Khosla Ventures among VCs experimenting with AI-Infused roll-ups of mature companiesVenture capitalists have always focused on investing in companies that leverage technology to either disrupt established industries or create entirely new business categories. But some VCs are starting to flip the script on their investing styles. Rather than funding startups, they are acquiring mature businesses –such as call centers, accounting firms, and other professional service […]

Texas governor signals support for Bitcoin reserve billTexas Governor Greg Abbott has signaled support for a bill recently passed by the state House of Representatives that would establish a strategic cryptocurrency reserve.In a May 22 X post, Abbott posted a Techstory article about Texas state lawmakers’ efforts to create a Bitcoin (BTC) reserve. The story pointed out that the decision for the passage of SB 21, the bill in question, now rests on Abbott’s shoulders, roughly three months after it was introduced. Since taking office, Abbott referred to himself as a “crypto law proposal supporter” in 2021 and suggested that he would support policies to establish Texas as a “crypto capital” in 2024. Texas was one of a handful of state-level governments that proposed setting up a strategic crypto reserve after the 2024 federal elections.   Related: Ukraine strategic Bitcoin reserve bill reportedly in final stagesOn May 6, New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte was the first to sign a Bitcoin reserve bill into law. Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs later approved a law allowing the state to claim ownership of unclaimed crypto. Some jurisdictions have rebuffed efforts to pass similar legislation, with roughly half of the 50 state governments considering a Bitcoin reserve.New administration working to have the US government hodlAt the federal level, President Donald Trump signed an executive order (EO) in March for a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve” and a “Digital Asset Stockpile,” but Congress had not codified the order as of May 23. Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis has led efforts in the chamber to pass the Boosting Innovation, Technology, and Competitiveness through Optimized Investment Nationwide, or BITCOIN, Act, reintroduced a few days after Trump’s EO.As of March 11, the bill has been referred to the Senate Banking Committee, and it was unclear if or when the chamber would consider a vote. The Senate will likely first move forward with debate on a bill to regulate payment stablecoins, the GENIUS Act, with some lawmakers anticipating a vote by Memorial Day, May 26.Magazine: Adam Back says Bitcoin price cycle ’10x bigger’ but will still decisively break above $100K

It's a Cruel World After AllDevo (above)All photos by Kevin Estrada PhotographyGolden Voice’s premiere go-to for goth and new wave nostalgia, Cruel World festival, returned to Brookside at the Rose Bowl for its fourth year on May 17th, this time bringing with it a gloomy rainy atmosphere that finally fit the music. In true summer festival fashion, a yearly staple for Cruel World attendees has been the inner struggle between an appropriately gothic outfit that inflicts suffering in the heat and a more minimal choice of look in exchange for comfort. As clouds and rain washed over Pasadena, there was an evident shift in ambiance compared to the previous years. In many ways, there was a new level of connection felt to all of those baritone vocals and sultry synths, but on the other hand, there was a noticeable emptiness of the grounds in comparison to past years.BlancmangeRegardless of corporate details like ticket sales and attendance numbers, Cruel World offers fans of alternative music a festival catered solely towards them, unlike many of the competing festivals right now that pepper in eighties nostalgia acts in between mainstream pop artists. Walking up to the festival at any time immediately bombards you with a mixture of sounds from the three stages. One second, your ears can be picking up Blancmange’s signature synth from “Living On The Ceiling,” and another second, Mareux can be entrancing you with his iconic cover of The Cure’s “The Perfect Girl.” Cruel World is not only a masterclass in fulfilling a niche need but also in integrating old and new artists into the same project, despite its audience being known to be stubborn about change in the subculture.Alison Moyet

