BBC Focus 02.2020

INNOVATIONS

CES REPORT 2020

CES for audiophiles

From huge strip speakerstotinywirelessearbuds,CESis theaudio-lover’s paradise.

Here’s our pick of the best on show this year

1. Audio,videoand
   voiceassistant
   Madebyexiblescreen
   specialistsRoyole,theMirage
   smartspeakercouldreplace
   severalofyourhomegadgets.
   It’spoweredbyAmazonAlexa
   voiceservice,thoughit’s
   considerablybiggerthanan
   AmazonEchospeakerinorder
   toaccommodateaneight-inch
   AMOLEDscreen,wrapped
   seamlesslyaroundtheunit.
   Youcanmakeandreceive
   videocallsusingthefive
   megapixelcamera,orusethe
   screentopresentvisuals.
   Royole’spartnershipwith
   audiobrandCleergivesthe
   Mirageanimpressive,360°
   soundquality.
   RoyoleMiragesmartspeaker,
   £799, royole.com

2.Forshowerkaraoke

Therearelotsofshower

speakersoutthere,butsome

compromiseonsound.The

newKohlerMoxieshowerhead

hasbuilt-inaudiofrom

HarmanKardon,sothere’sno

concessionshere.It’s

completelywaterproof– it

hastobe,sinceit sitsinthe

centreoftheshowerhead

usinga magneticdocking

system,meaningit doublesas

a portablespeakertoo– and

hasbeentunedtocancelout

thenoiseofthewater.If you

wanttorequestsongson

demand,youcanconnectany

Bluetoothdeviceoreven

upgradetotheAlexa

enabledversion.

KohlerMoxieshowerhead,

From £130, kohler.co.uk

3.A personalised

listeningexperience

CESwasawashwithwireless

earbuds,ata rangeofdierent

prices.Whenweheard

Audio-Technicawaslaunching

a newproduct,wehadto

checkthemout.Thenoise-

cancellingATH-ANC300TW

earbudsarethebrand’smost

advancedset.Oneofour

favouritefeaturesis the

hear-throughfunction,which

letsexternalsoundinwhen

youtaptheearbud– useful

forconversationsorairport

announcements.Theapp

providesthreepresetsto

controlthestrengthofthe

noise-cancellingeect.

Audio-Technica

ATH-ANC300TW,£209,

eu.audio-technica.com

4.InspiredbyDJs

Noise-cancellingheadphones

aregreatforcuingout

consistent,lowfrequency

soundslikeanaeroplane

engineduringaight.Butthe

morecomplicatedthenoise

you’retryingtoeliminate,the

harderthetaskgetsforthe

headphones.That’swhyJBL’s

newheadphones,whichclaim

tobeidealforDJstryingto

drownoutthecacophonyofa

nightclub,caughtouraention.

If theycandothiseectively

thenthey’llbesomeofthe

mostadvancedheadphones

outthere.Theyevenfeature

driversmadeoutofgraphene

(rememberthatmaterial?).

JBLClubheadphones,from

$149(approx£115),out in

spring, uk.jbl.com

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