Network Amplifiers

A network amplifier represents the evolution of the classic integrated amp for the digital age. It combines a preamplifier, power amplifier, and a network streamer into a single, convenient component. By connecting directly to your home network via Wi-Fi or Ethernet, it can play music from services like Spotify and Tidal, access internet radio, or stream files from a local drive—all you need to do is add speakers. This guide lists the brands creating these modern, all-in-one hi-fi solutions.

Hi-Fi brands in the category

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Direct links to official websites

AudioControl

AudioControl built its reputation by solving system-integration problems with signal processing. Greg Mackie founded the company in the Pacific Northwest in 1977, initially producing stereo equalizers and analysers for home audio. That experience developed into two practical specialities: DSP, amplification and signal interfaces for car audio, plus multichannel and multi-zone electronics for home cinema and custom installation. The car range combines line-output converters, equalisation, crossovers and amplification for factory-system upgrades. Architect and Director amplifiers address distributed audio, while Concert receivers and Maestro processors serve dedicated cinemas with room correction and flexible control. AudioControl’s value lies in measurement, calibration and installation tools built into robust hardware, rather than in a single signature amplifier topology.

Audionet

Audionet applies laboratory-style electronics design to high-end amplification and digital sources. Founded in Bochum in 1994 by Thomas Gessler and engineers connected with Ruhr University, the German company developed wide-bandwidth circuits whose near-flat response extends far beyond the audible range. That technical discipline appears in integrated, preamplifier and power-amplifier families as well as network sources. The Scientist range includes the Humboldt integrated amplifier, Stern preamplifier and Heisenberg monoblocks; their patented Floating Pane chassis separates functional layers and was styled with designer Hartmut Esslinger. Current Mach and Schrödinger models bring related ideas to the Ultimate line. Audionet now operates from Berlin under electrical engineer Dr Stefan Schwehr, with products developed and handcrafted in Germany.

Bluesound Professional

Bluesound Professional adapts the BluOS streaming platform for commercial spaces that need centrally managed audio across many zones. Lenbrook created the Canadian division in 2019, six years after the consumer Bluesound brand, so the earlier 2013 date described the parent platform rather than this business. Its range includes rack-mount streamers and amplifiers, network music players, wall controllers, powered loudspeakers and Power over Ethernet endpoints for retail, hospitality, restaurants, workplaces and other installed systems. Integrators can route different sources to separate areas, group zones, schedule playback and connect supported music services without building every project around a traditional central matrix. The important distinction is installation infrastructure: products, mounting and control are designed for continuous commercial deployment while retaining BluOS’s familiar source management and networked high-resolution audio architecture.

Dayton Audio

Dayton Audio is the house audio brand associated with Ohio-based Parts Express, serving builders, installers and value-conscious listeners with components that are normally sourced from many separate suppliers. Its catalogue spans individual tweeters, midrange and woofer drivers, passive radiators, subwoofer plate amplifiers, class-D amplifier boards, DSP modules, finished subwoofers, compact speakers and complete kits. Reference and Signature drivers provide measured parameters for original loudspeaker designs, while Ultimax subwoofers prioritise long excursion and power handling. Just as important is the supporting tool chain: the DATS measurement system helps builders determine driver impedance and Thiele-Small parameters, and project documentation makes the parts usable rather than merely inexpensive. Dayton also collaborates with independent designers on kits and supplies OEM or custom-installation solutions through Parts Express. Its distinctive strength is breadth with technical accessibility — drivers, electronics, measurement and practical documentation within one ecosystem — making it especially useful to DIY loudspeaker builders who want compatible parts and test tools from one source.

Lexicon

Lexicon is an American audio-technology company whose digital reverberation and delay processors became part of the language of modern recording. MIT professor Dr Francis F. Lee and engineer Chuck Bagnaschi founded the company in 1971 after developing digital-delay technology at American Data Sciences. The early Delta T delay led to the Lexicon 224 digital reverberator in 1978–79, followed by the 480L and PCM series—studio tools valued because their algorithms created convincing acoustic space without merely repeating the input signal. Engineer Dr David Griesinger played a central role in that work and in Lexicon’s later surround research. The company subsequently brought its DSP expertise to high-end home-theatre processors, receivers and automotive audio, including the Logic 7 matrix-surround system. Harman acquired Lexicon in 1993; Harman itself is now owned by Samsung. Although the current consumer catalogue is far smaller than in Lexicon’s home-cinema peak, the brand remains important for the algorithms and interfaces embedded in decades of professional production. Its identity is digital acoustics—not a generic maker of amplifiers with a famous badge.

