For the company’s 55th anniversary, KEF created the LS50 Wireless, a complete active music system sharing the acoustic features of the company’s vaunted LS50. The LS50 Wireless features so many inputs and options for enjoying your music, it is a veritable Swiss Army Knife of versatility, but with audiophile, 192kHz/24-bit performance.
Without a doubt, one of the benefits of attending CES is getting to listen to audio systems that reside way outside the realm of what is considered normal. Walking the hallways of the Venetian, it isn’t uncommon to pass suits demonstrating six-figure electronics and speaker systems. But when you enter the realm of mid-five-figure, cost-no-object, premium electrostatic headphone designs, then even the most jaded among us will stop to take a listen. Launching into this rarefied air and going after the title of “world’s ultimate headphone” is HIFIMAN’s new Shangri-La, a headphone system featuring virtual zero distortion and lightning fast response.
Don’t you just hate it when you have the greatest photo op but the lighting is all wrong? Break out the Monster Firecracker Bluetooth Speaker to light up any situation. Monster is bringing back the boombox mentality with a new lineup up portable Bluetooth speakers, and they are most excited about the new little Firecracker, with a built-in flashlight.
New in-wall speaker announcements at CES are about as dry and parched as the city’s desert air, so I was pleasantly surprised when I stepped into Paradigm’s Venetian suite and saw the company was introducing six new models across its CI Pro and CI Elite lineups. Designed for residential home theater installations, these new models are all LCR designs featuring integrated backboxes made from ¾-inch MDF to provide an optimal acoustic environment as well as keeping sound from bleeding into adjacent rooms.
Ashley Chloé, a San-Fran-based technology company, combines form and fashion in the Fuse Wireless Earbuds. The Fuse are completely wireless, and come with a variety of different carrying and charging options for fashion-forward convenience.
Add Arcam to the growing list of companies that have joined the DTS PlayFi wireless streaming camp with the introduction of the company’s new rPlay Wireless Music Receiver. For performance minded listeners that have been looking for a way to dip their ears into the wireless listening waters, rPlay will enable adding PlayFi to any system and has a ton of features to get excited about.
Nothing completes a pool party or day at the beach like some good tunes, but many companies shy away from offering truly portable, weatherproof speaker options. Most solutions involve small, Bluetooth speakers that have thin sound and are splash-proof at best. Soundcast displayed its upcoming VG10 which will be the world’s first wireless, truly portable, weatherproof speaker to be part of the DTS PlayFi family.
If you are a premium headphone devotee, you already know all about 1MORE. Their headphones are all the rage on headphone forums, and with good reason. Their sound-quality bang for the buck is simply outstanding. Now, 1MORE has added one more reason to get excited.
If you share a bed, or a bedroom, Zeeq may just be the best thing that ever happened to your bedmate or roommate. Deep inside the Zeeq pillow are blue speakers and a microphone. It is designed so that only the person whose head is on the pillow can hear the music or sounds without disturbing the person next to you.
Virtual Reality (VR) goggles were shown everywhere at CES this year. Exhibitors virtually took over the back half of the South Hall of the convention center. A few year ago, this area had booths with Health and Fitness that has now grown to fill its own hall. If VR follows suit, it won’t be long before we are all donning headsets to view videos.
NVIDIA demonstrated some revolutionary features on its new NVIDIA Shield streaming player. The Android TV based player has been fully redesigned both in hardware and menus.
The DMX7704S is a fine example of the latest generation of aftermarket car audio technology. It is a Digital Media Receiver, designed to play streaming and stored content through your car’s sound system. Notably, it incorporates Apple CarPlay and Android Auto; integrating with your phone, the software makes the unit’s firepower easily and safely manageable.