The main speaker features some physical controls on its top surface, but more control is available via an unglamorous remote control. There is also the Technics Audio Center control app which is free for iOS and Android. It takes the concept of “unglamorous” to places previously unimaginable, but it’s a pretty stable and useful interface. No, it’s not the fastest in operation, and no, no one imagines it as a visual treat, but if you want to integrate your favorite music streaming service (as long as it’s Amazon Music, Deezer, Qobuz, Spotify or TIDAL), check firmware updates, run the Space Tune room correction routine, access the bass and treble controls, etc., you’ve got everything you need.
Depending on how your digital content is incorporated, resolution up to 32-bit/384 kHz PCM and DSD 256 is supported. If you make a wireless connection between the speakers, everything is upscaled to 24-bit/96 kHz, but with a wired connection 24 bit/192 kHz is available. Ethernet or Wi-Fi connectivity means Internet radio is offered, as is Apple AirPlay and Google Cast, and the SC-CX700 will be Roon-ready soon, via an upcoming over-the-air update.
easy listening
Once you’ve tuned the SC-CX700 to your space, organized the control app home page to your liking, and started listening closely, there’s a lot to admire and enjoy in the way this Technics system sounds. . There’s nothing flashy or in any way direct about the sound, but in their own way, the SC-CX700s are a compelling listen.
That’s the case whether you’re playing a heavy vinyl reissue of Chicago’s Art Ensemble’s “Les Stances a Sophie” or streaming a 24-bit/96kHz FLAC file of Nick Cave and the Bad’s “Final Rescue.” Seeds. Attempt”, or listen to a compact disc of “All Mirrors” by Angel Olsen through the digital optical input. The Technics are always a carefully controlled, deliberately poised and basically unflappable performer.
Photography: Parker Hall