The software consists of 17 different models of Orange amps and cabinets that work with IK’s AmpliTube 3 software. Orange is a long-time tube amplifier company that was founded in the 1960s in London, and they’re known for “their warm and luscious tube tone and characteristic crunch.” IK is the only company offering Orange certified products currently.

IK’s AmpliTube Orange software features seven amp heads, nine cabinets, and one combo unit. Each of these options offer a different kind of sound and style that will cater towards any rocker. IK says that “no matter what the genre, users will find plenty of killer amp tones in this collection to go with their music.”

All 17 Orange options are a la carte, and they can be mixed and matched in order to find that perfect sound that you’re looking for from your guitar. IK offers a “Try Before You Buy” feature, which will let you download a fully-functioning version of the software and try it out for 72 hours before purchasing it. After that, it’ll be up to whether 17 amplifiers and cabinets is worth $100.

That’s just a fancy way of saying it’s the first Marshall speaker out that’s not an amp for a guitar, basically. If what we’ve seen and heard with the Marshall headphones we’ve reviewed already is any indication, we’re about to see some epic sound coming from this lovely beast too, not just fancy looks. Plug your device in the top with the included headphone jack-sized cord and pump it up!

This beast is what’s called a Compact Active Loudspeaker if you want to get technical about it, coming with two 6-inch Long Throw hifi woofers, two Ferrofluid Cooled hifi domes, and a PWM Amplifier at 100W (cool running). This machine offers over temperature protection and frequency response along 35HZ-20KHZ +/-5DB. Along the top you’ve got both bass and treble tone controls and your main output is a fantastic 110DB SPL@1M.

This Marshall Hanwell Anniversary Edition machine is approximately 435 X 193 X 297MM / 17.15 X 7.60 X 11.70-inches large and weighs in at a cool 23 pounds. The casing for this amalgamation of sound amplification is a wooden cabinet covered with black vinyl with fret cloth up front and gold piping throughout to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Marshall. Each of these Hanwell units is branded with a numbered anniversary edition commemorative badge as well.

You can find this machine on the market immediately if not soon for a cool $800 USD. Expect it in your Christmas stocking only if you’ve got one massive foot.

Each one of the Exclaim speakers has its own internal amplifier, bringing 36 watts RMS power to 6 internal active speakers. Each unit has 2 passive radiators with its midrange/tweeter housings for high efficiency and dynamic range, and 2 supplementary passive radiators live inside as well. The 2 passive radiators bring deep bass as well as high performance from the woofers, of course.

These units connect with a simple 3.5mm auxiliary cable, this included in the box, and each unit’s volume and power/standby controls sit at the side of the one master speaker unit. This set is set to be available immediately if not soon for $99.99 USD from Edifier’s online shop, and also ship in Canada for $99.99 CND as well. Grab a pair right this minute!

And note how interesting it is that these speakers are being marketed not just to the computing and television amplification crowd, but the mobile audience as well. We’re now deeply embedded in a mobile universe, where a tablet or a smartphone is just as or more important to include in your device’s marketing than a TV or a full-sized computer is. Keep an eye on Edifier in the near future for more future-thinking technology across the board.

One of the key features of the amplifier is that the design converts the digital audio signal from a computer or other home audio source to analog form at the last stage. That conversion is handled in the PWM amplifier output stage. NuForce says that this design gives the listener the same performance level achieved through much more expensive audio gear.

The DDA-100 doesn’t require the DAC stage that is found in most digital audio products today. Rather than using that DAC stage, the PWM power amplifier stage is modulated by the incoming signal and digital to analog conversion happens at the speaker output. The amplifier is a digital only product.

It’s able to accept four digital sources via a single USB port, one coaxial, and two optical inputs. It also includes a remote control allowing you to change control inputs and adjust the volume from across the room. The DDA-100 is able to drive speakers with 75 W RMS power output and 250 W peak capability per channel. The DDA-100 amp is available globally for $549 right now.

The IE800 earphones use a new, 7mm extra-wide band driver of Sennheiser’s own design, which the company reckons is the smallest in the industry. That patented design still delivers a 5 – 46,500 Hz audio range, though.

The drivers are clad in ceramic casings, with acoustic stainless steel vents on the back for improved bass and “more defined” air flow. Frankly, they look like twin tailpipes on some performance hotrod, which is reason enough to find them appealing, and Sennheiser says the ceramic build should mean they last long enough to justify the not-inconsiderable initial outlay.

