Displaying items by tag: bluetooth - 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.

Fyne Audio has spent almost a decade building its reputation around conventional passive loudspeakers, from relatively affordable bookshelf models to imposing high-end designs made in Scotland. Cubitt 5 marks a rather important change of direction. It is the company's first fully active loudspeaker system, combining amplification, digital processing, wireless connectivity and a phono stage with one of Fyne's most recognizable technologies - the IsoFlare point-source driver. First shown publicly at the Shanghai AV Show in May and subsequently presented in Europe at High End Vienna, Cubitt 5 has now made its North American debut.

FiiO has introduced the EH13, a pair of wireless over-ear headphones that look like an attempt to bring several typically audiophile features into a very affordable part of the market. The specification includes LDAC codec support, Hi-Res Audio and Hi-Res Audio Wireless certification, active noise cancellation, Bluetooth 6.0, app-based sound settings, wired operation and battery life of up to 75 hours. Not long ago, a list like that in headphones this inexpensive would have sounded like a wishful forum post, but FiiO clearly wants to show that even an entry-level model can receive features normally associated with more expensive designs.

MEE Audio has introduced Pebbles Air, a pair of lightweight true wireless earbuds designed for people who do not want to choose between listening to music and staying aware of their surroundings. These are not classic in-ear monitors whose main purpose is to seal the ear canal, block out the street and put the listener inside a private bubble of sound. Pebbles Air take the opposite approach. They use an open-ear design that sits gently against the ear without blocking the ear canal, allowing the user to listen to music, follow a podcast or take a call while still hearing what is happening around them - a cyclist approaching from behind, an announcement at the station, a colleague speaking nearby or the city that does not disappear just because a playlist has started.

FiiO is expanding its range of desktop audio equipment with the Level 1, a compact integrated amplifier designed to drive passive loudspeakers. The new model combines a Class D power amplifier, a built-in digital-to-analogue converter, Bluetooth connectivity, traditional tone controls and outputs allowing the system to be expanded with an active subwoofer or an external power amplifier. All of this is housed in an aluminium enclosure with wooden side panels. The Level 1 is slightly different from the products with which the Chinese company has traditionally been most closely associated. Rather than another portable player or DAC with a headphone amplifier, it is intended to serve as the heart of a proper stereo system built around conventional passive loudspeakers. This may explain why the front panel carries the JadeAudio logo. Owned by FiiO, the brand is positioned as a younger, more modern alternative with a particularly strong focus on value for money. JadeAudio benefits from FiiO's technical resources, engineering experience and proprietary solutions, but products developed under this project carry their own JadeAudio branding.

The Wireless Box E is one of those small Pro-Ject components whose purpose becomes clear the moment you see where it is meant to sit - not on a hi-fi rack, but directly on the back of a loudspeaker. Instead of adding streaming to an existing amplifier, as the Stream Box E does, the Wireless Box E takes the idea further by turning a passive speaker into a wireless active audio system. It is a compact mono streaming amplifier that connects directly to speaker terminals, removing the need for a separate amplifier and allowing users to build a flexible, app-controlled stereo or multi-room setup with traditional passive loudspeakers.

Jamo has unveiled Hyg, a new series of wireless speakers inspired by the Scandinavian idea of "hygge" - warmth, comfort, ease and a sense of connection. After announcing its new Concert Legacy and Concert Element loudspeakers, the brand is also entering a more lifestyle-oriented part of the market, but without abandoning the design values that have long been associated with Scandinavian audio. The Hyg series launches with three models - Hyg Flex, Hyg Flow and Hyg Reflect - each built around a different listening situation, from room-filling sound at home to portable outdoor use and quieter bedside listening.

The wireless headphone market is no longer defined only by convenience, battery life and noise cancellation. In its upper tier, it is increasingly becoming a place where brands are trying to translate ideas from serious wired headphones and in-ear monitors into a format that still works on a train, at a desk or during everyday listening. Noble Audio is now pushing that direction further with two new models in its FoKus line - the FoKus Apollo Pro and FoKus Artemis. Both build on the original FoKus Apollo, which Noble describes as the world's first wireless headphone to combine dynamic and planar magnetic driver technologies, but they approach the idea in different ways.

Noble Audio is expanding its true wireless range with Osprey, a new hybrid in-ear model positioned as the most accessible entry in the company's wireless lineup. Priced below the brand's more ambitious FoKus models, Osprey has been designed to bring Noble's tuning approach, distinctive visual language and hybrid driver architecture to a wider group of listeners. The new model sits in an interesting place in Noble's catalog. It is not presented as a simplified lifestyle earbud with the Noble name attached, but as a more approachable way into the company's true wireless family. The price is lower than Noble's upper-tier wireless products, but the core ingredients remain familiar - a hybrid driver layout, careful tuning, app support, modern Bluetooth implementation and a shell design that tries to look more individual than the anonymous forms often seen in this category.

We Are Rewind is a French audio brand focused on reviving cassette culture through modernized portable players and accessories. Its products combine analog nostalgia with contemporary usability, giving listeners a way to enjoy physical media while keeping practical features such as Bluetooth connectivity, rechargeable batteries and modern design refinements. Now We Are Rewind has launched Freddie, a new pair of wireless headphones inspired by the portable audio culture of the 1980s. Also known as EQ-002, the model has been designed to complement the company's WE-001 cassette players, but it can also be used with smartphones, tablets, computers and other Bluetooth sources. The idea is simple - a lightweight retro-style headphone that visually belongs next to a cassette player, but behaves like a modern everyday wireless model.