NAD Flagship Masters M33 BluOS Streaming DAC Amplifier Is Now Shipping!

Following a preview at CES 2020, the highly anticipated amplifier of the year 2020 by NAD Electronics - the first company to license Purifi Audio's amplifier technology - is now shipping! NAD M33 is the latest BluOS enabled DAC/amplifier that can serve as the heart of a reference whole-home system. In its simplest form, the M33 ($4999 U.S. MSRP) is an ultra-high-performance streaming amplifier with superb sound. And it can obviously be combined with a BluOS ecosystem of wirelessly networked music players, creating a whole-home audio system.

From audio development and product design to acoustics! Read the Acoustic Solutions Round-Up and expert articles. Check out the NAD M10 Masters Series Streaming Amplifier review, then learn about Sound Liaison, a recording label translating live acoustical recordings in the best possible quality. Jan Didden reflects on "The Internal Life of Vacuum Tubes," and George Ntanavaras introduces his APR-17 Aperiodic Loudspeaker design. audioXpress August 2020, Focus on Acoustics, is now available in print and digital.

audioXpress July 2020 is now available, and there's a quiet revolution happening in audio amplification. Essentially it is the direct result of strong innovation in Class-D technology, with incremental improvements introduced on multiple fronts. In this month's Market Update, J. Martins details a few of the "Class-D Products Getting Smarter" and then Stuart Yaniger discusses Class-D amplifiers from two of those companies: Purifi Audio and Orchard Audio. Also, Ward Maas details his visit to Purifi Audio. Dimitri Danyuk shares his "Fully Balanced Transconductance Preamplifier" project, Roger Russell is "Hunting the Elusive Transient," and Ed Simon concludes his "Powering Your Circuits" series. And there's much more valuable content in this edition. Download or view your issue online now.

Parasound has introduced a 12-channel, 2-ohm stable power amplifier for commercial and residential audio systems installers with flexible power options for stereo audio in six rooms (zones), and up to 24 individual speakers. Uniquely, the Parasound ZoneMaster ZM 12 drives two channels at 120 watts each, 8 ohms, with the remaining 10 channels at 60 watts each. With 4-ohm speakers typical of architectural audio, the ratings are 150 and 100 watts respectively. There are also A and B speaker outputs for each channel. With this upgraded performance and features, the ZM 12 represents a significant advance over its 12 x 50W predecessor, the ZM 1250.

Purifi Audio, the Danish company founded by Bruno Putzeys, Lars Risbo, and Peter Lyngdorf together with a remarkable engineering team, promises Class D amplifiers with record-breaking performance (as well as speakers). Now, Bruno Putzeys made available a detailed report of his investigation on hysteresis distortion, which motivated the development of the company's products. As Putzeys describes, hysteresis in the ferromagnetic material of the amplifier output filter coil is what causes "a recognizable grainy texture in the sound."

Rohde & Schwarz is paving the way for research in the terahertz frequency range by demonstrating multi gigabit data transmission in the D-Band at 140 GHz. The German test and measurement specialist announced its R&S FSW high-end signal and spectrum analyzers with optional internal 4 GHz, 6.4 GHz and 8.3 GHz analysis bandwidth, providing unmatched dynamic range and sensitivity. This new hardware option will be available soon from Rohde & Schwarz and will enable key new applications, including amplifier pre-distortion tests.

Axign B.V. received an equity investment from KBC Focus Fund as the lead investor, together with Innovation Industries and Oost NL. This investment round enables Axign to mass produce and launch the company’s unique range of audio devices worldwide. Additionally, the new funding will support the development and introduction of next-generation devices for active speakers and streaming audio systems.

Celebrating a quarter century of innovation, professional power amplifier manufacturer Powersoft has announced the latest update to their audio system management software, ArmoníaPlus. HealthPlus, which replaces the software’s previous ‘Events’ tab, gives sound engineers a streamlined monitoring environment of all elements in a given sound system with improved communication, control and reporting to ensure even better performance than ever before.

NAD Electronics is previewing another exciting Masters Series release at CES 2020! The M33 is a BluOS enabled DAC/amplifier that will also be the brand's first product to feature Purifi Audio's new amplification technology. In its simplest form, the NAD M33 is an ultra-high-performance 200W amplifier that can serve as the heart of a reference whole-home system. For the brand, this will be its new flagship model, featuring BluOS multiroom streaming, Gorilla Glass touchscreen controls, 32-bit ESS Sabre DAC, full MQA decoding, and Dirac Room Correction.

JBL Professional announced new JBL DSi 2.0 Series cinema amplifiers, which offer class-leading power output, state-of-the-art DSP and advanced networking capabilities for the entire range of JBL cinema loudspeakers. These are the first ever JBL branded cinema amplifiers, and build on the legacy of Crown DSi Series amplifiers, combining the DSP features of Crown’s CDi DriveCore Series amps with a new high-power design, which the Northridge company says delivers superior efficiency, reliability and audio fidelity.