Stereo MCsThis year, headlining acts like New Order, Devo, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, OMD, and The Go-Gos were selected to delight elder goths who miss their youth and younger goths with a “born in the wrong generation complex.” Earlier acts like The Buzzcocks and Stereo MC’s set the scene to show you don’t need to be making goth music to be part of the culture. Both displaying their reggae-influenced British styles of punk and rap with infectious fun and fire. Following the flame, the stages transitioned into more sultry sounds as She Wants Revenge and Alison Moyet hypnotized audiences into feeling like the golf course grass was tiles in a club. For those who prefer black and white checkers to black and white stripes, Madness offered a jazzy, cheery alternative to all the gloom. With hits like “Our House” and “It Must Be Love” allowing for a moment or two to skank around before resuming brooding.As the night went on and the rain stopped, Shirley Manson of Garbage emerged like a punk rock peacock to blow the roof off the place. The band was tight and their energy even tighter, with grunge beats taking on an almost industrial nature when performed live. Devo went on at the same time as Garbage, highlighting one of the major pitfalls of festivals: you're always going to miss someone you want to see. Shirley herself even humorously echoed this statement, saying, “We are sorry, Devo, we love you!”Later on, in a moment of sonically contrasting irony, The Go-Gos' set overlapped with that of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Both acts are trailblazers of their respective times and genres, both with killer performances, and if you're like us, you ran frantically between the stages to catch a bit of both. Nick Cave has always been and will always be a haunting, satanic preacher of a performer; the minimalist nature of his look, compounded with his draconian piano playing, is never not mesmerizing. Despite the lack of energy brought on by his music, fans still thoroughly enjoyed tracks like “Joy” and “Wild God.” Across the field, over at the “Sad Girls” stage, The Go-Gos were serving up 80’s Southern California summer fun. We screamed along to classics like “Our Lips Are Sealed,” “Lust to Love,” and “How Much More," with the band even referring to their early punk days at the iconic venue The Masque.New OrderThe day was also not over without addressing the rain jokes as The Buzzcocks smirked before singing “Manchester Rain”, fans chanted along to Garbage’s “I’m Only Happy When It Rains”, and The Go-Go's made sure to have us sing along to “Automatic Rainy Day”. At the end of the night, always comes the pilgrimage to the main stage along with the entire crowd, all clawing away at each other to get as close as possible. New Order, in their reign as the King of overplayed club songs, was sure to entice the crowd to be as impatient as possible. At the end of the day, the band aren’t what they used to be, but that's okay. Tracks like “Bizarre Love Triangle” and “Age of Consent” will always evoke a feeling of melancholic, fleeting youth, no matter how well they are sung. The band also displayed an impressive rave-like lighting setup reminiscent of the “Hacienda” era clubbing scene in Manchester.All in all, as the state of the music industry becomes increasingly unstable, festivals will always be important to foster community. Cruel World 2025 found itself in the middle of several hits and misses, but we all still hope we get to attend Cruel World 2026 next year anyway.The post It's a Cruel World After All first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Tearing Down And Hacking The T2S+ Thermal Camera[Dmytro] was able to lay his hands on a InfiRay T2S+ camera. It’s a capable thermal imaging unit that comes at a cheaper price than many of its rivals. [Dmytro] decided to pull it apart to see what makes it tick, and he discovered a few interesting things along the way.
Like so much modern hardware, pulling the case apart does require some spudging and levering. Once inside, though, it comes apart in a relatively straightforward manner. Once inside, [Dmytro] notes some similarities between this camera and the Flir Lepton, another affordable thermal camera on the market. He also finds a clone of the Cypress FX2LP chip, which is used for talking USB. There’s also an Gowin FPGA inside, with [Dmytro] suspecting the gateware onboard could be modified. If so, the camera may be a candidate for running open source firmware in future.
What bothered [Dmytro] about this camera, though, was the software. When used with an Android phone, the camera demands the use of a proprietary app with with questionable permissions. It can be used on a regular computer, where it appears as a standard webcam. However, in this mode, the camera fails to self-calibrate, and the images quickly become useless. [Dmytro] worked to hack around this, by figuring out a way to trigger calibrations and run the proper image corrections manually when using the camera without the smartphone app. He also explores techniques to improve the resolution of the thermal measurements made by the camera.
We’ve seen some other neat thermal camera hacks over the years. Video after the break.

[Thanks to Clint for the tip!]

APU Software APU Loudness ContourAPU Loudness Contour is a real-time equal-loudness filter that offers precise control over a wide range of perceptual loudness contours, including ISO 226 (2003 & 2023), Fletcher-Munson, K-weighting, A/C-weighting, ECMA-418, ITU-R 468, and more. Each contour is normalized to 0 dB at 1 kHz and includes a dedicated contour weight parameter, allowing you to scale the frequency response in both positive and negative directions. A weight of 0% results in a flat response, while negative weights invert the contour. ISO 226 and Fletcher-Munson curves support variable reference levels from 20 dB SPL to 120 dB SPL, with smooth interpolation between phon curves. The plugin supports both linear phase and minimum phase filter types. Built-in makeup gain compensation is provided per contour and reference level, calibrated using pink noise LUFS measurements. When enabled, makeup gain offsets the entire contour response by the corresponding gain amount. Additional output gain is available for manual fine-tuning. A comprehensive real-time spectrum analyzer is included, featuring configurable FFT sizes, window types, bucket widths, and time averaging. Frequency visualization can be switched between linear, logarithmic, or musical note scales, with auto-zoom and custom dB range options. https://youtu.be/-IuTb4ismsQ Read More

