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Expanding the Blustream video over IP product line, the new IP300UHD and IP350UHD support 4K 60 4:4:4 HDMI 2.0 18Gbps over a 1Gb network with ultra-low latency.

Blustream has announced the worldwide launch of the new IP300 video over IP platform. The IP300UHD and the Dante-enabled IP350UHD transmitters and receivers transmit 4K 60Hz 4:4:4 HDMI 2.0 with HDR at 18Gbps over a 1Gb network. This full HDMI 2.0 over IP is suited for applications such as live sports where the highest quality is essential. The transmitters and receivers leverage the new ACM210 control module to facilitate seamless control with all leading automation brands.

Shipping now, the Blustream IP300 series video over IP platform allows virtually latency-free (one frame) distribution of HDMI 2.0 video over a 1Gb managed network. The IP300UHD-TX is a 4K HDCP 2.2 HDMI transmitter that uses visually lossless compression technology to deliver

McIntosh, has announced the launch of the ML1 MKII, a new and improved version of the brand’s original 1970s ML1.

The ML1 MKII is a unique loudspeaker where vintage style meets contemporary sound, explains the maker. Reborn with a similar bass response as the initial iteration but without the need of an equaliser, the ML1 MKII can be connected with amplifiers up to 600W to fill the largest of rooms. It also features wide dispersion, which allows for an equal distribution of sound throughout the listening area.

McIntosh says the external design of the ML1 MKII retains the same charm as the original ML1 with its oiled American Walnut solid wood cabinets and satin finish veneers. However, internally, it features a full modern revamp to reflect McIntosh’s present-day

18Gbps HDMI, audio, bi-directional IR, RS232, and USB/KVM up to lengths of 100m over standard copper network architecture, or greater distances using the built-in fiber SFP network interface.

The IP300UHD-RX receiver features a second RJ45 LAN port for daisy-chaining the HDMI signal onto further IP300UHD-RX units. With a full 18Gbps HDMI scaling chipset on board, the HDMI output can be adjusted to lower resolutions where legacy displays are required in the same system as full 4K. The scaling capabilities of the receiver also allow for videowall deployment.

Shipping in June, the Dante-enabled IP350UHD-TX and IP350UHD-RX can support both 4K60 4:4:4 video and Dante audio distribution on a single network. A second RJ45 connection allows for the Dante audio network interface to be segregated from the video over IP network whenever required.

All units can be powered via PoE from the network switch, or locally should the switch not support PoE.

Blustream blustream-us.com high performance speaker technology. The ML1 MKII is a four-way speaker that uses five separate speaker drivers to produce a uniform listening area and high-quality audio.

Key speaker features include one 12in woofer in a sealed enclosure with a polypropylene cone and dust cap with synthetic rubber suspension, lower midrange delivered via two 4in lower midrange drivers in a sealed sub-enclosure using polypropylene cones and dust caps with synthetic rubber suspension. The upper midrange is handled by one 2in soft dome and the tweeter array consists of one 3/4in titanium dome tweeter (the same used in the XR50 and XR100).

The ML1 MKII additionally includes a matching stand with a vintage die cast aluminium name badge on the base. The stand is designed to elevate and position the ML1 loudspeaker for optimum imaging and listening enjoyment. It comes with feet for use on hard floors, and spikes for use on carpet. The reimagined loudspeaker can also be set directly on the floor or placed on a sturdy piece of furniture.

McIntosh Labs mcintoshlabs.com

Coinciding with its 40th anniversary, Sonus faber has announced the reintroduction of the second generation of its Stradivari, an artistically redesigned and technologically improved rendition of the brand’s first Stradivari launched in the early 2000s.

Stradivari is described as the epitome of Sonus faber’s philosophy. Inspired by its namesake, Antonio Stradivari, the world’s most famous violin maker. Similar to its first iteration,

HARMAN Luxury Audio has been celebrating the European debut of the latest additions to its JBL Classic Series at Munich High-End Show. The new SA550 Classic integrated amplifier, MP350 Classic streaming media player, CD350 Classic CD player and TT350 Classic turntable, have been created to combine a timeless design with modern technology. The electronic components join the range of passive and active Classic Series loudspeakers already available. Inspired by the JBL SA600 amplifier from the 1960s and the SA750 integrated amplifier introduced to celebrate JBL’s 75th anniversary in 2021, retro styling features the same walnut veneers along with machined aluminium faceplates and controls, while the latest hi-res digital and analogue audio electronics deliver a strong listening experience.

HARMAN’s SA550 Classic integrated amplifier and MP350 Classic music player make it simple for users to stream music services and personal libraries from their smartphones and tablets. Featuring an advanced Class G amplifier topology with high power output and the latest Bluetooth AptX Adaptive technology for hi-res wireless audio and low latency, the SA550 Classic can be paired with mobile devices right out of the box for instant high-quality music. Once connected to a home the maker says the Stradivari follows the iconic stylistic signatures of Sonus faber featuring a sublime finish and premium woodwork but with a new pentagonal shape that allows for an enhanced listening experience from its original elliptical footprint.

Chief of Design Livio Cucuzza, says, “We wanted to ensure that the new Stradivari represented all the advancements Sonus faber has made in sound technology to date, while still keeping the brand’s classic external look and feel.”

