All items in category Industry News
Focusrite plc Unveils New Optimal Audio Brand and Complete Portfolio of Commercial Audio Products
by audioXpress Staff

Focusrite plc Unveils New Optimal Audio Brand and Complete Portfolio of Commercial Audio Products

British holding company Focusrite plc, which does business as Focusrite, Focusrite Pro, Martin Audio, ADAM Audio, Novation and Ampify Music brands, unveiled a new seventh brand, Optimal Audio. The strategy, according to Focusrite plc, is to offer a complete portfolio of advanced commercial audio products, designed for a fully connected and remotely controlled systems approach, with ease of installation in mind.
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Sean Martin Joins Audio Engineering Society as International Sales Manager
by Audio Engineering_Society

Sean Martin Joins Audio Engineering Society as International Sales Manager

The Audio Engineering Society appointed Sean Martin as AES International Sales Manager, underscoring AES’s momentum as the industry recovery begins to allow events and business to progress toward post-pandemic activity alongside the Society’s commitment to build further upon the success and value of its online events. Sean Martin’s decades of experience in the audio industry ideally suit him to his new role as the interface between the Society and its industry partners.
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AES Audio Product Education Institute Invites Product Development Houses to Discuss Turning Ideas Into Actual Products
by Audio Engineering_Society

AES Audio Product Education Institute Invites Product Development Houses to Discuss Turning Ideas Into Actual Products

The Audio Product Education Institute (APEI) initiative launched by the Audio Engineering Society (AES), will host its seventh online event addressing Supply Chain & Sourcing on Wednesday, April 21 (12:00pm EDT). In this new webinar, moderated once again by supply chain and sourcing experts David Lindberg (DB Enterprises) and Mike Klasco (Menlo Scientific), two Silicon Valley product development firms will discuss their role and contributions in bringing new audio products to market.
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Ams Adaptive Noise Cancellation Technology Powers JBL Over-Ear Headphones
by audioXpress Staff

Ams Adaptive Noise Cancellation Technology Powers JBL Over-Ear Headphones

Announced earlier in January and scheduled to be available May 2021, the new JBL Tour ONE headphones will feature Harman's first adoption of Adaptive Leakage Compensation (ALC) technology from ams AG. ALC technology has already been deployed in various types of earbuds, including loose-fit earbuds, to provide consistently high noise attenuation as the earbud shifts position in the ear. Now Harman has deployed ams ALC technology in the JBL Tour One to provide the same consistency and high noise attenuation in over-ear headphones.
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Spotify Unveils Car Thing Dedicated Smart Player for the Car
by Joao Martins

Spotify Unveils Car Thing Dedicated Smart Player for the Car

In a effort to expand its reach in the lucrative automotive sector, Swedish streaming audio company Spotify has launched its very first hardware product. With free and widely available radio stations still dominating the space, car audio remains the last frontier to be conquered by streaming services. Spotify seems determined to cover that market, even if it requires launching a proof-of-concept product. Spotify Car Thing is basically a dedicated Spotify player with voice controls for Premium subscribers, cutting the ties to the smartphone.
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Polestar 2 All Electric Vehicle Includes Premium Harman Kardon Audio Experience
by audioXpress Staff

Polestar 2 All Electric Vehicle Includes Premium Harman Kardon Audio Experience

Polestar 2, the new all electric car model from the exclusive brand owned by Volvo Car Group and Geely, is also betting strongly on distinct interiors and a focus on the whole audio experience. The Polestar 2 features a premium Harman Kardon audio system developed by Harman uniquely for the car, and allows over-the-air (OTA) updates to introduce new and improved audio features and functions over time. And being a Swedish brand, Polestar 2 also features Spotify Group Sessions Beta directly in its built-in Spotify app.
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Fraunhofer and Sinclair Show Digital Radio Mondiale Integration Into ATSC 3.0 Digital TV Platform
by Joao Martins

Fraunhofer and Sinclair Show Digital Radio Mondiale Integration Into ATSC 3.0 Digital TV Platform

Fraunhofer IIS, the primary developer of the xHE-AAC audio codec and long-time member of the ATSC as well as the DRM Consortium, and Sinclair Broadcast Group, the US media company, are joining forces to bring the best possible DRM digital radio experience to users of the ATSC 3.0 digital TV platform. This is definitely a great idea to relaunch awareness of digital radio services, which have remained largely ignored in the midst of the streaming media transition.
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Logitech and Baidu Brain Partner on Speech Input Wireless Mouse
by audioXpress Staff

Logitech and Baidu Brain Partner on Speech Input Wireless Mouse

Logitech announced a long-term partnership with Baidu Brain, beginning with the launch of its new Logitech Voice M380 Wireless Mouse with Speech Input in China. Designed especially for people who create large amounts of content, the mouse lets users dictate text, creating content two or three times faster than typing in Chinese. The Logitech Voice M380 Wireless Mouse is powered exclusively by intelligent Baidu Speech technology from Baidu Brain.
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Microsoft Acquires Voice Recognition Pioneer Nuance Communications
by Joao Martins

Microsoft Acquires Voice Recognition Pioneer Nuance Communications

As rumored, Microsoft has announced the acquisition of Nuance Communications, the speech-to-text and voice recognition pioneer, for US$19.7 billion - the second-largest acquisition in Microsoft’s history. Microsoft apparently recognized the value of Nuance's efforts in healthcare, financial services, telco, retail, travel, and government applications, and recent investments in conversational AI. How will Microsoft leverage the company's products and technologies is certainly more related to his efforts in those very same verticals and synergy with its Office and Business software suites, than any effort to revive Cortana.
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Amphenol Completes Acquisition of MTS Systems Corporation and Resells Test and Simulation Business to ITW
by audioXpress Staff

Amphenol Completes Acquisition of MTS Systems Corporation and Resells Test and Simulation Business to ITW

Amphenol Corporation, the global provider of high-technology interconnect, antenna and sensor solutions, continues its expansion and now announced that it has completed the planned acquisition of MTS Systems Corporation. MTS is the company that had acquired PCB Group in 2016, becoming the owner of PCB Piezotronics and Larson Davis. Amphenol will now sell the test and simulation business of MTS to ITW (Illinois Tool Works), as agreed in December 2020.
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