Beta Test Impressions of the New Strata

Audio Components Integrateds
198

Hello, I wanted to say a few things about the Strata real quick. This thing is amazing so far, the day it came in, I listened for 7 hours straight with no fatigue at all. I have been letting it burn in during the day while at work and it seems to get better every day. At this time, I have only used it via streaming. I did not have any issues connecting to wifi or with android. I am planning on connecting other inputs this week to test more and will give a full review after. Side note to “yoduh”, holding vol up/dn works without issue on mine.
Things I’ve found that I like so far:

  1. The sound is great. Some songs are so realistic you feel like you can reach out and touch the singer.
  2. I feel it has a very nice, clean look. Seems to be very well built.
  3. The remote has a nice feel to it. I did not have the issue of finding the vol buttons when dark.
  4. You can easily switch between Tidal & Qobuz without interruption.
  5. You can control the volume by the phone (Mine changes in steps of 10 using android)
  6. I like the “Play next” option on the app.
  7. Did I mention the sound? I will go in greater detail on this after I’ve played with it some more.
    Things I don’t like:
  8. The bitrate is too small to see in seating position.
  9. I wish there was an “add to queue” or “add to list” option on the app, like the “Play next”. (I found myself several times thinking of a song I wanted to listen to next but already had a song on “play next” and by the time it went to the next song, I had forgotten what I was wanting to listen to.)
  10. Metadata option on strata does not let me turn it on.
  11. Tidal does not show bitrate on app, always shows 44.1k/16b on strata even when listening to tidal masters.
  12. The other day while streaming, the PS light was flashing, music still playing but remote and buttons on unit were non responsive. Had to power off via back of unit.
  13. YouTube music is not available on app. (I use this for background music because I like the “My Mix” option.
  14. Favorite icon does nothing on app.
    These are just a few things so far. I am very happy with the Strata. My favorite part is my 15-year old son is really getting into hifi now and it has been a great bonding experience. I will post more in a few days. Keep up the great work!
1 Like