SoundStage! Network publisher and founder, Doug Schneider, leaves today for Vicenza, Italy, to tour Sonus Faber’s factory, which is located there. While at the factory, Doug will meet the company’s main designers, including Livio Cucuzza (photo right) and Paolo Tezzon, and he will see firsthand how their award-winning speakers are designed and built, including the brand-new Olympica series, which was unveiled earlier this year at High End 2013 in Munich. Doug will be taking dozens of photographs and writing numerous articles, all of which will appear on SoundStage! Global next week, the SoundStage Network’s dedicated site for company tours, show reports, and audio-based blogging.
Today Logitech announced the Z600 Bluetooth speakers, a pair of wireless stereo speakers said to complement the sleek looks of Mac and Ultrabook computers. Logitech claims that these speakers can effortlessly stream music and other audio from your computer, smartphone, or tablet. Three devices can be active at the same time, and switching among them is as simple as pausing one and playing another.
“The Logitech Z600 Bluetooth speakers were designed to resemble an object of art using shapes, materials, and colors that meld with the modern living space and complement the look of ultrathin laptops,” said Charlotte Johs, Logitech global vice president of brand development and portfolio for PC accessories. “And with built-in Bluetooth connectivity, a first for Logitech multimedia speakers, these speakers are ideal for today’s wireless, multi-device lifestyle.”
The controls on the Logitech Z600 are another integral component of the clean design. The entire top panel of the right speaker is a smooth, responsive touch disc. To dial the volume up or down, simply glide a finger around the edge. The other controls -- power, Bluetooth pairing, and 3.5mm input -- are hidden discreetly in the back. The power cord has been specially designed to lay flat and run between the speakers and the power adapter, so there’s never an unsightly tangle of wires on your desk, table, or countertop.
A USB Bluetooth transceiver is included with the Logitech Z600 system to ensure the best wireless experience with computers. Connecting through native Bluetooth may be possible, but some computers may not permit audio streaming or smooth device switching. The included USB Bluetooth transceiver also allows one to connect wirelessly to computers that don’t support Bluetooth. In addition, you can connect the speakers to any device with an audio output using the 3.5mm auxiliary input.
The Logitech Z600 Bluetooth speakers are expected to be available in the US and Europe in August 2013, for a suggested retail price of $149.99 USD per pair.
Canadian startup Mass Fidelity today announced it is now shipping their first product -- the Relay wireless hi-fi receiver ($249 USD). The Relay streams music wirelessly from any Bluetooth-enabled device, such as a smartphone or tablet, to any audio system. It allows listeners to enjoy a limitless universe of high-definition digital music through their existing hi-fi. The Relay is said to be a true high-fidelity component that “brings out the full sound quality potential that is hidden inside the Bluetooth protocol.”
The company‘s July 9 press release states, "We at Mass Fidelity are music lovers who appreciate the freedom and choice afforded by smart devices and who also appreciate the involvement and emotion that only a high-fidelity audio system can reveal." Mass Fidelity founder Ben Webster also said, "We were determined to find a way of having it all -- convenience and fidelity. It is from this inspiration that the Relay was born."
The Relay can play any audio source a Bluetooth-enabled device can access, opening up a virtually unlimited choice of music to enjoy through a hi-fi audio system. The choices include music files stored on the device itself, music streaming services such as Pandora and Spotify, Internet Radio stations, podcasts, and even music libraries connected to a wireless home network. If the phone or tablet can get access to an audio source or file, the Relay will play it.
The Relay is said to deliver audiophile-grade performance thanks to its proprietary topography and firmware, as well as premium components such as a Burr-Brown digital-to-analog converter (DAC).
The Relay is currently available online and from select US, Canadian, German and UK retailers.
Seoul, Korea-based TVLogic announced that they are now shipping the Aurender W20 music server. The W20 is a high-performance music server with 6TB of internal storage capacity, a 240GB solid-state drive for cached playback, an Ethernet port for network connectivity, and a full range of digital outputs that include BNC, coaxial, AES/EBU, optical, and USB Audio Class 2.0.
The W20 is designed to be used with a wide variety of digital-to-analog converters and is said to be one of the very few music servers able to support external word clocks and dual-wire AES mode. The W20 delivers what is claimed to be bit-perfect output with absolutely zero ground noise and virtually no jitter. The company’s June 24th press release states, “The W20 is the first music server to completely eliminate ground noise through the use of LiFePO4 batteries to power the audio circuits. This also eliminates jitter resulting from the use of AC power supplies. In addition, the W20 incorporates a FPGA-based digital Phase Locked Loop system with OCXO clocks, fan-less design, extensive shielding, along with in-house developed CPU and audio boards to ensure that jitter is minimized to below negligible levels.”
The Aurender iPad App is the user interface for all Aurender music servers and is said to be optimized for speed and convenience. In addition to the standard features found on other music players, the Aurender iPad App also has bit- and sample-rate filters, a five-star rating system, user-nameable browser buttons, changeable album-cover sizes, and many other features that make viewing, searching, and playing music collections easy and enjoyable.
The suggested retail price of the Aurender W20 is $16,800 USD.
Essence Electrostatic, which is based in The Netherlands, will begin shipping their Model 1200 loudspeaker in June. This full-range electrostatic speaker is 48.8” tall, 11.5” wide, and 1” deep on its floorstanding base. The optional wall-mount bracket allows placement next to flat-panel displays or around projection screens. The acrylic stators are fully transparent, and the standard color is Eminence Grey. Essence offers color options for the acrylic at a slight upcharge: Clear Ice, Blue, Red, Orange, and Green.
