Bang & Olufsen Beoconnect Core Expands Wireless Audio Options with UWB and LC3plus

Bang & Olufsen announced Beoconnect Core, described as a new streaming box that turns legacy Bang & Olufsen speakers into a wireless speaker system. But under the hood Beoconnect Core is effectively an extremely advanced hub that combines all legacy connectivity options found in the company's products for more than 30 years with the latest wireless technologies, including UWB, and using Fraunhofer IIS' LC3plus high resolution codec.

The original Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 & Pi5 noise cancelling earbuds, launched in April 2021, marked the British audio brand’s first entry into the true wireless category. Trying to redefine audio quality in the form-factor, apparently the company decided the brand's goals could be improved and introduced two new upgraded models, the Pi7 S2 and Pi5 S2. Replacing the first-generation models, the two new designs reaffirm their ambition to be "the best-sounding True Wireless earbuds".

The very slow response from the Bluetooth SIG to fast evolving consumer technologies and products has created a situation where companies need to design work-around solutions which include increasingly dedicated non-standard transmitters and Bluetooth dongles. Creative Technology just launched Creative BT-W4, its latest Bluetooth audio transmitter to enable seamless connectivity and bring support for Qualcomm's latest aptX Adaptive high-resolution audio technology.

Music streaming service Qobuz confirmed it will be the first music service to deliver 24-bit Hi-Res audio streaming on Sonos. Qobuz users that subscribe to the Studio (Hi-Res) tier will be able to listen to high-resolution music directly on their Sonos speakers, with the ease of simply pressing play in the Sonos app. Available with the Sonos S2 app, this new integration is one of Qobuz’s broadest expansions of Hi-Res streaming support to date.