Displaying items by tag: stereo - StereoLife Magazine

Nothing has never been particularly interested in making products that look like everyone else's. From transparent smartphones to earbuds that resemble tiny pieces of industrial machinery, the London-based company has built much of its identity around doing things differently, sometimes simply for the pleasure of standing out. Its latest flagship headphones, however, suggest that the brand is becoming increasingly ambitious about what happens inside those distinctive enclosures. The new Headphone (1) Pro retains the partly transparent design introduced with the original Headphone (1), but the real changes are hidden beneath the surface. Instead of relying on a single dynamic driver in each earcup, Nothing has developed an unusual three-driver arrangement that includes a miniature solid-state xMEMS tweeter. There are also extensive sound customization options, a dedicated Flat EQ mode, tuning developed in collaboration with London's Metropolis Studios, adaptive active noise cancellation, and spatial audio with head tracking. It's a surprisingly elaborate combination for a company that only entered the full-size headphone market relatively recently, and one that clearly aims to challenge more established players in the premium wireless category.

For years, we've been told that the future of home audio belongs to wireless speakers, streaming services, and devices controlled entirely through smartphone apps. And yet, somehow, the traditional micro hi-fi system refuses to disappear. It's not particularly difficult to understand why. For plenty of music lovers, a compact stereo with a built-in CD player, radio tuner, and two separate speakers remains one of the simplest and most practical ways to enjoy music at home. No complicated setup, no need to assemble a collection of separate components, and no requirement to reach for a phone every time you want to hear something. Panasonic clearly believes there's still a market for this kind of equipment, as the Japanese manufacturer has just introduced two new micro systems, the SC-PMX112 and SC-PM302. The former is a more sophisticated, 180-watt model with internet radio, Spotify Connect, and two-way speakers, while the latter offers a simpler, more affordable 60-watt alternative for listeners who are perfectly happy with CDs, radio, and Bluetooth streaming. Both retain the familiar micro hi-fi format while introducing a few welcome modern touches, including color displays and USB playback.

Power supplies are rarely the most exciting part of a hi-fi system. Nobody invites friends over to admire a particularly impressive wall adapter, and even the most enthusiastic audiophiles probably spend more time discussing DAC chips, amplifier topologies, and speaker cables than the electronics responsible for keeping everything running. Yet power supplies have become an increasingly important topic as our systems have filled up with streamers, network switches, reclockers, digital transports, and other compact devices. Many rely on external DC adapters, which makes them relatively easy to replace without modifying the equipment itself. The usual upgrade path involves swapping the manufacturer's switching adapter for a heavier, more expensive linear power supply. NuPrime, however, has decided to approach the problem from a different direction. Its new SiGa Power75 combines silicon carbide and gallium nitride semiconductors with an active noise cancellation circuit, offering six regulated DC outputs for compatible audio and digital equipment. It promises the low-noise characteristics enthusiasts typically associate with sophisticated linear supplies, but achieves them through a rather different set of technologies.

In the hi-fi industry, a new generation of amplifiers is generally expected to deliver more of everything. More power, more features, better specifications, and, inevitably, a higher price. Manufacturers love being able to announce that their latest model produces another twenty or thirty watts per channel, even if the actual benefits are considerably less obvious than the numbers might suggest. Soulnote has never been particularly interested in playing that game. The Japanese company has now introduced substantially revised versions of three of its most important integrated amplifiers, the A-0, A-1, and A-2, each carrying the ver.2 designation. Their familiar names and understated appearance might suggest relatively modest updates, but the changes go considerably deeper than a few upgraded components. All three have received revised output stages, bias circuits, and power supplies, while the more expensive models incorporate technologies developed for the flagship A-3. Most surprisingly, the new A-2 ver.2 actually produces less power than its predecessor. This isn't a cost-cutting measure or a technical setback. Soulnote has deliberately traded some maximum output voltage for greater instantaneous current delivery, believing that the result will be a more capable amplifier when connected to demanding loudspeakers. It's a decision that tells us quite a lot about the company's approach to audio engineering.

Compact bookshelf speakers and small streaming amplifiers have become enormously popular in recent years, but there are some laws of physics that even the cleverest engineers cannot completely overcome. A stereo system that fits comfortably on a sideboard, shelf, or small media cabinet can deliver surprisingly mature and sophisticated sound, but when it comes to the lowest frequencies, it will usually have to concede some ground to larger designs. One way to address this limitation is to add an active subwoofer, extending the system's bass response without immediately replacing everything with a pair of large floorstanding speakers. This is precisely the idea behind DALI's new Basik Sub, a compact model designed primarily to complement smaller stereo systems while remaining equally suitable for home theater applications.

