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Category: Audio/Video News

Created: 16 March 2014

At this year's High End show in Munich, Germany, Canada's Verity Audio will debut the newest generation of perhaps its most celebrated product, the Parsifal. This release coincides with Verity's 20th anniversary in 2015, an impressive mark of longevity for any high-end-audio company.

Verity's recent press release states, "January 2015 will mark the 20th anniversary of Verity Audio. To celebrate this, Verity is thrilled to introduce the new generation of a legendary loudspeaker, the Parsifal Anniversary. Belonging to the legacy of Parsifal, the new Parsifal Anniversary comes in superbly crafted cabinetry showing beautiful lines and curves and embraces new technologies heightening its performance to new levels. It is the result of many years of extensive research and development bringing together innovative solutions to loudspeaker design. The traditional floor-coupling spikes are now gone, making room for Verity’s high-performance floor-coupling isolation platforms. A new cabinet-enclosure system and a new driver-integration topology are specifically designed to enhance the sound intelligibility and coherence.

"It results in an easy-to-setup product, offering the renowned musicality of the Parsifal along with substantially improved definition and harmonic richness. More than just a high performer, the new Parsifal Anniversary is also a luxury piece of furniture handcrafted with rigorous attention to details and glossed with the most durable and exquisite finishes. The new Parsifal Anniversary will bring years of musical pleasure and pride of ownership for decades to come."

The Parsifal Anniversary will retail for $24,995 USD per pair in standard Piano Black finish. High End in Munich, Germany, is May 15-18, 2014. The SoundStage! Network will be there and will have coverage of the new Verity Audio Parsifal Anniversary live from the show on SoundStageGlobal.com, our specialized site for show reports, company tours, and product introductions.

Verity Audio website

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Category: Audio/Video News

Created: 04 March 2014

One of Trinidad and Tobago's largest distributors of high-end audio and recorded audiophile music is celebrating its 35th anniversary on March 13, 2014. SANCH Electronix was founded in 1979. The acronym SANCH was derived from the surnames of its founding directors: George Anthony Charles (now retired), the late Ruskin Lulworth Darrell Punch, and Simeon Louis Sandiford (managing).

SANCH distributes brands such as NAD, PSB, AudioQuest, Aurender, Berkeley Audio Design, Torus, and Audience, together with labels including Reference Recordings, First Impression Music, Telarc, Delos, and Mobile Fidelity. SANCH also releases music on its own label in multiple digital formats and is one of the few companies that still uses HDCD encoding technology, which was developed by Professor Keith O. Johnson and Michael "Pflash" Pfaumer.

The company owns a proprietary software suite entitled Pan in Education through which an animated instructor, Pete the Panstick, uses the Steelpan to deliver a curriculum for training music-industry professionals in blended classroom environments.

You are invited to attend a virtual birthday party by logging in to www.power102fm.com at 8:00 p.m. EDT on the evening of Thursday, March 13, to enjoy two hours of music from the archives, interviews, and interactions with present and past customers.

SANCH website

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Category: Audio/Video News

Created: 27 February 2014

PMC, which is based in the UK, has announced the release of the twenty.26 loudspeaker, the new flagship model in the twenty-series speakers. The line was originally created in 2011 to celebrate the company’s 20th anniversary and is now comprised of the twenty.26 and five other models, including a center-channel.

Unlike the previous models in the series, which were all two-ways, the twenty.26 is a three-way design consisting of a 1” dome tweeter, a 2” dome midrange, and a 7” cone woofer. While the tweeter is the same one used in the other twenty-series models, the woofer and midrange are said to be created specifically for this design. Like the other twenty-series models, the twenty.26 features the company’s proprietary Advance Transmission Line (ATL) technology to extend the bass. The crossover points between drivers are said to be 380Hz and 3.8kHz (24dB-per-octave slopes throughout), and the entire system’s frequency response is claimed to extend from 27Hz to 25kHz. The twenty.26’s impedance is rated as 8 ohms, meaning it’s easy to drive and can therefore be partnered with a wide variety of amplifiers. Finishes for the twenty.26 are the same as the other twenty-series speakers: Oak, Walnut, Amarone, and high-gloss Diamond Black. As of yet, no North American pricing for the twenty.26 has been given.

PMC website

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Category: Audio/Video News

Created: 10 February 2014

The Bowers & Wilkins company, based in the UK, has redesigned their 600-series speaker line, which is now comprised of the 683 (shown right) and 684 floorstanding models ($1650 and $1150 per pair in the US, respectively), 685 and 686 bookshelf-type models ($700 and $550 per pair), and HTM61 and HTM62 center-channels ($750 and $450 each). Technical highlights of this series include the company’s Decoupled Dual Dome tweeter (all models), which pushes the first breakup model to about 38kHz, and Dual Layer aluminum-cone bass driver (683).

