ALL NEWS ITEMS
Focal Introduces Utopia M High-End Car Audio Series
by audioXpress Staff

Focal Introduces Utopia M High-End Car Audio Series

Focal unveiled Utopia M, the latest in high-end reference car audio from the French brand. In 2005, the Utopia Be line was developed using Focal’s best high-fidelity loudspeakers, revolutionizing the brand’s Car Audio line. Now, Focal introduces the evolution of that legacy, a new high-end reference: The Utopia M line, which include five completely new drivers and a new 2-way passive kit.
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Avantone Pro Announces Classically-Designed Class A/B CLA-200 Amplifier
by audioXpress Staff

Avantone Pro Announces Classically-Designed Class A/B CLA-200 Amplifier

Having recently made (sound) waves with its passive CLA-10 studio monitors, effectively bringing ‘back’ to market an iconic studio reference monitoring mainstay, affordable high-quality audio products producer Avantone Pro now announced availability of its complimentary CLA-200 Studio Reference Amplifier — a classically-designed Class A/B amplifier, also developed in close collaboration with GRAMMY Award-winning mix engineer Chris Lord-Alge, to whom it not only owes its ‘initials’ but also its very existence.
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CEntrance Announces MixerFace R4R with Built-in SD Card Recorder
by audioXpress Staff

CEntrance Announces MixerFace R4R with Built-in SD Card Recorder

CEntrance announced the launch of MixerFace R4R, a new version of the acclaimed mobile recording interface that now comes with a built-in audio recorder. The new model retains all the features of its parent MixerFace R4, released in July 2018, but adds a built-in, "one-button record," stereo micro-SD card recorder for added in-the-field flexibility and extra recording redundancy. The new model is now shipping worldwide and costs $449.99 USD.
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Audio-Technica Introduces ATH-M50xBT Wireless Over-Ear Headphones with Bluetooth 5
by Joao Martins

Audio-Technica Introduces ATH-M50xBT Wireless Over-Ear Headphones with Bluetooth 5

Here's an interesting idea! Take one of the most successful headphones ever and an industry standard, and create a wireless version combining the latest Bluetooth 5 technology with the extra features making the design look exactly the same. That's what Audio-Technica just announced with the introduction of its ATH-M50xBT wireless over-ear headphones, which bring Bluetooth wireless technology to one of the world’s most acclaimed pro audio and consumer headphones. And even the price stays affordable at USD $199.00.
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Mackie Announces Availability for DL16S and DL32S Wireless Mixers and Releases Master Fader 5.0
by audioXpress Staff

Mackie Announces Availability for DL16S and DL32S Wireless Mixers and Releases Master Fader 5.0

Previewed back in June 2018, Mackie announced immediate availability of the latest DL Series digital mixers, the 16-channel DL16S and 32-channel DL32S Wireless Digital Live Sound Mixers with built-in Wi-Fi. Delivering the proven performance and intuitive control that the DL Series is known for, the DL16S and DL32S offer an all-new affordable, stagebox form factor with built-in Wi-Fi. The company also releases version 5.0 of its Master Fader app, which provides complete wireless control over the wireless digital mixer series.
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Amped Studio 2.0 Online Music Production DAW Adds Pitch- and Beat-to-MIDI Technology
by audioXpress Staff

Amped Studio 2.0 Online Music Production DAW Adds Pitch- and Beat-to-MIDI Technology

Amptrack Technologies just announced availability of a brand new version of the online DAW, Amped Studio 2.0, now featuring new virtual instruments, and allowing users to compose with voice (humming, singing, etc.) with sophisticated pitch- and beat-to-MIDI features that quickly turn your vocal ideas into songs. As in the original version released in 2017, Amped Studio 2.0 can be used for free and there is a premium subscription dor $4.99 a month for extra content and instruments.
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Rational Acoustics Confirms Smaart v8.3 Update Is Now Available
by audioXpress Staff

Rational Acoustics Confirms Smaart v8.3 Update Is Now Available

Smaart v8.3 is the third major update to the Smaart v8 measurement platform, originally introduced in 2016. This free update includes integration with the Roland Octa-Capture USB 24-bit/192 kHz audio interface, major Client Window improvements, new Frequency-domain Time Windowing (FTW) for complex averaged transfer function measurements, and numerous enhancements and bug fixes in almost every area of the program. This update is recommended for all Smaart v8 users.
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Paid Music Streaming Subscriptions Will Hit 235 Million by the End of 2018
by Futuresource Consulting

Paid Music Streaming Subscriptions Will Hit 235 Million by the End of 2018

The Digital Media and Entertainment team at Futuresource Consulting published its latest Music Market Report revealing that music streaming services continue its ascendance globally. With the number of paid streaming subscriptions on track to reach 235 million worldwide by the end of 2018, Futuresource Consulting forecasts a significant decrease in music file download and the sales of CD's, as streaming services continue to expand its music catalog and worldwide coverage, actually increasing overall revenues for the music industry.
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SoundHound and Honda Partner on Development of a Voice-Enabled AI Assistant
by audioXpress Staff

SoundHound and Honda Partner on Development of a Voice-Enabled AI Assistant

SoundHound Inc., the voice-enabled AI and conversational intelligence technology company, announced a strategic partnership with Honda Motor to accelerate the development of a voice-enabled AI assistant. Using SoundHound's Houndify Voice AI Platform, the AI Assistant will support highly sophisticated and natural interactions with speed and accuracy, leveraging its proprietary Speech-to-Meaning and Deep Meaning Understanding technologies, and intelligence in voice recognition and understanding.
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Dense Launches Kickstarter Campaign for Adapt Compact USB-C Audio DAC
by Joao Martins

Dense Launches Kickstarter Campaign for Adapt Compact USB-C Audio DAC

Another week and more audio products are pitched on crowdfunding platforms. Some products have new or clearly differentiated arguments - sometimes so new or different that it's hard to believe! - while others are simply well-designed or products that have to rely on better quality and technical arguments that consumer's will find hard to understand or believe. The latter is the reason why we decided to write about the new Dense Audio USB audio DAC, called Adapt. This is a product designed by an experienced team, who have ventured into creating a new company and launch a product "that could set a new standard and be used for a long time in this fast-changing world."
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