News

B&O’s newly unveiled BeoLab 50 floorstanding loudspeaker utilises the same active room compensation technology that’s found in the BeoLab 90 – enabling it to use an external microphone to measure the physical acoustic properties of the room that it’s placed in and then adjust its compensation filters accordingly to provide what the company describes as optimum sound, no matter where you choose to listen in the room. B&O’s Acoustic Lens Technology is applied to the top of the BeoLab 50 to handle dispersion of the upper frequencies. Using beam width control, it is able to project the sound in 180° mode or a narrow sweet spot for a dedicated listening position. Each wireless active loudspeakers weighs 61kg and the system claims 2,100W of precision power connected in a master-slave configuration.

Earlier in the summer, we visited B&W's impressive facility in Worthing (see Insider Feature in the October issue, on sale 14 September)to preview a new mid-priced series of loudspeakers being kept under wraps until now. The range, called the 700 Series, replaces the long-running CM Series with six new stereo models – three standmounts and three floorstanders – plus two dedicated centre channel models for fans of multi-channel setups. Unsurprisingly, it draws on the considerable expertise and technology established in the company's well-regarded high-end 800 Diamond Series and so employs Continuum midrange drivers. A new versionof the Aerofoil cone has also been developed, but the 700 Series design uses paper rather than carbon fibre skins with an EPS filling material adopted instead of syntactic foam.

Keith Monks has unveiled two new record cleaning machines, one of which is its smallest ever – the discOvery microLight (above). Designed to remove mould release oils, grime and dust from vinyl, they can clean both sides of the record in around three minutes using the company’s specialist fluid before fully drying with a medical-grade suction pump that’s imported from Germany. Best of all, the entire process is carried out in near silence. The £1,995 discOvery One Redux (pictured above) brings together the best of previous Keith Monks cleaners in a compact, low-profile cabinet (bottom pic), while the £1,795 discOvery microLight offers the same functionality in a smaller chassis with a specially designed panel into which personalised images can be attached.

Already an award winner in its native Japan, Furutech’s solution for eliminating dust and static from analogue and digital media and components is now available in the UK. Delivering a claimed 30 percent more ‘zapping power’ than its predecessor, the third-generation destat claims to remove the static charge that builds up on vinyl or CDs as well as hardware in just 15 seconds. The combination of a powerful fan to remove dust and a balanced ion flow generator to eliminate static is available at the touch of a button from the newly designed and more ergonomic handset. Destat III is battery operated and available now for £299 from UK distributor Sound Fowndations.

What better way to celebrate 70 years of being in the business of sound than by introducing a new model that harks back to a legendary three-way speaker fromthe seventies? That’s precisely what JBL had in mindwhen it decided to rework its classic three-way compact studio monitor, and the result is the £2,500 4312SE. Reprisingthe driver configuration and aesthetics of the renowned 4310/4311 studio and L100 ‘Century’ hi-fi monitors, the new speaker includes JBL’s latest transducers in the shape of the 300mm Aqua-Plas-coated pure pulp cone bass driver, 125mmm polymer-coated pure pulp cone midrange and a 25mm aluminium/magnesium alloy tweeter with waveguide and configured in mirror-image pairs. Additional features include a bass reflex enclosure with front-firing port, front panel mid and high-frequency controls and a removable black cloth grille. Each speaker has a special 70th anniversary badge and certificate with signatures of the engineer and assembly technician.

Inside the September 2017 issue we take anIn-depthlook at B&W’s dazzling 800 Series Diamond 805 D3 standmount, plusExoticatakes an exclusive look at a Class D power amp and preamp combo by Mola-Mola, while our regular reviews section looks at the stunning new Rega Planar 6 turntable, Simaudio’s Moon Nēo MiND network music player, ATC’s HTS7 wall mounting speakers, and IsoAcoustic’s GAIA II isolation feet. Plus,Beautiful Systemlooks at a stunning vinyl and streaming setup from Gold Note, whileMusic Legendsspotlights Bob Marley – the man who brought reggae to the masses – and our six-wayGroup Testlooks at six muscular amps from Arcam, Denon, Hegel, Technics, and Yamaha. Insider Feature The world of content streaming is a difficult one to master and many music streaming services face uncertain times. Qobuz knows all about such difficulties and after facing near collapse in 2015, the French streaming and download platform is back on track following an overhaul of its services under new stewardship.

Not content with breathing new life into its famed SL-1200 turntable (see p46), Technics has unveiled a new compact stereo system in the shape of the SC-C70. With five loudspeakers built-in and Technics-developed Space Tune calibration software – which corrects parameters over its own network to optimise its spatial surroundings – the SC-C70 featuresa built-in CD player alongside Apple AirPlay, Bluetooth, DLNA compliancy and a USB input for streaming from electronic devices like tablets and smartphones alongside music services such as Spotify and Tidal. An app will be introduced to make operation from a smart device simple, and the SC-C70 will be available from September. Price is still to be confirmed, but click here for more.