As for the HDVD 800, Sennheiser has apparently been pestered by amp lovers to develop its own headphone amplifier, hence the arrival of this premium model. A slab of anodized aluminum with a glass window on top to show the symmetrical digital amp, it supports up to 24-bit 192kHz sources and is designed for use particularly with Sennheiser’s own HD 800, HD 700, HD 650 and HD 600 earphones.

The Sennheiser IE 800 earphones will go on sale this summer, priced at €599 ($787), while the HDVD 800 headphone amp will arrive at the same time, priced at €1,499 ($1,973).

This beast is fully reminiscent of a classic Jim Marshall signature series amp, has all official and authentic Marshall logos, and will cool your containers to the degrees you need all night long. This fridge has 4.4 cubic feet of space for several cases of beer, soda pop, or whatever other odd kind of can and bottle-loving liquid you do so desire. It’s a high efficiency freezer so you don’t have to worry about your electricity bill shattering the roof as your real amp does.

The Marshall Fridge is Energy Star, RoHS, and UL compliant, and is ready to roll into your garage as soon as possible for $299.00 USD. Of course “as soon as possible” is up to Marshall, and at the moment you’ll be waiting until October 1st, 2012, to get your first shipment in. The $299 is what Marshall is calling an “introductory price” so expect these monsters to go up in price as the date for shipping does so approach.

Unfortunately this amplifier does not amplify your music, just the cool nature of your fridge contents – you’ll need to add this to your speaker stack to make it look best!

This device also has a S/PDIF input, a line input, and for power and connections you’ve got FiiO’s own proprietary 18-pin port. This port works with FiiO’s L7 dock and E9 desktop amp, but there’s also a standard USB input so you’re not limited in any way. This device is made for you audio maniacs, mind you, with 24/96 over USB and 24/192 over S/PDIF, sounding just fantastic, we can imagine.

You can change the firmware also if you’re not totally satisfied with the sound right away, you able to change bass, treble, gain level, and believe it or not, balance and pan. As the folks at Anythingbutipod say, they’re glad the audio balance feature remains in-tact, and they having looked at the original E7, the smaller version of this FiiO machine, are glad this new device is out like a whip. This device will be released soon at something like $150 USD.

[via FiiO]

Outputs for this device include Spring-loaded right and left channel connectors as well as an RCA subwoofer connector. Sensitivity can be bumped up to 0.34 dBFS for 20 watts when the volume control is set to max. Power is up at 20 watts per channel into 8 ohms @0.08% THD with both channels driven. Signal to noise ratio is 95 decibels and crosstalk is -71 decibels. If all that makes sense to you – continue on!

You’ve also got some lovely subwoofer output with both left and right sub-bass audio and autoswitching when your powered subwoofer is detected. Your high-pass filter is 80 Hz 2nd order Linkwitz-Riley applied to L+R channels and your low-pass filter is 80 Hz 2nd order Linkwitz-Riley applied to subwoofer output. Plug it in and get your wireless audio on.

The amps are aimed for use off the stage for practicing apparently and both have stereo sound. The circuitry inside models tubes for warm sound and the have VCM effects. The effects mimic five different amp types along with various pedal effects, and the THR10 has a tuner built-in.

The devices will run off either AA batteries of or AC power. There is no indication of how much these will cost, but they aren’t going to be cheap. Both of the models will launch in January. I wonder if we will see them at CES.

[via Wired]

The Diablo amp is a limited edition device that is very small and has no power cap. The original Diablo had a power cap for use with ear buds. The downside to no power cap for ear bud wearers is that the limited edition amp can break ear buds with too much power. The device also claims that it can improve the battery life of mobile media devices by as much as 50%.

The amp has a machined volume knob and a metallic red casing with LED charge indicator light. It has an internal rechargeable battery good for up to 20 hours per charge and charges via USB. The amp also has dual output so you can share the music with two people. The device will sell for $99 and will ship on November 25.

It doesn’t just look good, either; it’s connected to an Alps RK27 (“Blue Velvet”) volume potentiometer, while inside is a Class A, dual-mono amplifier capable of turning 2+ Watts into 32 Ohms. Epiphany purposefully used a pair of mono amps rather than a single, dual-channel chip so as to avoid crosstalk. Ports include fixed and variable line-outs, offering either transparent or pre-amp connectivity when used in-line with your regular amp, along with a single set of line-in.

Design-wise, the casing is made of steel and will look a little sleeker than the prototype pictured here, doing away with the exposed screws on top and instead forming the sides and top from a single piece of metal. Epiphany also expects to offer alternative volume knob designs.

Pre-orders for the EHP-1 are being taken now, at £180 ($290; a 20-percent discount off the regular RRP if you’re among the first twenty buyers). Shipments were initially expected in June, so we’re guessing they’ll begin imminently.

