PMC Twenty Sub (eng)

        PMC Twenty Sub

   British loudspeaker manufacturer PMC (Professional Monitor Company) announced the latest addition to its global award winning Twenty series range of domestic loudspeakers - the Twenty Sub. This new subwoofer, which has been designed for use with both music and movies alike, builds upon PMC's world-class design pedigree, combining the finest drivers available with the unique ATL (Advanced Transmission Line) bass loading principle, sophisticated Class-D amplification, and ultra-precise DSP control.

   The Twenty Sub's design DNA is deeply rooted in the world of professional audio, using tried and tested technology that has continuously proven itself by producing music hits as well as Hollywood blockbusters. Thanks to PMC's expansive research into room acoustics and ergonomics, the Twenty Sub is a truly adaptive design and offers a wide-range of placement and connectivity options, depending on room size and applications. Equally at home in large or small rooms, the Twenty Sub will deliver precise, dynamic results, regardless of the volume level. Consisting of a tall slender form that is compact enough to hide away, the Twenty Sub delivers an enthralling true performance that can both shake the rafters for movie fans or add the bass subtleties required by music lovers. The elegant cabinet, which is braced throughout by multiple internal baffles offering superior rigidity and ultra-low cabinet talk, provides the perfect housing for PMC's designed and built drive units and cutting edge electronics. Further reducing colouration and adding extra substance to the cabinets footprint, an integral high mass, resonance absorbing plinth forms the base. Featuring a convenient aperture for cable management, the plinth also houses the threads for M8 reversible stainless steel spikes.

   As with all PMC speaker designs, the Twenty Sub utilises ATL (Advanced Transmission Line) technology. With an effective length of 3 m, the transmission line delivers a smooth, flat response down to 22 Hz, enabling the Twenty Sub to perfectly integrate into a wide range of applications. The two long-throw 170 mm custom-designed PMC bass drivers feature ultra-light and ultra-stiff doped-paper cones mounted in a cast magnesium chassis, which deliver unparalleled transient response. At the heart of the Twenty Sub is an electronics package that is professionally proven and developed from PMC's extensive heritage in the professional audio industry. Consisting of PMC's 400-W ultra low distortion Class D audiophile amplification, which features powerful DSP circuits, filtering and bass management functions, connectivity is in the form of balanced stereo analogue (RCA unbalanced convertors are included) and AES/EBU digital inputs. All outputs are configured to be unprocessed or high-pass filtered, with fixed or variable gain.

   The input source, analogue input sensitivity, gain trim and overall volume are all adjustable, as are the Twenty Sub's low-pass filter slope and frequency, which allows tuning across five pre-determined steps. Additionally, the phase can be adjusted and a single parametric equaliser is provided that is ideal for in-room tuning. The analogue and digital outputs can be high-pass filtered, if required, to feed either active satellite speakers or back to a power amplifier to drive the main pair in a passive 2.1 configuration. The PMC Twenty Sub is available from UK retailers now with a SRP of £2950 and is available in the same Walnut, Amarone, Oak or Diamond Black finishes as the rest of the Twenty range.

sursa: stereolife.eu

Vessel, un serviciu de streaming video dedicat creatorilor importanţi de conţinut

   Serviciul YouTube a facilitat apariţia unei întregi generaţii de video-bloggeri celebri, aceştia având un număr impresionant de următori, faimă şi venituri deloc neglijabile. Orientarea publicului tânăr către această formă de comunicare vizuală este critică pentru companiile care oferă conţinut video, iar nou lansatul Vessel încearcă să atragă producătorii de conţinut şi utilizatorii cu un serviciu capabil să rivalizeze cu YouTube.

   Prezentat pentru prima oară la sfârşitul anului trecut, Vessel este un serviciu de streaming video creat de către Jason Kilar, fostul manager al companiei Hulu. Dacă YouTube este un serviciu generic de găzduire video care oferă suplimentar şi canalele necesare pentru crearea unor comunităţi, Vessel este gândit de la bun început pentru producătorii de conţinut video. Proaspăt lansatul serviciu elimină astfel zgomotul de fond deranjant al popularului serviciu Google şi oferă un mediu aerisit şi îngrijit în care starurile video online îşi pot prezenta şi monetiza conţinutul.