Onkyo

Onkyo is the Japanese audio brand founded in Osaka in 1946 by Takeshi Godai as Osaka Denki Onkyo. Its early products included a locally made phono pickup, and the company grew through loudspeakers, amplifiers, tuners and cassette decks before becoming especially influential in home cinema. Onkyo helped make high-channel-count AV receivers, network audio and advanced room processing accessible to enthusiasts without abandoning traditional two-channel components. TX-NR and TX-RZ receivers remain the centre of the range, combining HDMI switching, Dolby Atmos and DTS:X decoding, multi-zone operation and, on selected models, Dirac Live calibration. The revived Icon Series adds the P-80 network preamplifier, M-80 power amplifier and A-50 integrated amplifier, reconnecting the brand with serious stereo separates. The corporate history changed decisively before the bankruptcy of the former Onkyo Home Entertainment company in 2022: in 2021 the Onkyo and Integra home-audio assets were acquired by a joint venture led by Premium Audio Company with Sharp as manufacturing partner. Premium Audio Company is now part of Gentex following its 2025 acquisition of VOXX. Onkyo is therefore active, not a dormant brand with an uncertain future. Its continuing role is to unite Japanese audio heritage with practical networked stereo and cinema platforms produced under new ownership.

Rockna

Rockna Audio is a Romanian digital-audio manufacturer founded in 1999 by engineer Nicolae Jitariu. The company designs its converters, digital filters, clocking and FPGA logic in-house, taking control of the data path instead of building products around an off-the-shelf DAC reference board. Its best-known component is Wavedream DAC, which uses a proprietary discrete R-2R ladder architecture and programmable FPGA processing. The Wavedream NET provides a matching disc transport, network bridge and server, allowing Rockna to manage the signal before it reaches the converter. Wavelight brings the same design culture to a more compact DAC and analogue preamplifier, while Wavelight Server, introduced as the platform evolved, handles library storage, streaming and network playback. Rockna’s emphasis is on timing and mathematical precision: custom digital filters, very low-jitter clock systems and galvanic isolation are designed together, and firmware can refine behaviour after the hardware leaves the factory. The analogue output stages and power supplies are developed as seriously as the numerical conversion, because the company treats a DAC as both a digital computer and an analogue source component. Manufacturing in Romania and a tightly focused catalogue have allowed Rockna to preserve this engineering continuity across product generations. The brand’s individuality lies in refusing the usual divide between software company and hardware boutique. From server and transport to FPGA filter, resistor ladder and output stage, it tries to own each consequential step of digital playback—and to make those steps transparent rather than hiding them behind format badges.

Rotel

Rotel is a Japanese audio manufacturer founded in 1961 and still closely identified with the Tachikawa family. It built its reputation by offering serious engineering at attainable prices rather than chasing a single exotic circuit or luxury finish. The company’s “Balanced Design Concept” joins three disciplines: selecting parts for their measured and audible behaviour, refining the circuit topology, and listening critically to the complete product. One practical expression is Rotel’s long-standing use of custom toroidal transformers, many wound to its specification, together with carefully regulated power supplies and conservative output ratings. The range spans integrated amplifiers, preamplifiers, power amplifiers, CD players, network streamers and multichannel home-theatre electronics. The 14 and 15 Series cover compact and full-size systems, Diamond models mark anniversary engineering, and the revived Michi name forms the flagship line with components such as the X3 and X5 integrated amplifiers, P5 preamplifier, S5 stereo power amplifier and M8 monoblocks. Rotel also builds distribution amplifiers and custom-installation products, so the same design culture serves both a two-channel listening room and a whole-home system. Streaming, HDMI and modern control have been added without abandoning physical source support or straightforward front-panel operation. Rotel’s importance lies in continuity: it has spent decades improving power supplies, analogue stages and system integration rather than repeatedly reinventing its identity. The result is recognisably Japanese hi-fi—disciplined, durable and engineered to deliver useful current, dynamics and low noise at several price levels.