The Essence is not a hybrid, but a full-range electrostatic design. The company's May 30, 2013 press release states: "By using new materials, production techniques, and years of exhaustive experimentation, Essence has extended the low-frequency capability of their Model 1200 down to 48Hz by increasing the excursion of the diaphragm. This level performance has eluded engineers for decades, it is revolutionary, no other electrostat on the market can do it." The frequency response of the Model 1200 is said to be ±3dB from 48Hz to 23kHz.
A/V industry-veteran Bob Rapoport, who is directing the sales and marketing, said: “It’s not every day a new speaker comes along that pushes the art forward substantially; most improvements are incremental and fail to live up to their own hype. This is different. The new Essence is full range, it reproduces the most important octaves of fundamental sound and delivers them to the listening position in a more focused way, creating what many call the ultimate listening experience because the stereo image is so precise, a result of more direct sound reaching the ears before the later reflections arrive. Another benefit of focusing the spectral energy at the sweet spot is the increase in clarity and resolution with no interference. Reflected sounds arrive too late and too low in level to upset the image or cause any disruptions in the response.”
Other models from Essence Electrostatic will include an LCR speaker and larger panel sizes, due by the end of 2013. The Model 1200 has an MSRP of $3995 USD per pair.
Debuted for the first time at Munich's High End 2013, Denmark's Gryphon Audio Designs is now shipping the Trident II loudspeaker. Gryphon founder and CEO, Flemming E. Rasmussen, elaborates: “Gryphon has never felt the need to constantly replace our product line-up to suit the changing seasons. Our observation has been that most 'Mark 2' versions are simply trivial bug fixes promoted as major breakthroughs. We prefer to expend the necessary effort and resources to get things right the first time. That is why Gryphon products have an exceptionally long lifespan both in the marketplace and in the home. In the case of the Trident, we identified specific areas in which technological advances made real improvements possible, so it made sense to pass them on to music lovers.”
The Gryphon Trident II incorporates specially developed constant-phase technologies to ensure that all drivers are in phase at all frequencies at all times. As Rasmussen proudly declares, “Few loudspeakers can truthfully make this claim and they are all made by Gryphon.” Compared to its predecessor, the Gryphon Trident II is housed in a slimmer, taller, massively braced enclosure with a precisely contoured baffle. The baffle covering was carefully selected and applied to effectively address reflections and eliminate diffraction phenomena.
The most crucial upgrade in the Trident II is perhaps the implementation of an AMT (Air Motion Transformer) high-frequency driver. As a result of the driver's inherent low mass, Gryphon promises lightning-fast transient response, as well flat frequency response beyond 38kHz, low distortion, and an absence of compression.
The Trident II also possesses a self-powered bass system. The semi-active configuration is based on a dedicated Gryphon 1000W power amplifier in conjunction with heavily modified drivers. Active bass allows the owner to select the ideal amplifier for the upper-frequency range without having to worry about deep-bass power demands.
Like every Gryphon product, the Gryphon Trident II was designed by Flemming E. Rasmussen and is manufactured in Denmark. The price is 97,000 euros per pair plus any local taxes.
Arteluthe, which is based in Montreal, Canada, has announced the introduction of three new loudspeakers called: Satie, Alegria, and Kantate. According to the company’s May 27 press release: “All models share the same AirForce™ acoustic platform, are fully active and governed by high-resolution Digital Sound Processors."
Each cabinet for each model contains two drivers (a tweeter and a midrange-woofer) and two corresponding amplifiers, ranging in power from 175-350W, depending on the model. All crossover manipulation is done in the digital domain using the onboard processor. All the speakers’ cabinets are made in Canada and are comprised of Canadian maple plywood and high-density fiber panels.
The least expensive model in this new line is the Satie, which retails for $7999 per pair. A prototype of the Satie was shown at Salon Son & Image in March. The other models’ prices are to be announced.
GoldenEar Technology has announced the availability of the new Invisa 7000 and Invisa MPX architectural loudspeakers. Both models are priced at $499 USD each.
The Invisa HTR 7000 is designed for use as a ceiling-mounted main left-, right- or center-channel speaker in high-quality home-theater and music systems, as well as for use as a side or rear surround speaker. It has a flat, round, magnetically attached micro-perf grille that covers the mounting flange for an attractive, nearly invisible look. An optional square grille is also available. We're told that the drivers are mounted at precisely calculated angles so that they acoustically align directly at the normal listening position for "exceptional imaging, superior frequency response, remarkable clarity and precise focus." The driver complement combines the 7" high-definition cast-basket driver used in the company's Aon 3 with a GoldenEar High Velocity Folded Ribbon (HVFR) tweeter.
The Invisa MPX is said to combine the advantages of a direct-radiating loudspeaker with the enhanced spaciousness and dispersion of a bipolar speaker to make it the "perfect choice" for the rear or side surround channels of a multichannel installation. It can also be used as a front main speaker or for distributed-audio and multi-room installations. GoldenEar representatives say that the Invisa MPX can be easily mounted in ceilings or in walls and is very flexible in terms of orientation. Like the other Invisa-series speakers, it has a flat, magnetically attached micro-perf grille. The Invisa MPX combines two cast-basket, 5” bass-midrange drivers, a High Velocity Folded Ribbon tweeter, and a complex precision crossover network with a high-frequency equalization switch. Like the Invisa HTR 7000, the Invisa MPX features GoldenEar’s unique Non-Periodic Diffraction Control and Wave-Launch technology combine for enhanced clarity and source-less sound radiation.
GoldenEar Technology announced that the new Invisa HTR 7000 and Invisa MPX are now shipping in both the US and Canada, as well as in their 25 export markets.