   Vessel a atras până acum circa 170 de celebrităţi video şi furnizori importanţi de conţinut, compania încercând din răsputeri să extindă numărul partenerilor importanţi din mediul online. Printre aceştia se numără producători independenţi precum CollegeHumor, Funny or Die sau Machinima, dar şi companii precum VEVO, NBC sau National Geographic.

   Conţinutul publicat va fi disponibil în mod exclusiv doar pe Vessel timp de 72 de ore, autorii putând extinde această perioadă după bunul lor plac. Acest lucru este benefic atât pentru companie, care se poate lăuda cu un conţinut care nu este încă disponibil pe YouTube sau Vimeo, dar şi pentru creatori, care vor beneficia de surse mai generoase de venituri.

   Spre deosebire de YouTube, care percepe un comision de 45 de procente din veniturile publicitate, Vessel le va oferi autorilor 70 de procente din încasările publicitate şi 60 de procente din cele obţinute din abonamente. Într-adevăr, spre deosebire de YouTube, Vessel nu este un serviciu gratuit, acesta necesitând plata unui abonament de 2,99 euro pe lună.

   Utilizatorii care se înregistrează în cursul următoarelor două zile vor beneficia însă de un abonament gratuit timp de un an, aceştia având astfel suficient timp la dispoziţie pentru a vedea cum evoluează noua platformă video.

   Mediul grafic al noului serviciu este plăcut si pare un fel de Flipboard al erei video, utilizatorii putând alege categoriile preferate sau furnizorii specifici doriţi şi beneficiind de un mod vizual cu derulare nelimitată şi thumbnail-uri mari animate. Vessel oferă în acest moment o aplicaţie pentru platforma iOS, versiunea pentru Android urmând să fie lansată în cursul lunilor următoare.

sursa: go4it.ro

GoldenEar ForceField 5 Subwoofer Review (eng)

GoldenEar ForceField 5 Subwoofer Review

   “Good things come in small packages.” It’s a saying we’ve all heard many times before to describe all manner of things in life. However, I think its use is especially apropos to summarize what‘s available from GoldenEar’s current selection of subwoofers. The ForceField 5 ranks as GoldenEar’s most potent offering in their subwoofer product line. Primarily, it will impress you by the significant quantities of tuneful, articulate bass it produces over a broad range of material.

   You will then be further amazed when you notice that all this sonic goodness is emanating from a cabinet that is barely the size of your average beverage cooler. How is this possible you ask? Well, GoldenEar has used some considerable engineering and construction know-how to create a space friendly sub that can handle medium to large room requirements with confidence. If you’re the kind of person who needs the benefits of multiple subs in a room, a pair or more of ForceField 5s will do wonders for your bass cravings while not making your home theater feel cramped and crowded with big, heavy boxes.

GoldenEar ForceField 5 Subwoofer Highlights Summary

• • Trapezoidal design and solid construction help minimize standing waves within the cabinet.
• • 12 inch long throw, low distortion subwoofer driver
• • 1500 watt (peak to peak) custom digital power amplifier
• • Down firing passive radiator helps achieve desired output while allowing smaller cabinet size.
• • Large, fixed rubber feet protect multiple floor surfaces and help isolate the sub properly.

Introduction to GoldenEar ForceField 5 Subwoofer Review

   Earlier this year, I had the pleasure to review a GoldenEar Triton Seven-based surround sound package and, more recently, another package based around the SuperCinema 3D Array XL. One of the things that both these excellent systems had in common was the model of subwoofer included. In both of my reviews, the GoldenEar Forcefield 5 showed itself to be uncommonly good at reproducing the low octaves for both music and movies.

   What made its performance even more eye opening to me was the comparatively modest size of the subwoofer itself. It’s particularly handy if, like me, you like to run dual subs to help smooth room response and add headroom. Placement flexibility becomes so much better and honestly, what’s not to like about a powerful, quality sub with a small footprint? I became interested to explore, in more detail, how the ForceField 5 performs as well as it does.

   GoldenEar was even kind enough to provide me 2 subs so that I, from a subjective standpoint, could make a more apple-to-apples comparison with the twin sub setups that I currently have.

sursa: hometheaterhifi.com