ALL NEWS ITEMS
Essential Updates on Headphones, TWS, Hearables, Voice and More in audioXpress April 2020
by audioXpress Staff

Essential Updates on Headphones, TWS, Hearables, Voice and More in audioXpress April 2020

The April 2020 edition of audioXpress is now available and features two essential Market Updates, one focusing on the industry transition to active headphone and earphone designs, and another on how to leverage the latest voice capture and processing technologies. The issue also explains how to evaluate listening effort, and Stuart Yaniger puts the Linear Audio Autoranger Mk II Interface to the test, while Ed Simon writes about AC Power Rectification. Another issue to read and use as reference.
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Audio Research Announces Special Edition Reference Phono Stage Preamplifier
by audioXpress Staff

Audio Research Announces Special Edition Reference Phono Stage Preamplifier

Audio Research (ARC) announce important updates to its highest-performance tube phono stage, the Reference Phono 3 Phono Preamplifier with the launch of the Reference Phono 3SE. Following the launch of the recent Reference (REF) 6SE Line-Stage Preamplifier, ARC’s 50th Anniversary product line continues with a special edition update of the Ref Phono 3 Preamplifier. The REF Phono 3SE ($17,000 USD) replaces the REF Phono 3, introduced in 2016.
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Blackmagic Design Announces DaVinci Resolve 16.2 Software Update with Further Audio Improvements
by audioXpress Staff

Blackmagic Design Announces DaVinci Resolve 16.2 Software Update with Further Audio Improvements

Blackmagic Design announced DaVinci Resolve 16.2, a new update to the company's popular edit, color, visual effects and audio post production software. This new update includes major Fairlight updates for audio post production and editing, as well as other improvements for color correction, and more. As the company explains, DaVinci Resolve 16.2 is a major update that will allow low cost audio post production with a simple mouse and keyboard. The update also adds support for MPEG-H 3D immersive sound mixing.
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Waves Expands Collaboration With Qualcomm to Enhance Audio on Next Generation Mobile Devices
by audioXpress Staff

Waves Expands Collaboration With Qualcomm to Enhance Audio on Next Generation Mobile Devices

Waves MaxxAudio and Nx 3D audio processing technologies are now compatible with the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, 765 and 765G mobile processors targeting the latest smartphones and powering augmented experiences, gaming, and more. These Waves technologies have been until now mainly available on Intel and ARM processor-based platforms. This new combination will allow manufacturers implementing Snapdragon processors in premium smartphones and smart peripherals to also support expanded audio experiences.
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Andover Audio Introduces PM-50 Planar Magnetic Headphones
by Joao Martins

Andover Audio Introduces PM-50 Planar Magnetic Headphones

The high-end headphone market continues to grow as the generic headphone product category expands globally. With wireless now sending mainstream consumers in completely new directions for personal audio, there is still room for brands to grab a share of the market in the wired, premium segment. The new PM-50 Planar Magnetic headphones are a way for Andover Audio to enter the space, proposing a relatively affordable ($500) design that still manages to surprise with walnut housings and replaceable ear-cushions.
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Sonavox, Lithe Audio, Zinwell, and Heavenly Soundworks Adopt WiSA Wireless Audio Standard
by audioXpress Staff

Sonavox, Lithe Audio, Zinwell, and Heavenly Soundworks Adopt WiSA Wireless Audio Standard

WiSA LLC, the Wireless Speaker and Audio Association, founded by Summit Wireless Technologies and already supported by over 60 leading consumer electronics brands, now announced four new manufacturing and brand members, including Sonavox, Lithe Audio (RetroTouch), Zinwell Corporation, and Heavenly Soundworks. The momentum for the WiSA technology is also supported by increasing consumer interest in the broad range of WiSA Certified products already available in the market.
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Audio Networking Achieves Critical Scale as Latest Statistics on Adoption Reveal
by audioXpress Staff

Audio Networking Achieves Critical Scale as Latest Statistics on Adoption Reveal

Now in its 7th year of reporting, audio consultancy RH Consulting has released its latest ‘state of the union’ on networked audio products. Recognized across the AV and Broadcast industries as the benchmark for tracking trends in networked audio, the report details the latest statistics on adoption of networked audio products, covering Dante, Ravenna, AVB, Milan and other protocols. Increasing adoption of the AES67 interoperability standard is a notable trend.
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Bang & Olufsen Introduces Beosound Balance Smart Speaker with Active Room Compensation
by audioXpress Staff

Bang & Olufsen Introduces Beosound Balance Smart Speaker with Active Room Compensation

"If you can't beat them, join them," someone at Bang & Olufsen must have thought. And so the new Bang & Olufsen Beosound Balance with Google Assistant voice control was born, raising the bar for all smart speakers in terms of sound, size and price, and leveraging all the technology and design experience of the famous Danish brand. As Bang & Olufsen describes, the Beosound Balance is a wireless speaker with an advanced audio platform designed to grow in the future.
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STMicroelectronics Announces New-Generation Class-D Audio Amplifier IC Developed in Cooperation with Alps Alpine
by audioXpress Staff

STMicroelectronics Announces New-Generation Class-D Audio Amplifier IC Developed in Cooperation with Alps Alpine

STMicroelectronics announced the new FDA901 class-D audio amplifier IC, a new design that incorporates the world-class audio expertise of Japanese manufacturer of car audio equipment, Alps Alpine. The new ST chip aims to contribute to the creation of multi-function, high-fidelity car audio systems that fuse the high efficiency of class-D amplifiers with the high-quality sound of ST’s class-AB amplifiers.
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FTDI Launches Dual & Quad Channel USB-to-UART/MPSSE Bridge ICs with Built-in Type-C/PD Controllers
by Cristina Costa

FTDI Launches Dual & Quad Channel USB-to-UART/MPSSE Bridge ICs with Built-in Type-C/PD Controllers

At the forefront of embedded connectivity innovations, FTDI Chip’s latest series of multi-channel USB interface ICs have the capacity to deal with next generation power requirements, as larger items of hardware start to make use of the protocol. Available in both 2-channel (FT2233HP) and 4-channel (FT4233HP) versions, the new Hi-Speed (480Mbits/s) devices have serial UART (RS232, RS422 or RS485) and MPSSE (JTAG, I2C, SPI or Bit-Bang) interfacing capabilities.
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