26
Nov
2010
Akihabara News: Onkyo released a new all in one AREO Sound System in Japan with the CBX-500. Sold at around 35,000 Yen, the CBX-500 comes with the support of iPhone 3G/3GS and 4, allowing you to use your iPhone as a primary audio source and use Onkyo high-quality DAC to deliver flawless sound to its pair of 10W 8” OMF (Onkyo Micro Fiber) speakers. The CBX-500 also comes with a CD player and AM-FM Radio tuner.
25
Jun
2010
Akihabara News: The PM5004 and CD5004 are the latest integrated Amplifier and CD player available on Marantz Japan catalog.
Scheduled to be released in the middle of July on the Japanese market, the PM5004 anyone looking for superb performance without the complexity or cost of a comparable receiver or preamplifier/power amplifier combination. As usual, we have a minimalist but nice design, that give you the impress to have an incredible amplifier.It develops an output power of 40 Watt per Channel at 8 Ohms. It also provides a THD of 0.05% (20Hz – 20kHz, 8 ohms), a frequency response of 10Hz – 50kHz, and a S/N rato of 103dB. It also comes with Analog L&R In (x5), Analog L&R out (x2), Phono input, Headphone out.
Dimensions: 440×370×105mm
Weight: 6.7kg
Regarding the CD5004, the CD player, it has been made to fit the PM5004. It features the same design, and promises CD reproduction without any noise interference. Regarding the Digital / Analog conversion, it’s handled by High performance Cirrus Logic CS4392 D/A converter.
Our little boy is compatible with CD-R/RW / MP3 / WMA, and seems to be well equipped with Independent Gold Plated RCA Analog L&R out, TOSLINK Digital Optical Out, and Gold plated RCA digital Coaxial Out. Lastly, it provides a Dynamic Range of 100dB, Frequency Response of 2Hz – 20000 Hz, a THD 0.002%, and a S/N ratio of 110dB.
24
Nov
2009
BBC: A manufacturer of hi-fi systems has sounded what it said could be the death knell of the compact disc player.
Linn Products has become the first manufacturer to announce it will give up on CDs from the start of next year.
Instead, the niche company, based in East Renfrewshire, will focus on producing digital streaming equipment.
The firm, which makes systems costing from £2,500 to more than £100,000, said discerning customers recognised the superior quality of digital streaming. Yet it continues to make turntables for vinyl records, as there remains a demand for the quality of sound compression offered by older record technology.
Linn, which has its own small record label, foresees a move to what it calls Studio Master Quality material, available for download.
The shift from CD players to digital music streamers has been very recent. It was only during 2009 that the digital players outsold Linn’s CD players. The newer technology allows digital streaming through other operating systems, including home computers and networking throughout homes.
Gilad Tiefenbrun, managing director of Linn Products, said: “Our customers have fast recognised the limitations of CD players and in the age of home networking, people now want better control of their music and the ability to enjoy it in any room of their home.
”CD players no longer belong in the specialist domain.”
The company reckons that the CD format will continue to be useful as a way of recording and storing music. It claims that a CD recorded onto a hard disk can achieve a higher quality than one played on a CD player.
Compact discs began commercial music sales in 1982, replacing the cassette tape as well as vinyl records.
The shift from compact discs to digital downloading is again changing the music market. BPI, representing the British recorded music industry, announced last month that 2009 had already broken last year’s record number of legally downloaded single and individual track sales.
Of 117 million sales, nearly 99% were digital downloads. But there is a different market for album sales.
CD sales continue to dominate, but their share of the market is sliding. In 2006, there were 154 million album sales, of which CDs accounted for 151m, and digital for 2.7m. In 2007, with 138m sales, 131m were CDs and 6.2m were digital.
In 2008, there were 137m album sales, with 123m CDs and 10.3m digital downloads. Vinyl records, cassettes and other formats accounted for around 300,000.
10
Oct
2008
Engadget: About this time last year, Yamaha treated us to its CD-S2000 SACD player and A-S2000 amplifier, both of which sported that timeless look that was just too dazzling to hide away in some AV cabinet.
This year, the outfit is keeping with the trend by introducing the equally stunning (and even more silver) A-S700 amplifier and CD-S700 CD player.
The former features 90-watts x 2 of RMS power and gold-plated RCA inputs, while the latter includes a Burr Brown 192kHz/24bit DAC and a USB port for playing back MP3 / WMA files.
12
Jan
2008
Audio Junkies: German audio manufacturer, Hartmann Audio, has recently introduced a new CD player in their Quicksilver line called the CD-303. The 303 is hand built with the utmost precision to deliver the highest quality audio reproduction possible. The 303 features a belt driven mechanism, a Schaffner line filter, and a capacitance of 2.8 farads.
In terms of connectivity, the 303 includes balanced and unbalanced outputs at 10V and 3V, respectively. In addition, the CD-303 features an aluminum enclosure for heat dissipation as well as a clean, sleek look.
19
Nov
2007
PC World: Cambridge SoundWorks last week announced their SoundWorks i765, a new compact sound system that features an iPod dock connector.
The SoundWorks i765 has a built-in DVD player, CD player and radio. It can play CDs encoded with MP3 or WAV files, and features a fully digital AM/FM tuner. It features dual alarms that let you wake up to music from an iPod, CD or radio station. It also features composite and S-Video output, so you can attach it to a TV to watch DVD movies, or movie and video content stored on your iPod. The i765 also charges the iPod when it’s docked.
The i765 works with all dock connector-equipped iPods, according to Cambridge SoundWorks, including the new third-generation iPod nano, iPod classic and iPod touch.
21
Aug
2006
Tech Digest: Ministry of Sound has launched its new CD player/scratcher DJ deck – the MOSDJ135.
Retailing at just under 400 Euros, it’s really designed for mass consumption.
Nice – but not new – features include the beats-per-minute counter and numerous pitch alterations.
