Audio Video News

Bluesound, the high-performance, hi-res audio-centric multiroom audio system, introduced its Gen 2 model line in New York this week and included something budget-minded audiophiles can rally around: a $299 standalone speaker designed by PSB celebrity speaker designer Paul Barton.

Although you may use it every day, you probably never stop to think about Bluetooth, the wireless signal-transmission standard that connects your earbuds to your phone or your phone to your car’s electronics system and makes it possible to stream music from your phone (or laptop/PC) to a compatible speaker. Well, here are a couple facts that may surprise you:

First it was Samsung’s self-igniting Galaxy Note 7 phones. Then it was an exploding headphone. Yesterday in New Jersey a battery-powered Bluetooth speaker began smoking before bursting into flames.

More than 5 billion smartphones and other Bluetooth-enabled devices are at risk of an invisible hack that spreads an infected device to nearby Bluetooth devices without any user interaction such as clicking on a booby-trapped link or downloading a malicious file, according researchers at IoT security firm Armis Labs.

BluOS and Sonos have announced software updates that expand surround sound options on a number of products.

Lenbrook, the Pickering, Ontario-based parent company of NAD, PSB, and Bluesound and developer of the hi-res-capable BluOS music operating system, has introduced a two-way BluOS control module for the URC Total Control system.