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About Joao Martins
Since 2013, Joao Martins leads audioXpress as editor-in-chief of the US-based magazine and website, the leading audio electronics, audio product development and design publication, working also as international editor for Voice Coil, the leading periodical for the loudspeaker industry. Covering Audio and Video technology for more than 30 years - Broadcast, Film, Computer Graphics, and Music - as founder and editor of several leading publications in Portuguese and Spanish languages, (he's also fluent in French!), he benefits from a broad and rich perspective of those sectors and its multiple verticals. Marketing and Communication Specialist working at the intersection of media and technology for over three decades, Joao Martins started as a musician and studied visual arts and cinema before founding its own (short-lived) advertising agency. After a career in marketing and sales in film, television, radio and pro audio systems, transitioned full time to magazine publishing, founding new

All items written by Joao Martins
Sony Unveils New Personal Audio Products at IFA 2019
September 9, 2019 by Joao Martins

Sony Unveils New Personal Audio Products at IFA 2019

At the IFA 2019 consumer electronics show in Berlin, Germany, Sony had a lot of new products to show, including new wireless headphone models that improve on the company’s leading technologies. But headphones also need audio sources, and can particularly benefit from high quality audio players, like the new Sony Walkman NW-ZX500 and NW-A100 series, which support direct streaming services and also feature MQA support for streams and downloads.
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Sonos Introduces Sonos Move Battery-Powered Speaker, Sonos One SL and Sonos Port Interface
September 6, 2019 by Joao Martins

Sonos Introduces Sonos Move Battery-Powered Speaker, Sonos One SL and Sonos Port Interface

Sonos took its first step out of the home with, a durable, battery-powered smart speaker aptly named Sonos Move. A great design to extend the Sonos whole-home network to an area without power, or have music by the pool. The other new speaker from Sonos is the affordable One SL, with no voice recognition support, but better audio quality than the Play:1 that replaces. The third new product from Sonos is the Port, an updated wired to wireless interface solution now with better audio quality and AirPlay 2 support.
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USB-IF Announces Publication of USB4 Specification that Doubles Bandwidth to Extend USB Type-C Performance
September 3, 2019 by Joao Martins

USB-IF Announces Publication of USB4 Specification that Doubles Bandwidth to Extend USB Type-C Performance

The USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) announced the publication of the USB4 specification, a major update to deliver the next-generation USB architecture that complements and builds upon the existing USB 3.2 and USB 2.0 architectures. The USB4 architecture is based on the Thunderbolt protocol specification contributed by Intel to the USB Promoter Group. It doubles the maximum aggregate bandwidth of USB and enables multiple simultaneous data and display protocols.
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miniDSP Launches IL-DSP Tiny Headphone Amplifier Based on XMOS xCORE-200
August 28, 2019 by Joao Martins

miniDSP Launches IL-DSP Tiny Headphone Amplifier Based on XMOS xCORE-200

Those tireless folks from miniDSP have done it again! The Hong-Kong company just announced IL-DSP (In Line DSP), a tiny USB headphone amplifier with integrated DSP that is the perfect device to insert between any mobile music source and one's favorite headphones. This is a USB Audio class 2 device interface for PC-Mac-Linux-Android OS with a 3.5mm stereo jack output that is PCM and DSD capable, and features 10 PEQ filters (IIR correction) to equalize headphones, 3 button controls and an embedded microphone.
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Apple Digital Masters: Why Is Everyone Talking About It?
August 22, 2019 by Joao Martins

Apple Digital Masters: Why Is Everyone Talking About It?

It all started with an article from Billboard that stated: "On Wednesday (August 7) Apple Music announced the launch of Apple Digital Masters, a new initiative by the streaming giant that combines all of its "Mastered for iTunes" offerings into one global catalog. This is the company's first public acknowledgement of the initiative, which it has been quietly unveiling for some time." And suddenly the story was all over the place. But Apple didn't actually announce anything. Or at least, there was no official press release from Apple to be found confirming the story.
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Audio Marketing Refresh: The Humble But Mighty Press Release
August 8, 2019 by Joao Martins

Audio Marketing Refresh: The Humble But Mighty Press Release

There's so much an audio brand can do in terms of effective promotion (that all important "P" in the marketing mix). And it all starts with the humble but mighty press release. It is amazing how so many "grown-up" people in the audio industry - including many consumer audio, and almost all high-end audio and hi-fi companies - completely ignore what a press release is about, what it is used for, or simply disregard the fact that when they actually "release" a new product, they need to tell the press, which will help tell the world about it.
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Weiss Engineering Announces New DSP501 / DSP502 Digital Signal Processors
August 8, 2019 by Joao Martins

Weiss Engineering Announces New DSP501 / DSP502 Digital Signal Processors

The DSP501 / DSP502 are two new state of the art Digital Signal Processors from Swiss company Weiss Engineering, founded in 1985 by Daniel Weiss. The two new processors, featuring exclusive algorithms developed by the company, that the company describes as "the essence of our experiences." The implementation in the two new hardware units intends to "enhance or adapt the audio signal to the room acoustics or speakers at hand," and combines some rather unique features.
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xMEMS Demonstrates True MEMS Speaker for Earphone Applications
August 7, 2019 by Joao Martins

xMEMS Demonstrates True MEMS Speaker for Earphone Applications

xMEMS Labs, a MEMS solutions startup headquartered in Los Altos, California, announced the demonstration of a novel MEMS speaker for earphone applications. This demo, according to the company, showcases not only the benefits of MEMS technologies with small size and low power consumption, but also its scalable design that will enable applications in many markets. The company, which has not yet revealed specifics on their MEMS speaker technology, claims to have developed a complete MEMS process that reduces manufacturing complexities.
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HEDD Confirms Air Motion Transformer HEDDphone Launch in 2019
August 5, 2019 by Joao Martins

HEDD Confirms Air Motion Transformer HEDDphone Launch in 2019

A headphone that is based on a real AMT driver, as used in professional studio monitors? The first presentation was at the 2019 High End show in Munich (May 2019), followed by another recent series of demonstrations at the CanJam London 2019 show (July 2019). Now HEDD Audio has announced that, before the end of 2019, the company intends to ship the new HEDDphone – the first full-range headphone design based on HEDD / ADAM founder and speaker veteran Klaus Heinz’ world-known Air Motion Transformer driver.
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Gibson Cleans Up Its Act - Making Good on a Troubled Past
August 1, 2019 by Joao Martins

Gibson Cleans Up Its Act - Making Good on a Troubled Past

The recent return of Gibson is one of those great case-studies for any marketing professional and a story that I am certain will be taught for years in marketing schools. How to “Clean Up Your Act” and restore the value of a brand that has been on a slow-burning destructive process for decades. Gibson is a legendary company, an American icon, and possibly one of the world's most valuable brands. I mean, it is hard to accept that someone could possible break a valuable business and a valuable brand like Gibson.
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