According to the February 10 press release, the Decoupled Dual Dome tweeter “comprises two separate aluminum domes, the second with its center portion cut out and glued to the rear face of the first dome to create a remarkable blend of lightness and rigidity. The entire tweeter assembly is then decoupled, being physically separated from the cabinet by a cushioning gel ring in much the same way as our outboard tweeters. Harmful resonances are neither transferred from the baffle to the tweeter or the tweeter to the baffle.” The Dual Layer bass driver “sees an aluminum bass cone reinforced around its periphery with a second layer of aluminum, for a more effectively damped cone and higher break-up frequency. The result is even richer, distortion-free bass.”

The 600-series speakers are available in one finish, Black Ash, and will be available next month.

Bower & Wilkins website

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Category: Audio/Video News

Created: 04 February 2014

In 2013, the SoundStage! Network began compiling lists of the highest-rated products in a given month (those that received Reviewers' Choice, Select Component, or Great Buy awards), and made those listings available as PDF downloads suitable for viewing online or printing to an 8.5” x 11” sheet of paper. (Hyperlinks to the reviews are embedded, so if it’s viewed online a simple mouse click will take you the corresponding review.) Now that 2013 has passed and our 2013 SoundStage! Equipment Buying Guide is fully up-to-date, the “Top Products” by month are complete and are available on the SoundStage! Network main portal site (SoundStageNetwork.com) where they can be accessed free of charge and downloaded unlimited times. Enjoy!

“Top Products” of 2013 monthly downloads on SoundStageNetwork.com

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Category: Audio/Video News

Created: 20 January 2014

The Luxury Technology Show (LTS) makes its debut March 4th in New York City at the Metropolitan Pavilion. It is an exclusive invitation-only event that will gather press, retail executives, interior designers, and consumers who are interested in acquiring the world's finest innovations. Brand representatives from a wide variety of industries including audio, video, photography, home and business electronics, mobile, computers, high-end home appliances, smart watches, gaming and sports simulators, and wearable technology will be on hand to showcase their latest products.

By inviting just 50 of the world's top technology brands, LTS will enable one-on-one interaction between the invited guests and the exhibiting companies. “At the show, signature cocktails, fine hors d'oeuvres and hand-rolled cigars will be served while the brands unveil their latest innovations. This will create a one-of-a-kind experience for all those that participate," said Bradford Rand, President/CEO of Rand Luxury, the event's producer.

Confirmed brands include: Creston Electronics, Astell&Kern, Sony Electronics, Monster, Control4, Krell Industries, Wren Sound Systems, McLaren Automotive, Android Watches, Vutec, SIM2 Multimedia, Xi3 Corporation, Hasselblad, Kharma, iWallet, Westone Music, Superhive, Prima Cinema, Stellé Audio Couture, Audeze, Gunnar, and others.

LTS website

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Category: Audio/Video News

Created: 16 January 2014

Bowers & Wilkins' highly regarded P5 headphones are now available in a special Maserati Edition. Paying homage to the design heritage of both brands, the P5 Maserati Edition reportedly delivers the sound performance that is synonymous with Bowers & Wilkins, combined with design elements and materials drawn from Maserati’s rich Italian heritage. The P5 Maserati Edition is crafted from fine-grain natural leather in Maserati’s distinctive deep racing blue. The P5 Maserati Edition also features the iconic Maserati Trident emblem on the headband, and on the exclusive quilted-leather travel pouch. The Trident was designed by Mario Maserati in 1926, based on the statue of Neptune in the fountain of Bologna’s Piazza Maggiore.

According to Bowers & Wilkins' January 15 press release, the P5 Maserati Edition also features the "audio performance for which the original P5 mobile hi-fi headphone is renowned, with unfatiguing natural sound from the use of specially developed, ultra-linear neodymium magnets and highly optimized Mylar diaphragms; maximum noise isolation through a combination of sealed-leather earpads and a closed-back design featuring a rigid metal faceplate; and extreme comfort for extended listening."

Like the original P5, the P5 Maserati Edition is supplied with a Made For iPhone-approved cable, which allows for speech and device control, as well as a high-quality, standard audio cable with gold-plated plugs. Switching between the two is facilitated by the magnetically attached earpads, which simply pop off allowing access to the cable.

The Bowers & Wilkins P5 Maserati Edition headphones will be available for $399.99 in North America. The P5 Maserati Edition can be purchased in stores at appointed Bowers & Wilkins Diamond retailers. Additionally, the P5 Maserati Edition will be available online directly through the Bowers & Wilkins official website and Maserati¹s official website.

Bowers & Wilkins website

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Category: Audio/Video News

Created: 08 January 2014

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES), held annually in Las Vegas, is the world’s largest showcase for consumer-based electronics, including high-end-audio products, which are primarily shown at the Venetian Hotel. CES 2014 runs from January 7-11.

The SoundStage! Network team is already there covering the event, with feature articles and new-product coverage already appearing on SoundStage! Global, our site specifically designed for event coverage, factory tours, and product debuts. Regular updates will continue as CES progresses, and will conclude as the event closes. Our team members include Jeff Fritz, Doug Schneider, Roger Kanno, Hans Wetzel, and Aron Garrecht. Visit SoundStage! Global now to see what’s going on.

SoundStage! Global