XACT S1. The music server you've been waiting for
- Thread starter Marcin_gps
- Start date
Default settings are best except for Update Time which I’d recommend setting to the highest value of 12000.
So in your case I’d recommend unchecking Safe transition mode and Proxy for Qobuz. These are not required for XACT S1 and not optimal for sound quality.
You can contact me via email or PM if you have any further questions.
Best regards,
Marcin
Hey everyone,
I’m excited to share that XACT S1 EVO is the cover story in the latest issue of High Fidelity!
The review is available now in Polish, and the official English translation will be published next month. In the meantime, if you’d like to check it out, you can read it here:
https://www.highfidelity.pl/@main-4892&lang=
Best regards,
Marcin
I’m excited to share that XACT S1 EVO is the cover story in the latest issue of High Fidelity!
The review is available now in Polish, and the official English translation will be published next month. In the meantime, if you’d like to check it out, you can read it here:
https://www.highfidelity.pl/@main-4892&lang=
Best regards,
Marcin
Marcin, I can’t possibly wait another month—I’m way too curious about what they discovered with the XACT S1 EVO!
Excerpt from Review
Author: Wojciech Pacuła, High Fidelity, Issue No. 250, February 1, 2025
(Unofficial English translation, using Google Translate and ChatGPT, with an emphasis on maintaining audiophile nuance.)
(…) In the sound of the tested device, something stands out—something rarely encountered in file-based playback devices: a combination of warmth and energy. Looking at the device with a critical ear, one could say it still doesn't reach the resolution I get from CD and SACD discs. It was similar with the S1. But now, this difference feels significantly smaller. I know it’s there—you can hear it in the slightly rounded attack of the notes and the soft curvature of their decay. But even so, it carries little weight.
This is because we simultaneously get a fullness of sound that even Ayon’s player can’t drive as deeply. A shock? Maybe not quite, but certainly a surprise—and a respect that comes from understanding this shift. Pat Metheny’s guitar on Our Spanish Love Song from the album Beyond The Missouri Sky (Short Stories), ripped from the Japanese UHQCD release, had a gentleness and depth that made the instrument sound more tangible, almost within reach. The strings resonated with a natural decay, and the interplay between Metheny’s subtle phrasing and Charlie Haden’s bass created an intimate, immersive soundstage. The timbre was rich, with a slight warmth that didn’t overshadow the micro-details—every nuance of the fingerwork and string vibration was present, yet never clinical.
This device doesn’t strive for hyper-analytical precision. Instead, it offers a presentation that feels organic, engaging the listener emotionally without sacrificing technical prowess. The spatial positioning of instruments was precise, but it was the coherence and flow of the music that truly impressed. It’s a sound that invites long listening sessions, where the technical aspects fade into the background, and the music simply is. (…)
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