THE Show Newport Beach 2014
Hot Product
cEntrance, which makes the very popular HiFi-M8
(pronounced "hi-fi mate"), showed a prototype of a new downsized
"mate" dubbed the Mini-M8 (right, underneath iPhone). Like its larger sibling,
it bypasses the iPhone's DAC to provide a much higher-quality signal and has a USB input
to accept and decode 24-bit/192kHz data. The Mini-8 sheds a good third of the size of the
larger DAC/amp and appears quite a bit lighter, although the prototype was in a lighter
case, while production models will be metal. The loss of amplifier size will not be a
problem for most users, who will use the Mini-M8 almost exclusively with in-ear monitors.
However, the new smaller unit seemed to have more than ample power to drive a set of
Audeze headphones that were on hand, so this looks a real winner for use on public
transportation.
The Mini-M8 will be ready to ship in late summer and will
cost $599. There was also a prototype of a unit called the Glove Audio A1 (not shown), a
DAC-and-amplifier that fits like a glove around the Askell & Kern players. The new
unit will be ready to ship in about a month and will also cost $599. |