“You don’t always need to mix a song — hear me out…”: Grace Davies on DIY production, breaking studio rules, and trusting your earsSinger-songwriter turned producer, Grace Davies, has come a long way since her time on the world-famous singing competition, The X Factor. With four EPs and one on the way, she’s learnt what it takes to work both independently and under major record label Syco, and is now spreading her producer wings with her upcoming album, The Wrong Side of 25, showcasing the first time that Davies has sat in the producing chair for an entire project.
Alongside her notable sync work, which has seen her catalogue appear in popular UK TV shows such as Love Island, Britain’s Got Talent, Strictly Come Dancing and more, the producer is focusing more on bringing her releases to life, using plugins and other studio equipment that can help make the visions in her head a reality.
READ MORE: Waz-u: “If you want to do something unexpected, be controlled and intentional about it”
In this Studio Files interview, Davies sits down with MusicTech to delve into her new role as a producer, how that has changed her relationship with singer-songwriting, and how she can use equipment to help further develop her sonic creativity.

What did you learn about yourself as a producer while producing IWPBWT and The Wrong Side of 25?
IWPBWT was the first time I’d co-produced a whole project; it was really important for me in understanding the value of trusting my instinct.
I would send stems to my producer and say, ‘This probably isn’t very good, but maybe something like this… I’m sure you have a better plugin, though, and he’d be like, ‘Grace, I’m just gonna use yours because there’s nothing wrong with it and it sounds great’. It really gave me a confidence boost and assurance that just because I’m not the ‘named producer’ who is being paid for the job, doesn’t mean I’m not capable of doing it and chipping in. It was also the first time a producer recognised that I’m essentially coming up with all of the production ideas and leading the way a song would sound counted as a production credit — and that was really eye-opening for me.
I’ve always said since the beginning of my career that I have a producers head but not an engineers hands — i.e. I’ve always had a strong vision for production and been able to sit next to a producer and guide them, but it sometimes takes someone with zero ego to go “you’re actually doing most of the producing here, I’m just doing what you tell me to do” and give you that recognition.
Grace Davies in the studio. Image: Press
Lockdown in 2020 was actually a great time for me as a songwriter because, with no one else there to do it for me, it forced me into the uncomfortable zone of really honing my craft as an ‘engineer’. I’m grateful for that time and for the producers I worked with during that period who really championed me.
Transitioning from a singer-songwriter to a recording artist and now a producer, how has your perspective about making music changed?
My love for the creative process has grown so much more. I’ve been on stage since I was three years old, and I viewed songwriting as a necessary chore before — my love was performing. But, being in a studio for 18 months, working things out, problem solving, surrounding myself with incredible musicians and having the time and patience to try out the weirdest, least commercial ideas was the most fun I’ve ever had. I think the tables have very much turned for me, and the studio is now my happy place.

What’s your latest gear or plugin purchase?
My latest plugin purchase was iZotope RX 11, and let me tell you, it has been worth its weight in gold on this album. My co-producer Paul and I made the very easy mistake of, during the writing process, saying ‘Ah yeah, that’s cool, let’s just sing that in as a rough guide’ whilst making the demos.
A very crucial thing to note — I will never be able to sing something with as much emotion or conviction as when I’ve just written it and don’t really know what I’m doing… I’m just never able to capture the same magic! So when you’re ‘roughly’ singing something in with no headphones and speakers blaring and then, later down the line, you end up changing production or releasing acapella’s with that as the final vocal, that becomes a gigantic problem.
iZotope RX11 in Davies’ project
RX 11 was critical in removing so much noise from the background. You’re really able to zone in and visually pick out sounds you want removing, rather than just sticking something like Waves’ NS1 on it that’ll create quite a dull sound over the main recording. It’s great for removing clicks, pops and saliva noises too.
What’s the best free plugin you own?
One hundred thousand per cent, it’s the BBC Symphony Orchestra Discover from Spitfire
AUdio. For anyone who’s into huge orchestra sounds but doesn’t want to pay thousands of pounds, this is a great free plugin to help you play around.
There’s a string interlude on my album, which I used this plugin for before firing MIDI stems over to Paul. It’s genuinely so much fun and sounds great considering it’s £0.
Spitfire Audio BBC Symphony Orchestra in Davies’ project
Your recent singles, ‘A Wonderful, Boring, Normal Life’, feel like a new era compared to previous releases. How has your creative mind changed in the time since you were on X Factor, having released a lot of music since then?
I think I just started making music for my younger self — the one I was before I even knew I wanted to do music. My recent releases and upcoming album are inspired by the songs I grew up listening to in the car: ELO, ABBA, Robbie Williams, The Beautiful South, The Carpenters, etc.

