From streaming music and audiobooks to live audio rooms and podcasts, every major player in tech is trying to own a chunk of the listening experience. Spotify is expanding beyond music streaming, YouTube is becoming an audio-only destination, and Apple Music is hoping to stand out with spatial audio while Tidal, Pandora, SoundCloud, and so many more scramble to set themselves apart.
Yesterday the company announced its first new hardware since 2024. The Sonos Amp Multi is targeted at high-end sound systems and professional audio installers, but this video explaining all of the amplifier’s features will make anyone with a handful of old speakers lying around want to add one to their setup.
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Following a focus on improving its software and mobile app, the Amp Multi is Sonos’ first new hardware debut since the launch of its Arc Ultra soundbar in 2024, as reported by Bloomberg. The Amp Multi lets users connect traditional speakers to their wireless audio systems using eight amplified outputs, but is designed for professional installations.
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Smart lights that know where they’re placed in a room, wild designs for next-gen routers, and a glowing inedible donut.
Samsung took heavy inspiration from Apple’s AirPods when it reinvented the design of its Galaxy Buds 3, but is making some tweaks for the next set. Android Authority spotted the Buds 4 Pro in leaked One UI 8.5 animations, with a flatter stem and no light strip.
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Just... not the actual phones. Instead, it’s 2023’s repairable Fairbuds XL headphones that will go on sale on Amazon this month. As for the excellent Fairphone 6, CEO Raymond van Eck tells me launching that is a “complicated process,” but one he hopes will be sorted “in the near future.”
Creative has resurrected its Sound Blaster brand for a modular audio hub to help you route audio inputs and outputs across your gear. Go take one look at it and tell me you don’t feel exactly the same way as commenter RG7:
RG7:
I have no use for this but I must have it.
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This new edition includes chapters by fellow acclaimed Harman researchers Dr. Sean Olive (on headphones) and Todd Welti (on subwoofers and room acoustics). It’s 20 percent off until next Tuesday.
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The Blomprakt Bluetooth speaker lamp was first announced last July as part of a new lineup following the end of Sonos and Ikea’s partnership earlier this year. It’s priced at $59.99 in the US making it much cheaper than Ikea’s $179 Sonos-compatible Symfonisk lamp speaker, but the Blomprakt lacks Wi-Fi and streaming support.
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