Most tablets (and smartphones for that matter) are equal to the task of storing and playing the music libraries of casual listeners. For the serious music enthusiast, however, most digital gadgets on the market have been found to be somewhat lacking… Until now.
In response to the frustrations of those who take their music seriously and want the best possible setup for their digital collection Nativ Sound have developed a tablet exclusively developed for use as a music platform.
For many music enthusiast, nothing compares to getting some cheap concert tickets and gettign up close to a live band, but for an audiophile this is the next best thing to having live music from the comfort of your living room. It’s a tablet with unparalleled storage, flexibility and connectivity combined with the simple, user friendly and intuitive interface you’d expect from a tablet. Meet the Nativ Vita music player.
Let’s get physical
Physically, the tablet itself is sleek and impressive to behold with an aesthetic that makes other tablets look positively antiquated by comparison. The Nativ Vita’s has a very contemporary design that’s a little bulkier than an iPad or Galaxy Note but has a very bespoke quality. This is largely owing to the fact that the Nativ Vita is hand built in a small production lot and made from an exclusive range of materials. The chassis is made of premium grade 7000 series aluminum with a finely anodized finish. The 11.5 inch 1980×1080 HC touchscreen is composed of Japanese made Asahi glass and there’s even some solid American wood in there too. The whole thing is combined to give the tablet an aesthetic that is both contemporary and timeless.
There is also a tasteful and elegant dark wood wall mount which sets the whole look off nicely.
Now, let’s talk spec
While the Vita looks impressive on the outside, as anyone familiar with audio tech will tell you, it’s what’s inside that counts. The Vita has a storage capacity that most tablets could only dream of. The tablet can host up to 4 terabytes’ worth of music (that’s more than most PCs), by housing 2 hard disk or solid state drives. While it has no onboard speakers, it is designed to deliver music to a range of speakers in bit-perfect quality. It has four high-quality digital outputs for SPDIF or AES/EBU as well as a USB 2.0 interface. It has an electrical noise filter inbuilt and the 7000 series aluminium blocks any unwanted EMI and RFI signals that can interfere with audio signals. There’s also an in-line filter and galvanic isolation to muffle any electrical noise from the hard disc drives. It also has a sophisticated cooling system to maintain optimal running without noisy fans.
Interface
Because the Vita is a designated music platform that doesn’t have to run disparate apps made by numerous different developers the interface has a smooth, responsive feel to it that’s unimpeded by phone calls, texts or push notifications. While third party apps that will extend the Vita’s capabilities beyond music are in development, they’re unlikely to interfere with the responsive interface since that’s clearly a USP for the company. As well as its robust storage space, it syncs with all of your favorite streaming services and is compatible with virtually any multi-room speaker setup.
At a starting price of $1,600 it’s not an entry level piece of tech but the only choice for those who take their music seriously yet want to fully embrace digital technology.
