Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Thanks to Starke Sound for sending the Beta 5 for review!
Buy from Starke Sound: starkesound.com/products/beta5
Want to support the channel? Consider becoming a member! Or you can join my Patreon here:
patreon.com/wavetheory1
Or make a 1-time donation through PayPal here:
paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=7N7Z8WRLWQ36E
Follow me on…
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/wavetheorysound.bsky.social
Instagram: instagram.com/wavetheorysound
Speaker Stands in Video (affiliate link): amzn.to/4cFypQp
My Other Speaker Reviews...
Elac Unifi UB52: youtu.be/I0A3A5PDEOI
FiiO SP5: youtu.be/kdGySn6N1iI
MartinLogan Motion B10: youtu.be/D47YKAGN8iw
Test Gear...
All music was sourced as lossless or hi-res FLAC or DSD files either played locally, or in the case of FLAC also streamed from Qobuz, all through Roon.
Listening was done without grilles.
Chain 1...
Sonore ultraRendu streamer (youtu.be/qEOOE9rP6Rs) USB output in to LAiV Harmony DAC (youtu.be/GtKG5_ABzAg) then XLR output into Burson Soloist Voyager headamp & preamp, RCA preamp outputs looped through a pair of SVS SB-1000 subwoofers crossed over at 100 Hz, then RCA into Adcom GFA555ii power amp.
Chain 2...
Same as Chain 1 except no subwoofers and the Adcom is replaced with LAiV GaNM monoblock amps connected via XLR to the preamp.
Chain 3...
Chord 2Go streamer (youtu.be/S3O7JNOJIqI) connected to Chord Hugo 2 DAC (youtu.be/uuSOYjFtcvY), then RCA-to-4.4mm Pentaconn adapter (mtmtaudio.com/products/pw-audio-4-4mm-female-to-rca-male-adapter-for-chord-hugo-amplifier) with 4.4-to-3pin xlr balanced interconnect into Burson Soloist Voyager and identical to Chain 1 from there.
Chain 4 (desktop/nearfield system)...
Sonore opticalRendu (review coming!) USB output into Berkeley Alpha USB (youtu.be/94AvDeeRjHA) then AES into Berkeley Alpha Series 2 DAC (youtu.be/JY3c4HEyH0s) then LTA Z10e ((youtu.be/Bft6HUsYDhE) amplifier.
Chain 5 (also desktop)…
MacMini running HQPlayer (youtu.be/T3Kqgh0NdvM) USB output into Lampizator Baltic 3 DAC (youtu.be/QShvh2rqETc) then XLR output into Z10e.
Timestamps...
00:00 Intro, Pricing
00:48 Shameless Self Promotion
01:20 Disclaimers & Video Setup
03:33 About the Beta 5
09:00 Sound
21:44 Comparison w/ Elac Unfi UB52
25:46 Comparison w/ MartinLogan Motion B10
29:45 Conclusions
Thanks to Starke Sound for sending the Beta 5 for review!
Buy from Starke Sound: starkesound.com/products/beta5
Want to support the channel? Consider becoming a member! Or you can join my Patreon here:
patreon.com/wavetheory1
Or make a 1-time donation through PayPal here:
paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=7N7Z8WRLWQ36E
Follow me on…
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/wavetheorysound.bsky.social
Instagram: instagram.com/wavetheorysound
Speaker Stands in Video (affiliate link): amzn.to/4cFypQp
My Other Speaker Reviews...
Elac Unifi UB52: youtu.be/I0A3A5PDEOI
FiiO SP5: youtu.be/kdGySn6N1iI
MartinLogan Motion B10: youtu.be/D47YKAGN8iw
Test Gear...
All music was sourced as lossless or hi-res FLAC or DSD files either played locally, or in the case of FLAC also streamed from Qobuz, all through Roon.
Listening was done without grilles.
Chain 1...
Sonore ultraRendu streamer (youtu.be/qEOOE9rP6Rs) USB output in to LAiV Harmony DAC (youtu.be/GtKG5_ABzAg) then XLR output into Burson Soloist Voyager headamp & preamp, RCA preamp outputs looped through a pair of SVS SB-1000 subwoofers crossed over at 100 Hz, then RCA into Adcom GFA555ii power amp.
Chain 2...
Same as Chain 1 except no subwoofers and the Adcom is replaced with LAiV GaNM monoblock amps connected via XLR to the preamp.
Chain 3...
Chord 2Go streamer (youtu.be/S3O7JNOJIqI) connected to Chord Hugo 2 DAC (youtu.be/uuSOYjFtcvY), then RCA-to-4.4mm Pentaconn adapter (mtmtaudio.com/products/pw-audio-4-4mm-female-to-rca-male-adapter-for-chord-hugo-amplifier) with 4.4-to-3pin xlr balanced interconnect into Burson Soloist Voyager and identical to Chain 1 from there.
Chain 4 (desktop/nearfield system)...
Sonore opticalRendu (review coming!) USB output into Berkeley Alpha USB (youtu.be/94AvDeeRjHA) then AES into Berkeley Alpha Series 2 DAC (youtu.be/JY3c4HEyH0s) then LTA Z10e ((youtu.be/Bft6HUsYDhE) amplifier.
Chain 5 (also desktop)…
MacMini running HQPlayer (youtu.be/T3Kqgh0NdvM) USB output into Lampizator Baltic 3 DAC (youtu.be/QShvh2rqETc) then XLR output into Z10e.
Timestamps...
00:00 Intro, Pricing
00:48 Shameless Self Promotion
01:20 Disclaimers & Video Setup
03:33 About the Beta 5
09:00 Sound
21:44 Comparison w/ Elac Unfi UB52
25:46 Comparison w/ MartinLogan Motion B10
29:45 Conclusions