[via What HiFi]

The 88 amplifier has a sleek stainless steel body with black and orange accents that tastefully transfer a Fiskar vibe in a minimalist form. The 88 design features 2TB of HDD space along with a USB 3.0 port. It is meant for headphones, but can also be used as a preamp with its four speaker outputs on the back side.

It’s not clear if this was simply a fun exercise or something Fiskar may actually be contemplating as a way to diversify its portfolio. However, jumping into audio products for the company is a bit of a stretch. And although we all love our garden shears, I’m not sure if I really need my stereo system to match.

[via Yanko Design]

The Momentum monoblock amplifier is small — smaller than some might expect. It’s only 4-inches high. And yet, D’Agostino managed to make sure that the amp projects 300 real world watts into 8 Ohms. It doubles into 4, and then again into 2 Ohms at 1,200 Watts. D’Agostino managed to do this, he says, by utilizing pure copper heat sinks and venturi cooling. And, as you can tell from the image, the copper was also used as a design element in the amplifier itself, giving it that shiny look.

And, if that’s not enough, D’Agostino points out that the Momentum amplifier is also eco-friendly. Instead of idling at the hundreds of watts the older Krell manufactured items did, this new amp idles at less than one watt. Talk about a preamp is already starting, and D’Agostino says it’s coming. The Momtenum amplifier will be made available by the end of the year, and it will cost you $42,000 per pair. Looks like those speakers you were looking at may have to wait.

[via TWICE]

There’s also the NuForce Icon2, a larger version which will work as a preamp and has boosted power.  There are twin inputs and 24W x 2-channel amplification, while connectivity includes mini-stereo input, USB and RCA ports.  However, it needs an external PSU unlike the uDAC2, and so is more suited to desk-bound applications.

Both are available now, priced at 15,750 yen ($185) for the uDAC2 and 45,150 yen ($532) for the Icon2.

[via AVWatch]

The SX-A6MK2 and SX-A9MK2 amps each split the left and right channel amplifiers and power supplies into entirely separate halves, with the former using Twin EL Transformers while the latter gets Twin Toroidal Transformers.  The A6MK2 packs 60W and the A9MK2 70W, with the latter having a USB input among its other connections for playing media directly from an iPod or other PMP.

As for the PD-D6MK2 and PD-D9MK2, they get Burr-Brown and Twin Wolfson D/A converters respectively together with 16-bit to 24-bit upscaling on the D9MK2.  All four Pioneer Elite G-Clef components will go on sale later this month; the SX-A6MK2 and SX-A9MK2 will be priced at $700 and $1,500 respectively, while the two CD players, the PD-D6MK2 and PD-D9MK2, will be priced at $700 and $1,500 respectively.

Press Release:

New Pioneer Elite G-Clef Components are Pure High Fidelity

High-Design CD Players and Amplifiers Provide Music Lovers with AIR Studios-Certified Experience

Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. today announced new G-Clef components including luxury CD players and amplifiers that bring a professional-grade listening experience into the home or office. The high-style Elite G-Clef line includes two stereo amplifiers, SX-A6MK2 and SX-A9MK2, and two CD players, PD-D6MK2 and PD-D9MK2, all engineered with the purest approach to audio component design. All models are offered at affordable price points, for audio enthusiasts looking for high-end sound without the extravagant cost often found in prestigious audiophile gear.

Each of the models is fine-tuned and certified by internationally-respected AIR Studio’s sound engineers to ensure the most accurate recreation of the original recording possible. To earn that certification, Pioneer hand-selected state of the art internal components that accurately deliver signals to create a dynamic two-channel hi-fi experience. The new, more efficient power supply circuitry is highly responsive to demanding musical content and is designed for superior heat resistance to guarantee a warm, analog-like sound.

“The new G-Clef series is a perfect example of product developed with meticulous attention to detail at every step in the process,” said Tim Vine-Lott, technical director, AIR Studios. “Pioneer and AIR Studios have worked together for ten years developing products down to the screws. We’re proud to put our stamp on products that exceed our requirements.”

Elite G-Clef CD/SACD Players

For the purest digital to analog conversion expected by discerning audiophiles, the PD-D6MK2 (SRP: $700) and the PD-D9MK2 (SRP: $1,500) CD/SACD players feature Burr-Brown and Twin Wolfson D/A converters, respectively. The Pioneer exclusive technology, Legato Link Conversion PRO, utilizes complex algorithms to recreate the ultra-high harmonics lost in the digital conversion process resulting in smooth, natural sound. Additionally, Hi-Bit technology increases the sound data length from 16-bit to 24-bit to provide clear, rich audio, even from compressed MP3 files.

