Pete the Pan Stick is a sophisticated bilingual (Spanish and English) animated character created by Camille Selvon Abrahams for Sanch Electronix Limited to introduce an educational curriculum designed to teach children the steelpan instrument that's native to Trinidad and Tobago, which is where the company is located. Pete's role is to help beginners comprehend and remember basic musical concepts in an interactive way. Pete has been trained to dance, talk, clap his hands, and play the steelpan.
Simeon Sandiford, the creator of Pete the Pan Stick and Pan in Education, walks us through the concept: "Travel with Pete as he navigates through the software in an orderly manner, chapter by chapter. First, there is an introduction to the steelpan via an illustrated layout of its notes as Pete narrates the range of its compass. He then plays favorite rhymes and folk songs before providing an assessment with a specially designed quiz, followed by games. These chapters will ensure that beginners discover and experience more about this revolutionary instrument and its history.
"Next, Pete introduces the world of virtuoso pan musicians and plays some of their famous 'Panorama’ arrangements. Three short films illustrate how the instrument is made and trace its evolution. Finally, it’s time for recess. And what better way for relaxation than by listening to seven different genres of steelpan music and perusing some colorful, informative posters with Pete before he returns to his intriguing world of animation."
Pete the Pan Stick is interactive educational software package for children of all ages. The product is designed to help them to become an "inevitable part of the ongoing global technological revolution." The Pan in Education catalog of products was developed by Sanch Electronix Limited and is available now.
TWBAS stands for The World's Best Audio System, a feature unique to the SoundStage! Network's Ultra Audio publication (www.ultraaudio.com). TWBAS 2012 is a showcase of some of the best audio products from around the world. On January 8, the SoundStage! Network unveiled the companies and components involved in this prestigious event through a streaming video presentation shot in Las Vegas, just two days before CES 2012. Seven companies are supplying products, and representatives from five of the companies were in Las Vegas to take part in the video shoot. The video is available online now at SoundStageGlobal.com.
The TWBAS 2012 event will take place in Jeff Fritz's Music Vault listening room in North Carolina, USA, from March 30-31. Product profiles on each of the products will be published on SoundStageGlobal.com on February 1.
For 15 years, the SoundStage! Network has been providing industry-leading coverage of audio/video events held around the world. The SoundStage! Network team is currently in Las Vegas covering CES 2012, held January 10-13. Even though CES doesn’t start for a couple more days, the team’s coverage has begun on SoundStage! Global, the SoundStage! Network site designed specifically for event coverage and factory tours. This year's team is comprised of Doug Schneider, Jeff Fritz, Roger Kanno and Aron Garrecht. Check back daily for ongoing coverage before, during, and after the show.
Rockport, Maine-based Rockport Technologies is now shipping its brand-new Avior loudspeaker. The Avior is 46.5"H x 15"W x 24.5"W and weighs 220 pounds. The Avior's sensitivity is rated at 89.5dB (1m/2.83V) and the impedance is said to be 4 ohms. Frequency response is claimed to be 25Hz to 30kHz, +/- 3dB.
According to Andrew Payor, designer and president of Rockport Technologies, the Avior possesses the "newest generation of custom, carbon-fiber-sandwich-composite cone drivers designed and developed from the ground-up by Rockport Technologies. Both the bass drivers and midrange driver utilize a revolutionary new carbon-fiber fabric in their cone construction that further increases the stiffness-to-weight ratio of the composite cones ensuring pure pistonic behavior throughout their entire operating range. Both drivers also feature newly designed cone profiles as well as state-of-the-art, ultra-linear, high-power motor systems. The result is vanishingly low distortion (-60dB!), incomparable resolution, and enormous dynamic range. Scan-Speak’s spectacular new beryllium-dome tweeter provides the Avior’s astonishingly expressive and airy top end, perfectly complimenting its authoritative, yet nimble lower registers and extraordinarily textured, ultra-high-resolution midband."
The Avior is a three-way, four-driver design with the classic raked-back Rockport form factor. The cabinet structure is also quite ambitious. Payor states, "The Avior’s triple-laminated, constrained-mode-damped enclosure boasts a solid 6-inch-thick front baffle and variable-section-thickness, gracefully curved side panels and crowned top surface. Together, these not only create an elegant form, but also endow the enclosure with immense stiffness and minimum resonant signature. The enclosure’s large sweeping chamfers and ever-changing baffle dimensions virtually eliminate diffraction anomalies."
The Avior is priced at $29,500.00 per pair.
