Home audio brand Victrola snuggled up with Sonos back in 2022 with a streaming turntable designed to feed groovy tunes direct to Sonos speakers over a wireless connection. Now the company has expanded to Roon and beyond with the Stream Sapphire.
Like the original Carbon turntable, and the cheaper Onyx that joined the Stream family last year, the Stream Sapphire can wirelessly output spinning vinyl sounds to a Sonos speaker over an 802.11ac connection without needing to go through a Connect or Amp middle man.
The new vinyl spinner is also compatible with hi-fi systems and speakers that support the Roon music-management platform, which brings stored music files and streaming services together in one place for output to friendly hardware (which includes Airplay and Chromecast gear).
And if Sonos and Roon still leave you wanting, Victrola has also included UPnP for network-capable devices, such as A/V receivers, streaming speakers and smart TVs. The system can also playback 24-bit/48-kHz lossless FLAC audio. Nice.
As for the turntable itself, the Sapphire is built around a low-resonance MDF plinth wearing real walnut veneer that sits on sound-dampening adjustable feet. An illuminated knob out front is used to control volume and playback, with the brushless motor turning the belt to spin the die-cast aluminum platter at 33.3 or 45 rpm for album or single listening. And the carbon-fiber tonearm ends in a removable headshell rocking an Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge out of the box.
The Victrola brand has been in the home audio game for more than 115 years, originally as part of the Victor family followed by RCA Victor before the trademark was snapped up by Innovative Technology in 2015 as a way to add some vintage magic to its line of nostalgic turntables. And now the brand is heading into modern audiophile territory.
"The Victrola Stream turntable line was created out of a need to provide a seamless, integrated wireless solution to enjoy vinyl no matter where the listener is in their home," said company CEO, Scott Hagen. "After hearing from both consumers and the integrator community, we recognized an opportunity to build on that promise by opening our ecosystem to include other popular streaming options while also elevating the turntable itself to a level we’ve never introduced in the market before."
"Victrola Stream Sapphire is a perfectly crafted audiophile-level wireless vinyl solution that meets vinyl purists’ standards while giving integrators the most versatile turntable for any project," he continued.
The turntable is due to launch in the first half of this year for the suggested retail price of US$1,499
Product page: Victrola Stream Sapphire