Audioengine New N22 Mini Desktop Audio Amplifier and Headphone Amp

Audioengine announced the new N22 Mini Desktop Audio Amplifier and Headphone Amp, updating the specifications from the original N22 launched originally in 2010. The audio company known for its decent quality and affordable home audio products has created a new design to fit today's lifestyles, by adding Bluetooth and USB inputs. The N22 Micro features a familiar OPA1602 on the power stage and an improved headphone amplifier that is able to drive a wider range of headphones.

Soundbars have originally conquered the living room to compensate for the poor sound in very thin TVs, and evolved in meeting rooms by gaining microphones and conferencing features. At the same time, under-monitor soundbars are gaining popularity for both gaming and working from home. Creative Technology announced the release of Creative Stage SE, the fourth and smallest under-monitor soundbar in this series, designed to amp up the user’s desktop audio experience.

Reinforcing a growing trend on a new form-factor, Creative Technology launched a new under-monitor soundbar designed to give users a filling audio experience, intended for nearfield listening. The new Creative Stage Air V2 is actually a redesign of an existing model (Stage Air) that Creative says sold well, now with improved connectivity options, which include USB-C, Bluetooth 5.3. The minimalistic design fits snuggly under the monitor, but is also battery powered, being compact enough to be carried around the house.

This article reviews a patent granted to Apple, describing an electronic audio device including an enclosure having an acoustic output opening and a speaker positioned within the enclosure, as implemented in the company’s range of iMac desktop computers. The speaker and the acoustic output opening are acoustically coupled by an acoustic output pathway and damping chamber. Apple’s patent cites the Matsushita patent as prior art, but this is a more developed concept. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, December 2015.

In this patents review, James Croft looks at one of the most interesting concepts for a “Desktop Audio Monitor System and Method.” US Patent 9036837, was granted in 2015 to James Tuomy (Framingham, MA), Barry Michael Kosherick (Hudson, MA), Laurie Wilk (Framingham, MA), and J. Richard Aylward (Ashland, MA). The concept was actually introduced to the market a year earlier, and made its big debut at the NAMM Show 2015, by Phasx Technologies. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, August 2015.