CES 2015 Preview Report -- Part 5

  3D Sound Labs debuts of their Neoh smart 3D audio headphones (Venetian Eureka Park stand 75663) integrate spatial sound rendering for an immersive sound experience. These headphones use motion sensors that deliver multipoint sound sources comparable to the latest generation of movie theater surround sound and sophisticated home theater equipment. With its 360° sound technology, 3D Sound Labs will be demonstrating how technology is changing the world of listening to sound. Their goal is to employ digital technology to achieve a more accurate, natural and immersive sound reproduction. After two years of research and development, the 3D Sound Labs team is now able to offer their mobile solution for the delivery of movie-quality sound. 3D Sound Labs has developed a dedicated CPU-frugal audio/video player that delivers a high-quality stream of spatially reconstructed audio. Users can precisely pinpoint the sound source as special sensors interpret the wearer's movement to recreate the 3-dimensional sound we hear in real life. The Neoh player intuitive mobile app that works with the Neoh headphones. According to the company, here is "How it works: We humans locate sounds based on the time differential between its perception via each of our ears, and on the way sounds are shaped by acoustic filters known as Head Related Transfer Functions (HRTF) depending on our individual faces and ears. 3D Sound Labs has developed algorithms with the ability to reproduce these spatial perception mechanisms and therefore detect the tiniest movement of the head to reconstitute sound sources in space and in real time."

 

Antelope Audio (Venetian suite 29-129) is bringing their world-class products to CES 2015 demonstrating their Zodiac Platinum + Audiophile 10M Atomic Clock combination and their $40,000 Rubicon AD/DA converter. They system will be running through an Amphion Two18 and One15s mastering grade loudspeaker system. Antelope Audio's Zodiac Platinum + 10M combination features unique upsampling capabilities and ultra-accurate clocking, while Rubicon supports high resolution AD/DA conversion and integrated Atomic Clock. Antelope's CES suite in the Venetian will feature Rubicon Atomic AD/DA Preamp, the Zodiac Platinum DSD DAC / Audiophile 10M combination, and monitoring / amplification by Amphion. There will be two loudspeaker systems: a pair of Two18s with a JL Audio subwoofer, and a pair of One18s — along with a dedicated headphone listening station. The loudspeaker system will be driven by an Amphion Amp500 2x500 amplifier. Their demonstration will explain how it is possible to attain mastering-quality sound in just about any listening environment by including core elements such as high resolution streaming, high-end conversion, ultra stable clocking and monitoring in one's listening system. Amphion loudspeakers are designed to work within the most demanding aesthetics and room acoustics. Their performance is maximized for normal living rooms and "real-world speaker placements". Since they are designed to work close to the walls, desktops, shelves or other boundaries. Their wide dispersion characteristics allow these speakers to perform well in challenging spaces, such as rooms with large windows and other hard, acoustically unfriendly surfaces.

 

Tannoy and Revox will be at CES 2015 (Venetian suites 35-209 & 35-203) showcasing their latest products for consumer audio. As a first-time exhibitor at CES, Revox will showing their latest 24-bit/192kHz Joy network receivers with integrated aptX Bluetooth for high quality wireless connection from Smartphones/Tablets accessing online music services. The "Joy CD link" allows control of the Joy CD player from the Joy S208 remote and Revox smartphone/tablet APP.

Tannoy's Revolution XT Series are an upgrade to their best-selling Revolution loudspeakers. While the unique, trapezoidal shape of the original Revolution cabinet remains, the engineering team at Tannoy has implemented radical acoustic engineering and new patent-pending Tannoy technologies into the new loudspeaker series. Based on the new Omnimagnet powered Dual Concentric driver, Revolution XT enclosures aim to "deliver a natural and engaging sound with exceptional imaging, wide HF dispersion and deep, articulate bass". Tanoy's Revolution XT series are hand-built with premium audiophile components. The crossover's simple, straight design philosophy provides a minimal signal path to retain the signal's purity. Large gold-plated bi-wire binding posts allow a solid cable connection to ensure a reliable signal transfer. Floorstanding models feature two chambers which utilize an innovative internal port system that provides acoustically beneficial cabinet rigidity. Dual-cavity coupled reflex system optimizes driver performance throughout the entire bandwidth while reducing adverse low-frequency standing waves. Tannoy has combined the very latest Dual Concentric drivers, deep cryogenically treated components and precious metal materials in their all-new cabinet. The cabinet structure is made with fine plywoods. Tannoy's latest 10" Dual Concentric driver has a WideBand tweeter. Capable of handling 500 watt peak power and with a bass response down to below 30 Hz, the Definition DC10Ti is said by the company to "craft an immense soundstage with life-like scale and three dimension ambience". The company feels that their Definition DC10Ti rates as one of their most accurate, revealing and dynamic contemporary loudspeakers to date. Crossovers aith DCT use low loss laminated core inductors to ensure optimum LF performance while the HF network’s audiophile-grade polypropylene capacitors are acoustically damped using the Tannoy Differential Material Technology (DMT) compound. Cable and terminals are silver-plated, with high purity oxygen-free copper internal wiring used throughout.

Enjoying its first appearance at CES is the Tannoy Canterbury Gold Reference (GR), a loudspeaker designed for those who demand the 15" Gold Reference Dual Concentric driver in a relatively compact cabinet. The new 15" Gold Reference driver is Tannoy's most powerful and articulate Dual Concentric driver to date. It handles 600 Watt peak power combined with 96dB/W/m efficiency in a 235 liter cabinet. The 15" Dual driver has been upgraded extensively for the Gold Reference series with many of the enhancements being 'trickle-down' technology from Tannoy's flagship Kingdom Royal development project. The low frequency section of the GR driver has a new fiber enriched paper pulp cone material to realize further improvements in the cone's mechanical characteristics. The Canterbury GR's HF unit is comprised of a new aluminum-magnesium alloy compression driver diaphragm that has been heat treated to further improve its mechanical integrity under HF loads. The use of new Mylar surround materials offer improved damping and motor cooling to aid in better clarity and articulation throughout the HF range. Tannoy's Canterbury crossover has been redesigned to provide a cleaner and more accurate signal to the new 15" Dual Concentric driver.

 

Audiophiles worldwide seeking to eliminate side and rear wall sound reflection, which greatly interferes with the precise signal being produced by the front two speakers, may benefit from Silentium's new Comfort-Shell (Eureka Park booth 75682). This noise canceling shield creates a 'Quiet Zone' in virtually any location and reduces unwanted noise and sound reflection. It may also benefit headphone users, who want to reduce outside noise from interfering with the music being produced from their headphones or IEM devices. Silentium's Comfort-Shell provides an innovative solution to the constant noise problem – a quiet zone where noise is reduced allowing for relaxed music enjoyment. Silentium's Quiet Bubble is a patented technology that combines active and passive noise control to reduces unwanted noise inside the shell. "The Comfort-Shell is our latest innovation in reducing the negative effects of noise pollution" says Silentium CEO Yossi Barath. "Now, a comfortable zone can be established virtually anywhere. We're empowering people to better control their surroundings, allowing them to filter out unwanted noise while simultaneously letting them better hear what they want to."

 

---> CES 2105 Preview Part 6.