ANALYSIS: AUDIO Home Entertainment
Home Audio flips the script with
new ideas and next-gen tech Just when you think you’ve heard it all, the sonic landscape changes once again. Steve May surveys the scene and lends an ear to the future of spatial audio…
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The UP Travel Bluetooth adaptor from iFi.
H
ome audio never loses its ability to surprise and inspire. Given that folks have been listening to recorded music since the late 1890s, thanks to our good friend Emile Berliner who invented the gramophone and playable records, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the business would have run out of ideas by now. But every year seemingly brings better kit,
fresh concepts and often seismic innovation. Consider air travel. Most consumers are
resigned to poorly made wired headphones offered by airlines, or the knotty tangle their own headphones get them into. But there’s now another way. The UP Travel Bluetooth adaptor from iFi is a pocket-sized DAC is designed for travellers who demand premium quality audio on the go. Plug this diminutive gizmo into an airplane’s headphone jack, and you’ll then be able to wirelessly connect up to two Bluetooth headphones to the in-flight entertainment service. No wires, no worries, better quality.
The good news is that the UP Travel works with everything from flights to laptops, trains or cars. Settings and codecs are automatically selected, so ease of use is high. I’d expect oots impulse purchase appeal to be 35,000 feet high.
First class Both Bowers & Wilkins and JBL offer similar sonic solutions to this economy-class conundrum, but take a slightly different approach. Bowers & Wilkin Pi8 earbuds come with a multi-talented charging case, which doesn’t just rejuice your buds, but can also wirelessly retransmit, up to 24-bit/96kHz, from USB and 3.5mm connected sources; converting analogue signals to digital and transmitting them via aptX Adaptive Low Latency. This means owners can enjoy their Pi8 buds with in-flight entertainment systems, using the supplied USB-C to 3.5mm cable - simply plug the case into the airplane’s headphone jack, and automatically transmit audio wirelessly to your Pi8 earbuds
Similarly, JBL’s Tour One M3 over-ear headphones work with a Smart TX transmitter, which like the Pi8 charging case, can be connected to any wired source, using the supplied USB-C / 3.5mm analogue cable connectors. Quality is high. The Tour One M3 supports LDAC, the high-resolution Bluetooth codec developed by Sony. Two-channel music is also getting a face lift. Monitor Audio has released a High Gloss White variant of its premium Studio 89 loudspeaker range, first launched in High Gloss Black, in 2024. If you have audiophile customers looking for something distinctive, then these loudspeakers are a great choice.
The Studio 89 line takes its design inspiration
from the brand’s Studio Series of the 1980s, but updates the specification. Here a point-source MTM (Mid-Tweeter-Mid) array, featuring the latest MPD III high-frequency transducer, is flanked by twin 108mm RDT III bass-mid drivers. Each bass-mid cone incorporates a tri-layer design - Monitor Audio’s C-CAM outer skin, a Nomex honeycomb core, and woven carbon fibre base – said to offer exceptional rigidity. The cabinet itself is formidable: there’s an 18mm thick front baffle, 15mm side walls, and internal bracing. Airflow is guided through slot ports located top and bottom. Additionally, Monitor Audio is also offering a matching white stand, crafted from laser- cut steel, extruded aluminium and die-cast aluminium, which is a nice upsell. Similarly, Ruark Audio has unveiled the MR1 Mk3, the latest evolution of its acclaimed desktop loudspeaker. While the new model looks much like its predecessor, much of the MR1 Mk3 has been re-engineered. Originally launched in 2013, the MR1 speakers have proved a firm favourite with
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