Fresh From the Bench: Western Electric's New Production 300B
Renowned tube expert Michael Boele offers his long-term review of a pair of 2021 new production 300B directly heated power triodes. For 10 months, Boele had the opportunity to live with and extensively use a pair of these 300Bs and his impressions and extensive testing could be directly contrasted with his considerable collection of 300B tubes - Chinese, Russian, Czech and Slovak clones, as well as several pairs of Westrex/Western Electric reissues, and two “old stock” Western Electrics. This article was originally published in audioXpress, May 2022.
Test Bench: The E180HE-44 Full-Range Subwoofer from the Dayton Audio Epique Line
In this article, Vance Dickason characterizes the E180HE-44 woofer, from the Dayton Audio Epique lineup. As with the E150HE from the same range, the E180HE-44 uses the patented Multiple Magnet Air Gap (MMAG) technology, invented by Enrique Stiles and patented by Step Technologies. The E180HE is a scaled up (7") version of the E150HE, and has a similar feature set but with a secondary magnet system comprised of six ferrite disks, which act as magnetic “diodes” pulling the flux from the main magnet into the top 7mm gap. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, May 2022.
LG Joins Home Connectivity Alliance and Leads Matter Smart Home Interoperability Efforts
LG Electronics (LG) has been named to the Board of Directors of the Home Connectivity Alliance (HCA), an organization dedicated to delivering better smart home experiences through open collaboration and innovation. This latest announcement just reinforces LG's determination to bring greater interconnectivity, safety and security in all its products, as already clear from the fact that it was also named to the Board of Directors of the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), focused on developing and promoting the Matter smart home standard.
JBL Quantum 910 Wireless Features Immersive Audio with Head Tracking
The latest JBL Quantum gaming headset was launched at Gamescom 2022. The new JBL Quantum 910 Wireless frees users from wires and restrictions by combining the latest Bluetooth technology with active noise cancellation for the ultimate immersive gaming experience. The company is promoting Dual Spatial Audio abilities, with its JBL QuantumSPHERE 360 and JBL QuantumSPATIAL 360 audio engines with integrated head tracking on a PC and PlayStation via the USB-C wireless connection.
Grado Introduces New GS1000x and GS3000x Statement X Series Headphones
Grado introduced the new Statement Series, which brings fourth-generation X Drivers to the wooden GS3000x and GS1000x models. The GS1000x combines mahogany and ipê wood, while the GS3000x houses the brand's most powerful driver yet inside a metal chamber surrounded by a single body of cocobolo wood. Along with the superior sound these new drivers produce, the GS3000x and GS1000x also feature Grado's improved 12-conductor braided cable and new headbands. Both are hand assembled in Brooklyn, New York.
Logitech Chorus Offers Audio Add-on to Virtual Reality Headset Design
Logitech unveiled Logitech Chorus, a new integrated audio solution designed from the ground up for the Meta Quest 2, a Virtual Reality Headset sold by Facebook. The Logitech VR accessory uses Balanced Mode Radiator (BMR) drivers from Tectonic, adding a convenient "off-ear speaker" solution that is similar to the one created for the Valve Index Headset. Without touching the ears, the design was custom tuned by Tectonic to offer total but safe immersion for those experimenting with VR.
Sonova Unveils New Lumity Platform Supporting Improved Directional Beamforming and Speech Recognition in Noise
Sonova Holding AG, the hearing care solutions company, unveiled its new Lumity platform, which is designed to further improve speech understanding and reduce listening effort in noisy environments. The platform is the result of the Swiss company's latest research to improve conversation support in virtually any situation. This latest innovation builds on the strong success of the Marvel and Paradise platforms and will power the next generation of Phonak hearing instruments.
Lectrosonics Announces Global RF Scan Database for Wireless Operations
Lectrosonics created a Radio Frequency Scan Database for those using wireless microphone systems anywhere in the world. The database hosts scans from .sdf (Wireless Designer scan data file) or .csv (comma separated values) common standard file formats. These files can be used to populate frequency coordination software for analysis purposes and to know what a given RF landscape looks like and help wireless system operators prepare for a location or venue in advance.
Neumann Unveils New KH 150 DSP-Powered Studio Monitors
Neumann.Berlin has expanded its line of reference-class studio monitors. The new KH 150 is a bi-amplified, DSP-controlled design, featuring the same high-resolution tweeter as all Neumann studio monitors and a newly developed 6.5" woofer with ultra-low distortion and high SPL capability. The new KH 150 looks exactly like the other Neumann KH studio monitors and this is the largest two-way model, impressing for its extended low-end, while remaining extremely compact. That is also the result of a new and more energy efficient Class D amplifier and a more powerful DSP.
Klippel Updates dB-Lab Version 212 and QC 7 Analyzer System Software
As always, the Klippel engineering team continuously introduces the results of its latest R&D efforts and customer feedback to improve its solutions. Klippel has now released their second software update for the Klippel Analyzer System with various new features for both R&D and QC applications. The update is free of charge for all users running dB-Lab 212 or QC7. It introduces a utility Documentation Module (DOC) for use in dB-Lab, TEDS integration for microphones, and updates for the QC Stand-alone Software.