You know you want to touch..

Leaving aside the possible magnetic interference problems for cartridges, this is eye catching and you can pledge on Kickstarter - only $780 if you pledge now.

Samsung acquires Harman International

Not sure what it will mean for Mark Levinson and Revel or JBL speakers. but at $8bn, Samsung are going for it.

Samsung Electronics and Harman International Industries, Incorporated today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Samsung will acquire HARMAN for $112.00 per share in cash, or total equity value of approximately $8.0 billion.  Upon closing, the transaction will immediately give Samsung a significant presence in the large and rapidly growing market for connected technologies, particularly automotive electronics, which has been a strategic priority for Samsung, and is expected to grow to more than $100 billion by 2025 

 Customer Benefits and Significant Growth Opportunities
• Audio:  HARMAN’s leading brands and cutting-edge audio systems include JBL®, Harman Kardon®, Mark Levinson®, AKG®, Lexicon®, Infinity®, and Revel®.  The company also licenses Bowers & Wilkins® and Bang & Olufsen® brands for automotive.  All of these brands will greatly enhance the competitiveness of Samsung’s mobile, display, virtual reality and wearable products to deliver a fully differentiated audio and visual experience for customers.

Full release HERE 

Audioengine new HD3s enter the market

As noted with the Edifiers below, the small speaker market is hot and Audioengine seem to be intent on adding further fuel with the release of their HD3s.

Wireless (bit with a wired option), digital or analog connections, headphone jack, powered, portable and not bad looking either! $399 a pair shipped, sales tax included too as far as I can tell. How's that for keeping it simple?

My experience with their B2 model last year suggests that you get big sound and good reliability from this manufacturer, so these do look interesting.  It's a good time to be shopping for small speakers.  Find out more here.

• Built-in stereo power amplifiers
• High-fidelity Bluetooth® with aptX® + extended range
• USB computer audio input
• Front panel headphone output + volume control
• Custom Kevlar woofers and silk tweeters
• Detachable magnetic speaker grills
• Hand-built cabinets with furniture-grade finishes
• Available in Walnut, Cherry, and Satin Black

Edifier offer stereo, powered pair of speakers for $69

The market for cheap speakers is a bit like the wild west, with some companies aiming to be the cheapest decent shot in town. Elac made a big splash in the last year, justifiably from what I heard at RMAF but I was surprised to receive the announcement from Edifier that they are releasing a pair of active speakers for $69.  Specs are a little vague (corrected by a clever reader below, thanks Charles,  I got this wrong) on their website but having found their entry level headphones to be quite decent, albeit a bit warm, I have to wonder how low prices can go for anything sounding half decent? Oh, and that price includes shipping!  Just in time for the holidays.

New album by Jerome Sabbagh and colleagues

Jerome Sabbagh's The Turn release was my favorite jazz album of the year in 2015 and he's back with a new release, Lean. And it is a bit leaner, lacking the great guitar contributions of Ben Monder, but the atmosphere remains lively and experimental here (and includes Electric Sun, a track that will be familiar to lovers of The Turn).  This is not easy listening in some ways but then again, if you're like me and enjoy music that breaks from predictable forms and considers space a partner in the musical landscape, there's so much that's easy to enjoy here. Give it a listen. Better yet, buy it and support the work of artists who are willing to follow a truly original path. Now this is jazz.