New Products

In the last couple of years, I’ve heard several speaker manufacturers predict that the increasingly good-sounding $300 products from the likes of Panasonic, Samsung, and Vizio would soon push all the traditional audio companies out of the soundbar biz. But it hasn’t happened. This year’s CES saw the introduction of several new soundbars from respected brands.

Making their formal debut tomorrow at Montreal's Salon Son & Image high-end show, Axiom Audio's new Omnirectional Linear Field Radiating Speakers are a brand new design, pairing front- and rear-baffle mounted drivers with custom DSP and a unique cabinet design to create a wholly new twist on transducers from the Canadian compa

Who says Switzerland is known only for chocolates, cheese, and watches? There's plenty of exciting news coming from the 2012 Geneva Motor Show.

It seems that every few weeks Onkyo rolls out another round of upgrades and apps for their AVR line, but today the company announced four new receivers for 2012: two 5.1 models (the $299 TX-NR313 and $499 414), and two 7.2 models (the $599 TX-NR515 and $699 616).

Way back in July of last year, Rdio was the first of the streaming services to debut a native iPad app. Since then, they've continued to build their mobile offerings, and today they've debuted a completely revamped Android application, mirroring most of the functionality of their desktop and browser-based interfaces in a pocket-friendly package. And it'll even run under Ice Cream Sandwich.

It's pretty clear that TVs are going to keep getting thinner - the hot sets at CES this year were downright wraithlike, measuring mere millimeters in thickness (Bose has been bucking the trend with their Videowave, but that's another kettle of fish entirely). That doesn't leave much room for amps and speakers, so built-in audio can't help but suffer. Sure you can add a full system, but what if you're challenged for space in the first place, or looking to outfit a secondary viewing room? Audio Solutions has a new all-in-one wall mount and sound system that might fit your needs.