Home theater brand Definitive Technology today is announcing a new Studio 3D Mini Sound Bar System that includes a slim sound bar and wireless subwoofer with support for Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, and AirPlay 2.
The Studio 3D Mini consists of a 4.1 channel, six-driver array with aluminum tweeters and a compact 8-inch wireless subwoofer. The system can process Dolby Atmos and DTS:X encoded movies via a single HDMI eARC connection, and it offers a number of connectivity options including 4K HDMI in, 4K HDMI with eARC out, optical in, AUX in, and a USB port for music playback.
With AirPlay 2, the Studio 3D Mini will appear in the Home app and Control Center on Apple devices to let you easily beam content from your device and sync among multiple AirPlay 2-compatible speakers, and it can all be controlled via Siri. The system also supports Alexa and Google Assistant for integrating with those ecosystems.
Beyond the usual third-party speaker ecosystems, the Studio 3D Mini is Definitive Technology's first product to include support for HEOS Built-in, which similarly allows users to easily link compatible speaker products together in multi-room audio systems and manage them while also streaming from services such as Spotify and Deezer or directly from the user's music library.
The Definitive Technology Studio 3D Mini sound bar system will be available next month and will be priced at $899.
Thursday December 5, 2024 11:48 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple seeded the release candidate version of iOS 18.2 today, which means it's going to see a public launch imminently. Release candidates represent the final version of new software that will be provided to the public should no last minute bugs be found, and Apple includes release notes with the RC launch.
The iOS 18.2 release notes provide a look at all of the new features that are coming...
Wednesday November 27, 2024 1:05 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple is expected to kick off 2025 by launching an all-new smart home hub, also referred to as a "command center," as early as March.
The hub is expected to feature around a six-inch display that can be attached to a tabletop base with a speaker, or mounted on a wall. The device is said to run a new "homeOS" operating system with a customizable widget-focused home screen, and it is expected...
Friday December 6, 2024 4:42 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is set to release iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. There are a handful of new non-AI related feature controls...
Friday December 6, 2024 4:07 pm PST by Juli Clover
In 2025, Apple is planning to debut a thinner version of the iPhone that will be sold alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. This iPhone 17 "Air" will be about two millimeters thinner than the current iPhone 16 Pro, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
The iPhone 16 Pro is 8.25mm thick, so an iPhone 17 that is 2mm thinner would come in at around 6.25mm. At 6.25mm,...
Friday December 6, 2024 5:14 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 lineup may bring some of the most significant display improvements we've seen in recent years. While the iPhone 17 series isn't expected until late 2025, multiple rumors suggest Apple is working on substantial screen upgrades across its entire smartphone range.
From enhanced refresh rates to advanced materials and improved power efficiency, these display...
Thursday November 28, 2024 3:30 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Despite being released over two years ago, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 continue to dominate the wireless earbud market. However, with the AirPods Pro 3 expected to launch sometime in 2025, anyone thinking of buying Apple's premium earbuds may be wondering if the next generation is worth holding out for.
Apart from their audio and noise-canceling performance, which are generally regarded as...
Thursday December 5, 2024 10:03 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 updates to developers and public beta testers for testing purposes, two weeks after releasing the fourth betas. Alongside the release candidate versions of the iPhone, iPad, and Mac operating system updates, Apple has also seeded the watchOS 11.2, tvOS 18.2, and HomePod Software 18.2 RCs....
Thursday December 5, 2024 4:19 pm PST by Juli Clover
OpenAI today announced the launch of ChatGPT Pro, a $200 per month subscription service that provides unlimited access to OpenAI o1, the company's newest and most advanced large language model.
The plan includes unlimited use of OpenAI o1, o1-mini, GPT-4o, and Advanced Voice, along with o1 pro mode, an o1 version that uses more compute to provide better answers to the hardest problems. In...
Definitive Technology is a high end home audio company that puts Bose (and Apple acquired Beats) to shame. Next time in Best Buy, swing by their Magnolia audio store where they stock the line, rather than their regular store, and will typically have DT towers active on their listening display. Historically, one of it's original founders was earlier the founder of Polk Audio, with DT a separate high end company, however now both have been acquired but remain separate entities within their parent company.
It is great to see Apple expanding the functionality of AirPlay 2 into high end systems. Unfortunately, it is a little late for me. DT was on the short list when, along with, Denon, Bower and Wilkins among others, as looking at soundbars and musical, multi room system integration. DT's wireless system fell short and ultimately compromised on Sonus/Alexia based. DT has always had the acoustics, but with the added AirPlay 2 capability, it is a win-win for both DT and Apple.
Yeah, I see "Atmos support" mentioned more and more without any explanation. As far as I can tell, any device that is capable of taking an Atmos input and downmixing it to play through however many speakers it has can claim it 'supports' Atmos. Any actual ability to output sound over a sound stage in anyway representing the Dolby Atmos standard, be it with real or virtual speakers, doesn't seem to come into it. Just because a soundbar can take a Atmos feed and output it to achieve a degree of spatial effect does not mean that output is a Dolby Atmos environment.
It's like when we had all these 720P 'HD ready' TVs a few years ago - they were capable of taking a 1080 signal, downmixing it to 720P and outputting it on a 720P screen, maybe with some processing to make it look sharper than a normal 720P feed, but at the end of the day it wasn't 1080 HD coming out of it, 'HD ready' or not.
Great speakers and great customer service! I've had a Definitive 5:1 setup for sixteen years and they sound great - clear highs and mid-range and crisp bass. About five years ago, one of the speakers had a cone break so I contacted them for a replacement. Eleven years so it's out of warranty, right? Well, they responded quickly and told me to send the speaker back without quoting a price. Less than two weeks after sending the speaker, I received a replacement in pristine condition and an invoice that showed no balance!