eero Mesh Home WiFi Specialist Acquired by Amazon
Amazon and eero announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Amazon will acquire eero, a company that offers products and services for high-performing, simple home mesh WiFi systems. Eero's products have been available since 2017 and basically blanket every room of a home with high-performing WiFi, earning a 4.6-star product rating on Amazon.com. Apparently, Amazon was excited with the company's next generation solutions, which the company says will enable better connected home devices.
Vervent Audio Group Creates Focal Naim North America Subsidiaries
Audio and high-fidelity French specialist, Vervent Audio Group has announced the acquisition of Audio Plus Services & Plurison — distributors of high-end and professional audio equipment in the US and Canada. With the acquisition, effective from January 15 2019, the Vervent group extends the expertise of its two iconic brands — FOCAL and NAIM — and creates two subsidiaries, Focal Naim America and Focal Naim Canada.
Martin Audio Announces New Wavefront Precision Longbow (WPL) Line Array Element and SXC118 Cardioid Subwoofer
At this year’s ISE 2019 trade show in Amsterdam, Martin Audio announced several new products, both for the installation market but also for live performance and touring. The British company unveiled its latest optimized line array, adding to the popular Wavefront Precision Series with the Longbow (WPL) edition, which takes its scalable resolution concept further. At the same time, Martin Audio launched its new SXC118 cardioid subwoofer, as part of an overhaul of its subwoofer strategy, designed for touring sound and installations.
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audioXpress March 2019 Is Now Available. Time for Audio Test and Measurements!
Get to the bench, it's Test and Measurement time. In this edition, you will find a Market Update with the latest audio measurement solutions available to the audio industry. Stuart Yaniger reviews the new Earphone Audio Response System from miniDSP, Joe Begin explains how to measure speech intelligibility, and Jonathan Novick details how to use external attenuators for measurements. Geoff Hill discusses why total system efficiency should be the target in loudspeaker design, and Dimitri Danyuk explores a discrete high output current buffer with JFET input.
PMC Launches New Generation of IB2S Active Studio Monitors
The new generation of PMC’s IB2S active range is aimed at studios working in stereo and surround formats who require true high-end monitoring - with both analogue and digital inputs - for reference and mastering applications. According to the brand, the three-way IB2S-AII offers all the attributes of PMC’s large ATL reference active monitors but in a more compact form. The PMS IB2S-AII and the twin cabinet IB2S XBD-AII systems bring even more power, detail and flexibility.
DirectOut expands Prodigy Series with Prodigy.MP Multifunction Audio Processor
DirectOut’s new PRODIGY.MP multifunction audio processor follows the successful launch of its sister product, the PRODIGY.MC modular audio converter that spearheaded the recent introduction of the PRODIGY Series. The new PRODIGY.MP is a multifunction audio processor that provides flexible I/O, dual networked audio, DSP (EQ, Delay, Limiter, Matrix/Mixing, Inserts…), Sample Rate Conversion, multiple sync generation/handling/distribution and powerful hard- and software, all housed in a 2U rack frame. The processor supports networking selectable from Dante, RAVENNA and SoundGrid.
Sennheiser Introduces Complete Digital Wireless Solutions for Work and Lecture Activities
Sennheiser Education Solutions is the audio specialist’s portfolio for the education sector. For Sennheiser, this is not new territory, since numerous universities and colleges have already been equipped with Sennheiser products. But in the age of digital transformation, the education system is also subject to constant change, and students, colleges and universities must constantly adapt to this change. Focused on these users’ evolving needs, Sennheiser introduced a portfolio that is perfectly customized for educational institutions.
Preserving the Sound of Stradivarius for Future Generations
The northern Italian city of Cremona is the cradle; a place where the masters Amati, Stradivari, and Guarneri del Gesú lovingly created a new pinnacle of quality for stringed instruments. Even though centuries have passed, these instruments are still considered the holy grail of violins today. Now, e-instruments lab GmbH will record and preserve the sounds of these unique instruments, in order to make digital sampling versions of the Stradivarius sound available forever.
SAR Insight & Consulting Forecasts Strong Growth for True Wireless Stereo (TWS) Earbuds
True wireless stereo (TWS) earbuds are driving innovation and creating a growth market. Total market revenues for the true wireless stereo earbuds (TWS) market are expected to reach almost $10 billion in 2019, outstripping all other headphone markets, according to the latest research from SAR Insight & Consulting, which reports "the market is expected to grow rapidly over the next 5 years accounting for more than 60% of all wireless stereo headphones shipped by 2023.”
Libre Wireless MAVID Device and Software Now with Amazon Alexa Built-in
Leading embedded wireless voice/AI solutions provider Libre Wireless Technologies announced that its MAVID (Multiprotocol, Audio, Voice, IoT Device) super compact, ultra-low power mic-to-cloud platform and software SDK, now supports the Alexa Voice Service (AVS) built-in. The breakthrough platform incorporates a complete hardware and software solution for embedded voice, IoT, audio and wireless connectivity, and now features integrated AVS.