New Products

Soundcast VG1 Waterproof Speaker
If you’re looking for a speaker you can use near water—in the bathroom, by the pool—why mess around? The IP67-rated VG1 is waterproof, not just “water-resistant,” meaning it has withstood testing to ensure it’s impervious to dust and submersible in 3 feet of water.
Take It Anywhere: Described as a perfect travel companion, the speaker teams a pair of 2-inch aluminum-cone drivers with a rear-firing bass radiator and is designed to keep an impromptu party going for up to 15 hours when its battery is fully charged. The VG1 supports Bluetooth streaming via aptX and AAC codecs, or you can use its minijack for a hard-wire hookup. It also has a built-in microphone and is compatible with Siri for hands-free control. Two VG1s can be connected for a wireless stereo experience. Price: $150
Soundcast • (619) 591-0126 • gosoundcast.com

Aftermaster Pro Portable Remastering Device
The Aftermaster Pro is a one-of-a-kind portable processor designed by Hollywood sound engineers who were frustrated by the poor quality of mass-market audio products, including TVs, cable/satellite boxes, smartphones, headphones, laptops, and game consoles. It uses a proprietary algorithm to analyze and “remaster” sound in real time to enhance clarity, depth, and fullness—in much the same way a mastering engineer makes the final tweaks to a music recording before it’s released.
Transforming TV: When connected to your TV’s HDMI port, the patent-pending device is said to raise and clarify dialogue levels as well as make “all surrounding audio sound substantially better.” Powered by a rechargeable 8-hour battery, the pocketable Aftermaster Pro has two HDMI inputs and one output plus a 3.5mm minijack input and output. Available in black, gray, or gold. Price: $169
Aftermaster Audio Labs • (310) 657-4886 • aftermasterpro.com

Oppo HA-2SE Portable Amp/DAC
Oppo’s Top Pick–winning HA-2 amp/DAC is a fine piece of audio gear, engineered to enhance music playback from phones and portable players, but its replacement is even better. The HA-2SE’s digital-to-analog converter has been upgraded to ESS Technology’s top-of-the-line ES9028Q2M Sabre32 Reference chip, and the amplifier’s noise floor has been lowered (and signal-to-noise ratio optimized) for the most sensitive headphones.
iPhone 7–Ready: As a Made for iPhone–certified device, the upgraded amp/DAC can charge the phone while playing music and is said to provide a significant improvement in sound quality over Apple’s Lightning-to-3.5mm headphone jack adapter (Lightning cable provided). The HA-2SE’s battery can be fully charged in 30 minutes, and it supports PCM audio up to 384-kilohertz/32-bit and DSD audio up to 12 megahertz via its asynchronous USB input. Leather case included. Price: $299 (same as the HA-2)
Oppo Digital • (650) 961-1118 • oppodigital.com

Emotiva XPA Gen 3 Modular Amplifier
Built to order, the XPA Gen 3 can accommodate your power requirements whether you need two channels or seven. Better yet, because the amp is modular, it can grow with your system as you add channels.
Power Play: All configurations are built on a single heavy-duty chassis with Class AB amp modules sharing a high-efficiency switch-mode power supply capable of delivering more than 3,000 watts of continuous power. Layouts include 2 x 300, 3 x 275, 4 x 260, 5 x 250, 6 x 225, and 7 x 200 watts, all channels driven with less than 0.1 percent THD into 8 ohms. Emotiva stands by the amplifier with a five-year warranty, and you can choose balanced or unbalanced inputs. Prices range from $999 (two channels) to $1,999 (seven channels).
Emotiva • (877) 366-8324 • emotiva.com

iHome IBT84 Bluetooth Speaker
What the world doesn’t need is another black cylindrical (or some such) Bluetooth speaker, so thank you iHome for making a speaker that looks…well, nothing at all like a speaker.
Party Animal: Armed with the iHome Enhance app (iOS and Android), you can cycle through five color modes and adjust brightness and intensity to bring favorite tunes to life with a “visual performance” that pulses to the beat. The splash-proof IBT84 doubles as a speakerphone with a USB charging jack and will run for up to 10 hours when its battery is fully charged. An aux-in jack is included for hard-wire connections. One more twist that separates this speaker from others: It has a meter that shows the battery level of a connected iPhone or other iOS device. Price: $70
SDI Technologies • (800) 288-2792 • ihomeaudio.com