So much of that music is made ‘out of the box’ (real, live instruments) — and sure, it’s way more expensive to do that and technology has come on so much that we don’t always need to do it that way anymore, but there’s something so exciting about working with real musicians, being in the studio and hearing a 20 piece orchestra play your songs… It’s magical.
That’s a big reason why my sound is so different to how it used to be. I’m finally giving myself the time, room (and budget) to create music that matters to me and not just following charting trends. I feel like I’ll listen to this music in 20/30 years time and it won’t sound dated. Particularly as an independent artist, using live musicians and ‘out of the box’ production is very expensive — but it’s the most fun I’ve ever had. I really don’t feel like you can ever completely emulate the sound of instruments and outboard gear through plugins. They come close but nothing compares to the real thing.
What’s a music production myth you think needs debunking?
This is more about the process of actually finishing a song, but I really don’t think you always need to mix a song… Hear me out.
Of course, there are occasions where you get as far as you can, either by yourself or (as an artist) with a producer, where you’re thinking, ‘all the elements are there, we just need someone else with a fresh pair of ears to take it to the next level’. In my case, this is often unnecessary and the hard-wired process of sending a song to mix before it goes to master can hinder, undo, delay and cause more stress — all because that’s just the way the processes of finishing a record have been laid out for us.
Grace Davies in the studio. Image: Press
I think there’s a charm in naivety and simply not really knowing what you’re doing. I often turn dials on gear or plugins and think ‘that sounds great… No idea what I just did, but I don’t care because it’s wicked.” And I think the same goes for a lot of producers; just because there is a step put in place to send a song to an outside body who ‘knows what they’re doing’ doesn’t mean you have to utilise it. If you’re happy with how something sounds before it goes to mix, just don’t go to mix! Go straight to master! Even the best mixing engineers can overcomplicate, overclean things, take out emotion or vibe or just simply have a different vision from you.
Particularly in my experience, I’ve ended up wasting money trying out different mixers and then eventually going back to the original producer who either delivers mixed stems or just delivers the pre-masters themselves. On this album, my co-producer Paul mixed everything because A) he’s a genius, but B) I always tend to give mix notes as we go along — and we’re both perfectionists, so even our demos sound like finished records! It’s obviously case by case,e but I do know a lot of artists who feel the same anxiousness when sending a song to mix. It can really make or break a song. If you don’t feel like it needs it, don’t let anyone tell you that it does. Don’t cause yourself more stress and cost yourself more money.
 
The post “You don’t always need to mix a song — hear me out…”: Grace Davies on DIY production, breaking studio rules, and trusting your ears appeared first on MusicTech.

From HYBE’s reported expansion plans to Martin Lorentzon’s Spotify stock cash-outs… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-UpThe biggest stories from the past week – all in one place…
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Native Instruments & iZotope Summer Summer Sales Until 30 June 2025, Native Instruments and iZotope are offering some generous discounts across their product ranges, and to kick things off, there are some free plug-ins up for grabs!

Michael Brandvold on a life in music from behind the scenesMichael Brandvold recently spoke ablut the struggles of those that work behind the scenes in music. Organized by Support Life And Music (SLAM), the panel discussed a life in music. Continue reading
The post Michael Brandvold on a life in music from behind the scenes appeared first on Hypebot.

Indie music venues are struggling, but the UK has a solutionWith more stories daily about the growing hurdles to touring, we look at how indie music venues are struggling.
The post Indie music venues are struggling, but the UK has a solution appeared first on Hypebot.

“It’s hard to clear samples. We’d have something in the track, and then we would have to take it out, and it wouldn’t sound as good”: Zeds Dead’s battle with sample clearance on their new albumZeds Dead reignited their love of sampling on their new album, Return to the Spectrum of Intergalactic Happiness, but the historic production technique brought them face to face with the uncertain process of clearing samples – again.
One pre-existing recording on the album that members Zachary Rapp-Rovan and Dylan Mamid doubted they could secure was on A Million Dreams. The chilled-out drum ‘n’ bass track opens with the late piano legend Duke Ellington comparing playing music to dreaming. They grabbed the audio from a YouTube video, and after difficulties connecting with Ellington’s estate, his grandson reached out to Mamid and Rapp-Rovan with his approval.

