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Australian manufacturer Audeara is perhaps best known for its past in the medical realm. However, a recent Kickstarter campaign changed all of that when it launched the A-01 headphone, designednot only to protect the user’s ears, but also to deliver a sound specifically catered to them. The first time the user wears the A-01, they use the companion app to undergoa hearing test, the results of which are then stored bythe cans. Using this unique profile, the headphone then adjusts the sound signal (making changes to left and right channels) so that the sound is individually tailored to the listener, while monitoring their hearing over time.

Hot on the heels of the impressive floorstanding M-6 loudspeaker review in HFC 436, Danish manufacturer Scansonic has announced another addition toits speaker lineup, but this timein the more diminutive guiseof a standmount. The new MK-5 is a compact two-way bookshelf model, boasting the same ultra-light sealed ribbon planar magnetic tweeter that appears in the aforementioned M Series. Formed from a kapton-aluminium sandwich that’s claimed to be just 20µm thick, and boasting a mass that’s described as being as much as 50 times lower than conventional textile, ceramic, beryllium or diamond domes, the tweeter’s membrane is reputed to result in a performance with significantly higher resolution and less material colouration. Partnering the tweeter is a new 114mm Kevlar-coned mid/bass driver (which incidentally is where the K part of the MK-5’s name comes from).

Inside the June issue we take an exclusiveIn-depthlook at Cary Audio’s AiOS streaming music solution, whileExoticafeatures YBA’s CD100 CD player and 100A integrated amplifier combo and regular reviews looks at Elipson’s bargain Prestige Facet 14F floorstander, Pro-Ject’s Debut III S Audiophile turntable package, Cambridge’s CXN V2 network music streamer as well as AKG’s flagship N5005 in-ear headphone. Plus,Music Legendsbows to the multi-instrumentalist Wonder of Stevie and ourGroup Testlooks at six low-input phono stages from Dynavector, Exposure, Graham Slee, Pro-Ject, Rega and Sonneteer. Lee Dunkley, editor . .

Q Acoustics has launched its latest entry-level loudspeaker range – the 3000i Series. The three new models, which consist of a braceof standmounts and a floorstander,form the core of the company’s hi-fi loudspeaker range. They are an evolution of the previous 3000 Series and include innovations first employed in its high-end flagship Concept 500 loudspeaker (HFC 426). The new range uses acoustically analysed and specific points strengthened using P2P (point to point) bracing on thespeaker cabinets andthe structural integrity is further improved, thanks to the top and front baffles boasting double thickness and precision-cut corners.

Designed to be unfussy about room positioning, the Kii THREE is a fully active loudspeaker built around Bruno Putzeys’ (HFC 426) Ncore Class D power amplifiers to handle six speaker drivers firing to the front, side and rear, but working together to throw the sound in the forward direction only. Measuring just 200 x 400 x 400mm (WxHxD), the compact system from the Germany-based specialist deploys its proprietary ‘Active Wave Focusing Filters’ to create a time-aligned output from the front-firing 25mm tweeter and 127mm midrange, plus 2x side and 2x rear-firing 165mm bass drivers. The sophisticated DSP ensures a coherent ‘forward’ sound and keeps the drive units within their safe operating range. A 16-position Boundary control allows the DSP to compensate for room positioning and a ‘Contour’ control selects from 14-preset EQ curves to fine tune the system to your taste.

Following our Rock Jaw Audio Alfa Genus V2 competition last month, we can reveal that Pamela Ratchford from Stoke-on-Trent,Derek Briggsfrom BradfordandPaul Lockett from Crewe are the lucky winners. Congratulations! Your prize will arrive with you shortly. https://rockjawaudio. com/products/brand-new-alfa-genus-v2 .

Whenever the subject has come up for discussion at HFC, it seems that professional singers and musicians generally aren’t into audiophile-grade hi-fi. Why would they be? Immersed in their own music for a living, even the world’s greatest system is going to come off second best. Their ‘hi-fi jollies’ don’t involve 24/192 downloads but living and breathing the music itself. We can understand that.