Yamaha has just launched the HPH-M82 line-up of fashionable headphones with a wide range of colours to choose from. Another useful year-end Holiday gift idea for about 80€. Beyond the design which is, of course, important, let’s not forget Yamaha has a legacy of creating the finest quality instruments as well as audio components, so we can expect superb sound reproduction and the HPH-M82 delivers that with a clear sound stage and rich bass reproduction.
The recently launched Optoma HD91 with a matte-black design is the first LED home theatre projector in the brand’s extensive product range. It features enhanced image quality using the Optoma LED technology and offers a full 3D 1080p image which is ultra-smooth with PureMotion4 frame-interpolation processing. It includes video adjustment options with the Advanced Colour Management System CMS+ as well as including lens shift and a wide zoom range for easy installation, enabling pictures up to 3,80 meters diagonal.
Sony Digital Cinema today announced that it is supporting the 2013 Cork Film Festival in Ireland. In the Cork Opera House from up until Sunday 17th November, festival-goers will be able to watch screenings of old classics that have been re-mastered such as Apocalypse Now, Night Train to Lisbon, All is Lost, The Blues Brothers and many more using Sony’s 4K digital cinema SRX-R515 projector. Cinenow.com can highly recommend this awesome experience as we were fortunate enough to participate at the one during CineEurope in Barcelona this summer.
The British company, Damson, based in Yorkshire, has launched Jet , a sexy designed, palm-sized pair of cylindrical speakers, that wirelessly stream music via Bluetooth to create a true stereo soundstage. Sold exclusively as a “stereo pack”, Jet streams the music from a smartphone, tablet or computer to the left speaker which then strips out the left-channel sound and passes the right channel on to the right speaker.
Jamo is joining the fast-growing soundbar market with their first model, the Jamo Torsten, the latest addition in their 360 Series of products launched earlier this year. Elegant Danish design on the outside is combined with performance under-the-hood, which is the primary reason this 2.1 system will be worth a listen if you don’t have a soundbar yet.
KEF is offering the best of both worlds with the introduction of the X300A wireless digital hi-fi speaker system: the freedom to stream music wirelessly from your computer or laptop, smartphone, tablet or most mobile devices, while enjoying true hi-fidelity sound.
Monitor Audio, the well-know British speaker brand, has just launched its Silver Series of speakers, introducing eight new, super-slender models that will replace the award winning RX series. For Hi-Fi or Home Cinema, the extended range includes two stand mount models: Silver 1 and 2; three floor speakers: Silver 6, 8, 10; and dedicated centre, ‘FX’ surround and active sub-woofer models. While Silver 1, 2, 6, centre and FX retain the form factor of their predecessors, the Silver 8 becomes a full three way design, and the Silver 10 tower offers an up-scaled floor-standing format, featuring twin 20cm bass drivers.
Sonos has been the historical leader in wireless, multi-room music distribution systems for years offering a full range of excellent hi-fi quality products with the only drawback, until now, being it could get expensive to equip the entire house, despite the ease of installation. The new Sonos PLAY:1 is a major development for Sonos in that its price point allows it to take on the speaker segment of this market now generally dominated by Bluetooth technology. The Sonos Play:1 is small, powerful, very easy to install and flexible to add more speakers throughout the house, while being an affordable way to create a true wireless home audio system.
After a period of uncertainty over the past several months (but we were always confident!), Loewe has now identified investors and received a confirmed offer, which represents a fundamental step forward in the restructuring process. Loewe has officially announced (text below) that in line with stock market regulations, it has received a specific written offer to invest in its business. The bidder has confirmed its commitment to a long-term investment to support Loewe’s strategic realignment.
With the Classic, Tangent has launched a new lifestyle audio system for music lovers, featuring a striking Danish design while offering the latest wireless audio technology and featuring bass reflex stereo speakers. It’s a perfect realization of the bold design brief: “produce a premium wireless loudspeaker system with a unique, iconic design, delivering audiophile sound quality and convenient to use”.
First seen at IFA this year, the new Klipsch STATUS noise-isolating, over-ear headphones are now available. Of course they incorporate the over six decades of Klipsch heritage in technology and acoustic know-how, but two factors that make these headphones stand out in an already crowded market and worth your while to have a closer look are the very light-weight, yet virtually indestructible construction, perfect for taking them with you everywhere, as well as the added comfort from their ear cups, lined with high-density memory foam, to create a more personalized seal around your ear.
The concept of multi-room wireless speakers to enjoy music throughout the house is not new, as our readers over the years have been learning about Sonos, the brand today that is the leader in this sector. But the market is literally booming, so Bose, with it’s well-established, widely-known product image, has entered the foray with a new product line called “SoundTouch”, with initially three new speakers systems, and more to come. Let’s take a look at why the new-kid-on-the-block may be what you would want for your home.
These days soundbars are among hottest products in the AV market. In recent research from GfK, they indicated that the soundbars market in the UK has more than tripled, growing by an awesome 238% in volume, while showing declining prices, with growth in value of 185%, when comparing May 2012/April 2013 to May 2011/April 2012. As TVs get thinner and thinner their internal speakers just cannot give that quality of sound that we would like to enjoy. For their first soundbar, Monitor Audio has designed the ASB-2 to be a quality sound solution while incorporating the features so it can also be an audio hub as well. Soundbars are not to be compared to a true, classical 5.1 (no less 7.1!) system, but are an alternative for those who want a simple, yet quality solution at an attractive price point to get more out of their TV while enjoying their music.
Member of the Canon Group, Cabasse, the French loudspeaker manufacturer with a heritage of over 60 years as specialist of co-axial speakers, is introducing the Stream 1 and Stream Source high fidelity wireless music streaming products. They offer the renowned Cabasse quality sound with the ability to stream from networks, tablets and phones and turn any connected USB drive into a DLNA server.
We are more accustomed to those sexy rounded Italian curves in the Sim2 line-up, but the new Crystal Cube projector combines high performance technology and sublime elegance using an innovative stylish ‘made-in-Italy’ contemporary cabinet enriched by a luxurious crystal finish by designer Giorgio Revoldini.
Meridian is renowned for high-end audio products and their award-winning DSP technology in active loudspeakers, but if they are not in your budget these days then here is an excellent opportunity to take your first step into the Meridian performance experience with the EISA Award winning Meridian Explorer USB DAC, which is the smallest and least expensive product that Meridian has in their catalogue. This is the perfect gift for anyone who really loves their music.
Sony was a double EISA Award winner this year with the Sony STR-DA5800ES for the European Home Theatre Receiver 2013-2014, after winning EISA Award for for the European TV with their Bravia KLD-55W905A. Let’s have a look as some of the features of this year’s Award winning receiver.
KEF has a long-standing heritage in design innovation with a trophy cabinet packed full of prestigious Awards, including the recent EISA Award for the European Home Theatre Loudspeaker 2013-2014 for their KEF E305. Their ultra-slim V700/V720W digital TV sound-bar systems are no exception, combining style and easy installation with high quality sound technology. Let’s have a closer look at what makes these models an excellent choice.