READ MORE: Who is the next Aphex Twin? Meet the producers warping the future of electronic music

As two producers who started out making hip-hop, Mamid and Rapp-Rovan have endured the process of clearing samples numerous times over their 15 years of making music together. Many cases didn’t turn out as well as A Million Dreams.

“It’s hard to clear samples,” Rapp-Rovan said in a recent interview with MusicTech. “We would get to these places where we’d have something in the track, and then we would have to take it out and replay it, and it wouldn’t sound as good.”
The frustration surrounding this process led to them avoiding sampling for a while. Instead, they engaged in the challenge of making music purely from scratch. But when it came time to produce a new album, they went back to their roots.
“In the last three years, we’ve been sampling like crazy, and for this album, we just said, ‘Let’s just have fun with it and try to clear it at the end,’” Rapp-Rovan added.
Other artists and media they sampled on the album include Ella Fitzgerald providing her sweet vocals on Summertime by George and Ira Gershwin, and Al Pacino’s threatening speech in Scarface. The former is the hook for the electric dubstep tune One Of These Mornings, and the latter is the basis of their dark house track, Bad Guy.
Read more about Zeds Dead’s journey with sampling on their new album via MusicTech.
The post “It’s hard to clear samples. We’d have something in the track, and then we would have to take it out, and it wouldn’t sound as good”: Zeds Dead’s battle with sample clearance on their new album appeared first on MusicTech.

“I was posting to social media every day. It totally f**king sucks”: How Claude VonStroke uses social media as a fully independent artistClaude VonStroke has bemoaned the necessity of posting to social media as an artist, saying that “it totally fucking sucks”, and suggests that cultivating quality is more important than putting up “a bunch of garbage”.
Two decades into his career, the prominent producer and DJ, real name Barclay Crenshaw, is in what he describes as his “life of leisure” phase. In essence, he says, this is an era of complete independence. The former Dirtybird owner isn’t signed to a label; he’s only taking gigs he wants to play, and he’s releasing music at his own pace.

READ MORE: Telepathic Instruments’ Orchid, Drop 2: All the details about Tame Impala’s synth and how to order one

In previous phases of his career, such as when he shifted from the funky house beats of Claude VonStroke over to the modern bass project he was running under his birth name, Crenshaw engaged with the daily grind of social media. While he did see the benefits, he absolutely hated it.
“I was posting [to social media] almost every day,” Crenshaw said in a new interview with MusicTech. “It kind of works, and eventually way more people are looking at your stuff, but it totally fucking sucks. It’s not even making music. It has nothing to do with anything. It’s stupid.”
Crenshaw is far from the only artist to decry the ubiquity of social media in modern music. The Guardian reported that pop stars like Charli XCX and Billie Eilish have left social media platforms to preserve their mental health. Sara Quin of Canadian duo Tegan and Sara went on to her frustration with how artists are ostensibly required to be active on social media in order to maintain their careers:
“Myspace or Facebook posts used to be an add-on, but now it feels like making music is about making assets for social media.”
Continuing his criticism of the demands of the online world, Crenshaw says that striving for a “consistent output” is futile. It’s better to stockpile your best ideas, he says.
“People think that the consistent output is better than the good output. Just keep hammering until something catches. You might win over a really long period of time. But it’s just a bunch of garbage. Why would that work? It’s not gonna stick out.”
Crenshaw recently sold all of Dirtybird’s entities to the large-scale independent label and distributor, EMPIRE. He is currently in the midst of his Life of Leisure tour throughout Europe and North America, having just released his latest EP, I Was The Wolf.
Read more about this new phase of Claude VonStroke’s career on MusicTech.
The post “I was posting to social media every day. It totally f**king sucks”: How Claude VonStroke uses social media as a fully independent artist appeared first on MusicTech.

