It's been another busy week in the world of hi-fi and home cinema. We know it can be a struggle to stay on top of all of the news, reviews and big announcements, but don’t worry, we have rounded up all the key happenings below, in our weekly Rewind news digest!
Technics had a major new product announcement
We had one big Technics announcement last week, and it wasn’t a turntable! Following a successful attempt at premium wireless earbuds courtesy of the EAH-AZ100, the brand has turned its attention to wireless headphones and launched the EAH-A1000.
We’ve had them in our test room and in our Technics EAH-A1000 review said the “comfortable design and smooth, detailed sound result in a classy, appealing pair of premium headphones”. Our Hi-Fi and Audio Editor Kashfia Kabir also sat down for a chat with the acoustic team behind the headphones to discuss the driver technology used inside them.
Read our full Technics EAH-A1000 review
Bose brings back wired headphones
Wired earbuds are back. Well, that’s the rumour and it appears to be gaining traction with one of the biggest brands in earbuds getting involved in the action.
As you’d expect from Bose, the aptly named Bose Noise Cancelling Wired Earbuds aren’t just a simple pair of in-ears, they also have the company’s ANC tech onboard, which will hopefully stop the drone of everyday life ruining your favourite playlists. They connect via USB-C with playback output fixed at 24-bit/48kHz.
And at £99 / $99 / AU$170, Bose seems to have picked a particularly neat pricepoint – we’re looking forward to getting a pair in our test rooms to see how they stack up in what has recently been a wireless world.
Read the full story: Bose’s new Noise Cancelling Wired Earbuds aim to “set a new standard for what wired earbuds can be”
Amazon dropped a new Fire Stick
Amazon’s Fire Sticks have built a reputation for offering streaming convenience for not a lot of cash and the retail giant recently unveiled its most recent offering, the new Fire TV Stick 4K. Amazon is promising “crisp 4K resolution and a fast experience” and its arrival sees the old Fire TV Stick 4K Plus and Fire TV Stick 4K Select go to that big electronics recycle bin in the sky.
The streaming stick also supports 1080p and 720p resolution at up to 60 frames per second, comes with 8 GB internal storage, a quad-core 1.7 GHz processor, and supports both Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3. Disappointingly, there’s no Dolby Vision or Atmos support on the list of specifications.
Read the full story: Amazon’s new Fire Stick promises to be faster and slimmer – but its pricing has us scratching our heads
Panasonic unveiled a couple of micro machines
There was a time when micro hi-fi systems ruled the world. Well, maybe not the world but possibly a few living rooms and bedrooms. And last week Panasonic delivered not one blast from the past but two. The SC-PMX112 and SC-PM302 cost £270 and £120 respectively and come with TFT colour displays and speakers for a simple, all-in-one solution.
The PM302 offers 60W of power, CD and USB playback plus Bluetooth, DAB+ and FM radio. The PMX112 adds dual-band wi-fi, Spotify Connect and internet radio to the mix. We’ve still got a soft spot for systems like this – the Denon D-M41DAB is a long-time favourite of ours and a multiple What Hi-Fi? Award winner – so we can’t wait to see how both Panasonics stack up.
Read the full story: Little or large? Panasonic launches two new micro hi-fi systems, including a mini-me for smaller spaces and budgets
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Here's our pick of the best hi-fi systems you can buy
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