V-Moda Wireless Bluetooth Headphones Go Hi-Res – The M-100 – a favorite of DJs – now has improved sound, better battery life, more colors, and a much-requested hinge. This model of the V-Moda lacks the noise cancellation of some other more expensive phones, but that can pollute the pure sound. The new Crossfade 2 has larger and deeper cushions and an adjustable Steelflex headband, to keep the bad noise out and the good noise in. The Japan Audio Society was involved in approval of the model in wired mode. The M-100s are both cabled models and Bluetooth-enabled. New dual-diaphragm 50mm drivers feature hi-res CCAW coils and the AptX codec has been improved. They have a concealed mic for phone calls and voice recognition. And one feature that was conspicuously missing from the original Wireless headphones was the company’s CliqFold hinge mechanism, an omission that caused much disquiet among Crossfade users and resulted in the travel case being quite bulky. This was rectified in the Crossfade 2 Wireless circumaurals. They are $350 in gold, and less in black or white.
T+A Introduces MP 3100 HV Media Player with SACD Drive – Enthusiasts with substantial SACD collections will take a keen interest in this new player. Build quality is of course exceptional, with two separate converters, and a fully symmetrical double mono principle. IT also has an FM-HD and DAB+ tuner plus a streaming board. Integrated music services include Tidal, Quboz and Deezer. The player has both a radio remote control and the T+A control app and is £12,690 retail in the UK.
Urbanears Makes the Jump from Headphones to Speakers – The Swedish company Urbanears makes decent quality headphones at affordable prices, but is make the jump with a new line of connected speakers. The Stammen and Baggen are named after areas in Stockholm. The Stammen is $350 and has two tweeters and a subwoofer, while the Baggen (at $450) is larger and has two full-range drivers. There are two knobs on each: one does the volume, while the other toggles between Bluetooth, Spotify Connect, AirPlay, Chromecast or a 3.5mm auxiliary. They are cloth-covered and available in six colors.
Two New NAD Components – They have launched a digital music player and an amp delivering support for hi-res multi-room audio. The M50.2 Digital Music Play and the M32 Direct Digital Amp are part of the firm’s Master Series, with high performance and high quality sound. A major upgrade is the ability to stream hi-res audio wirelessly over a network of Bluetooth-enabled components. You can copy from CDs, or download directly to a RAID-configured two-2TB hard drives for playback, or you can stream from cloud services or play via an external hard drive.