All items written by Joao Martins

CEDIA 2019 Show Report: Residential Integration in the Age of the Connected Home

September 19, 2019 by Joao Martins

CEDIA 2019 Show Report: Residential Integration in the Age of the Connected Home

While I visited the exhibits at the excellent Colorado Convention Center during the 2019 CEDIA Expo in Denver, I was frequently asked about my impressions of the show - but often it was as if people were asking me to validate their own negative impressions - because "this industry has seen better days...", and "the show is smaller than ever." I saw the show in a different perspective, which I will address in this report.

In Perspective: Amazon Lossless Audio Streaming Option with Amazon Music HD

September 18, 2019 by Joao Martins

In Perspective: Amazon Lossless Audio Streaming Option with Amazon Music HD

Amazon announced the launch of Amazon Music HD, a new tier of "higher quality" lossless streaming, promising "more than 50 million songs in High Definition," and "millions of songs in Ultra High Definition," a designation akin to TV services that Amazon thinks consumers will understand better than High Resolution Audio (HRA). The first tier of the service "High Definition" is in fact a CD-quality FLAC lossless streaming, while the "Ultra HD" tier defines FLAC streaming of 24-bit and a sample rate up to 192 kHz, or HRA.

Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2019: It Was Fun, But It’s Complicated…

September 12, 2019 by Joao Martins

Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2019: It Was Fun, But It’s Complicated…

Yes, it was strange to fly to Denver, CO so early in September while most of the industry was on the way to Berlin, Germany for another edition of the International Funkausstellung (IFA), the gigantic consumer electronics and appliance show, which rivals CES in visitor numbers. But the fact is, I don’t regret it in the least. Since the 2019 edition of the Rocky Mountain International Audio Fest (RMAF) changed dates to September 6-8, and the CEDIA Expo takes place shortly after also in Denver, it was a great incentive to opt for Colorado instead.

Kanto TUK High-End Powered Speaker with AMT Tweeter, Bluetooth, Phono Connectivity and More

September 12, 2019 by Joao Martins

Kanto TUK High-End Powered Speaker with AMT Tweeter, Bluetooth, Phono Connectivity and More

Kanto is a Canadian audio company specializing in colorful powered bookshelf and desktop speakers, designed for modern lifestyles. These compact speakers are not only good sounding and affordable, but they have all-in-one features such as an integrated USB DAC, phono preamp, Bluetooth and optical TOSLINK inputs, and can be connected with one of the Kanto powered subwoofers. But Kanto also wants to promote high end sound quality in the same form factor, and that’s why they launched the Kanto TUK speakers and had a dedicated demo room at RMAF 2019.

Andover Audio Introduces Cool All-In-One Sound System at RMAF 2019

September 12, 2019 by Joao Martins

Andover Audio Introduces Cool All-In-One Sound System at RMAF 2019

Since its formation in 2012, Boston, MA-based audio design firm Andover Audio has provided its design and manufacturing services to the most recognized brands in automotive, telecommunications, and high-performance consumer audio. Andover is now focusing its approach on its own line of products that artfully blend premium audio technologies with distinctive design. At RMAF 2019, Andover introduced the Model One Record Player - an advanced record player and entertainment system.

Polk Audio Introduces New Legend Flagship Speaker Line with Improved Designs

September 9, 2019 by Joao Martins

Polk Audio Introduces New Legend Flagship Speaker Line with Improved Designs

The Legend Series, the most advanced loudspeakers in Polk Audio’s history where undoubtedly one of the highlights at the 2019 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest (RMAF). The latest flagship speaker line from Polk Audio, the Legend Series represents the most sophisticated, and intensively engineered loudspeakers the company has ever introduced. The new Stereo Dimensional Array on the new L800 speakers was justifiably one of RMAF’s most popular demonstrations.

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.

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.

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.

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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