Not forlorn but Forlane – It's the new €7K/pr 1-way speaker from Closer Acoustics with Fertin's LB7 7" whizzer-less widebander in a dual-line 'distributed resonance' enclosure of 42-litre volume. The solid-wood cabinet measures just 1m tall with a 20x34cm WxD footprint. Claimed sensitivity is 94dB, bandwidth 40Hz-18kHz.

Spare change – You'll need €41K for the copper version, €66K for pure silver. That's if you pursue the new Telos Grounding Monster from Taiwan to solve issues with different ground potentials between your gear. Up to 12 different components can be properly earthed on this device which includes Schumann resonators and premium Duelund capacitors.

Mytek renamed the Brooklyn Bridge – It's now the Brooklyn Bridge II Roon Core, a streamer, DAC, preamp, MM/MC phono and headphone amp in a box. It comes with either 64GB [€4K] or 4TB [€4.8K] of internal music storage and in silver and black. A finely tuned control with choice of analog or digital volume and steps of 1dB covers both headphone outputs and the XLR/RCA line outs. D/A conversion is by ESS ES9028Pro for 384 PCM, DSD256 and MQA. 'Harmonic audio tuning' can switch between high-precision and warmer voicing. An Intel i5 CPU powers seamless Roon Core server operation across large music collections and multiple zones in a multi-room environment. A Linux-based Mytek OS handles preamplifier and computer/network connectivity and the modern iPhone style user touch screen menu.

Audivina – It's not Audirvana but HifiMan's new $2K sealed headphone with a stealth-magnet array for its planarmagnetic membrane. Basic specs are 20Ω, 97dB, 470 grams and 5Hz-55kHz.

Estonian aura – It's Estelon's new Aura [€17.5K/pr], a four-driver 3-way sealed tower with 1" ScanSpeak Illuminator soft-dome tweeter in an elliptical waveguide, dual 5" SB Acoustics Satori mids of papyrus fiber and a downfiring 10" Faital woofer of semi-pressed paper. The latter's loading adds an acoustic low-pass function atop the electrical filter to eliminate output above 80Hz without requiring a massive inductor. Basic specs include 35Hz-25kHz bandwidth, 4Ω nominal impedance with 2Ω/58Hz minima, 90dB sensitivity, 200W power handling and Kubala-Sosna hookup wiring. Standard finishes for the thermoformed artificial stone enclosure are white or black and magnetically affixed grills are included. Dimensions are 1.3m tall with a footprint of 38x37cm WxD. Weight is 34kg/ea, recommended room size 15-60m².

Sea monster's ear nibble – It's Erzetich's new Charybdis headphone [€3K] "riding the waves of clarity with unparalleled comfort". The drivers are planarmagnetic membranes in CNC-milled aluminium cups. 43Ω impedance meets sea-monstrous 740g wear weight. Neck brace optional. A matching Scylla amp is announced for this summer.

Wattson's Madison on Roon – For the Swiss company's current top DAC/streamer, that time of Roon is now. Check out their product page for all the details.

Platinum, man – It's MonAcoustic's new PlatiMon [$6.5K/pr w. stands], a dual 5-inch dual rear-ported all aluminium 606 monitor with a central US-made AMT at 3.1kHz available in black or silver. The product page explains that the designer views the PlatiMon as a virtual coax to abandon the isobaric loading of the two previous models. PlatiMon cabinets are paired so left/right-channel specific. Claimed bandwidth is 53Hz-28kHz with 91dB/4Ω sensitivity, dimensions are 10.6×7.5×17" DxWxH, weight is 32lbs/ea., internal hookup wiring Sanctus F1 Signature from South Korea.

Taga CD – Called the TCD-50, Taga's first-ever CD player runs on ESS ES9018 fuel and a 35-watt toroidal engine transferring that torque to RCA/XLR analog outputs and optical/coax digital. There's also a headphone output with its own rotary volume; and remote control. We don't have specifics on the drawer-type mechanism. The machine comes in black or silver.

