Consumer Tech for June – Kick Ass audio products from old and new entrants
Designed for Sound and Style
By Amy Eller
B&O America president Kathy Thornton-Bias, a super glam and gorgeous brown woman who just makes me giddy with pride as we espouse the same religion, “Design”, launched the new BeoVision Avant. She is ever so right; life is about design from everything you eat and wear to the television you watch. The floor stand allows the set to rotate left or right for optimal viewing, while a motorized tabletop stand tilts the screen up and down for a proper viewing alignment.
The motorized wall-mount option enables the screen to pivot out and away from the wall on the left or right, while automatically spreading out the internal speaker array on a panel strip below the screen to deliver precise left/right channel sound separation to match the viewer’s seating angle. Bang & Olufson’s “BeoVision Avant: the one that moves.” Get it!
B&O includes a new chromatic room adaptation feature that analyzes ambient light from two sensors, and adjusts the screen to compensate for the room’s color tones. For heaven sakes, as if that isn’t enough, to dampen reflections, the company places a high-grade anti-reflection coating on both sides of the screen. Until B&O makes a television that tells you when to touch up your blush, this is the bomb.
The set costs $7,995 and is offered at B&O stores across the country in a 55-inch screen size. The most beautiful and well-designed stationary wall bracket you have ever seen has a suggested retail of $895, the motorized stands and mounts sell for $1,995 each. The motorized wall mount is available with a pivot hinge on either the right or left side of the set. And the mechanism should be on display at MOMA.
Watch the video below if you need more tech details. The thing is absolutely gorgeous. Even the back of the set is beautiful. This is a sexy system; the remote is so solid and sensuous it’s downright erotic. Other execs at the preview, pointed out that the BeoVision Avant was designed for simplicity of use, by offering a BeoRemote One, featuring a curved ergonomic design, three customizable buttons for three separate user preferences and multi-product functionality. “We’ve added buttons so with one touch you can control your favorite channels, your favorite viewing position, your favorite content and your favorite light setting. … What is different about Bang & Olufsen is that we have designed a product with technology that has simplicity at its core.”
If you are looking for a bargain, keep looking, With Beovision Avant you get what you pay for. Life is and should always be, by Design.
www.bang-olufsen.com/en/picture/beovision-avant
Amy Eller, East Coast Bureau chief of Digital Family Advisor, is also a nationally known interior designer and lifestyle coach
Kicker goes beyond its automobile roots to out sound some famous brands
By Richard M. Sherwin
This Oklahoma born and bred KICKER, a long time car audio leader has added new features to its popular Amphitheater™ Bluetooth® Audio System, resulting in a more flexible system that is tailor-made for desktop, bookshelf and counter-top placement.
The Amphitheater BTL System now pairs with any current Bluetooth device in addition to linking with late-model iPhone and iPad models via a Lightning™ connector. Also, a third connection option – a USB input — provides audio playback from any Apple and most Android™ devices while simultaneously powering them.
“Our original Amphitheater design is a success because it gives consumers a way to enjoy powerful performance from their favorite sources,” commented Steve Irby, KICKER’s president and co-founder. “By updating the original with Lightning, we’re adding to this model’s flexibility while staying true to our ‘Livin’ Loud’ credo.”
DFA’s opinion on this device was “Why didn’t Kicker do this before, especially at an under $300 price.” Kicker’s response was “Once car audio reached this high quality of audio output, the most natural thing was to take this into the home.”
The Lightning connector provides a direct connection with many newer versions of iPhone,iPod and iPad. Additionally, the audio system implements an auxiliary-input jack for direct-connecting and playing non-Bluetooth/USB devices. A status LED illuminates to indicate current function and command. An included ergonomic remote provides full control of the system, incorporating bass and treble adjustment, source change (Bluetooth, USB or aux-input), volume, mute, play/pause, track forward/back and fast forward/back. Four easy-to-select buttons on top of the unit are featured for source/pair, mute, and volume up and down.
Designed for the garage, the den, dorm or any limited space environment, the Amphitheater BTL delivers the low end and precise imaging expected of a KICKER product.
The legendary KICKER bass response is immediately evident, thanks to a 6-inch, square reflex subwoofer in the back of the cabinet, and beefy 5-inch drivers and 3/4-inch, silk-dome tweeters radiating from the front. A 50-watt internal amplifier optimized with digital signal processing (DSP) delivers peak performance no matter what at what volume it is played.
