KEF celebrates its 55th anniversary with the LS50 Wireless-- an update of the well-regarded LS50 passive speakers promising the same acoustics of the original within a wireless design.

Powering the LS50 Wireless is Uni-Q technology consisting of 25mm aluminium dome tweeters positioned in the centre of a 13cm magnesium/aluminium alloy low-frequency driver, as well as a baffle identical to that in the original LS50s. It also carries "audiophile-grade" amplification in the shape of two 230W amplifiers in a bi-amp dual mono configuration and an advanced time-correcting DSP crossover the company says provides perfect time alignment between low and high frequencies.

Naim Audio announces a selection wireless all-in-one audio systems-- Uniti, a product range consisting of three music players, the Nova, Star and Atom, and the Core audio server.

Based on the Naim's flagship Statement amplifier and the Mu-so wireless speaker range, Uniti systems feature the same rotary control interface and promise plug-and-play setup, automatic online updates and high-fidelity sound. All players are standalone devices with Class A/B amplification, and customers only need to add speakers in order to "unleash music in any room of the house." All players also include USB and HDMI inputs to act as a home entertainment hub.

The Nova is the highest-end music player in the range-- an system with an integrated 80W amp and support for Apple AirPlay, Google Cast for Audio, Bluetooth aptX, UPnP, Spotify Connect and Tidal for the playback of music from just about any device. In addition it also includes internet and DAB radios options.

High-end audio vendor KEF announces a partnership with Porsche Design-- one resulting in 3 pieces of wireless audio gear, the Gravity One speaker, the Space One noise-canceling headphones and the Motion One in-ear headphones.

The Gravity One is a small battery-powered Bluetooth speaker, if one hiding a passive radiator the company says delivers high quality bass by responding to the air movements generated by the amplifier-driven active drivers. A battery promises up to 10 hours of use on a single charge, a 3.5mm jack is included and all comes inside an aluminium unibody.

Meanwhile the Space One headphones are a super-sized version of a previous KEF-Porsche collaboration, the M500 headphones. They carry 400mm dynamic drivers inside an aluminium skeleton wrapped in faux leather on the headband and earcups, and feature active noise cancellation KEF claims lasts for 50 hours on a single AAA battery.

According to Gartner the market for what it calls virtual personal assistant (VPA-)enabled wireless speakers is set to to boom from $360 million in 2015 to $2.1 billion in 2020, with 3.3% of households adopting such a speaker by 2020.

"Last year, the VPA speaker market essentially consisted of end-user spending focused entirely on Amazon Echo, a wireless speaker with an array of embedded microphones to capture and respond to users' far-field voice commands for Amazon's VPA-- Alexa. Later, Amazon introduced the Tap and Echo Dot," the analyst says. "By 2020, competitors' products and third-party implementations of leading VPAs (Google Assistant, Apple's Siri and Microsoft's Cortana) will likely have ramped up."

VPA speakers, especially wall-powered ones, allow for customers to own and install multiple devices around the home. The value of such speakers comes from ease of use and the intuitive means of interaction, and if all household members recognise such value it will drive the desire for terminal access throughout the entire house, and not just one room.

SVS launches the Prime Elevation Speaker line-- an interesting speaker series specified to adapt to oddly shaped rooms, high ceilings and less than perfect placement options.

An angled front baffle and proprietary mounting hardware allow installers to uniquely place the front, centre, side or rear surround, and/or LCR speakers not exactly where they should normally go, and re-adjust the sound to make it sound as if it is coming from there. A multi-angle wall bracket allows such mounting, while a universal mounting option with a 0.25-inch 20TPI brass insert works with many other kits.

Even the magnetic SVS logo on the front grille is adjustable to accommodate positioning.

UK-based audio company Damson Audio announces what it claims is the smallest multiroom and soundbar system-- the S-Series, comprised of the S-Bar soundbar, the S-Woofer wireless subwoofer and the S-Cube Bluetooth speaker.

The S-Bar and S-Woofer come together in what Damson says makes an ideal starter multiroom audio package. The S-Bar is a soundbar just 25cm long featuring 6 drivers for total output rated at 58W. It wirelessly connects to up to 8 speakers via Bluetooth, and also includes Aux and Coax wired connections together with USB-C for power.

The S-Woofer is fairly self-explanatory, being a wireless compact subwoofer. On other hand the S-Cube is a Bluetooth speaker with an integrated subwoofer and 5 drivers able to push up to 18W output. Connectivity comes through Bluetooth or NFC. A built-in lithium-ion battery promises up to 8 hours of use on a single charge, and it connects with up to 8 speakers wirelessly.