November 2017 New Gear Part 1

Samsung HW-MS750 Sound+ Soundbar
Samsung means business with its new soundbar. It won’t win any beauty contests, but the five-channel Sound+ deserves credit for squeezing three wide-dispersion tweeters, six woofers, and two up-firing tweeters into an enclosure 45 inches wide, 3 inches tall, and 5 inches deep. Each driver has its own dedicated amplifier, and patented audio processing is said to cancel bass distortion before it even happens.
How Sweet It Is: The payoff, with a special nod to those wide-dispersion tweeters, is a “sweet spot anywhere you sit.” In addition to 4K/Ultra HD passthrough and video upscaling, the soundbar uses 32-bit processing to enhance incoming audio and supports music streaming via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Samsung offers the SWA-W700 wireless subwoofer ($500) for those who demand a more visceral experience—the sub is rated down to 27 hertz. Price: $700

Samsung • (800) 726-7864 • samsung.com


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HiFiMan Susvara Planar-Magnetic Headphones
Given their over-the-top price tag, you have every right to expect a little magic from HiFiMan’s new flagship headphones, the Susvara. The company, which has spent the better part of 10 years refining planar-magnetic technology for headphones, used its expertise in nanotechnology to develop a driver so thin that it’s invisible to the naked eye when viewed from the side. The super-low-mass diaphragm is said to produce “lifelike openness with virtually no distortion.”
Going Stealth: As if a 0.00004-inch-thick diaphragm isn’t enough to wrap your brain around, the “acoustically transparent stealth magnets” that enable the diaphragm to produce sound are shaped differently than standard magnets to reduce a form of distortion known as “diffraction turbulence.” HiFiMan has also optimized its signature open-back “window shade grille” design to avoid resonant frequencies. Price: $6,000

HiFiMan • (201) 443-4626 • hifiman.com


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Marantz SR6012 A/V Receiver
Marantz starts the SR6012 party with a generous 9 x 110 watts of power, DTS:X and Dolby Atmos processing for 7.1.2-channel setups (7.1.4 with an external amp), 32-bit digital-to-analog conversion on all channels, and the ability to decode the sweet sound of hi-res DSD and 192-kilohertz/24-bit audio files. From there, it adds wireless streaming via Wi-Fi, AirPlay, Bluetooth, and Denon’s HEOS multiroom platform with direct access to internet radio, Pandora, SiriusXM, Amazon Music, Tidal, and other streaming apps.
Future-Ready: Its advanced video section supports 4K/60-Hz video with passthrough of all three high dynamic range (HDR) formats—HDR10, Dolby Vision, and HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma)—HDCP 2.2 copy protection, wide color gamut (BT. 2020), and 4:4:4 color subsampling on all eight of its HDMI inputs. And we’re just scratching the surface. Price: $1,499

Marantz • (800) 654-6633 • marantz.com


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Monitor Audio SoundFrame Speakers
It’s a classic dilemma. You demand good sound quality for your music and movies, but your significant other has imposed a moratorium on freestanding speakers. What to do? Go in- (or on-) wall, of course. But instead of concealing the speaker behind a standard grille, why not transform it into wall art or maybe a photo?
Decisions, Decisions: With Monitor Audio’s SoundFrame series, the process is simple: Select a speaker model—the portrait-shaped three-way SoundFrame 1 ($799 each), the elongated three-way SF2 ($799), or the 11 x 11-inch SF3 ($399)—and visit the SoundFrame library where you’ll find a variety of grilles, ranging from abstract prints and modern art to solid colors and artsy photos (or your own prints). Frames are offered in gloss black or white—or you can choose to go frameless.

Monitor Audio • (905) 428-2800 • monitoraudiousa.com


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Klipsch R-26FA Dolby Atmos-Enabled Speaker
In a perfect world, you would install speakers in your ceiling to ensure a hyper-real Dolby Atmos experience with sound all around—even overhead. In the real world, many of us can’t go there for a variety of reasons. Klipsch addresses this reality in the latest addi- tion to its Reference Premiere series—the 39-inch-tall R-26FA tower speaker.
What’s Up: An elevation module built into the top of its enclosure directs sound upward so it reflects off the ceiling to facilitate the height dimension in Atmos soundtracks. Klipsch credits its Tractrix horn technology with enabling the module’s tweeter to meet Dolby’s specs for directivity and sensitivity. The tweeter is joined by a 5.25-inch woofer, both of which supplement the speaker’s primary drivers—another horn-loaded tweeter and two 6.5- inch woofers. Finish is black brushed polymer. Price: $599 each

Klipsch • (888) 250-8561 • klipsch.com

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