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Info Brand Categories (menu hierarchy)

Brand Categories:

SPEAKERS
- Bookshelf Speakers — Compact loudspeakers designed for placement on a shelf or dedicated stands.
- Floorstanding Speakers — Large, full-range loudspeakers that stand directly on the floor, designed for powerful and expansive sound.
- In-wall Custom Install Speakers — Speakers designed to be installed flush into walls or ceilings for a discreet, "zero-footprint" audio solution.
- On-Wall Speakers — Slim, low-profile speakers designed to be mounted directly on a wall, often to complement a flat-panel TV.
- Studio Monitors — Speakers designed for professional audio production, offering a flat, accurate, and uncolored sound reproduction.
- Planar Ribbon Electrostatic Speakers — Speakers using large, thin diaphragms (panels) instead of cones, prized for their transparent and detailed sound.
- Horn Speakers — Highly efficient speakers that use a flared horn to amplify a driver, known for their dynamic, "live" sound.
- Active Powered Speakers — Loudspeakers with built-in amplifiers, creating a simple all-in-one audio solution.
- Wireless Portable Speakers — Compact, battery-powered speakers with Bluetooth for on-the-go music.
- Outdoor Speakers — Durable, weather-resistant speakers engineered to provide high-quality audio in open-air spaces like patios and gardens.
- Marine Extreme Speakers — Rugged, waterproof, and corrosion-resistant speakers built to withstand harsh marine environments on boats and yachts.
- Commercial Speakers — Durable loudspeaker systems designed for background music and public address in business environments.
- Invisible Speakers — Architectural speakers installed in a wall and plastered over, making them completely invisible.
- Subwoofers Bass Speakers — Specialized speakers dedicated to reproducing only the lowest bass frequencies for impact and depth for all purposes
AMPLIFIERS
- Integrated Amplifiers — An all-in-one component combining a preamplifier and a power amplifier in a single chassis.
- PreAmplifiers — The control hub of a separates audio system, used for source selection and volume control.
- Power Amplifiers — A component with the sole job of taking a line-level signal and amplifying it to drive loudspeakers.
- Phono Preamps Phono Stages — A device that amplifies the weak signal from a turntable's cartridge and applies necessary RIAA equalization.
- Tube Amplifiers — Amplifiers that use vacuum tubes (valves) instead of transistors, prized for their warm and rich sound character.
- Multi-Zone Multi-Room Amplifiers — Amplifiers that power speakers in multiple different rooms or "zones" from a single, centralized unit.
- Network Amplifiers — An integrated amplifier with built-in networking and streaming capabilities, creating a modern "just add speakers" system.
- Desktop Headphone Amplifiers — Mains-powered amplifiers designed to drive high-quality headphones in a desktop or home audio system.
- Portable Headphone Amplifiers Players — Compact, battery-powered devices (DAPs or amps) for delivering high-quality sound on the move.
DAC STREAMERS
- DAC Desktop — Digital-to-Analog Converters designed to improve sound quality from a computer or other home digital source.
- DAC Portable — Compact, battery-powered Digital-to-Analog Converters for improving audio from smartphones and laptops.
- Music Streamers — Devices that connect to the internet to access and play music from online services like Tidal and Spotify.
- Network Players — Source components focused on high-fidelity playback of digital audio files from a local network (NAS drive).
- Music Servers HDD Storages — Dedicated devices for storing, managing, and playing a local digital music library with high fidelity.
- CD Transport Media Players — High-precision disc players that read physical media (CDs, SACDs) and output a pure digital signal to an external DAC.
- Compact All-in-One Systems — Self-contained audio systems that combine source, amplification, and often speakers into a single, compact unit.
- Streaming Amplifier — An integrated amplifier with built-in streaming capabilities.
TURNTABLES VINYL
- Turntables — Electromechanical devices that play vinyl records by rotating them at a stable speed.
- Tonearms — The precision arm on a turntable that holds the cartridge, allowing the stylus to track the record groove.
- Cartridges — The transducer on a turntable's tonearm that holds the stylus and converts groove vibrations into an electrical signal.
- Vinyl Cleaning Machine — Specialized machines that use fluid and vacuum/ultrasonic action to deep-clean vinyl records.
- Vinyl Accessories — Essential tools for setup and maintenance, like clamps, brushes, and alignment protractors.
HEADPHONES
- In-Ear Earbuds — Ultra-portable listening devices, including True Wireless (TWS) models, designed for convenience and daily use.
- In-Ear Monitors IEM — High-performance in-ear headphones that seal in the ear canal for superior sound isolation and detail.
- On-Ear Headphones — Headphones with cushions that rest directly on the ears, offering a balance of portability and sound quality.
- Over-Ear Headphones — Full-sized headphones with large earcups that completely encircle the ears for maximum comfort and immersion.