Japan’s Zanden Audio Systems, which was formed in 1990 by Kazutoshi Yamada, is best known for their ultra-high-end digital products, including CD players, transports, and DACs. The company also makes phono stages, as well as preamplifiers and lower-powered amplifiers. Most of their products are vacuum-tube based and their styling is always superb. Zanden Audio Systems recently announced the release of the Model 6000, their first “high powered” integrated amplifier. According to the company’s press release: “It utilizes four KT-120 output tubes, two per channel, in a push-pull circuit design to achieve 100 watts per channel. The 1st and 2nd stages of the amplification circuit use four 12AU7A vacuum tubes: one tube per stage per channel. Zanden eschews paralleling output tubes and directly couples the 2nd and 3rd stages of the output circuit. The amplification circuit operates fully balanced. A number of unique noise-absorption and shielding techniques are used throughout the design, including Asahi-Kasei Fibers Corporation’s Pulshut RF noise-absorption material.”
The 6000 retails for $22,000 USD and will be shown in North America for the first time at CES 2012, held January 10-13 in Las Vegas, NV, USA.
Audioengine has announced two new computer-audio interface products, the D1 24-bit DAC and D2 24-bit wireless DAC.
The D1 is a computer DAC capable of converting audio files with bit depths of up to 24 bits and sample rates as high as 192kHz. The rounded D1 case reflects the traditional Audioengine design and is offered at an affordable price of $169 USD.
In addition to being a USB computer DAC, the D1 also includes an optical input for DVD/Blu-ray players, TVs, and game consoles. No special software drivers are needed, making the D1 a true plug-and-play digital audio solution. The D1 output connects to any audio system or powered speakers, such as the Audioengine A5+ or A2, and a high-quality headphone output is also included for headphone enthusiasts.
"The D2 truly is a breakthrough product for computer audiophiles," says Dave Evans, Audioengine director. "The ability to stream bit-perfect 24/96 audio wirelessly from your computer right to your music system not only keeps your computer away from the rest of your audio gear, but also minimizes nagging problems such as ground loops, induced cable noise, and extra jitter."
The D2 Sender will accept USB or an optical input and the D2 Receiver will output analog audio through RCA connectors or digital audio through a TosLink connector. The system utilizes an over-the-air 24-bit/96kHz PCM stereo digital stream in a "closed-system" Wi-Fi configuration and its proprietary RF technology ensures data integrity, with no impact on existing routers or networks. In addition, the D2 Sender can simultaneously transmit HD audio to up to three Receivers. The volume control is transmitted over an entirely separate channel, so there is no impact on the digital stream. The D2 is priced at $599.
The SoundStage! Network wants to wish everyone Happy New Year, as well as offer best wishes for 2012. At the same time, we'd like to reflect on the previous year and announce our 2011 SoundStage! Network Product of the Year award winners.
The awards are divided into four main categories: Oustanding Performance, Exceptional Value, Aestheics and Sound, and Pioneer Design Achievement. Outstanding Performance and Exceptional Value are divided into sub-categories based on product type. Each award-winning product has been reviewed on SoundStage! Hi-Fi, SoundStage! Xperience, Ultra Audio, or GoodSound!, and has been recognized at the time of publishing with a Reviewers' Choice, Great Buy, or Select Component award.
The SoundStage! Network will be presenting each company with their respective award during CES 2012 held January 10-13 in Las Vegas, NV, USA. The winners are:
Outstanding Performance:
Exceptional Value:
Aesthetics and Sound: Gryphon Audio Designs Mirage preamplifier and Colosseum stereo amplifier
Pioneering Design Achievement: Devialet D-Premier integrated amplifier-DAC
Berkeley, CA-based Magico LLC has released their new flagship loudspeaker, the four-way, 750-pound Q7. This model features two MG1207 12" woofers, a MG107 10" midbass, a MG70 6" midrange, and a MB7 1" beryllium-dome tweeter. All drivers use neodymium magnet systems to achieve a claimed sensitivity of 94dB (2.83V/1m)
The Q7's cabinet is no less advanced. According to the company's December 26 press release, "Using advanced Finite Elements Analysis to study in-box driver behavior, the Q-Series' construction techniques were redeployed in a configuration more finely tuned to the specific parameters of driver-to-enclosure interaction. Comprised of over 100 parts of aluminum, copper, and stainless steel, all affixed with over 650 fasteners in a calculated labyrinth of internal bracing, the Q7 provides the ideal combination of mass, dampness and rigidity. A new three-axis matrix frame, copper decoupling levels, and a floating midrange cavity yield the most effective multi-faceted strategy of eliminating the cabinet as a secondary acoustic source, making the Q7 a remarkable architectural feat." The Q7's crossovers use the company's Elliptical slopes.
The Q7 will be available in the second quarter of 2012 and is priced in the United States at $165,000 per pair.