The MAN301 is an ambitious attempt by Weiss Engineering to create a music server capable of numerous digital and analog configurations and a totally unique user experience through its own custom iPad application. I applaud Weiss Engineering’s ambition and willingness to chart its own course in music server design rather than follow the herd. The MAN301’s ability to pull music from an unlimited amount of storage via Ethernet is great for music aficionados with gigantic multi-terabyte music collections. Weiss’ inclusion of its award winning DAC inside the MAN301 is also terrific for audiophiles looking to combine feature sets or reduce the number of boxes in their listening environments. In typical Weiss fashion the MAN301 features coarse analog and fine digital volume control, audio routing from digital in to digital out, digital in to analog out, Ethernet in to analog out, and many other configurations on several interfaces like RCA, XLR, S/PDIF, USB, and FireWire. As expected the Daniel Weiss designed audio features of the MAN301 are top notch. However the custom iPad application and music server functionality need a bit more fine tuning to make the product a competitor with the best solutions available. Fortunately in the several months since I received the MAN301 I updated its software a few times and was very pleased by the progress Weiss Engineering has made toward better features and improved functionality of existing features. Overall the Weiss Engineering MAN301 sounds very good and its functionality will only improve with time.
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CES 2013 is in the can. I had a terrific time at the show this year capturing images of new, outrageous, and sensible products. My favorite product of the show was an absolute surprise. Usually manufacturers drop hints as to what's coming or a press release is sent out with an embargo date to notify people of a new product. Not so with Wadia 
at CES 2013. The new Wadia Intuition came out of the blue. Wadia was more secretive about the Intuition than Apple was with the latest iPhone. The Intuition is an integrated amp with 400 watts into 4 ohms, analog inputs, and digital inputs including USB. I spent about 45 minutes listening to the Intuition and was very impressed. The design (U.S.) and assembly (Italy) of the Wadia Intuition is made possible by the powerhouse that is Fine Sounds SpA. With several high end brands under it's control Fine Sounds is spreading the knowledge to produce even better products than the brands could produce alone. The look of the Intuition was designed by Sonus Faber's industrial engineering team while the audio part
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The Computer Audiophile Product of the Year is an award I started giving out in 2011. The first winner was WideaLab's Aurender S10 music server. The award is one way to give credit where credit is due. I don't have ten different categories with ten runners up in each category as that's a copout for those unwilling to make difficult decisions. This year I will select a hardware and software product of the year. Both products must have been reviewed or used extensively by me in 2012. The software selection was much easier for me than the hardware selection. This year my hardware selection came down to two very different products. One product is the best DAC I had heard in my system and costs $15,500. The other product is the best value I can ever remember and costs $250. The former product sounds lightyears better than the later but this award doesn't focus on sound quality only. A CA product of the year has to be much more than good souding. Groundbreaking and innovative certainly don't hurt. Neither does a product's ability to bring excellent sound quality to the masses. 
The fourth and final CAPS v3 server design is called Zuma. This design is a big departure from all other CAPS designs. Zuma is a high power server capable of nearly any audio task it's assigned whereas previous CAPS servers have slightly more power than needed for bit perfect audio output. Zuma is much more difficult to assemble than the previous servers because it requires installation of processor heat pipes to keep the CPU cool. Computer audiophiles are forewarned that Zuma isn't for the newbie seeking a weekend project. I hadn't built a fanless PC requiring thermal paste and heat pipes for over a year when I sat down to tackle this build. My sloppy work with the thermal paste can be seen in the photos. Once the paste is on a surface it's nearly impossible to remove. Fortunately any competent computer tech can put the server together or CA readers can simply purchase a fully assembled Zuma server from Small Green Computer. The look of Zuma is very nice and similar to traditional audio components with close to an 18 inch width. Zuma has three different display outputs, that should make users seeking a media server happy and eSATA for excellent external storage. CAPS v3 Zuma is a very versatile server with plenty of power and options to please many computer audiophiles.
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CAPS v3 Carbon is the third of four v3 designs to be published and the last derivative design from v3 servers Topanga and Lagoon. The Carbon design is different form previous designs in several ways such as a more stylish case similar to an audio component, unique external storage expansion options, and a SATA filter. Carbon also provides endless opportunities for creativity inside the spacious chassis for items like batteries, power supplies, hard drives, and even a UPS. I believe the Computer Audiophile Community will have some very creative ideas for using the extra space inside this chassis. Carbon is my favorite CAPS design thus far and it's the one I use every day. I power the server and SOtM USB card with an optional Red Wine Audio Black Lightning battery supply. The sound quality from the CAPS v3 Carbon server is equal to or better than the best servers I've heard in recent memory.
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CAPS v3 Lagoon is the second of four designs and a very nice upgrade from the entry level Topanga server. Lagoon has major similarities with Topanga such as the same motherboard, memory, base power supply, and case. I made a point to enable easy upgrading from the Topanga server while at the same time not dumbing-down the Lagoon design. A familiar addition to Lagoon is the SOtM tX-USBexp PCIe USB card for improved USB audio performance. In addition the mSATA drive from Topanga has been replaced with a new very low power SSD. The power saved by switching disks is not insignificant and plays a role in Lagoon's optional enhanced power supply. Based on my experience with this power supply I won't use a CAPS server without it in the future. The difference between using the server with and without the enhanced PSU is easily identifiable and repeatable. Even the most inattentive listener should recognize the impact of this PSU. Lagoon's unassuming compact design, increased sonic performance over Topanga, and enhanced power supply options should make it a great option for many computer audiophiles.
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