R80 – It's the new Living Voice bridge between compact OBX models and Vox Elysian hornspeakers. In R&D since 2019, it scales up the symmetrical 2-way array of the OBX models to dual 8" mid/woofers flanking a ScanSpeak Elliptictor tweeter. As a fan of upscale valve electronics, Kevin Scott designed the rear-ported R80 [£52K w. outboard xovers] to be a benign load on sensitivity and impedance. It will make its official launch at the Audio Deluxe show of Whittlebury Park on March 25/26th. "We wanted to create a speaker that combined the lyricism, coherence and innate musicality of the OBX-RW with the scale, dynamic range and visceral thrill of the Vox Olympian. It is a complicated business making something simple and the past 12 months bear testament to this. We made painstaking incremental progress through iterative development on both cabinet tuning and crossover. Our unique cabinet construction is a development of what we evolved for the Auditorium Series over the past 30 years which translates beautifully to the R80. The substrate is stiff, light and diffusive benefitting tone and dynamics. The R80's form factor is clean and simple, relying on classic golden-ratio proportions and formal relationships making for what we hope is a timeless aesthetic."

Melco sugar – It's their new flagship, the N1-S38 [£12K], a 3.84TB SSD-based digital music library in a full-size two-tone aluminium case with 3mm stainless steel base. The circuit direct-connects its memory data without RAID controller. Amphenol USB ports cover DAC, expansion, import and backup duties, two RJ45 by Neutrik the network and an SFP port any fiber-optic connections. There's even a 10MHz external master-clock input. The internal power supply is a linear affair around a high-capacity power transformer with large capacitance bank. Finish options are black or silver.

SPL's Diamond – From Germany's pro-audio company SPL comes their new Diamond DAC [€2'500] whose RCA/XLR analog outputs can be individually set to fixed or variable via rear-panel dip switches. In variable mode they're preceded by a precision analog volume control. The company's Voltair circuitry runs its parts at ±60V to significantly reduce distortion. There's also an external master-clock input on BNC. For more, visit their website.

New Danish hifi brand? – As spotted on Audio Group Denmark banners flown at the recent Florida Expo and Norddeutsche Hifi Tage, the mighty trinity of Ansuz, Aavik and Børresen are set to welcome a sibling brand called Axxess. If I were a betting man, I'd say that the name suggests entry-level kit as in, first access to AGD's forever upwardly mobile catalogue. Since I'm no betting man, a mystery? From PFO's part 4 of their coverage of the Florida Expo published yesterday, "…the real reason to check out the AGD offerings at FLAX this year was the introduction of their new entry-level brand, Axxess. That featured its debut product, the Forte, which is an all-in-one device that is basically an integrated amplifier with built-in DAC and streamer modules".

Fyne vintage – Scotland's Fyne Audio have bowed their new Vintage Fifteen [£30K/pr] and Vintage Five [£3'750/pr], a coaxial 15" two-way floorstander and equivalent 5" stand-mount. The flagship combines a 75mm titanium dome compression tweeter with a 38cm multi-fiber mid/woofer with cryo-treated crossover in an oiled Walnut-finished birch play cabinet to put 93kg on the scale. The monitor gets a 19mm magnesium dome tweeter instead. Both models are manufactured in the company's Glasgow facility.

Mini poopers – Schiit just released two, the 2wpc Rekkr [$149] and 10wpc Gjallarhorn [$299]. Both are class A/B stereo amps that can scale up to 4-watt and 30-watt mono power respectively. Now Rekkr gets bridged by switch, Gjallarhorn driven by balanced XLR signal. Intended habitats for these mini amps are the desktop or small rooms with speakers of higher sensitivity like horns. Rekkr powers by 6V/2A wall wart, Gjallarhorn by built-in 80VA transformer. Both promise very low noise to avoid speaker hiss in the nearfield. Affordable micro amplifiers are no longer the sole domain of Chinese class D seems to be the intended subtext.

Power your array … with Chord Company's two noise-suppression devices called PowerAray [£550] and PowerAray Plus [£5.5K – 7.K]. These operate in parallel to our hifi gear's mains supply so no current flows through them. They contain proprietary materials which turn HF noise to heat. The company's recommended power cords come in UK, EU or US terminations. The Pro hardwires its cord which reflects in three different prices depending on which cord quality you choose. The regular Power Aray features a standard IEC so you must still add the cost of a power cord of your choice to the purchase price. Either way these components mirror the type and operational principle of two competitors we recently reviewed, the LessLoss BlackGround and Akiko Audio Corelli. We might say that options in this sector are heating up?

