CES 2017 day 3 highlights – Arcam, Chord, Samsung Q9 review, Pioneer hi-res headphones and more

The third day of CES tends gives us a chance to focus on specialist hi-fi and home cinema companies, with the likes of Samsung and LG having made their announcements, and the smaller players given their chance to shine.

This year's day three saw plenty of high-end audio gear, with new products from Arcam, Chord, Moon, Sony and more.

MORE: CES 2017 - news, highlights, best new products

Pioneer unveils the world's most affordable hi-res audio headphones

Hi-res audio means breaking the bank, right? Not necessarily. Pioneer's MS5T over-ears will cost just £50 when they hit the shelves this spring. Pioneer claims that's the cheapest of any hi-res audio headphones around. They feature a faux-leather and plastic design, and come in a range of colours. Find out more in the full story below.

MORE: Pioneer unveils MS5Ts, the 'world's most affordable' hi-res headphones

GoldenEar Triton Reference speakers

GoldenEar Technology's new flagship Triton Reference speakers are mighty impressive. Not only do they cut a suitably imposing figure, they also pack a whopping 10 drivers each. As well as the new crossover design (which has been developed specificially for these speakers), they boast subwoofer amplifiers and 56-bit DSP control units. Like we say, mighty impressive.

MORE: GoldenEar reveals Triton Reference flagship speakers

Chord Hugo 2 DAC and Poly wireless module

Chord lifted the lid on a trifecta of new products. The Hugo 2 DAC follows its award-winning predecessor - improvements include a new chassis design and new features. Poly is a dedicated network module for Mojo, the firm's portable DAC, and basically acts as a streaming hub. Finally, the Chord Blu MkII is a new upscaling CD transport, which should provide much better and clearer sound than its forebear.

MORE: Chord launches Hugo DAC 2 and Poly wireless module

Arcam rPlay supercharges your home audio

If you want to stream lossless audio around your home, the Arcam rPlay can help. It enables lossless multi-room wireless audio streaming from services like Spotify, Tidal and Qobuz, so you can have the best-sounding house party in town. It will also be controllable using Alexa, Amazon's voice controlled personal assistant that lives inside its Echo speaker. Or you can control it using an app on your phone, if you prefer. Clever eh?

MORE: Arcam rPlay adds hi-res music streaming and multi-room to any audio system

Moon 888 monoblocs cost $120,000

If money is no object, you might want to check out the Moon 888s. These monobloc amps will set you back a whopping $118,888, and weigh a backbreaking 250lbs each. They provide a ridiculous 888W of power - hence the name - though most users won't ever need that much. If you do, you've earned the right to own such a crazy pair of amps. And we want to come round to your house.

MORE: Moon 888 monoblocs debut at CES 2017 for $118,888 a pair

Revel's luxury new speakers

Revel unveiled some new luxury speakers at CES. The Concerta M8 is a pack of compact speakers to use in a two-channel or multi-channel audio system, and you can add the new B8 subwoofer for low frequency heft. The company also launched a pair of loudspeakers. Like the Concerta M8, they come in a range of colours. Also like the M8, they won't come cheap.

MORE: Revel brings new speaker systems to CES 2017

LG's first 4K Blu-ray player

The LG UP970 is the firm's first 4K Blu-ray player, and it supports Dolby Vision HDR video. It also has top sound courtesy of Dolby Atmos, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. We're waiting for info regarding price and availability - in the meantime, read more by hitting the link below.

MORE: LG unveils UP970 4K Blu-ray player with Dolby Vision HDR support

Audio-Technica's new wireless headphones

CES is always a good show for headphones, and Audio-Technica has launched its flagship ATH-DSR9BT wireless pair, which come with aptX HD Bluetooth. They also feature Pure Digital Drive, a technology that, Audio-Technica claims, produces an "unprecedented sound performance". Quite a claim. We'll find out when we get a pair in our test labs.

MORE: Audio-Technica launches flagship ATH-DSR9BT wireless headphones with aptX HD

Tidal supports hi-res audio streams

Streaming service Tidal has added support for MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) audio tracks, bringing hi-res audio music streams to the party. Those on the Tidal HiFi package can listen to the format at no extra charge. However, it's only available on the desktop version of Tidal for now.

MORE: Tidal adds hi-res audio streams with 'Tidal Masters'

MORE: MQA audio: What is it? How can you get it?

Dog & Bone earphones come with a heating dock

This is a new one on us - the Dog & Bone Earmade Bluetooth headphones come with their own heating dock, so you can warm up your earbuds and shape them to fit your ears. Bonkers.

MORE: Dog & Bone earphones include a heating dock to provide a better fit for your earbuds

Sony outs new wireless speakers and headphones

Sony unveiled a raft of new speakers and headphones, and they all come with its Extra Bass button - one press, and you're feeling the bass in your chest. Some of the speakers come with lights that flash in time with the music, too. If you like that sort of thing. And the cans? One is a noise-cancelling pair, one not, but both are wireless. Looks like Sony is all about that bass.

MORE: Sony launches new Extra Bass wireless speakers and headphones for bass heavy music

Magico's $28,000 speakers

Still hungry for luxury hi-fi gear? Then have a look at these $28,000 Magico S3 Mk II speakers. A 9in bass driver promises lower distortion, and it's made of nanographene coil. It will also put quite a dent in your bank balance.

MORE: Magico launches $28,000 S3 Mk II speaker at CES 2017

Samsung QLED TV hands-on review

Samsung did dip its toe into the OLED waters years ago, but now QLED is its TV technology of choice. QLED supposedly brings all the benefits of OLED but with lower production costs, which should, hopefully, mean cheaper tellies for us consumers. But how about that picture? We went hands on on the CES show floor to find out.

MORE: Samsung Q9 hands on

MORE: Samsung takes aim at OLED with three new QLED TV ranges

MORE: What is QLED TV? How the next TV tech compares to OLED

Joe Svetlik

Joe has been writing about tech for 17 years, first on staff at T3 magazine, then in a freelance capacity for Stuff, The Sunday Times Travel Magazine, Men's Health, GQ, The Mirror, Trusted Reviews, TechRadar and many more (including What Hi-Fi?). His specialities include all things mobile, headphones and speakers that he can't justifying spending money on.