Hifi Pig

Monster, which has just launched its first ever on-ear wireless, washable headphones; the iSport Freedom has appointed Sky 1’s Got to Dance judge and ex-Pussycat Doll, Kimberly Wyatt the new face of the Monster iSport range.

Discussing her new partnership with Monster, Kimberly said: “I am delighted to be welcomed into the Monster family. Working in the music industry I am constantly searching for the best ways of integrating great music into my exercise routines. Thanks to the iSport range I am able to immerse myself in flawless sound, forget about the hassle of tangled wires and focus on working out to achieve my fitness goals.”

Freedom’s design is said to be ideal even for intense workouts, and the anti-microbial soft ear cushions ensure bacteria-free comfort. They they are also fully washable, allowing sports enthusiasts to easily clean them so they are ready to use for the next workout in the gym, on the slopes or wherever.

Price for the Freedom on-ear headphones is £240

Chord Electronics has announced that Alan Ainslie has been appointed as Business Development Manager with immediate effect. Alan will oversee a number of projects in the coming year.

Prior to joining Chord Electronics, Alan was Business Development Manager at Naim Audio’s NaimNet, the brand’s custom install multi-room audio distribution and control system (which he created), and was responsible for bringing streaming technology to Naim.

On his appointment to Chord Electronics Alan said: “It is great to be with a British company that has both heritage and pedigree, with unchallenged excellence of audio engineering, both analogue and digital. Chord Electronics has always been an early adopter of advanced technical concepts and leads the industry in developing sophisticated engineering solutions to improve on the current state of the art.  I see exciting times ahead as I further enhance that position for the benefit of our users and business partners.”

When we were asked to review these tuning sticks we were somewhat intrigued as the makers Akiko make some pretty bold claims about what they can do in a system. Essentially the Tuning Sticks from Akiko Audio are a passive “tweak” which you plug into the back of an amp, spare mains socket or Velcro onto your speakers. Dan was duly sent a pack of the Tuning Sticks and slotted them into his already well sorted hifi system.

“Such tweaks, I feel, are not and should not be claimed to be game changing in their effects, however when combined with a well put together system can prove to have a beneficial effect on the systems performance as a whole.

The Tuning Sticks themselves are very unobtrusive devices, slim barrels with a variation of connectors which are plugged into a spare socket on a component and claim to aid in its grounding potential and clean up background noise and thus enhance detail. The AC versions have your country’s designated power plug fitted and can be plugged into a spare wall socket or spare socket on a mains extension block.”

Read the full review of the Akiko Tuning Sticks.

Glasgow-based Audio Origami is best known for its tonearms and the PU7 in particular. But Johnny whose brainchild Audio Origami is also offers a range of services to vinyl lovers including tonearm wiring and tonearm restoration. As part of this service the company has always supplied turntable essentials such as bearing oil and headshell wiring.

Latterly these essentials have been joined by a collection of other useful objects for turntable obsessives.

First up is a little gadget that’s essentially a magnifying glass-with-lamp and which should prove somewhat easier to use than a jeweler’s loupe when checking the condition or cleanliness of your stylus tip. Price is £8 + 3 postage. To clean your stylus you can also add a Clearaudio stylus brush for £10 + postage.

Audio Origami also do a couple of headshell/platter spirit levels in two sizes which are small enough to use on the headshell of your turntable when setting up Azimuth and VTF. Price is £8.99 plus postage.

Meridian Audio has announced the introduction of their new-design G65 Surround Controller.

Meridian’s G65 is the definitive surround processor of the company’s G Series and in conjunction with the Meridian HD621 it allows connection of a diverse range of audio and video sources with unified control over time alignment, bass management and surround sound processing. The latest in the G Series line of components, G65 builds on the achievements of Meridian’s flagship 800 Series, with entirely new circuitry developed specifically for the product. 

Sitting at the heart of a Meridian Digital Theatre, the G65 is designed to drive Meridian DSP Loudspeakers as well as providing balanced analogue outputs for conventional systems. “Unique Meridian technologies include Smart Source, which automatically selects the correct settings for optimum listening, whilst Meridian’s Apodising upsampling system is said to improve audio quality and can correct problems in an original digital recording. Meridian Room Correction smooths out the low-frequency reverberation on a room to improve clarity and imaging for a more immersive experience”. 

Full installation configuration is achieved by running Meridian’s proprietary Windows-based MConfig application, connected to the G65 via a serial or USB link, or direct from the front panel. A comprehensive back-lit learning/programmable MSR+ remote is included. 

UK Price: £4,500 – £6000(with HD621)