Beats reveals the first speaker (if not first complete new device) since it was acquired by Apple-- the Pill+, a slightly larger number than the original Pill featuring a tweaked design.

Unlike the completely pill-shaped Pill, the Pill+ has a flat panel around the middle housing the power and volume controls. A Lightning cable handles charging duties, and Beats claims battery life clocks at 12 hours on a single charge.

Mobile device connectivity comes via Bluetooth, with a companion app handling the pairing of multiple phones or tablets with the speaker or adding of a second Pill+ for even louder sound.

London-based audio vendor Cambridge Audio presents a first take on the soundbar-- the TVB2, a soundbar and wireless subwoofer combo promising to push "massive detail" from all music and movies.

The soundbar carries two 4th generation BMR (Balanced Mode Radiator) drivers to provide 120W of Class D amplification. The BMR drivers handle mid- range and high frequencies, while the 10cm wireless subwoofer takes care of the lows. It also offers 4 adjustable EQ modes (TV, Music, Film and Voice) to "enhance the sound experience depending on the listening material or personal preference."

McIntosh Laboratory announces the C47-- a 12-input digital preamp designed for use with both digital and analogue source components, with playback of high-resolution digital formats, including DSD files.

It features 2 balanced and 3 unbalanced, plus 1 moving coil and 1 moving magnet phono input for the connection of turntables. Digital inputs include 2 optical, 1 coaxial and 1 USB, with digital audio decoding at up to 24-bit/192kHz (optical and coax) or 32-bit/384kHz (USB).

The company says SACD high definition audio playback requires connecting the C47 to the MCT450 SACD/CD Transport via MCT input for a DSD connection.

Apple updates the Solo2 Wireless, Tour2 and Powerbeats2 Wireless headphone lineups with models in blue, yellow and red, part of what the company calls the "Active Collection."

The update involves no hardware or pricing changes, and the Active Collection joins the existing colour option range for each product.

The 6-year old Sonos flagship wireless speaker gets an update with the Play:5, a redesigned, wireless speaker featuring 6 drivers (3 tweeters and 3 mid-woofers) and polycarbonate grille.

Users can stand the speaker in 3 orientations-- horizontally or vertically, with capacitive controls (no hardware buttons here) set to either the left or right. One can pair two Play:5 speakers at any orientation to create more powerful stereo sound for "an immersive, room-filling experience."

Sonos also claims the design allows for more effective wireless performance, ensuring music remains in sync with no dropouts.

Transformative Engineering (TE) announces the HAI-1 Audio Injector-- a patent-pending device allowing installers to substitute audio in an HDMI signal path.

Typical applications include injecting centre channel information so TV speakers can be used as a centre channel, or injecting a local microphone pre-amp signal in an educational or corporate environment to use a TV's internal amplifier and speakers. As a result it eliminates the need and cost for separate amplifier, speakers and installation.