The maker says that listeners will now be able to experience the finest level of high-performance and cutting-edge sound technology across the Sonus faber catalogue with the second-generation Stradivari. Sonus faber believes that it is delicately crafted with the brand’s most advanced and cutting-edge sound technology.

Notable features of the new edition include a Low Frequency Adjuster that offers full control of the ultra-low range tuning, generating an ‘unprecedented’ sound experience and uncompromised room response optimisation. Also on-board, the Anti-resonant Organic Basket specially designed to avoid vibration modes generated by the woofer membrane. Clepsydra Technology was designed for the reflex port to maximise low frequency descent performance while simultaneously containing the length of the reflex duct. Lastly the speaker boasts INTONO technology, a feature that offers the most natural reproduction of the medium frequencies, significantly reducing the size and the filter components of the crossover.

Sonus faber sonusfaber.com network via Wi-Fi or Ethernet, the Roon-ready MP350 Classic music player allows listeners to enjoy music directly from Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect, as well as a host of additional music services via the Google Chromecast or Apple Airplay ecosystems.

The CD350 Classic and TT350 Classic put a modern yet retro spin on CD players and turntables. Supporting CD, CD-R, and CD-RW playback and FLAC, WAV, MP3, AAC, and WMA file formats, the CD350 Classic combines a robust tray loading mechanism and USB-A input with advanced hi-res digital technology for accurate sound. The TT350 Classic features a direct drive motor that ensures records are played in perfect time with powerful dynamics at 33.3rpm for LPs and 45rpm for EPs and singles.

HARMAN Luxury Audio harmanluxuryaudio.com

Linn has launched an all-new flagship loudspeaker – 360 – featuring new cabinet, new drive units, new electronics, new everything in fact.

Linn says the speaker produces a performance with unprecedented clarity and realism, that’s entirely absent of sonic colouration. Incorporating innovative drive unit and amplifier technologies, 360 turns out Linn’s lowest ever levels of audible distortion. The honed curves of its cabinet are partnered with meticulously matched drive units to deliver the cleanest possible dispersion characteristics, says the maker. All that is experienced with 360 is sound-stage; with vocals suspended in space and true-to-life scale and depth listeners devoid of the sense they are listening to a pair of stereo speakers, says Linn.

The 360’s curvaceous cabinet, intricately machined trim and range of dynamic finishes combine to present an overall aesthetic that is familiar, yet with ultra-modern flair and contemporary class, says its creator.

Critical to 360’s sonic character, is the wholesale elimination of audible distortion brought about by the cutting-edge material science which drove development of the drive units and their subsequent integration with Linn’s latest amplifier technologies in both the Bass System and new 360 Array. When these acoustic and electronic innovations are deployed alongside the company’s established loudspeaker technologies – Exakt and Space Optimisation – 360 has been designed to become audibly invisible. The tweeter is the first 19mm Beryllium dome seen in the audio industry. Tooled by Linn, this drive unit now has all of its inherent distortion and resonance pushed far above the range of human hearing – beyond even the range detectable by Linn engineers’ measurement system.

The midrange dome is crafted from thin-ply, woven carbon fibre, a cutting-edge composite originally utilised by NASA for the Mars rover, proving the perfect mix of stiffness and lightness.

Both upper and lower bass drive units employ an aluminium-magnesium alloy, also selected for its more-than-ample stiffness, thus ensuring precise piston-like behaviour without deviation.

Linn linn.co.uk

Chord Company has reimagined a classic, timeproven analogue interconnect from its longestrunning cable range, Signature. The new SignatureX Tuned ARAY features upgraded materials, construction and specification, making it the best Signature analogue interconnect in the range’s 25-year history, explains the company.

The SignatureX Tuned ARAY is described as a cuttingedge, high-performance analogue interconnect benefitting from the latest Chord Company cable technologies and drawing on the Wiltshire specialist’s near-40-year UK cable design and manufacturing expertise. Handmade in England for 25 years, the new SignatureX Tuned ARAY has been upgraded with XLPE (Cross-linked Polythene) insulation, following its earlier introduction in the award-winning SignatureXL speaker and power cables. The upgraded insulation complements the high-performance shielding architecture and proprietary Tuned ARAY conductor geometry technology carried forward from the previous generation model.

SignatureX Tuned ARAY benefits from ultralow-mass RCA connectors (with precision PTFE surrounds); high-performance XLR and DIN connectors are also available. The contact areas/ pins are plated with the recently released ChorAlloy plating technology and a special zero-compression strain-relief system avoids any changes in impedance where the cable is terminated.

The cable’s high-quality conductors are multi-stranded silver-plated OFC types with XLPE insulation, complemented by a highdensity silver-plated braid and foil combination for high-frequency shielding.

The SignatureX Tuned ARAY interconnect is available in a range of useful configurations, including DIN, RCA and XLR to suit all Naim Audio devices, including the NAP250/300/500 and the new Classic range, a turntable-ready version (to order), plus tonearm cables in slim (two-conductor) or reference (four-conductor) versions from 1.2m, fitted with straight or rightangle tonearm connectors.

Chord Company is also taking the opportunity to announce that all future Signature range interconnects will be upgraded to XLPE insulation.

Chord Company chord.co.uk