HypoFi – It's the Hypostatic Blackbird from Finland [€6'490/pr], a vintage Martin Logan lookalike so hybrid which here replaces ML's original curved electrostatic panel with a proprietary curved magnetostat so still a dipole. At a 250Hz filter transition, the ported 8" woofer in a powder-coated 30l steel enclosure takes over bass and lower-mid duties. At just 103cm tall but 40kg heavy, the 87dB Blackbird is a compact speaker with a lengthy 10-year warranty. Though the name suggests black only, other finishes are available by request.

Thunder from Down Under – How to get the most mature sound from a monitor small enough to fit in a kangaroo's pouch? Aussie brand Dellichord propose the FR6 [$5K/pr AU], an isobaric 6.5" 2-way plus passive radiator. The cabinet finishes in Australian Walnut but any paint or veneer request can be accommodated. The tweeter is a 29mm soft dome, the crossover sits at 1'700Hz with 3rd-order slopes. Measuring just 38x23x33xm HxWxD, claimed bandwidth is 33Hz – 30kHz. Sensitivity thus takes a hit to come in at 85dB.

Astral trips – You now can take your own with Campfire Audio's Trifecta [$3'375, triple dynamic IEM], the new Solaris [$2'670, triple dual-diaphragm balanced armatures] and a new version of Andromeda [$1'450, five dual-diaphragm balanced armatures].

Alma not mater – It's a compact isobaric two-way monitor from French company Mulidine. It claims bandwidth of 44-30'000Hz ±2dB from an AMT tweeter and dual 13cm ceramic mid/woofers. Five standard lacquer colors and unlimited custom colors, 86dB, 30x20x30.8cm HxDxW plus 10.8kg round out the basic specs.

HD 660S2 – It's Sennheiser's revised €599 classic with the promise of more potent LF. Technical changes apply to a finer voice coil, altered compliance of the driver surround and optimized airflow behind the driver. These improvements claim extra bass reach and more precise impulse response. Included are 180cm cables with 6.3mm and 4.4mm plugs plus a 3.5mm adapter and carrying case. Not changed is the 300Ω impedance.

Lite delight – It's Gold Note's PH-1000 Lite [€6.5K], a new phono stage. Despite the designation it still packs two RCA and 1 XLR input, can play stereo or mono LP and offers 36 selectable EQ curves. Gain goes from 31-74dB, loading from 10Ω-100kΩ, capacitance from 100-1'000pF. The output stage is class A and there's even a headphone output. Extension provisions can still bolt on the €3'790 external PSU-1000 power supply and the €4'480 Tube-1006 output stage for what the company call their Trio stack.

HighEnd Austria – The German High End Society is famous for putting on the annual Munich High End show as well as hosting HighEnd Suisse and sundry smaller domestic shows. Now they add to their catalogue a fall show in Vienna to take place November 18th and 19th across 3'000m² of downtown exhibit space.

Ansuz go for gold – In the UltraFi Olympics, Denmark just unleashed a whole team of Ansuz challengers spanning flagship cables and power distributors. "When used in the right quantities and in combination with silver and copper, gold can dramatically improve the sonic potential of all our technologies. Zirconium is another material we tested in various products which gave them unprecedented levels of resonance control. It was only logical to include zirconium in the new Gold Signature series." Gold thus shows up as cable conductor, ground wire or base wire for dual tesla and resonance coils. The housings of the Signature range's power distributors finish in a new coating of zirconium, tungsten, aluminium titanium nitride and a final outer layer of zirconium again. Their laminate plinth finishes in titanium skins whilst the company's analog dither tech is in its now 3rd generation. A la Audioquest, even the Teflon dielectrics of these best new Ansuz cables are now charged with a small standing voltage for still lower distortion. Zirconium also features in proprietary Ansuz noise-reduction tech.

Spanish Daimler-Benz? – It's the new Mercedes 3-way from Kroma Atelier which brackets a central Mundorf AMT tweeter with 6½" then 8" aluminium cones from Danish supplier Purifi. Duelund and Mundorf parts make up the xover. The bass system is rear ported, overall sensitivity is 89dB/8Ω and weight for each 50x32x160cm cabinet a colossal 138kg. As with all speakers from the Granada firm, the cabinet building material is Krion, a synthetic stone like Corian or HiMacs.