30.03.2025 06:23 | ~1 minute read
Audio-Technica has introduced a limited edition of the ATH-CKS50TW2 TWS headphones, designed based on the Star Wars universe. Users are offered stylized versions in the style of the droid R2-D2, the characters Grogu and Mando from the Mandalorian series, and Darth Vader. The technical specifications remain unchanged, but the owners of the headphones now have the opportunity to customize alerts that play unique sounds from Star Wars corresponding to a particular character.
The price of the limited edition Audio-Technica ATH-CKS50TW2 has become higher - instead of $149, the new headphones will cost $179. Pre-orders will be available from April 21, 2025. As a reminder, the highlight of the original Audio-Technica ATH-CKS50TW2 model was its record operating time (up to 65 hours of playback – 25 hours from the headphones, or 15 hours with noise cancelling mode activated, and an additional 40-25 hours via the Magnetic Switch charging case).
This product is in the Hi-Fi and High End Electronics and Acoustics database
Model name
ATH-CKS50TW2
Transducer principle
Dynamic or Isodynamic
Scheme
Closed
Wearing style
TWS
Frequency response low +/- 10dB (Hz)
5
Frequency response high +/- 10dB (Hz)
20000
Max. sound pressure level (dBSPL (1 kHz @ 5% THD))
N/A
Connection type
Wireless
Connector (mm)
N/A
Sensitivity (dBSPL (1 kHz/ 1 mW)))
110
Impedance (Ohm (1 kHz))
20
Playback time (hours)
25 - 15 plus 40 - 25 via case
Weight (g)
N/A
Official link
The original Klipsch LA SCALA loudspeakers were released in 1963 – the model has remained in production for years and has earned a truly cult status. Well, meet the new version of the Klipsch LA SCALA AL6 – for the first time in many years, it uses a vented box design and significantly expands the depth of the bass.
Rega has introduced the seventh generation of the Brio series integrated amplifier - Rega Brio Mk7. The amp, like its predecessors, is housed in a compact case and offers a power of 2 x 50 W at 8 Ohm load or 2 x 73 W at 6 Ohm. "On board" along with a headphone amplifier (with a 3.5 mm minijack post) and a phono preamplifier for working with both moving magnet (MM) and moving coil (MC) pickup cartridges, a digital-to-analog converter module has also appeared.
The tube stereo power amplifier Pearl Acoustics 170 SE should go on sale only at the end of 2025 – but the veil of secrecy over the device has already been lifted. We are waiting for a dual mono, single ended design power amp with 0 dB global feedback. The device is based on the inexpensive PSVANE "Horizon" KT150 tubes – which delivers excellent holography, as well as good bass and detail without a significant loss in output power.
The Swiss company Nagra has introduced a new phono preamplifier, the Nagra Compact Phono, offered for a relatively modest price of $4,950 by the company’s standards. The model, housed in a miniature aluminum vibration-controlled case, offers the highest performance and uses circuitry with the shortest signal path to achieve ideal MC correction.
Musical Fidelity has developed a new digital-to-analog converter with headphone amplifier Musical Fidelity M8x DAC. In its development, the company relied on its proprietary approaches that have been developed over the years – such as the use of Class A output stages, the absence of an information display to reduce electromagnetic interference (indication is displayed using LEDs), as well as the avoidance of wireless Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modules.