Displaying items by tag: germany - StereoLife Magazine

Some audio products come around so predictably that you could almost use them to mark the passing of time. A new smartphone every year. A new DAC every couple of years. An amplifier gets refreshed every three, usually gaining a slightly larger display, an updated streaming board, and a few extra connections along the way. Wireless headphones live on an even shorter clock because the electronics inside them age far faster than the parts that actually make sound. A good driver can remain perfectly competitive for a decade or more, and there is no reason a well-designed enclosure should suddenly become obsolete, but one new codec, a better ANC system, another Bluetooth revision, or a much better app can make a three- or four-year-old model feel surprisingly old. That makes the four-year gap between the Momentum 4 Wireless and their successor unusually long for this market. In 2022, Bluetooth 5.2 with aptX Adaptive was a serious selling point, 60 hours of battery life sounded borderline ridiculous, and manufacturers were still putting the word "adaptive" in front of noise cancellation as though that alone settled the matter. Today, expectations are much higher. Buyers want ANC that can deal with conversation as well as engine rumble, a transparency mode that sounds natural, seamless switching between devices, the best possible wireless audio quality, regular firmware updates, and an app designed for people rather than engineers. Sennheiser has not been standing still either. Since the Momentum 4 appeared, the company has launched the Accentum Wireless, expanded its true-wireless range, and - most importantly from an audiophile point of view - introduced the HDB 630, a model designed to bring some of the philosophy behind the HD 600 family into a modern wireless package. So the Momentum 5 Wireless are entering a very different world. They have tougher competition outside the company and, for the first time, a clearly defined rival within Sennheiser's own lineup.

Professional headphone monitoring is not always about creating perfect listening conditions. Sometimes the real challenge is being able to work without them - surrounded by a film crew talking, sound spilling from the stage, a PA system running at full tilt, crowds moving around and all the general chaos that comes with live events. The Beyerdynamic DT 275 PRO was designed precisely for situations like these. These compact, closed-back on-ear headphones are intended for signal monitoring on film sets, at front-of-house positions, side stage, in DJ booths and across other mobile production environments. Rather than presenting the new model as another all-purpose pair of headphones, the company has given it a much more specific job: allowing professionals to assess speech, levels, cues and the most important elements of an audio signal quickly and reliably, even when the world around them is anything but quiet.

Dual is introducing the CS 718Q, a turntable developed at the company's engineering center in Germany and designed to continue the legacy of the celebrated Series 7. The new model combines direct drive with a carbon-aluminum sandwich tonearm, adjustable tonearm height, a dynamic tracking-force mechanism and a removable headshell. One important detail for prospective owners is that the CS 718Q is sold without a cartridge. Users are free to choose one according to their sonic preferences, the rest of the system and the tonearm's operating parameters.

Beyerdynamic has introduced the DT 30 IE, a new in-ear monitor aimed primarily at musicians, stage performers and users who need a compact, durable monitoring solution rather than a lifestyle earphone. The model arrives as a more accessible addition to the German brand's professional in-ear range, but its positioning is interesting because it does not divide users into narrow categories or instrument-specific profiles. Instead, Beyerdynamic presents the DT 30 IE as a broadly tuned monitor built around three practical requirements that matter on stage - balanced sound, strong passive isolation and resistance to demanding working conditions.

Sennheiser has introduced the fifth generation of its most important consumer wireless headphones. The new Momentum 5 Wireless is not an attempt to rewrite the story from the beginning, but rather to refine a formula that has become one of the most recognizable reference points in the premium segment over the years. The manufacturer has kept what is essential to the series - large over-ear earcups, extensive wireless connectivity, a characteristic sound and very long battery life - while introducing changes to noise cancellation, sound personalization, codec support, sustainability, packaging and product longevity. The result is a headphone that should be not only more technically advanced, but also more convenient in everyday use and better prepared for several more years of service. "When designing Momentum 5 Wireless, we focused on refining the entire user experience without moving away from the formula that made the previous generation successful. The new improvements increase the functionality of the headphones while preserving that special magic you feel every time you press play." - said Sreenath "Sri" Unnikrishnan, Product Manager at Sennheiser.

Dual has introduced the CS 618Q, a direct-drive turntable that represents the most advanced model in the company's current lineup and a clear statement of intent in its ongoing revival as a serious analogue specialist. Combining quartz-controlled speed regulation, a precision gimbal-bearing tonearm and a factory-mounted Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge, the CS 618Q is positioned as a ready-to-use premium deck aimed at listeners who want high-performance vinyl playback without moving into the complexity of fully manual audiophile platforms. Although the CS 618Q sits at the top of Dual's contemporary range, its design deliberately avoids unnecessary complication. Instead, the turntable follows a restrained, classic layout that echoes earlier generations of the brand's direct-drive machines. A brushed-aluminium control plate carries the speed selector and status indicator, allowing switching between 33, 45 and 78 rpm operation, while the overall proportions remain close to traditional hi-fi component dimensions for straightforward system integration.

Vincent has introduced the SA-32 AE, a limited-production anniversary version of its hybrid stereo preamplifier created to mark 30 years of the company's Powerline series. Restricted to just 200 units worldwide, the new model builds on the long-running architecture that began with the SA-31 in 1996 and continued through later revisions culminating in the SA-32 released in 2017. The anniversary edition preserves the familiar hybrid tube-and-solid-state concept while expanding connectivity and revising key sections of the internal circuitry.

Grell is preparing a broader international rollout of the OAE2, an open-back headphone developed by Axel Grell and positioned as a research-led alternative to more conventional audiophile designs. What makes the OAE2 interesting is that it does not present itself as just another open-back headphone chasing width, sparkle, or exaggerated spaciousness. Grell's concept is based on a front-oriented acoustic layout intended to interact more deliberately with the outer ear, preserving some of the localization cues we normally associate with loudspeaker listening rather than feeding sound straight into the ear canal in the usual headphone fashion. The company describes this approach through its Front-sided Sound Field Modulation system, positioning the OAE2 as a headphone meant to sound more externalized, more stable, and closer in perspective to nearfield monitors than to a typical 'in-head' presentation.

An increasing number of music producers and sound engineers are working not in perfectly treated control rooms but in bedrooms, rented flats or compact home studios where installing large monitors and carrying out full acoustic treatment is often simply not realistic. It is exactly these users that Beyerdynamic is targeting with Headphone Lab, a new free DAW plug in that turns the German manufacturer's studio headphones into a software based reference listening environment for precise mixing and mastering. The solution combines tonal calibration to a studio reference level with a realistic simulation of a high quality loudspeaker system, so that users can make confident mix decisions even in rooms that are far from ideal from an acoustic point of view.

EVE Audio has introduced a new generation of nearfield monitors with the EXO Series, a family of compact loudspeakers designed to combine advanced acoustic engineering with straightforward, hands-on control. Consisting of the EXO 24, EXO 25, EXO 27 and EXO 28, the range is intended to bring EVE's trademark precision and translation to a wide spectrum of users, from home producers and musicians to engineers working in more demanding project and professional studios. The focus is on monitors that sound honest, integrate naturally into modern hybrid workflows and are easy to set up and tune in a variety of rooms.