Not every gaming headset needs a wireless transmitter, a rechargeable battery, or a collection of features that require half an hour of configuration before you can start playing. Sometimes, a good pair of headphones, a decent microphone, and a cable are all you really need. That's the idea behind the JBL Quantum 120, a new entry-level gaming headset that brings some of the technology found in the company's more expensive models to a much more affordable package. Rather than competing with sophisticated wireless designs, JBL has kept things relatively simple, combining a conventional 3.5 mm connection with large 50 mm dynamic drivers, a detachable microphone, and support for its Quantum Spatial Sound processing and QuantumENGINE software. The result is a headset aimed at gamers who want solid performance and useful features without paying extra for wireless connectivity they might not actually need.

You can spend a small fortune on wireless headphones, carefully compare their drivers, tuning, noise cancellation, and battery life, and eventually settle on a model that supports some of the most advanced Bluetooth codecs available. Then you connect it to your phone and discover that half those capabilities are essentially useless. The headphones may support LDAC, aptX Adaptive, or even aptX Lossless, but that doesn't necessarily mean your smartphone can transmit audio using any of them. iPhone owners know this problem particularly well, since Apple continues to rely on AAC and SBC for Bluetooth audio, regardless of how sophisticated the connected headphones might be. iFi Audio believes the solution doesn't have to involve buying a different phone. Its new UP Play and UP Play Max are miniature USB-C Bluetooth transmitters designed to take over wireless audio duties from the source device, effectively bypassing its built-in codec limitations. Neither is a conventional DAC or headphone amplifier. Instead, these tiny accessories give smartphones, tablets, computers, and compatible gaming devices access to Bluetooth formats they might otherwise be unable to use. The standard UP Play supports LDAC and several members of the aptX family, while the more advanced UP Play Max adds aptX Lossless and promises future support for Auracast.

Argon Audio has introduced two new subwoofers, the Berlin Sub 10 and Berlin Sub 12, both designed around the same fundamental concept. They combine sealed enclosures, downward-firing woofers, powerful 500-watt Class D amplifiers, and sophisticated DSP processing. The main difference between the two comes down to driver and cabinet size - the smaller model uses a 10-inch woofer, while its larger sibling features a 12-inch unit. What makes these subwoofers particularly interesting, however, is that Argon Audio has not approached them simply as a way of adding more low-frequency energy to a system. Considerable attention has also been paid to something that often proves more challenging than generating powerful bass in the first place - integrating a subwoofer properly with the main speakers and the listening room. This explains the presence of technologies such as Real Time Bass and Speakermatch, adjustable delay and phase settings, and a three-band notch filter. Both models also support wireless signal transmission through the Matrix Wireless system, making the Berlin Sub 10 and Sub 12 not only powerful but also relatively easy to position and fine-tune for a particular setup.

Most stereo equipment manufacturers would like us to associate their brands with the products at the very top of their catalogs - the finest, most visually striking models, packed with the most advanced technology. When we buy an affordable pair of bookshelf speakers bearing the shiny Bowers & Wilkins logo, we're supposed to picture the Nautilus or those imposing 801 D3s standing in London's legendary Abbey Road Studios. When we pick up a pair of audiophile headphones from Sennheiser, we're meant to feel as though we're getting a little taste of the Orpheus. Marketing and human psychology have always worked this way. Yet while flagship products shape a brand's image, the vast majority of sales come from the entry-level and midrange segments. Basic economics and the distribution of household incomes tell us everything we need to know about that. The interesting thing is that, at least in my opinion, the best way to judge a company's capabilities and the talent of its engineers is to look at the products rolling off its production lines in the greatest numbers. With an unlimited budget, after all, almost anything is possible - seven-foot-tall speakers with space-age drivers suspended in a silver framework, a million-watt amplifier that unfolds like a futuristic sculpture, or cables as thick as a fully grown python that most people would laugh at. Things become considerably more interesting when we introduce some serious constraints, particularly the most important one - money. That's when we discover who can make intelligent engineering decisions and who can't.

Tiglon, a Japanese manufacturer specializing in high-end audio cables, vibration-control products, equipment supports and related accessories, is establishing a much stronger presence in the United States through Tiglon USA. Headquartered in Yamato, Kanagawa Prefecture, the company is led by founder and chief designer Kentaro Okino and has been developing audio products for roughly two decades. It was formally established in 2008 as Kryna Pro Co. Ltd., the Tiglon brand appeared later that year, and in 2010 both the company and the brand adopted the name used today. Its catalog is now broad enough to include power, analog, speaker, USB, LAN and digital cables, along with equipment racks, platforms, isolators, speaker stands and several more specialized tuning accessories, while production remains centered in Japan.