NEW GEAR

What's New

New Gear: Bang & Olufsen Play Line Debut

B&O expands its consumer line beyond the Beolit boombox with dock and TV offerings.
- By Michael Berk
- Posted May 10, 2012
When Bang & Olufsen unvelied the Beolit 12 portable speaker at this year's CES, company VP Henrik Lorensen described it as the first entry in a new brand, aimed at courting a different kind of B&O customer — somebody younger, hipper, and probably unfamiliar with the B&O brand to begin with.

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New Gear: The TV Shield

Summer's on the way. Get your set suited up for the great outdoors.
- By Michael Berk
- Posted May 10, 2012
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Looking to get your TV fix out of doors, but worried a bit about the elements, or perhaps the occasional errant baseball? The new TV Shield has your back. Well, really it's got you covered on all sides.

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New Gear: Aperion Aris Wireless Speaker

Don't like AirPlay? Windows steals some of Apple's thunder, with a little help from Aperion.
- By Michael Berk
- Posted May 8, 2012
Well, just when you thought AirPlay (and, to some extent, Bluetooth) devices had the stylish wireless desktop all-in-one music system market all to themselves, along comes Aperion's new Aris Wireless speaker to shake things up (and, possibly, to finally make Windows 7's AirPlayesque DLNA

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New Gear: The KEF LS50 Mini Monitor

KEF releases a brand-new bookshelf model as part of its 50th anniversary celebration
- By Michael Berk
- Posted May 3, 2012
British loudspeaker firm KEF's been putting out quality designs for 50 years now, and they're showing no signs of slowing down.

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Home Theater Rollouts and Revamps from Yamaha and Denon

A slew of new and revised AVRs and HTiBs for your surround pleasure, with lots of AirPlay support
- By Michael Berk
- Posted April 30, 2012
There are plenty of wireless streaming options out there these days, but looking at the latest wave of offerings from Yamaha and Denon, it seems that Apple's AirPlay protocol is the one that looms largest in the minds of major manufacturers.

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New Gear: Yamaha Debuts Two RX-V Series Networked AVRs

A pair of inexpensive, 4K-ready, streaming-friendly hubs for your home theater
- By Michael Berk
- Posted April 2, 2012
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Seems like not a week goes by without a major manufacturer rolling out a clutch of new and improved AVRs, and this week is no different.

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Totally Tubular: Samsung's 2012 Premium Audio Line

Glowing triodes may be the least interesting elements of the latest from Samsung
- By Michael Berk
- Posted March 28, 2012
Last night we got a chance to check out Samsung's new audio product line — a full refresh of the company's approach to docks and HTiBs, with a whole bunch of interesting twists.

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Tech Trends 2012: The Electronics Report

Electronics heat up with AirPlay, cloud streaming, and super-high-rez audio
- By Brent Butterworth
- Posted March 26, 2012
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AUDIOPHILES’ enthusiasm for computer-sourced sound has inspired innovation in the market for external digital-to-analog converters, which deliver vastly better performance than your computer’s sound card. Accordingly, there were many new DACs at CES designed to connect to computers.

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Audio Quality Lives!

No one cares about audio technology, right? It’s all about screens and phones and apps, right? That’s certainly been the case, but I think audio’s demise has been exaggerated, and instead is showing vigorous signs of life.
- By Ken C. Pohlmann
- Posted March 26, 2012
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Everything runs in cycles, and audio has passed its nadir and is now trending back up. And high-fidelity audio — for heaven’s sake! — is moving back onto the radar screen. Consider these 10 points:

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Seen at CES: The New Goodies

They say it was the biggest CES show ever, and it sure felt like it. When I got back, everyone asked me what the “most amazing” gadget or gizmo I saw was.
- By Gary Dell'abate
- Posted March 26, 2012
I hate to say it, but there were no real “wow” things this year. What gear and gadgets caught my eye? These items:

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Gaining Control

Though the category is generally downplayed at CES, there were some notable items in the control field at this year’s show.
- By John Sciacca
- Posted March 26, 2012
Control4 unveiled two new processors at this year’s CES, the HC800 ($999) and the HC250 ($599). They offer way more power for system control and provide a much zippier interface when controlling different areas of the home or browsing a media library.

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New Gear: Axiom Audio Debuts Omnirectional Linear Field Radiating Speakers

At Montreal's Salon Son & Image this week, the high-value speaker experts roll out a new concept
- By Michael Berk
- Posted March 21, 2012
Making their formal debut tomorrow at Montreal's Salon Son & Image high-end show, Axiom Audio's new Omnirectional Linear Field Radiating Speakers are a brand new design, pairing front- and rear-baffle mounted drivers with custom DSP and a unique cabinet design to create a wholly new twist on transducers from the Canadian compa

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