Victor JVC in Japan have pushed out a new home theater speaker system, and unlike most such such setups it doesn’t look like it will intrude too significantly on your living room. The Victor JVC AX-FT1/FT2 amplifier and SP-FT1/FT2 speakers are 31mm and 30.8mm deep, respectively, but the amp still manages to output four channels of 20W apiece.
There’s a compact band of loyal headphone-amp users who swear by the audio-tastic qualities of some external amplification, so it comes as no great surprise that manufacturer Fiio are attempting to jump onto the iPod gravy-train. The Fiio E1 plugs directly into the docking connector of an iPod or iPhone and not only offers in-line remote controls but the sort of headphone boost that can drive high-end cans or simply help more mainstream models shine.
The “earth friendly” juggernaut continues, with even high-end home automation specialists feeling the need to slap some green on their spec sheets. You’d find it pretty hard to fault the range of amps and control panels from Knoll Systems generally, but if the one factor stopping you was concern for the livelihood of the Crested Grebe then their new GSZ44 and GSZ67 controller-amplifiers should salve your conscience.
Details are more than scarce right now, but whole-house A/V specialists Crestron have been showing off their latest surround-sound processor that promises what CEO and founder George Feldstein describes as “the absolutely latest killer surround sound processor and equalization.” The Crestron Procise PSPHD 7.3 surround sound system with video processor incorporates a 400W-per-channel amp and two “giant” transformers.
In a demonstration for Electronic House, a Crestron engineer played classic track “Hotel California” through the Procise PSPHD and a $50 set of Radio Shack speakers, enough for article author Julie Jacobson to be “in heaven”. When they switched to “real” speakers the audio reportedly “made the guitars come to life.”
So far, most of the headphone amplifiers that have graced these pages have been portable, budget items; the same very definitely can’t be said for this brushed-steel behemoth, the WooAudio WES Electrostatic Headphone Amp and, dangling insouciantly next to it, Stax’s SR-008 Mk2 Electrostatic headphones. According to audiophile reviewer Steve Guttenberg, you’re looking at “state of the art sound for a tiny fraction of the cost of a system built around speakers.”
Do you like your music loud and garnished with vaguely nonsensical statistics? Then step right up, as Radiopaq are offering both with their new iPod Sound Jacket. Intended for the fourth-gen iPod nano, the Sound Jacket is billed as an automatic graphic equalizer and – according to Radiopaq – improves sound quality “by up to 60-percent.”
Hot on the heels of their Sonos-rivaling MediaCAST2 system, Yamaha have announced their neoHD Media Controllers. Pulling together multiple AV components with a simple, HTPC-style “Watch/Listen/Play” UI, two models are on offer: the entry-level YMC-500, which includes remote IR control, and the YMC-700 which adds WiFi for networked content streaming, Rhapsody online music, internet radio and iTunes AAC support thanks to an included license for TwonkyMedia Server.
Japanese firm StyleAudio have announced their latest headphone amplifier and DAC, the StyleAudio Carat-Topaz. Bizarre name aside, the packs not only USB but optical inputs, together with a high-end Burr-Brown 127dB DAC, all in an anti-vibration chassis with copper spikes.
iBasso have announced another compact amplifier and DAC, the Cobra D10. Capable of operating simultaneously as both an amp and a DAC, or alternatively in just one mode or the other, the D10 boasts 20hrs runtime from its rechargeable 470mAh Li-ion battery (30hrs if the DAC is turned off) and has optical, coax and USB inputs, among others.
More photos and detailed specs of the iBasso Cobra D10 after the cut
There are great presents, and then there are truly awesome presents: this home-built vacuum tube iPod amplifier and speakers falls most definitely into the latter category. Given to Peter Redmer by his engineer father, the setup consists of a quad-tube custom amp in a hand-made wood and copper chassis, together with a pair of custom black lacquer speakers.
Chrome OS: Waiting Is The Hardest Part…Though Necessary
Apple is no longer the Nordstrom of Tech, they’re the “New Nordstrom”
Can Anything Replace Windows XP As the Best Netbook Operating System?
Hey, Premium Notebooks or Netbooks, Get the Basics Right!
SlashGear Japan
