Bowers & Wilkins introduced midnight blue versions of its 705 Signature stand-mount and 702 Signature floor-standing loudspeakers, it emailed Thursday. The upcharge for the blue metallic paint for the 702 is $1,000, bringing it to $7,499 per pair; the price for the 705 stand-mount speaker is $3,999 per pair in metallic blue or the standard Datuk gloss, said the company. Shipping is slated for November-December.
Podcast listening has become mainstream in the U.S. in “surprisingly rapid fashion,” with more than half of all digital audio listeners accessing podcasts this year, said eMarketer Monday. Some 40% of internet users, 117.8 million Americans, listen to a podcast monthly, followed by Sweden, home to Spotify, at 34.6%. The analytics firm cited the “enormous” library of U.S.-supplied podcast content available, giving English speakers worldwide a wider selection of content than non-English speakers. China was the last in a list of 18 developed countries with 8.7% podcast listening penetration, behind Japan at 11.8% and South Korea at 12.2%.
Cleer Audio said Wednesday it expanded to Australia and New Zealand. Distribution of its headphones and smart speakers will be handled by Pudney & Lee in New Zealand and Marketmakers Accessories in Australia, effective immediately, it said.
Bang & Olufsen and Cisco partnered on a “luxury business headset" for hybrid workers, they said Tuesday. The Bang & Olufsen Cisco 980, $549, has Webex integrations and adaptive noise cancellation to reduce background noise. It's billed as a “multifunctional” headset that can be used for secure video and audio conferencing, music listening and voice calls. IT administrators can deploy, manage, and view real-time analytics of the headphones, they said. Availability is slated for early 2022.
TCL launched a Roku-ready wireless sound bar in its Alto line that’s designed to work with its Roku TVs, said the company Monday. The $179 sound system comes with a remote that controls the sound bar and the company’s line of Roku TVs. The sound bar plugs into power and connects to the TV wirelessly after pairing, a spokesperson emailed. The wireless setup up “eliminates confusion” about which input to connect to, automatically enabling the correct sound settings on the TV, said the company. The two-channel sound bar, with maximum sound output of 120 watts, offers multiple equalization settings, including sound modes appropriate for streaming music and podcasts from services including Pandora, Spotify and TuneIn, said the TV maker.
Sound United scheduled its first brand-wide virtual training event Nov. 9-12 from its Carlsbad Experience Center to make product experts accessible to dealers for the holiday sales season, the company emailed Thursday. Dubbed Inside Sound United, the four-day event will break out into sessions giving training and tips on Denon and Marantz custom installation solutions, the Definitive Technology brand, Polk Premiere speakers, Heos wireless multiroom solutions and Bowers & Wilkins’ 800 Series Diamond speakers. The live event will be hosted by Phil Jones, director-global brand activation; Derek Everson, brand activation manager; and Eric McBride, Bowers & Wilkins acoustical engineer and custom theater designer.
Denon’s 7.2-channel AVR-X1700H AV receiver ($699, available November) has three 8K HDMI inputs supporting 8K/60Hz and 4K/120Hz video pass-through up to 40 Gbps plus HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision and hybrid log gamma HDR and BT.2020 pass-through. The Heos multiroom audio receiver has support for Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and their virtual versions where height or in-ceiling speakers aren’t available. The 80-watt-per-channel AVR works with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple Siri and Josh.ai for voice control of AVR functions and supports third-party command protocols including Control 4 Simple Device Discovery Protocol. It also supports HDMI diagnostics mode and smart remote management via Domotz or OvrC and has Audyssey room setup and correction technology, Denon said.
Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers can now stream music mixed in 3D spatial audio on iOS and Android devices with their existing headphones, along with devices that support Alexa Cast, said Amazon Music Tuesday. That playback capability was previously available only on the Amazon Echo Studio smart speaker and select Sony speakers. The service is also making its 75 million lossless, HD songs (16-bit, 44.1 kHz), and over 7 million Ultra HD (24-bit, up to 192 kHz) available to all Unlimited subscribers, at no extra cost to their subscription, starting at $7.99 monthly for an individual plan for Prime members. Amazon cited new releases from Finneas, Lil Nas X and Remi Wolf as titles mixed in spatial audio that are now available to subscribers. Also beginning Tuesday, subscribers can hear Alicia Keys’ full catalog in Sony’s immersive 360 Reality Audio. In November, Amazon Music will exclusively release Mercury–Act 1, an extended play from Imagine Dragons, mixed in Dolby Atmos, it said. The five-track recording has music from the band’s album release livestream. Consumers can stream spatial audio with Alexa Cast on Sony devices that support 360 Reality Audio with Alexa Cast including the SRS-RA5000 and SRS-RA3000 wireless speakers and HT-A9, HT-A7000, and HT-A5000 home theater systems. Later this year, customers will be able to listen to music mixed in Dolby Atmos on the Sonos Arc and second-generation Beam sound bars when streaming Amazon Music Unlimited from the Sonos app, Amazon said.
Samsung’s Harman Kardon brand is moving into furniture with a Wireless Speaker and Audio Association-based wireless surround-sound system. It partnered with Lovesac to build surround-sound speaker systems with Dolby 5.1 into its Sactionals seating line, said the furniture maker Monday. The $3,700 StealthTech Sound + Charge system, with an expected selling price of $2,923, includes two Sound + Charge Side units with front- and rear-firing speakers, a subwoofer that integrates into a seat frame and a center-channel sound bar for placement below a TV. Speakers are hidden; the subwoofer that houses the amplifiers is integrated into a seat frame, a spokeswoman emailed, and a single power cord connects to the side of the couch. The system can be controlled by the supplied remote control or by app; users can optimize the sound settings, select their own sound profiles and choose Harman Kardon sound modes designed for movies, music, TV or news. Lovesac designed the characteristics and density of the fabric to allow sound to pass through with “clarity.” The system is expandable with up to four satellite side speakers and soon-to-come subwoofer, said the company. It will be sold at Lovesac showrooms and some Best Buy stores, it said.
Lady Gaga is headlining through Oct. 31 at Dolby Live at Park MGM, an integrated performance venue on the Las Vegas Strip offering live concerts in Dolby Atmos. Dolby and MGM Resorts announced Dolby Live Thursday as a way for consumers "to enjoy a Dolby Atmos experience while deepening and expanding our engagements with the artist community,” said CEO Kevin Yeaman. Dolby engineers designed, calibrated and tuned the playback system for the 5,200-seat theater, which has a 140-foot-wide stage, nine HD and 4K projectors and a 240-foot-wide projection surface. The space will be used mostly for live concerts but can support musicals and esport events, they said. Dolby Atmos “takes performances to the next level by taking listeners inside the music to reveal details with unparalleled clarity and depth,” they said. In Lady Gaga Jazz & Piano, the artist will perform "stripped-down" versions of her hits alongside music from the Great American Songbook, said the venue. Tickets started at $239 on Ticketmaster Thursday. Upcoming acts include Bruno Mars, Aerosmith and Cher.