Rather than stream to the Ethernet input of a Roon Ready DAC, you will get better sound using our Roon Player, and using either USB, S/PDIF, AES3 or I2S to play to your DAC. Your DAC does not need to be Roon Ready to enjoy using the excellent Roon Server interface.
There are three different types of application involved in a computer audio solution.
- Server Applications. Server applications manage Internet Streaming Services and locally stored music files, and when a file is to be played, the Server application streams the music file to the Player application. Examples of Server applications are Roon Server, Squeeze Server, HQPlayer Server Embedded
- Player Applications. A Player application receives the streamed music file from the Server application, converts it to a digital audio signal and transmits the digital audio signal to your DAC.
- Playback Solutions. A Playback Solution defines the Server application, the Player application, the connection you will use to your DAC, and the method you want used for sending DSD files to your DAC.
Your Antipodes provides a sophisticated management interface AMS that makes it very simple for you to select your Playback Solution, and adds simple ways to get your music into the music library on your Antipodes.
SERVER APPLICATIONS
The following Server applications are pre-installed.
- Squeeze Server – customised version of Logitech Media Server
- Roon Server – industry-leading user interface and feature-set
- HQPlayer Server Embedded – industry-leading digital signal processing
- MinimServer – industry-leading DLNA/UPnP server
- MiniDLNA – light-weight DLNA/UPnP server
- SONOS Server – makes your music available to a SONOS network
- PLEX Server – widely-used and industry-leading a/v media server
Server applications play to the Player application on the same device (except for the K40 & K41 because they are Server-Only models). Server applications can, at the same time play to compatible Streamers on your network. Both Roon Server and PLEX Server can also make your music available to your mobile devices on the move.
You can enable or disable as many as you need with a single click each, and they can play music concurrently. For simplicity, each application is pre-set to play from a common music library. Simply use the Antipodes File Manager application to drag and drop files to the Antipodes music library, and to include any directory on your network in the library. All music in the library becomes automatically available to all Server applications.
PLAYER APPLICATIONS
The table below summarises the Player(s) that can work with each Server.
| Server Application | Player Applications |
|---|---|
| Squeeze Server | Squeeze Player |
| Roon Server | Roon Player Squeeze Player HQPlayer Server/NAA |
| HQPlayer Server | HQPlayer NAA |
| MinimServer | MPD |
| MiniDLNA | MPD |
| SONOS Server | No Players |
| PLEX Server | No Players |
Note that:
- Some solutions work differently, depending on whether the solution is on a single computer or spans two computers (the Server app and the Player app being on different devices), but you just need to select the Playback Solution, and the Antipodes Management Software (AMS) manages the configuration automatically for your specific hardware.
- Antipodes music server/streamers do not have a SONOS or PLEX player application. SONOS and PLEX server apps are included for streaming to third-party SONOS or PLEX player devices.
PLAYBACK SOLUTIONS
OPEN AMS
You set the Playback Solution using AMS, which you can open from the Antipodes website, or using the My Antipodes application on your mobile device.
PRESETS
At the solution dashboard, click to display the Preset list (shown above) and click on the Preset solution you wish to use. In the same way, you can switch between Presets with a single click. In the image above, the K50 is currently set to use the Squeeze (Auto) preset and clicking on Roon (Auto), as highlighted, will change the Player application to Roon and the Server application to Roon, and you can then start using the Roon application on your desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone to play music.
PAIRING SERVERS AND PLAYERS
By default, the system sets the Source automatically for you, to use Server applications on the same model as your Player application. In the image above, the Source for the K50 Player is already set to the K50 Server, and this means the right-hand pane controls the K50 Server settings. But in some cases you may wish to pair two separate models to create a solution. An example of this is using a Player app on a K22 to play from a Server app on a K41. In that case, the available Server Sources on your network are listed in the Source dropdown and you just need to click on the one you wish to play from, and the right-hand pane will then control the Server apps on the Source you selected. In this way, you can setup both the Player and the Server for any solution on a single screen, even if the solution involves two separate Antipodes products.
For the Server, you can enable or disable additional Server applications by clicking on the relevant button in the right-hand pane. Adding other Server applications enables you to use these to stream to multiple devices on your network at the same time.
SETTING THE OUTPUT
The Output dropdown will show the outputs found to be connected to your device. For example an Oladra, K50 or K22 will show any USB DAC connected to it, and a ‘Digital Audio’ option to use the S/PDIF, AES3 and I2S outputs instead. Using just one output technology method at a time is necessary for high quality sound.
The Auto Presets automatically select the USB output if a USB DAC is connected. If there is no USB DAC connected then the ‘Digital Audio’ outputs will be selected, so that in most cases you will not need to change this setting. The Preset will respond to what you have connected. However you can override the Auto Preset. In the image above the user has added a user preset ‘Squeeze with Digital Outputs’ so that the output can be switched between using Squeeze with the default USB output and Squeeze with the Digital Outputs simply by clicking the right Preset in the dropdon list. You can make as many Presets as you like, name them however you like, and delete them whenever you like.
DSD HANDLING
DSD Handling is set to DoP when you first get your Antipodes. The dropdown allows you to change this to ‘Native DSD’, or to change this to ‘None’ if your DAC cannot play DSD files. This setting remains the way you set it until you change it again, and is not affected by changing Presets.
MUSIC LIBRARY
Before you can add music to your library, you need to install storage disks. We do not include storage with Antipodes models, so that you have the flexibility to add and upgrade storage yourself. If you prefer, you can specify the storage you want pre-installed by your dealer, but we have made adding storage very easy. With the Antipodes powered down, you can add or remove 2.5″ SATA SSD disks (they sound much better than any other storage type) by inserting them through slots in the rear of the Antipodes, or use the supplied tool to remove them. We highly recommend that you use enterprise grade SSDs, because they sound better and are resilient against losing data, or suffering damage, in the event of a power outage.
Then power up your Antipodes, click on the Storage ‘Manage’ button, and be taken through the process of adding each disk to a common logical volume for your music library.
You can then:
- Connect any USB CD drive to rip CDs, managing the process by clicking on the ‘Rip CDs’ button.
- Open a pane to drag and drop music files into the library by clicking the ‘Upload Files’ button.
- Open a pane to enter a network address for files located somewhere on your network, by clicking the ‘Include Files’ button. This includes the files in your library without needing to copy them to your Antipodes.
Advanced settings are available in the Player Dashboard and Server Dashboard, including the ability to monitor performance of your Antipodes in real time.
