DALI Introduces IO-12 Refined Headphones Design for a Superior Listening Experience
At the Munich High End Show in May 2023, Danish Audiophile Loudspeaker Industries (DALI) celebrated its 40th anniversary and unveiled two ground-breaking additions to its product portfolio: the EPIKORE 11 loudspeaker and the IO-12 headphones. Both products incorporate DALI's patented Soft Magnetic Compound (SMC) technology. Five months later, the IO-12 wireless headphones with its 50mm custom dynamic drivers are available to consumers offering Active Noise Cancellation, 35-hour battery, aptX Adaptive Bluetooth and USB-C/3.5mm wired connections.
Audeze Enhances Maxwell Headphones for Professional Dolby Atmos Mixing
Audeze, the Los Angeles-based planar magnetic headphone manufacturer, announced the beta launch of a significant firmware upgrade to its Maxwell gaming headset, adding head tracking support compatible with the Dolby Atmos Renderer for professional mixing. Utilizing built-in hardware already included in every Maxwell headset, this integration transforms Maxwell into a powerful tool optimized for content creators and audio engineers mixing in Dolby Atmos.
Qualcomm Unveils S7 Pro Snapdragon Sound Platform With Micro-Power Wi-Fi and 24-bit/192kHz Lossless Streaming
During its Snapdragon Summit event Qualcomm unveiled the latest S7 and S7 Pro Gen1 Sound platforms, which will soon power a new generation of advanced audio products. The new platforms offer five times the compute power, three times the DSP processing power, and almost 100 times on-device AI processing power compared to the previous generation. A real differentiator is the use of micro-power Wi-Fi to extend wireless audio range and support for up to 192kHz lossless music quality in the S7 Pro.
BdSound and Vivoka Join Forces to Boost the World of Voice Assistants
BdSound and Vivoka, two European pioneers in voice technology, announced a strategic partnership to reshape the landscape of voice assistants. Through this collaboration, BdSound will leverage Vivoka's development framework allowing users to high-level construct tailored voice assistants. And BdSound's audio and speech processing technology will become an integral part of the acoustic front-end tools offered by Vivoka, promising to make voice assistants more accessible and customizable than ever before.
Tymphany and Exeger To Launch Self-Powered Speaker at CES 2024
Exeger, the manufacturer of Powerfoyle energy-harvesting technology, announced a partnership with Tymphany, the manufacturer of audio systems, acoustic modules and drivers and one of the largest OEM/ODMs in the audio industry, to produce a self-powered speaker which will be unveiled at CES 2024. Tymphany's Hybrid-life Green Speaker, under development, will be powered by Exeger's patented solar cell technology, which converts all forms of light into electricity.
Matter 1.2 Arrives with Nine New Device Types & Improvements
The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) just announced the second update to Matter, version 1.2, now available for device makers and platforms to build into their products. The update is packed with nine new device types, revisions, and additions to existing categories, core improvements to the specification and SDK, and certification and testing tools. The Matter 1.2 certification program is now open and members expect to bring these enhancements and new device types to market later this year and into 2024 and beyond.
Estron Accelerates Time to Market with Advanced Cable and Connector Solutions
Estron, the Danish manufacturer of high-quality wire, cable, and miniaturized connector solutions, showcased the company's newest solutions for hearing aids and audiology at the recent EUHA 2023 congress in Nuremberg, Germany. Making its debut was es-Hear, a complete off-the-shelf plug cable and RIC (Receiver-in-Canal) solution using a plug-and-play micro connection. And Estron showcased its latest multipole micro connector that supports its patent pending 8 conductor solution.
SPAT Revolution Now Supports Audio-Technica's BP3600 Immersive Audio Microphone
The recently released SPAT Revolution software (version 23.08) now supports the new Audio-Technica BP3600 immersive audio microphone, allowing for the capture and mixing of a truly three dimensional audio image. According to FLUX::Immersive, the update of its object and perceptual immersive mixing software is now Apple Silicon ARM Native compatible, and introduces loads of new features and optimization updates.
DPA Microphones Launches New 2017 Compact Shotgun Microphone
DPA Microphones has launched its new 2017 Shotgun Microphone. Already offering the recognized 4017 shotgun with separate preamp, DPA designed the new 2017 as a fixed capsule, robust option for any location recording application, with high directivity, clarity and consistency. With a durable design and ability to withstand any environment or extreme application, this new DPA solution is ideal for broadcast and live events, from traditional news and sports to location sound or musical performances.
Bandwidth, Slew Rate and All That Jazz
To reproduce an audio signal faithfully over the whole audio band, your circuit needs to have a bandwidth at least as large as the audio band. But that’s not the only requirement: your circuit needs to maintain that bandwidth from the lowest to the highest signal level. That’s where the crux lies: it is relatively easy to get a nice wide bandwidth for small signals, only to have it breakdown with high signal levels due to the dreaded slew rate limiting.