European Custom Installer

The Chord Company adds the X-factor to the Rumour and Shawline speaker cable lines-- the RumourX and ShawlineX cables feature XLPE (Cross-linked Polyethylene) technology promising superior phase qualities.

First seen in the SignatureXL high-end speaker cable line, the dielectric XLPE is a lower-cost alternative to Taylon, the phase-stable insulation material used in the Sarum T and ChordMusic speaker cables. The technology has now trickled down to two other Chord Company cable lines, namely Rumour and Shawline.

French audio vendor Cabasse announces The Pearl-- a high-definition connected speaker packing technologies from the self-descriptive La Sphère flagship into a more compact, if still spherical, form factor.

The result of 3 years of research and development, the Pearl stands 32cm tall and is the first triaxial speaker from the company. It carries a 25cm bass drivertogether with a coaxial midrange and tweeter, and produces a sound output the company claims is the equivalent of a Formula 1 car (118dB) from 3200W peak amplification. Meanwhile the spherical design is not only striking to look at, but also allows for spatial coherence.

An integrated microphone allows for an automatic calibration system (CRCS) through technology borrowed from the La Sphère speaker. Connectivity comes through Bluetooth and wifi, with integration within the Cabasse StreamCONTROL multi-room system and support for MP3, AAC, WMA, AIFF, FLAC and ALAC files. The speaker handles 24-bit/192kHZ HD audio sources from USB-connected storage, NAS devices, internet radio or online music services, and is compatible with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.

StormAudio forms a pair of alliances aimed to benefit installers-- one with calibration and room design assistance service provider Performance Media Industries, the other with remote control specialist Domotz.

“Critical to all rooms are engineering, speaker placement and room acoustics,” PMI says. “The StormAudio ISP Series are certainly the best immersive audio processors on the market, and very much deserving of this special attention to fully shine. However, work like this demands considerable time of the installer. This is where PMI comes into play-- it is through our new alliance that StormAudio dealers can take advantage of our CEDIA award-winning services. This allows dealers to get the most out of the room while alleviating them of all the exacting and often tedious engineering.”

Berlin-based hardware and software startup Senic presents the Nuimo Click-- a wall-mountable wireless switch with four buttons able to generate power every time they are pressed, making them self-powered.

Aimed for the control of Sonos audio hardware and Philips Hue smart lighting, the Nuimo Click switches generate enough kinetic energy through button presses to power the necessary wireless communications. Thus, running a function on the Nuimo Click transforms the stored energy into enough power to send a wireless command to a companion Nuimo Hub, in turn triggering the necessary smart device control.

Neutrik launches the mediaCON product family-- a selection of robust, lockable USB-C cables and panel sockets designed for use with data rates up to 10GB/s (USB 3.1), 100W power and 10000 mating cycles.

“We observe that with increasing digitalisation, the demand for high-quality and robust data connectors is steadily increasing," Neutric says. "More and more manufacturers rely on USB Type-C technology. However, a lockable and reliable interface to connect professional audio components, storage media, cameras, monitors and computer hardware has been missing."