Patent Review: Loudspeaker Apparatus

This article reviews a patent awarded to Teppei Yamada, on behalf of Zorzo Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan), describing an original design of a low-frequency enclosure system incorporating multiple woofers inter-coupled in a manner similar to what is known as an isobaric or compound woofer enclosure. James Croft reviews other approaches to the concept, starting in 1954 with a patent granted to Harry F. Olson on a dual, compound woofer system and later "reinvented" and popularized by Linn Corp., in 1975. In the new patent, the inventor uses an enclosure with as many as 12 woofers, all seriously coupled through individual air chambers

Onkyo, the audio manufacturer from Japan, wants to reboot and refresh its public image and unveiled a new refreshed logo that is intended to reflect also a new vision for its future. Independently of its corporate structure, the company is committed to reinforce its brand and raising the bar in home entertainment technology. And for that, Onkyo clearly needs to refresh its image to better reflect its innovative solutions and strategy for 2025 and beyond.

TASCAM received the Inter BEE Grand Prix award for the professional audio category, promoted by the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA). This award was presented on the occasion of the 60th Inter BEE trade show that took place November 13-15, at the Makuhari Messe convention center, just outside of Tokyo. TASCAM was recognized for the development of its Sonicview Digital Mixing Consoles range together with the IF-ST2110 SMPTE ST 2110 networking expansion card.

Michi is a flagship series of high-end audio products built on the history and heritage of Rotel, designed in Tokyo, Japan. The lineup was now expanded with the launch of the Michi Q5 Transport DAC, intended to redefine the CD player experience with state-of-the-art technology and sound quality to please the most demanding audio enthusiasts. The new Michi Q5 merges the popular 32-bit Dual-DAC architecture from ESS Technology with the company's most refined top-loading CD mechanism.

Marantz unveiled its new 10 Series Collection, which consists of three reference-quality high-end audio stereo products, all designed at the renowned Shirakawa Audio Works in Japan. The series will include the Reference SACD 10 player and the LINK 10n Reference Network Audio Player, which will be released later in 2024. For now, Marantz launched the MODEL 10 Reference Integrated Amplifier, which uses Purifi-licensed Class-D technology.

Rotel announced the new A8 Integrated Amplifier, the latest entry-level model in its growing 14 Series family of hifi components. The A8 leverages Rotel's 60+ year heritage and experience in engineering and manufacturing high-performance, high-value hifi audio components, delivering a very basic, 2x 40 Watts @4 Ohms, Class AB amplifier, with a Moving Magnet phono preamp plus three more line level inputs.

Ahead of the Munich show, Dynaudio revealed four new home audio loudspeakers including the Contour Legacy, the latest member of the Heritage Collection, reviving references of iconic Contour models of the 1980s and 90s with modern materials and technologies. The Danish company will also unveil the Confidence 20A, a new active flagship in a standmount format, the new Contour 20 Black Edition with a new Esotar 3 tweeter, and The Bookshelf, designed in collaboration with Keiji Ashizawa Design and Karimoku of Japan.

Luxman was among the world’s first consumer electronics companies, founded at the dawn of the radio age in 1925, in Japan. Fast-forward to 2024, and Luxman has launched its first ever streaming audio source, which the company reminiscently calls a "network transport". But the new Luxman NT-07 is effectively a fully featured digital audio source for today, supporting streaming services, USB and network file playback via connection to outboard D/A converters.

Audio-Technica is introducing its Narukami ultra-high-end audio products, which are meant to take the pursuit of analog and tube sound reproduction to a new level of excellence. Making their US premiere at CanJam NYC 2024 (March 9 – 10 at the Marriott Marquis, New York), the Narukami HPA-KG NARU Tube Headphone Amplifier and ATH-AWKG Closed-Back Dynamic Wooden Headphones are ultimate-quality works of audio art. With a price that could buy a house not a long time ago, this is in the above-luxury category.

Technical Audio Devices Laboratories (TAD Labs) officially announced the TAD-C1000 preamplifier, the newest addition to its Evolution Series of hi-fi audio components from the iconic Japanese audio brand. Sharing the design language with existing Evolution Series components including the TAD-D1000TX disc player, TAD-DA1000TX DAC, and TAD-M1000 power amplifier, the TAD-C1000 masterfully amplifies signals from stereo sources without compromise. It connects up to four balanced and two unbalanced components, with amplification for two balanced and two unbalanced outputs.