Displaying items by tag: stereo - StereoLife Magazine

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.

Triangle has introduced Solstice, a new loudspeaker range that takes the spirit of the long-running Esprit series and moves it into a more contemporary, more visually ambitious and more technically developed form. The name is not accidental. A solstice is a moment of transition, the end of one cycle and the beginning of another, and the French manufacturer clearly wants to suggest that this is not just another variation on a familiar design. It is the start of a new chapter in this part of the catalogue. That may sound a little grand, but here it is not difficult to see the point. Esprit was for years associated with a strong balance between sound quality and price, while Solstice aims to preserve that accessibility and add fresher styling, new drivers and several mechanical solutions that are not always expected at this level.

Audiovector has introduced the R5 Arreté, a new floorstanding loudspeaker in the R Series, designed to sit between the slimmer R 3 Arreté and the larger R6 Arreté. The Danish brand describes it as a sweet spot between size, performance and musicality, but behind that familiar high-end phrase there is a fairly concrete idea. The R5 Arreté is the first model in the R Series to use technologies developed directly for the reference R10 Arreté. In other words, this is not simply another addition to the catalogue, but an attempt to bring flagship engineering into a loudspeaker that has a much better chance of fitting into a real listening room. It is still a very serious, hand-built Danish loudspeaker, but not a monument that demands half the living room.

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.

Focal has introduced the Diva Alta Utopia, the most advanced model in its family of active wireless loudspeakers developed in partnership with Naim. The French brand is clearly positioning this system very high - not as a luxury network speaker for an elegant living room, but as a fully fledged high-end system intended to replace a traditional stereo set-up made up of loudspeakers, amplifiers, streamer, DAC, cables and the rest of the usual audiophile infrastructure. The difference is that here, everything has been built into large active loudspeakers.

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.

Wharfedale has introduced the Elysian R series, a refreshed version of its flagship loudspeaker range. This is not an entirely new project, but rather a carefully considered evolution of speakers that already occupied a special place in the British brand's catalogue. The original Elysians showed that Wharfedale could move well beyond the world of very successful, sensibly priced loudspeakers for normal people and offer something on the edge of high-end audio - large, beautifully finished, technically ambitious designs that still did not pretend to be products with prices detached from reality. Now, under the direction of Peter Comeau, the engineering team has returned to the concept and refined almost every important area, including the drivers, crossovers, cabinets, finishes and construction details.

Pylon Audio has introduced the Opal 23 mkII, a new version of one of its best-known floorstanding loudspeakers. The model develops a concept that has been part of the Polish manufacturer's catalog for years - a full-size, reasonably priced loudspeaker designed not for a narrow group of specialists, but for listeners who want solid engineering, room-filling sound and enough versatility to work in a normal domestic system. The original Opal series occupied an important place in Pylon Audio's lineup precisely because it offered this kind of balance. It was not an exotic or overtly audiophile design, but a practical loudspeaker for people building their first or second serious stereo system. With the mkII generation, Pylon has not attempted to replace that idea with something completely different. Instead, the company has retained the overall format and visual identity of the original model while redesigning the drivers, crossover, cabinet tuning and resonance-control measures.

YBA is a French high-end audio manufacturer founded by Yves-Bernard Andre and known for electronics designed around a distinctive approach to musicality, circuit layout and component selection. The company's products have traditionally focused on dedicated hi-fi systems, while the Design One extends the brand into a more portable and desktop-oriented category without abandoning its emphasis on high-quality playback. Now YBA has introduced the Design One, a transportable battery-powered SACD player designed for portable, desktop and conventional hi-fi use. The French manufacturer describes it as the world's first travel-ready SACD player, combining a top-loading disc mechanism, headphone amplifier, DAC functionality and line-level outputs in a compact device measuring 188 x 166 x 40 mm and weighing 1.34 kg. The concept is unusual because it brings together two separate trends - the return of interest in portable CD players and the renewed attention being paid to SACD collections.

Cable ranges are rarely about sudden revolutions. In high-end audio, they usually evolve through materials, geometry, shielding, insulation and connector design - the kinds of changes that are not always visible from the outside, but can matter when the whole purpose of the product is to carry a signal with as little interference as possible. Siltech's new Classic Legend MKII series follows exactly that logic. It continues one of the Dutch company's most important cable families, but introduces a deeper internal redesign intended to make the range quieter, more stable and more complete.