Over the past seven days we’ve seen a wave of big stories break from KEF, Audio-Technica, TCL, Bang & Olufsen and more.
Did you miss something? Fear not – we’ve penned a fresh edition of our weekly Rewind news digest, rounding up all the biggest stories from the world of hi-fi and home cinema.
KEF's legendary Coda range is back – and wireless
Kicking us off is KEF, which unveiled its Coda W speakers. The new standmounts aim to pair the wireless streaming smarts that KEF has become famous for, with its Award-winning LS-range, and all the physical connectivity you need.
KEF claims this makes them a great option for vinyl fans in particular. We will reserve judgement on that claim until we get a pair in for review, but they certainly look interesting.
Read the full story: KEF’s new Coda W wireless speaker system will handle all your vinyl and streaming needs
Audio-Technica's new headphones and cartridges
Audio-Technica had two big announcements last week.
The first was the launch of its new AT33x dual moving coil phono cartridges. There are five options in the new range with prices starting at £349 / $449 for its cheapest AT33xMONO/II model and then rising to £699 / $899 for the range’s top tier AT33xMLB option.
Audio-Technica claims advancements in their design mean every option should offer palpable improvements on their equivalents in its older AT33 Series.
The second was the announcement of its new flagship ATH-ADX7000 open-back, wired headphones, which it claims will offer “boundary pushing” performance thanks to their use of a new HXDT driver design.
Read the full story: Audio-Technica wants to upgrade your turntable and improve the sound of your vinyl with new cartridges and accessories
TCL aims to make OLED TVs cheaper
On the home cinema side of the fence the biggest news last week was TCL CSOT (the display development and manufacturing arm of TCL) announcing plans to start manufacturing OLED panels in a new $4.15 billion factory.
As well as putting the brand in direct competition with Samsung and LG, the only big companies currently making OLED TV panels, this is important news because of the way TCL plans to make them.
Specifically, it plans to use inkjet printing technology, a process that reportedly cuts production costs by around 20 per cent, which could pave the way for cheaper OLED TVs.
Read the full story: TCL is about to start producing cheaper OLED panels – should LG and Samsung be worried?
Bang & Olufsen turns 100
Legendary Danish brand Bang & Olufsen celebrated its 100th birthday last week. And eager to let fans in on the party, it marked the occasion by releasing special edition versions of its Beoplay H100 headphones, and Beosound A5 and A9 wireless speakers.
Read the full story: Bang & Olufsen’s trio of special edition products pay tribute to 100 years in the industry
WiiM’s Apple HomePod rival finally has a price and release date
Finishing off this week’s digest is reader favourite WiiM, which revealed some key details about its hotly anticipated new smart speaker.
We first saw the WiiM Sound in May at the High End Munich show. But at the time the firm was being quite secretive about a number of key details, notably how much it would cost and when it would be released.
Thankfully we now know it will launch in mid-November costing £299 (around $400 / AU$612) – the same price as the Apple HomePod 2.
Will it be able to beat the Big Tech rival? We’ll be sure to find out the moment we get one in for review!
Read the full story: WiiM's HomePod smart speaker rival is out next month – and its price should worry Apple
MORE:
These are the best wireless speakers we’ve reviewed
Our reviewers rate the best OLED TVs
Our picks of the best wired headphones
