Tesco buys 91% of music streaming service WE7 for £10.8 million in a bid to "offer customers a wider choice in how they consume music and complement Tesco’s current music offer in store and online."

Founded by ex-Genesis frontman Peter Gabriel, WE7 allows users to create personalised internet radio stations by picking artists from a library of 11 million tracks.

Tesco is one of the biggest CD retailers in the UK, and now wants more of a presence in the online entertainment market. On April 2011 the retailer bought video on demand provider Blinkbox.

Go Tesco Buys Digital Music Platform

Procella Audio launches its first power amp-- the DA-2800, spec'd to deliver a total of 2800 watts into 4 ohm loads.

It is rated at 700 watts-per channel into 4 ohm loads and 360 watts-per-channel into 8 ohm loads. One can also bridge channel pairs to produce 1400 watts at 8 ohms.

Two versions of the 4-channel amp are available-- with the DA-2800DSP adding onboard DSP for each channel (both versions carry an identical power amplifier).

Go Procella Audio

MartinLogan enters the soundbar market with the Motion Vision soundbar-- one the company describes as a single-speaker 5-channel surround sound system.

It features three Folded Motion tweeters, four 4-inch woofers, seven amps (together delivering 100W), dual rear-firing bass ports and wired subwoofer output. Dolby Digital and DTS surround-sound provide decoding, while Dolby Virtual Speaker simulates virtual surround.

Customers can boost bass by using the built-in wireless transmitter to add a compatible MartinLogan wireless subwoofer, while connections include digital optical, digital coax and analog stereo inputs.

Audience reveals what it describes as its best speaker yet-- an upgrade of the ClairAudient 16+16 the company calls a "full-range," one-way bi-pole (front and rear radiating) loudspeaker.

The speaker carries eight 6x9-inch aluminium-frame custom passive radiators and the company's 2nd generation 3-inch A3-S2 drivers.

It has a range of 30Hz to 22kHz, while the previous 16+16 was flat down to 80Hz and required the augmentation of a subwoofer.

The new 16+16 is available now in a choice of exotic wood finishes.

Go Audience ClairAudient Speakers

The Sonos music system gets a bass-heavy addition with the Sonos SUB-- a wireless subwoofer promising to turn music into a "spine-curling, jaw-dropping, full body experience."

Now that's what we call dangerous-sounding PR talk!

Like all Sonos speakers, the Sub connects easily to existing Sonos networks with the press of a button. Thanks to a clever donut-style design, one can place the Sub anywhere within a room in either horizontal or vertical positions.

It carries x2 force-cancelling speakers (Sonos promises "all sound, zero vibration") while DSP circuitry handles filter settings, active equalisation and time alignment.

Powering all are x2 Class-D digital amps.

The cabinet is in proprietary resin, with acoustically dead walls creating maximum internal air volume.

The Sonos Sub works with all Sonos amplified compents and connects with the the Play:5, Play:3, ZonePlayer 100, ZonePlayer 120 and the Connect:Amp-- but not with the non-amplified Sonos Connect or ZonePlayers 80 and 90.

Go Sonos Sub

Futuresource reports European markets are "slow" in adopting soundbars-- European soundbar shipments account for less than 20% of global 2011 soundbar shipments.

How come? Maybe European retailers are still slow in taking up the general soundbar concept. The lack of space in European homes (especially compared to US counterparts) doesn't help much, either.

Retailers in the US "vigorously" promote soundbars, often bundling TV sets and soundbars at a discount. The US counts for around 66% of 2011 WW soundbar shipments.

The analyst says the global soundbar market totals 2.5m units in 2011, and is set to grow further as both vendors and retailers target soundbars at customers who lack the cash, space or even interest to purchase a complete home theatre system but " believe the sound of their TV would benefit from a little extra investment."

Go Soundbar Shipments on the Rise (Futuresource)