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Soundtrap for Storytellers, New Podcast Creation Tool Launches Globally
by audioXpress Staff

Soundtrap for Storytellers, New Podcast Creation Tool Launches Globally

Soundtrap, a Spotify company, announced Soundtrap for Storytellers, a cloud-based solution for high-quality collaborative podcast creation that provides podcasters with a powerful, efficient and user-friendly recording and production process. The comprehensive podcast creation solution offers all-in-one recording, remote multi-track interviewing, smart transcribing, full audio production and publishing to Spotify. The company also announced that a classroom-appropriate version will be available to schools.
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New Mark Levinson 5000 Series Integrated Amplifiers and Integrated Streaming SACD Player and DAC
by audioXpress Staff

New Mark Levinson 5000 Series Integrated Amplifiers and Integrated Streaming SACD Player and DAC

Harman introduced the latest products from its Luxury Audio Group at the High End 2019 show in Munich. Following a repositioning of the division, announced at the end of 2018, Harman is now focusing on launching new products. In the Mark Levinson brand, Harman introduced two integrated amplifiers from the Mark Levinson 5000 series, the Nº5805 and Nº5802. And in a world premiere, Mark Levinson revealed the Nº5101 integrated player, streamer and DAC.
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Sonos Adds Google Assistant Support via Free Software Update
by audioXpress Staff

Sonos Adds Google Assistant Support via Free Software Update

Sonos confirmed the introduction of Google Assistant smart voice control to its Sonos One or Sonos Beam speakers, allowing users to easily start a song, queue a TV show, control smart home devices, and get calendar and traffic updates. For now, the service is available in the United States, with additional countries to follow in July 2019. As the first company to bring multiple voice assistants to the same sound system, Sonos demonstrates the power of its open, multi-partner platform.
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Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant In Neck and Neck Fight For Smart Speaker Leadership
by audioXpress Staff

Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant In Neck and Neck Fight For Smart Speaker Leadership

The Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant platforms will take an almost equal share of the global smart speaker market this year, according to the latest forecast from Strategy Analytics. Amazon Alexa had a 37.7% share of sales in 2018, but this will decline to 31.7% in 2019, while Google Assistant’s share will rise from 30.3% to 31.4%, the company predicts. Global sales of all smart speakers are expected to reach 135 million units in 2019, a growth rate of 57%.
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Harman's Luxury Audio Division Introduces Flagship Lexicon SL-1 High-End Adaptive Speaker
by audioXpress Staff

Harman's Luxury Audio Division Introduces Flagship Lexicon SL-1 High-End Adaptive Speaker

During the 2019 High End Show in Munich, Germany, Harman unveiled the new controllable Lexicon SoundSteer SL-1 loudspeaker system, using 66 drivers arranged in a 360-degree configuration, and 46 discrete amplifier channels with a music output of 1,300 watts. Truly, a smart speaker on steroids, the SL-1 combines all the latest innovations in advanced beam steering technology.
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Voice Algorithm Software Ecosystem Expected to Increase Significantly
by audioXpress Staff

Voice Algorithm Software Ecosystem Expected to Increase Significantly

The massive growth in the voice assistant market has created a vibrant ecosystem and significant opportunities for hardware and software developers. Total voice software unit shipments are expected to increase significantly to 2024, according to SAR Insight & Consulting. The firm latest report forecasts a larger increase in voice software, especially within home devices such as smart speakers, soundbars, smart TVs and smart appliances.
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Neutrik Fights Product Piracy and Announces Initiatives to Protect Its Patents and Trademarks
by audioXpress Staff

Neutrik Fights Product Piracy and Announces Initiatives to Protect Its Patents and Trademarks

At the 2019 Prolight+Sound show in Frankfurt, Neutrik went on a determined offensive against product piracy. Following Neutrik’s request, police seized numerous products that clearly violate intellectual property rights. Moreover, extensive warnings to cease and desist have also been sent to the companies concerned and further legal action has already been launched by the famous manufacturer of professional connector products for audio and video.
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Warwick Acoustics Introduces APERIO Flagship Electrostatic Headphone System
by Joao Martins

Warwick Acoustics Introduces APERIO Flagship Electrostatic Headphone System

Warwick Acoustics, the company behind the multi-award-winning Sonoma Model One electrostatic headphones has launched the APERIO, its new flagship integrated headphone system. Launched at the 2019 High End show in Munich, Germany, the APERIO headphone system introduces the unique Balanced-Drive High Precision Electrostatic Laminate (BD-HPEL), which takes Warwick's original HPEL to a whole new level, complemented with a completely new electronics unit where nothing is missing. The whole system costs US $24,000 but sounds like a million dollars.
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Melco Introduces Intelligent Music Library in Collaboration with SongKong
by audioXpress Staff

Melco Introduces Intelligent Music Library in Collaboration with SongKong

Responding to the frustrations of many owners of digital music libraries to find and quickly play music in large and varied music collections, Melco introduced a new powerful music search/metadata software incorporating MinimServer's Intelligent Browsing with SongKong metadata within Melco hardware. The solution, introduced at the 2019 High End show in Munich, breaks free from the constraints of the physical CD that was used to rip music into Melco's servers, now offering metadata integration matching users' search and intentions.
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Native Instruments KOMPLETE AUDIO 6 Increases Audio Quality in a USB-Powered Audio Interface
by audioXpress Staff

Native Instruments KOMPLETE AUDIO 6 Increases Audio Quality in a USB-Powered Audio Interface

Berlin-based Native Instruments launched a new six-channel audio USB audio interface that directly addresses the needs of musicians. The second generation KOMPLETE AUDIO 6 follows the release of KOMPLETE AUDIO 1 and 2 earlier in 2019, completing a new generation of audio interfaces that fulfill the needs of small bands, duos, or solo producers with a flexible set of connections for studio or stage.
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