“I want to make sure what happened to me never happens to anyone else” Kesha’s SMASH is a new community platform for artistsKesha has unveiled SMASH, her new platform designed to put artists first.
Writers, musicians, producers, and other creators can join the platform to hire each other for rates they set themselves, sign deals that best suit their interests, and keep all the rights to the final project. Other features include community networking, a marketplace, contracting, and a remote collaboration studio.
READ MORE: Who is the next Aphex Twin? Meet the producers warping the future of electronic music
To celebrate SMASH, Kesha, real name Kesha Rose Sebert, has launched a remix contest for her latest single, BOY CRAZY. Participants can enter by signing up for the SMASH email list. Those who sign up will receive the stems. The winner will be selected by Kesha and given a release on her own Kesha Records this summer.
“My goal is to shift the power structure of the music-making business in favour of the creators,” says Sebert in a press release. “I signed a predatory deal when I was 18 and then spent more than a decade fighting to regain rights to my voice and image. When I finally gained my freedom, I realised the fight wasn’t over. I want to make sure what happened to me never happens to anyone else again.”
The deal to which she is referring is her infamous contract with producer Dr Luke and Kemosabe Records, a subsidiary of Sony. Sebert was obligated to record multiple albums for the label, but in 2014, before she completed her contract, she sued Dr Luke, real name Łukasz Sebastian Gottwald, for emotional distress, sex-based hate crimes, and employment discrimination. She claimed he had abused her for years prior to filing in addition to drugging and raping her.
Gottwald denied the claims and counter-sued Sebert for defamation and breach of contract. The ensuing legal battle finally ended in 2023 with a confidential settlement. The release of her album Gag Order that same year completed her contract with Kemosabe as well.
Speaking to Wired, Kesha spoke further about the app and its goals. “I really want this to feel like artists can come to artists,” she says. “People can ask about what they’re signing and who they’re signing with. Ask, ‘I love the guitar player on that song of yours, I want to hire him.’ If you want to jam, my fantasy is there’s a place you can jam. I’m trying to figure out really how it’s made for the artist by the artist. As artists, we don’t have a hub, don’t have a spot, we don’t have that LinkedIn-style place. The more people supporting artists, the better.
“Do I find it competitive? No. I kind of look at making pop songs in a similar way. If someone makes an incredible pop song, I just listen to it and it inspires me to make the best pop song I can make. But mine is going to be uniquely mine, fueled by my history and my stories. So I think the more the merrier, people supporting artists. Let’s fucking go.”
Sign up for updates to SMASH at smashmusic.io.
The post “I want to make sure what happened to me never happens to anyone else” Kesha’s SMASH is a new community platform for artists appeared first on MusicTech.

No, that’s not a high-end air purifier – It’s Elac’s $45,000 floorstanding speakerIf your home audio setup doesn’t look like it belongs in a Ridley Scott film, are you even listening in high fidelity? Elac seems to think not. Enter the Concentro M 807, a pair of floor-standing speakers that cost $45,000, look like high-end air purifiers, and may or may not open a wormhole in your living room.
Crafted to celebrate the brand’s 99th anniversary, these floorstanders are far from the polite, wood-paneled speakers of yesteryear. With sweeping aluminum contours and a shape that could double as a spaceship exhaust port, they’re engineered not just for acoustics but for awe.

READ MORE: HEDD Audio’s A-CORE range of monitors is its “most advanced analogue loudspeakers to date”

Elac says they teamed up with a Hamburg-based design studio to sculpt these monoliths in high-gloss black or white, complete with aerodynamic lines that reduce diffraction and boost sound dispersion.
Underneath the alien armor is an acoustic arsenal. Each four-way speaker houses Elac’s VXe 6 array, comprising six midrange drivers arranged in a circle around the legendary JET 6 tweeter, known for its “lightning-fast response and wide dynamic range”. There are five radiation patterns for users to choose from as well, letting you adapt your soundstage depending on whether you’re entertaining guests or brooding alone to avant-garde jazz.
Credit: Elac
The M 807 also houses dual 250mm (10”) high-performance aluminum sandwich woofers, carefully positioned for “distortion free bass reproduction” and an “authoritative yet controlled low frequency performance”. In addition, the speaker’s down-firing bass reflex system, ensures a more consistent performance across a wide range of room positions, making it easier to integrate powerful bass into any space.
Inside the cabinet lies a bespoke crossover network made from premium film capacitors, air-core coils, and MOX resistors. According to Elac, this ensures precise phase alignment and level integration for a smoother, more natural sound.
The cabinets themselves feature non-parallel surfaces and six-axis milled reinforcements that effectively eliminate unwanted resonances.
“This advanced construction prevents internal standing waves, ensuring clean, uncoloured sound reproduction with exceptional purity and clarity,” says the brand.
At $45,000 per pair, the Concentro M 807s aren’t for casual listeners. But for those who demand sonic perfection and want it housed in something that looks like it fell off a spacecraft, they might just be the future of home audio.
Learn more at Elac. 
The post No, that’s not a high-end air purifier – It’s Elac’s $45,000 floorstanding speaker appeared first on MusicTech.