Apple Unveils Reengineered Beats Studio Pro

Apple "dropped" the new Beats Studio Pro, the next generation of the iconic, bestselling over-ear headphones that inspired the acquisition of the brand for a record 3 billion USD. Since none of the original "cultural icons" remain associated with the brand, Apple designed the new product in partnership with British design studio Samuel Ross & SR_A. And obviously, the Apple engineering team added all the cutting-edge technology that the Beats Studio Pro 2023 edition require to actually stand-out in today's extremely competitive landscape.

British company AudioTelligence has announced a new product concept which integrates assistive listening technology into an earbud charging case. Following previous approaches in this direction, with dedicated microphone devices and smartphone integrations, the company is now offering a more attractive option for manufacturers and consumers. The combination of hearing technology with earbud charging provides manufacturers with a comprehensive all-in-one solution for individuals with hearing impairments as well as for anyone who needs to hear clearly in noise.

Rownd Precision Industry is a new company that just launched a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter and reached its funding goal of $100.000 in just 11 minutes. The project is to build the Rownd Lathe, a compact CNC lathe that allows users to easily shape and form a variety of materials including wood, aluminum, and plastic. With a specially developed software, users can easily and safely create their own designs or utilize the open source Rownd Library for pre-made designs.

Audeze announced the release of a limited edition gaming headset developed in partnership with Microsoft, for their Designed for Xbox Summer product collection. This limited edition "Ultraviolet" version of the Audeze Maxwell gaming headset features a new finish that adds a head-turning and unique look to one of the best gaming headsets on the market - launched in an understated matte grey finish. The Ultraviolet edition of the Maxwell headphone is available on the Audeze website for pre-order in limited quantities.

Shokz, known for its patented open-ear bone conduction technology and headsets, announced OpenFit, the brand's first open-ear true wireless stereo earphones, made with its patented air conduction technology. Soon to launch globally, the new Shokz OpenFit TWS around the ear design leaves the inner ear open and features a new ultra-lightweight on-ear hybrid dynamic driver unit and DirectPitch technology to produce a full audio experience. Not a bone conduction product.

Audio, tech and design powerhouse Zound Industries International AB is formally changing its name to Marshall Group following the fusion between Zound and Marshall Amplification in March 2023. More than just a name change, the new Swedish-Anglo company says this represents the beginning of the next chapter in a decade-long partnership to build the iconic Marshall brand. Marshall Group AB anticipates revenue growth and operating margins in the second half of 2023.

Logitech, the powerful Swiss company and recognized global brand, has launched the new Logitech G PRO X 2 Lightspeed Wireless Gaming headphones with microphone, promoted as "the ultimate esports headset". This new model from the Logitech G gaming brand not only features some unique design optimizations and reduced weight for added comfort, but adds a superior reproduction component with the added benefits of a pure graphene driver from Ora Graphene.

This article expands the conversation around feedback theory for electronic circuits and audio amplifiers. Do we "really" need wideband open loop in audio amplifiers? The subject came up at the 154th Audio Engineering Society (AES) convention in Helsinki, Finland. Looking at the frequency domain, not necessarily, Jan Didden argued. In this article he looks at the question in the Time Domain. Narrow Bandwidth, High Open Loop Gain Amplifier versus a Wide Bandwidth, Low Open Loop Gain Amplifier in the Time Domain.

Interested in accurately simulating the noise of op-amp circuits? Audio electronics expert Burkhard Vogel wrote a book that addresses this relevant topic for any audio circuit designer that doesn't want to rely just on manufacturers own models. In this review, Marcel van de Gevel explored the full book after he read Vogel's introduction, explaining that some manufacturer-supplied simulation models are way off.

Although feedback theory for electronic circuits has been established for over a century, it is still a subject for discussion. This short essay is an attempt to shed some light on one of those recurring controversies. The subject came up at the 154th Audio Engineering Society (AES) convention in Helsinki, Finland. Audio amplifiers are basically integrators or, if you will, low-pass filters. That means that at some frequency, their open-loop gain starts to fall off. With that, the loop gain available for feedback also starts to fall off, leading to a diminishing of the curative effects of feedback: distortion starts to rise, gain accuracy starts to drop, output impedance starts to go up, etcetera.