A free, proprietary app gives users the power to actively adjust the sound for the perfect performance. KICKER’s free KickStart™ app from iTunes® or Google Play™ features an 8-band equalizer, bass and treble sliders, and spatial tight or wide spatialization selection for the ultimate in soundstage control. It also provides the option to load and save sound presets for specific types of music. With this feature, listeners can customize the sound as little or as much as they like, from a single setting for overall performance to different presets for any number of online sources, including Internet radio and cloud players.
The company also launched what some experts claim is the top… top-of-the-line premium headphone – the Vapor™, which is available on its site (www.kicker.com) and through authorized dealers.
DFA has been using the Vapor at home, in trans and taxis and of course even to answer our cell phones and our opinion is that KICKER Vapor Premium Headphones (SRP: $199.99) are unbelievably feather weight comfy, with super bass response and sonic detail designed to satisfy the most demanding music and movie fans.
While the Vapor is not a noise cancelling headphone, they are still very quiet and also feature a pair of 40mm dual-diaphragm transducers, an acoustically tuned cup design and sealing ear pads, Vapor Headphones offer the perfect combination of comfort and best-in-class listening attributes.
The trapezoidal shape of the earpiece and soft, leather ear pads are specifically designed to fit as comfortable and exact as possible. In addition, Vapor Premium Headphones include our favorite feature, a tangle-free, flat-cable cord design that is detachable so it gives way if caught on protrusions such as belt buckles, nails, etc. It allows ease of motion, and includes an angled plug with strain relief that provides maximum reliability. The durable cord is equipped with a microphone that hangs at jaw level, with an easy-to-use, 3-button multi-function remote that allows effortless control of audio and phone capabilities for compatible Apple® devices.
Tivoli Also Stresses its Designer Roots
By Richard M. Sherwin and Amy Eller
Tivoli. The company which many experts claim is Bose but with a heart, is capitalizing on its award winning Music System 2 ™ by introducing a portable version of the top end audiophile Music System Three. Tivoli known worldwide and especially in Europe for not just its highly developed audio quality of its products but its stylish classical and modern designs of all its
products has been relatively quiet for a few years as it concentrated on its European business.
The Music System Three produces portable audio like it has never been heard before at least in its preview a few weeks ago in NYC. The. Tivoli Audio’s PAL was the first portable radio to truly transport great mono sound outdoors and the Music System Three uses a proprietary analog Wide circuit to expand on this in high quality portable stereo. The innovation continues with the Lithium Ion battery pack that achieves a 75% charge in about 3 hours and offers enough playback time from a fully charged battery to outlast most parties. Bluetooth is included so you can stream your favorite music from you mobile device or computer in superb stereo sound.
The brushed metal multi-function control wheel gives instant access to power, volume, and snooze. The front panel offers further control such as source, auto station tuning, and easy-to-set alarms. The backside sports dual ports for enhanced bass, an external telescopic antenna, a stereo headphone output and auxiliary input, and an integrated carrying handle that doubles as a storage compartment for the included full-function remote control – See more at: http://www.tivoliaudio.com/products/hi-fi-systems/portable-music-system-three-am-fm-bluetooth-white.html#sthash.5P9YOJGf.dpuf.
The Tivoli Albergo Blue Tooth enabled Am-FM clock radio music player grew more in popularity in its second year. The chasis also comes in a myriad of colors.
Tivoli’s Audio’s Albergo AM/FM table radio was designed so that anyone can use it without confusion or frustration. While eschewing such common Internet Radio features like Pandora, Spotify, the unit is designed to play any Blue Tooth enabled phone, tablet, PCor music player.
The front panel controls are minimalist in detail and the display will prompt you with instructional “hints” while using certain features, such as alarm setting. In moments you can tune the radio, set the dual alarms, and activate the sleep timer without reaching for the manual. Accessing the Bluetooth wireless technology is equally simple; after the push of a single button, you can pair and connect your smart phone, tablet, or other Bluetooth enabled-device, and begin wirelessly streaming your favorite music to Albergo. All of these features are available on the included fully functional remote, though it is not necessary for you to use Albergo. –
DFA had some issues with the automatic time and date setting since that feature is activated by almost any public radio channel…something here in the forest that’s not easy to access. But the sound a clarity of this Albergo seemed to be powerful enough to run a living room audio system and subtle enough for the bedroom.
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