Both models are finished in glossy black with blue LCD displays. The PD-D9MK2 features a Honeycomb Chassis design, which contains hexagon shaped imprints in the metal plates that help to dissipate vibrations and alleviate jitter. Additional weight and stability features help to shield optical components from ambient interference that could cause imprecise sound. The PD-D6MK2 features an aluminum front panel, while the PD-D9MK2 touts a rigid under-base construction, TAOC Hi-Carbon composite metal feet and a full aluminum casing.

Elite G-Clef Integrated Stereo Amplifiers

The Elite G-Clef amplifiers feature a Twin Mono Symmetrical construction design to maintain electrical isolation between both channels from input to output. The left and right channel amplifiers and high efficiency power supplies are totally independent and exact mirror images of each other. This construction is also designed to minimize the signal path of each circuit block, providing minimal distortion of signal quality and clear, equal channel separation for superior sonic fidelity.

The SX-A6MK2 (SRP: $700) features Twin EL Transformers and the SX-A9MK2 (SRP: $1,500)employs Twin Toroidal Transformers, which are highly efficient with very low magnetic leakage. Both components increase available power, prevent signal interference and virtually eliminate noise even at extremely low frequencies. The SX-A9MK2 model is also equipped with a USB input, allowing high-quality transmissions of higher bit-rate music files such as an MPEG or FLAC from any enthusiast’s digital music library.

“The new components were born out of partnership between Pioneer and AIR Studios sound engineers working hand in hand to produce the highest quality sound possible,” said Dave Bales, marketing and product planning, home
electronics division at Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. “G-Clef products are a culmination of all we’ve learned over a 70-year legacy in audio excellence.”

The Elite G-Clef CD/SACD players and amplifiers will be available in August, 2010.

The new amp has 9-channels supporting 7.1 surround sound that uses new height or stereo-wide channels for a more immersive 3D sound stage. The new amp offers 150-watts of power per channel and is claimed to be the first 9-channel high-power amp on the market.

The amp uses all analog discrete components and has a large power supply with professional style balance line inputs. Each of the channels has an identical symmetric circuit layout in a push-pull topology. The hardware inside the amp is hidden in an aluminum enclosure designed to resist resonances and last for years. Rear inputs include gold-plated XLR, machined solid brass RCA inputs, and color-coded gold-plated banana binding posts for speaker wire. The amp is available now for $1,800.

The Mod1 speakers are Orb’s standard units, while the Mod2 doubles up on each side of the stereo pair with two balls on a neat desk-stand.  Each Mod1 stands around as tall as an upright CD, and Orb also offer two different subwoofers for those wanting more bass.

The basic Mod1 system – complete with amp – comes in at $299, or $359 if you want polished steel, antique copper or antique bronze finish speakers.  Upgrading to Mod2 speakers adds $149 or $209 respectively, while the two subwoofers add $299 or $598 respectively.  They’re all available now.

The THX-certified nine channel powerhouse uses class AB amplification with a massive toroidal transformer and 22,000uF power supply capacitors. In addition, each channel is fine-tuned with audio-grade capacitors and WRAT technology to maximize signal accuracy. At the back of the unit there are balanced and single-end inputs with input trigger switchers, both of which are gold-plated, together with a 12v power trigger switch and speaker impedance switch to flip between 4 and 6 ohms.

The unit looks “ready to go” to our eyes, but according to the Onkyo rep we spoke to there’s no full specification information they can make public. Neither would they mention pricing and availability; looks like we’ll have to wait this one out.

The amp has 120 watts per channel into 8 ohms and can have 200W per channel at 4 ohms. The amp is aimed at the music lover that wants a two-channel amp for music and a multichannel amp for home cinema.

The device has a AV direct input setup and a simple front connection for the pre-amp output of the AV processor. That allows the amp to be used as a standalone power amp for the front speaker system for music playback. Vinyl record lovers will appreciate the internal phono board that configures the amp for use with a turntable. Pricing and availability are not announced at this time.

Stealth Acoustics has announced its second amplifier called the SA8400. This amp is designed for the company’s whole home audio push and offers 80W of power over eight channels. The bridged channel offers 160W of power. Stealth uses phoenix style speaker terminals and the EQ is optimized for the Stealth Acoustics speaker line.

Each channel has its own bass and treble controls and each channel also has its own volume and mute controls. The amp is IR controllable and the input bus can be assigned for each channel. Pricing and availability are unknown at this time.