- Wireless Headphones — Headphones that connect to source devices via Bluetooth, often featuring Active Noise Cancellation (ANC).
- Planar Magnetic Ribbon Headphones — High-end headphones using a thin, flat diaphragm driven by magnets, known for their detailed and low-distortion sound.
- Electrostatic Headphones — High-end headphones using a massless diaphragm in an electrostatic field, requiring a special energizer/amplifier.
HOME THEATER
- AV Receivers Media Players — Central components of a home cinema, combining audio/video processing, amplification, and playback.
- Home Theater Speakers — Matched sets of speakers (front, center, surround) designed to create an immersive cinematic soundfield.
- Soundbars — A simple, all-in-one speaker bar that provides a significant audio upgrade over a television's built-in speakers.
- Subwoofers — Specialized speakers dedicated to reproducing only the lowest bass frequencies for impact and depth for home theaters
- Processors Amplifiers — High-end home cinema "separates" consisting of a surround sound processor and a multi-channel power amplifier.
- Screens — High-quality projection surfaces designed to provide an optimal image for a home cinema projector.
- Projectors — Video projectors optimized for home cinema use, focusing on color accuracy, contrast, and black levels.
CABLES ACCESSORIES
- Speaker Cables — Cables that carry the amplified, high-level signal from an amplifier to passive loudspeakers.
- Analog Cables — Cables (RCA, XLR) used to transmit analog audio signals between components like DACs and amplifiers.
- Digital Cables — Cables (Coaxial, Optical, USB) that transmit digital audio data between components.
- Phono Cables — Specially shielded cables designed to carry the delicate, low-level signal from a turntable to a phono preamp.
- Headphone Cables — Aftermarket and replacement cables used to upgrade or customize high-quality headphones.
- Connectors Terminals — The fundamental hardware (plugs, jacks, spades, etc.) used to terminate cables and connect equipment.
- Power Cables — High-performance AC cords designed to deliver clean, noise-free power to audio components.
- Power Supplies Conditioners — Devices that filter, stabilize, and protect the AC power supplied to an audio system for improved performance.
FURNITURE
- Speaker Stands Mounts — Stands and mounts used to position speakers at the correct height and angle for optimal sound.
- Furniture Racks — Purpose-built furniture designed to house audio/video components with a focus on stability, ventilation, and vibration control.
- Isolation Footers Spikes Shelves — Specialized accessories (spikes, footers, platforms) designed to manage vibrations and isolate components.
- Soundproof Solutions — Products designed to control room acoustics, including treatment (panels, diffusers) and sound-blocking materials.
PROFESSIONAL
- Concert Speakers — Large-scale PA systems, including line arrays and stage monitors, for live music and public events.
- Cinema Speakers — Specialized, high-output loudspeaker systems certified for use in large commercial movie theaters.
- Concert Electronics — Robust electronics including mixing consoles, processors, and amplifiers for live sound reinforcement.
- Cinema Electronics — Professional, DCI-compliant processors and amplifiers for use in commercial movie theaters.
- Cinema Screens — Large-format, often acoustically transparent, projection screens built to professional cinema standards.
- Cinema Projectors — Ultra-high-brightness, DCI-compliant projectors designed for continuous use in commercial movie theaters.
- Professional Cables Accessories — Rugged, reliable cables and hardware (e.g., snake cables, Speakon connectors) for touring and professional installation.
DIY Components
- Speaker drivers Tweeters — The individual transducers (woofers, mid-range, tweeters) that are the fundamental building blocks of a loudspeaker.
- Coaxial Speaker Drivers — Speaker drivers where the tweeter is mounted in the center of the woofer, creating a single point source for sound.
- DIY Speaker Kits — Complete packages including drivers, crossovers, and plans for enthusiasts to build their own loudspeakers.
- Electron Vacuum Tubes — Glass valves used in tube amplifiers that provide amplification and can be replaced to tune the sound.
- Electronic Components — Discrete parts (capacitors, resistors, transistors) used by manufacturers and DIYers to build audio circuits.
OTHERS
- Line Stage — A type of preamplifier that exclusively handles line-level sources, without a built-in phono stage.
- Time Alignment Device — A signal processor that corrects timing delays between drivers or speakers for improved sound coherence.
- Smart Portable Speakers — Wireless portable speakers with integrated voice assistants (e.g., Alexa, Google Assistant) and smart home functionality.
- DJ Turntables — Durable, high-torque direct-drive turntables with pitch control, built for performance and DJing applications.
- Motor Drives — External motor units and power supplies for turntables, providing improved rotational stability and isolation.
- Crossovers — Electronic circuits that split an audio signal into different frequency bands to route to the correct speaker driver.
- Car Audio — Audio equipment, including speakers, amplifiers, and source units, specifically designed for use in vehicles.

Info Brand Categories (alphabetically)