Audio News for October 26, 2012

by | Oct 26, 2012 | Audio News

Artists for Portland Jazz Festival Feb. 15-24 Announced – A mix of world and west coast premieres will be part of a wide-range of jazz styles in a series of concerts by such universally-acclaimed artists as: Esperanza Spalding, Geri Allen, Jack DeJohnette,  Ravi Coltrane, Gerald Wilson, Patricia Barber, Kenny Garrett, the Afro Cuban All-Stars and a Celebrating Art Blakey program.
Bluetooth Low-Energy Profile Creates New Opportunities – in the areas of consumer electronics, health and medical, smart-home, and sports and fitness markets. Called Bluetooth Smart, this part of the Bluetooth 4.0 spec exists in over ten million peripheral devices shipped last year. The technology extends battery life by more than ten times compared to higher-power Bluetooth. Size of devices can also be reduced thru use of lower-power button-cell batteries instead of AA batteries. The technology will soon appear in wireless keyboards. Makers of Android smartphones are implementing Bluetooth Smart in select models, and one firm as two smartwatches, which communicate with Android phones to display text messages, email headers, caller ID data, and can control music playback features.
HDTT to Offer 384K/24bit Downloads – Some titles in the High Definition Tape Transfers catalog will soon be available at 24/384 resolution. Some experts claim that at 192K sample rate, an anti-aliasing filter is still needed, which can cause phase shift, distortion and other byproducts that may impact audible frequencies. An anti-aliasing filter is not needed with 384K files. It is felt that all lower sampling rates sound more “digital” than 384K sampling due to the pronounced effects of anti-aliasing filters. The 384K files can be easily converted to 128 times DSD with virtually no signal loss.
MartinLogan Launches Noise-Isolating On-Ear Headphones – Electrostatic speaker maker MartinLogan announces the new Mikros 90 reference noise-isolating on-ear headphones. The phones are constructed from genuine leather and polished aluminum with soft ear pads that isolate up to 92% of ambient noise to provide outstanding sound quality. Their minimalistic design includes a 90-degree gold-plated mini stereo plug and a durable, removable black rubberized cord that isolate noise transmitted thru contact and movement. They have in-line remote/mic controls for volume, play, pause, track selection, voice control, and seamless transition between listening to music and phone calls on compatible Apple idevices. The control will also function with a variety of smart phones and digital media players if they have a standard 3.5mm 4-conductor socket. SRP is $299.
Belkin Devices Aim for Simple, Affordable Home Remote Control – Their line of WeMo adapters all link to a home’s wireless network, and can be controlled from anywhere with an app available for Apple idevices. For example, the WeMo Baby Monitor integrates with your home Wi-Fi network and communicates with the app on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch even when you’re out of the range of a conventional baby monitor. An upgrade to it will even text you if it detects the child is crying. The Baby Monitor will be $90.

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