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Audio Junkies
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Audio news and product reviews
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Sony MDR-Z1000 Headphones
Since the end of the MDR-CD3000 several years ago, Sony has largely ignored the high-end closed headphone market and concentrated instead on their open and rather unusual looking SA headphone series. That's finally about to change with the release of the new MDR-Z1000, which is part of a launch of several new headphone models from Sony. The MDR-Z1000's design is quite conservative when compared to competitors from Denon or Audio-Technica which feature exotic wood baffles, but Sony has not skimped on materials. The ear cups are magnesium, and the headband is high quality metal.
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Ultimate Ears Reference Monitor IEM
The latest custom fit IEM from Ultimate Ears (now part of Logitech) is the new In-Ear Reference Monitor. Designed for studio engineers, recording artists and other sound professionals, the Reference Monitor has a flat response curve from 5Hz to 18kHz and provides up to 32dB of isolation.
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JohnBlue M3 Mini Speakers
The latest creations from full-range specialist JohnBlue are the M3 mini speakers. Designed for small home theater applications, the M3's enclosure is a svelte 4.1" cube made from 0.4" thick high-density fiberboard. The 3" driver is meant to be paired with a subwoofer as low frequency response is extremely limited.
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Parasound JC 2 BP Preamp
Many owners of Parasound's flagship JC 2 preamplifier have requested the ability to integrate it into their surround systems, and Parasound has now responded with the new JC 2 BP (BP standing for bypass). Parasound claims that the modified potentiometer board, new control software, and circuits which remove the volume control from the signal path do not compromise the JC 2's performance in any way.
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Meridian M80 Music System
Meridian has released a new follow up to their popular F80 music system, called the M80. The M80 loses the Ferrari branding, but gains a leather finish for the custom mineral composite cabinet, available in Obsidian Black, Chestnut, or Ivory. Every M80 also includes the previously optional i80 iPod dock.
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Polk Audio Blackstone TL Home Theater Speakers
Polk Audio has released a new 5.1 channel home theater speaker package called the Blackstone TL. The main channels of the Blackstone TL system consist of four TL3 satellite speakers and one TL3c center channel speaker, which feature "advanced Time Lens Technology" to align the acoustic centers of the .75" ring radiator tweeter and 3.25" Aerated Polypropylene Cone (APP) mid-bass drivers.
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Audience ClairAudient 2+2 Speakers
Audience has released the newest member of their ClairAudient speaker line, which is called the 2+2. In order to keep the size and price down, the 2+2 eschews the line-source driver arrangement and the exotic cabinet shapes of the larger ClairAudient models, opting instead for a more traditional rectangular shape with front and rear firing drivers and a side-firing passive radiator.
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YG Acoustics Carmel Speakers
The new Carmel may be surprisingly reasonable in size for a YG Acoustics speaker, but that hasn't stopped the company from going all out in terms of build quality and the components used. The Carmel's enclosure is made from fully-CNC-machined all-aircraft-aluminum, and the tweeter is borrowed from the high-end Kipod.
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Marantz NA7004 Network Music Player
Marantz's new NA7004 network music player is the latest product in a growing new category of "front-end" components that are able to play back digital formats from a variety of sources while containing no actual storage. The NA7004 is DLNA certified for connection to a home network, and also offers coaxial, optical, and USB digital inputs. A front panel USB input allows for easy connection of a thumb drive or iPod, and Bluetooth streaming is also supported via an optional dock.
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Sonus Faber Fenice Speakers
Sonus Faber has released a new flagship speaker called the Fenice, which will be limited to a production run of 30 pairs. The Fenice design is a break from traditional Sonus Faber designs, utilizing what the company calls a "Lyra shape". The enclosure uses several advanced elements, such as the CNC anodized Aluminium machined vibration "conveyors" at the top and bottom, which are claimed to absorb vibrations from the side walls and drivers. By far the most radical feature of the Fenice though is the rear-firing driver system called the "sound field shaper", which can be...
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