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On display for the first time at The Bristol Show in February (seeour full report in the latest issue), the Studio is the latest two-way standmount design from Monitor Audio. Without any kind of grille, Studio's designers tell us that the intention was to make the two metallic-silver RDT II speaker cones the focal point and give it an eye-catching contemporary edge. The dual 102mm drivers are modified versions of those found on its Platinum range flagship PL500 II floorstander. Utilising the same design principles and materials, a micro pleated diaphragm (MPD) is used as the cental high-frequency transducer.

‘Hovering’ speaker imports from Canada

MrSpeakers has teamed up with headphone designer, Bruce Thigpen (founder of Eminent Technology), to produce the Ether, a new planar-driven open-backed, on-ear headphone. The Ether makes use of patent-pending V-Planar technology that – it’s claimed – can not only push more air at low frequencies, but with greater acceleration also “deliver better dynamics, high-end frequency response and measurably lower distortion”. The 2. 75 x 1.

It wasn’t so long ago that the idea of being able to enjoy different types of music in different rooms or to pause what you’re listening to in the bath only to restart it once you’re in the bedroom seemed like the stuff of science fiction. But now, of course, this is very much part of everyday life. There are more multi-room systems available offering more ways to enjoy hi-res music than ever before, meaning that the ability to listen to Stevie in the shower, Lionel in the lounge or Bono in the bedroom is at long last possible even for the most picky of audiophiles. This month’s extra special prize will enable you to do just that, thanks to the good folk at Musaic.

London-based startup Musaic achieved its Kickstarter funding campaigntarget with 25 hours to go. Thanks to the 197 backers, the funds willenable it to launch a full suite of streaming products later this year. The launch was first announcedat January'sConsumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas byCEO Matthew Bramble who said: “We wanted to design a wireless hi-fi system that’s stylish and compact, and would deliver incredible sound in every room. ” He also adds, “.

It is now 50 years since The Doors released their startling debut LP, which unleashed the audacious and unsettling poetic visions of Jim Morrison on an unsuspecting world – and a flurry of Doors-related activity is underway to mark this rather auspicious anniversary. The group’s self-titled debut album is being reissued this month in a new three-disc deluxe edition, featuring remastered mono and stereo mixes and previously unheard live versions of eight of the original album’s 11 songs, recorded just as the band was on the verge of superstardom (see p100). It follows closely on the heels of the release of London Fog 1966, an historic album of recently unearthed live recordings from a gig in a club on Sunset Strip shortly before the group signed its first recording contract. That the music of the Doors continues to exert such a profound and far-reaching influence on our collective psyche so long after the event is in stark contrast to the group’s active lifespan, which – even by the ephemeral standards of rock and roll – was extraordinarily brief and fleeting.