Signals

Sennheiser advises that the new and improved version of its HD 800 is “one step closer to perfection.” It’s dangerous for marketing people to throw around the “p-word” but in the case of the HD 800, the claim isn’t entirely specious. The HD 800 is very highly regarded and the new HD 800 S is said to be even better.

Shure is showing two very upscale products at CES: the KSE1500 electrostatic earphone system (MSRP $2,999) and SHA900 portable listening amplifier (MSRP $999).

70 years is a long time. Few companies make it that far. Klipsch, one of the survivors, and a storied company at that, is now under the VOXX corporate umbrella, and VOXX is celebrating its 70th anniversary.

The UHD Alliance, a coalition of 30+ companies, is developing the technical standards that define the ecosystem of 4K Ultra HD television comprising displays, content, and distribution. The group has previously published various specifications, but the complete 4K Ultra HD specification has only just been completed, and will be debuted at the upcoming CES in 2016. The spec took forever to hammer out because of a curious disparity in display technologies. Exactly what the hold up? Brightness.

When you buy a Blu-ray Disc for $25, you expect the very best quality. When you rent a Blu-ray for $2, do you still expect the best? Or would the budget pricing lower your expectations? Do you simply assume that the bits comprising a rental movie are the same as the retail movie? You might be surprised to learn that not all bits are created equal. And therein lies a mystery.

Millennials, also known as Generation Y, are defined as the demographic with birth years ranging from the early 80s to the early 00s. In other words, Millennials are about 15 to 35 years old. I am appealing to you. You account for almost half of all audio hardware sales. More than any other single group, you are the ones responsible for screwing it up for the rest of us.

You might recall a recent Signals column about a Google patent application that described an anthropomorphic entertainment controller. The microphones/ears and cameras/eyes of the proposed Chucky-like device really creeped me out. Then a reader alerted me to an Amazon product that has similar functionality. It's not a document in the Patent Office; it's a real thing keeping tabs on people in their homes.