Latest News – page 13

Sphinx was quite a famous name in audiophile circles at the end of the 20th century – and now we are expecting the company’s return to the market (with the support of International Audio Holding, which also owns the Siltech, Crystal Cable and HMS Elektronik brands).

The French company Métronome has announced the DSAS music server (Digital Sharing Audio Server), the software for which was created by Audirvāna – a well-known developer of streaming software players.

The Danish company Gryphon Audio is releasing the fifth generation of the iconic Antileon power amplifier – Antileon Revelation. The announcement was prepared for two anniversaries of the company - the 30th anniversary of the Antileon amplifier line and the 40th anniversary of the Gryphon company itself.

According to news, Masimo Corporation, the owner of the audiophile brands B&W (Bowers & Wilkins), Denon and Marantz, has signed an agreement to sell these brands to Harman International - the deal is currently in the process of receiving regulatory approvals.

Bang & Olufsen has introduced the third generation of its Beosound A1 portable wireless loudspeaker. The new product has retained the 360-degree sound pattern and aluminum body. The spectacular design, which is offered in three finishes: natural aluminum, honey tone and eucalyptus green, literally attracts the eye.

Burmester, the famous German manufacturer of high-end equipment, begins releasing LPs. The PURE SOUND Master Recordings series opens with the 1964 jazz album Oscar Peterson Trio “We Get Requests”, the record will be released in a limited edition of 33 copies and will be sold for 777 euros.

Soulution has introduced the ultimate vinyl player Soulution 787. The model features linear tracking system with a moving platter and a minimal excursion pivoted tonearm.. Recall that such designs imply the highest tracking accuracy, but have hardly been used until now due to their extreme complexity and high cost (Nakamichi TX-1000 Computing Turntable in 1983-1987 with Absolute Centre Search System offered offered something a little similar - but in that case the tonearm moved, and the platter provided the necessary center shift, corresponding to a specific LP).

The well-known acoustics manufacturer, Monitor Audio, has released three new active subwoofers of the Monitor Audio Vestra series - W10, W12 and W15. All of them are equipped with proprietary speakers with aluminum-magnesium alloy diffusers with a ceramic C-CAM coating with a long-stroke suspension and can develop impressive sound pressure.

For its centennial anniversary, Luxman has released a limited edition of the fully balanced audiophile headphone amplifier Luxman P-100 Centennial. The heart of the amp is the patented New Amplified Feedback Engine (LIFES) technology, which significantly improves on the previous ODNF (Only Distortion Negative Feedback) solution.

Schiit Audio has released a new version of the Valhalla headphone amplifier - Schiit Audio Valhalla 3. The model is ready to “pump up” even complex high-impedance headphones and operates in pure Class A with a triode amplification mode.

To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the company's foundation, Estelon presented new acoustic models - Estelon Aurelia bookshelf speakers (plus Aurelia Centre) and the Estelon Aurus active subwoofer. The Aurelia bookshelf speakers are a two-way acoustic system made in a closed box design.

Ortofon has pleased vinyl lovers with the release of two new inexpensive cartridges - Ortofon Concorde 5E and Concorde 5S. The first cartridge will cost only 79 euros, the second is even more affordable - 69 euros. The new Ortofon Concorde models retain the well-known integrated design of the original Concorde MkI, which ensures ease of installation and compatibility with a wide range of tonearms.

Schiit Audio Mimir is a new low-cost USB DAC with an optional preamp function. The model is based on a unique proprietary topology using a Mesh filter, working in conjunction with a standard ESS Sabre DAC chip. Mesh is a combination of the company's digital filter optimized in the time and frequency domains and a standard delta-sigma converter.

The complete HOUCHMAND M1 streaming audio system is presented - hand-assembled in Pforzheim, Germany, the model promises unprecedented realism in sound quality, high-end finish and design, as well as plug-n-play ergonomics. The HOUCHMAND M1 can work both in wired and wireless streaming mode and uses the built-in DSP for Room EQ Purity-Path-Technology, promising perfect adaptation to a specific room.

Yamaha has announced the start of sales of the Yamaha YH-L500A full-size headphones at the end of April 2025 – in Japan, the model will cost 25,000 yen. The new Yamaha YH-L500A headphones use the proprietary Sound Field Mode, which creates a real surround sound when transmitting stereo signals.

Fosi Audio i5 are planar on-ear headphones with an ultra-thin diaphragm made using nanotechnology, a powerful magnetic system and, according to the company, realistic and immersive sound. Fosi Audio i5 provides the highest sound pressure of up to 120 dB and operates in the frequency range of 10 Hz - 50 kHz.

Canadian company Totem Acoustic presented new Totem Acoustic Tribe Tower Thunderbird floor-standing loudspeakers – the model is equipped with new 6” Totem Torrent drivers and patented tweeters. In fact, we have before us a completely new acoustics, and not a rethinking of the Tribe Tower model released in 2019.

Line Magnetic has introduced a new single-ended integrated tube amplifier Line Magnetic LM-300IA, based on the iconic 300B triodes. The device is handcrafted and equipped with output transformers and a bias regulator with a precise built-in current meter.

The German company Nubert has released a very flexible bass solution that can be easily integrated into any system – the Nubert nuZeo 8w wireless subwoofer. The device uses the Nubert X-Connect or Nubert X-Connect Surround wireless connection, which is also the basis for other acoustic systems in the Nubert nuZeo series.

Artificial intelligence and LLM technologies are increasingly used in all industries - today the Hifiverse portal activated the AI-Agent function, which helps in choosing Hi-Fi and High-End audio equipment. 90% of the components in the portal catalog now have an activated AI summary function, using a whole bunch of modern LLM solutions, the RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) algorithm and unique Hifiverse developments.