AudioBlock is a friendly family business located near Bremen in Lower Saxony.

It offers a whole range of Multifunktionsgeräte made in China, of which the CVR-200 is the ultimate representative. In its standard 43 cm wide format, the CVR-200 houses an impressive number of functions and inputs/outputs along with amplifier circuits capable of delivering up to 2x100 W at 4 Ω. On the left, a colour TFT display shows the current functions and the visual of the record being played when connected to the network. In the centre is the volume control and menu navigation. To the right is a slot-in CD/DVD/Blu-Ray player. Just to the right of the screen are two more buttons: one for pairing Bluetooth headphones, the other for selecting DAC processing, either DSP or PCM. The unit has numerous analogue and digital inputs, wi-fi, Ethernet and Bluetooth, an MM phono stage, an FM/DAB+ tuner and two sets of loudspeaker outputs on audiophile quality banana jacks. For video playback, dual HDMI and composite video outputs are provided. It's hard to get much more complete than this...

Listening
Another German gem is hidden under the dress of this well-made and musically convincing multifunctional handset - if we overlook the questionable ergonomics and the limitations of the Undok application (Frontier Silicon). To access Qobuz, it is better to use MConnect or an equivalent. The first test concerns the CD/Blu-ray player which is excellent, more precise and faster than a simple CD player. In PCM mode, the playback is very frank with a lot of substance, beautiful attacks and a great reserve of dynamics,

In DSP mode, the sound can be "dressed up" in seven ways, from Classic to Stadion to Jazz and Pop. Played in Ethernet from Qobuz, the same excerpt from Arvo Pärt's Spiegel im Spiegel (Orchestre de chambre de Lausanne, Renaud Capuçon, Erato) sounds as beautiful as ever, but with less sharp attacks while retaining a remarkable depth. This shows the fine tuning of the DAC reading part of the CVR-200. The preamp-amp section is no less interesting, starting with the phono stage; The Rite of Spring by Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic (DG) appears to be devoured by an inner fire, drawing from the amplifier's capacities a presence and authority that we did not expect from our Pro-Ject Debut Pro/Ortofon 2M Red test pair. All the extracts go in the same direction

All the extracts go in the same direction, that of a device always voluntary, always available, not yielding in anything to the facility nor seeking to sweeten the musical message.

The + : Ultra-complete, well finished and highly musical.
The minuses: The Undok application, just passable.