Schiit Audio introduced the Lyr headphone amplifier today, a high-power hybrid design producing 6W RMS per channel into 32 ohms-10X more power than a typical headphone amplifier. Lyr is aimed at power-hungry orthodynamic headphones, as well as other difficult-to-drive designs.

"The popularity of orthodynamic headphones such as the Audeze LCD-2 and HiFiMan HE-4, HE-5, and HE-6 has created a need for very high-power headphone amps," said Jason Stoddard, Co-Founder of Schiit. "Lyr exceeds the power needs of these low-impedance, low-efficiency headphones, while also being easy on the wallet."

Creative Technology Ltd. today announced the Creative ZiiSound T6 - the latest addition to its extensive Pure Wireless speaker family. The all new speaker system assumes the position of the flagship Surround Sound wireless speaker in the Pure Wireless speaker range.

The ZiiSound T6 personifies everything the Pure Wireless speaker range is, where speakers have been engineered for wireless audio perfection, based on Creative's in-house wireless technology reference system - an engineering optimisation that brings out the best wireless audio performance in Bluetooth and apt-X technologies for speakers.

Introducing a more personal, intuitive and entertaining computing experience for consumers, HP today unveiled the sleekly appealing HP TouchSmart310 PC, which features the most advanced version of the company's exclusive TouchSmart software to date. The company also announced the HP TouchSmart Apps Center for one-touch access to free and subscription-based applications, as well as the HP Omni100, which offers the performance users demand from a tower and monitor in an all-in- one design.

HP also is helping businesses make touch an integral part of the customer experience through relationships with American Airlines, ESPN and the National Football League's San Francisco 49ers. "Each generation of TouchSmart is a reflection of what HP has learned from its customers, complemented by the latest technologies," said James Mouton, senior vice president, Desktop Organization, Personal Systems Group, HP. "The TouchSmart PC's unique interface lets users do more than just basic computing - it acts as the anchor of one's digital lifestyle, encouraging creativity, organization and a truly immersive experience."

Developed in conjunction with Bang & Olufsen ICEpower, the ASUS SonicMaster standard delivers the most advanced multimedia features available for laptop PCs. The new N Series from ASUS is the first ever range of laptops to address the problem of sub-standard audio on portable PCs. Two new Intel Core i5 models are available, 15.6" and 17.3" screens, and both combine superior audio technology with eye-catching designs. Each new model also features the latest NVIDIA GeForce 400M 3D chipset with Optimus technology for outstanding power source-optimised graphics performance.

ASUS announced the launch of the ASUS Cine5 PC speaker which provides accurate 5-channel surround sound in personalized spaces such as study rooms. With its all-in-one design, the Cine5 delivers realistic and dynamic surround sound to satisfy consummate gamers and personal entertainment users. To deliver exceptionally full sound from a compact form factor, ASUS drew on its expertise in high-performance audio cards during the development.

The Cine5 is the first PC speaker in the world to offer leading surround sound presence with the new "Embracing Sound Theatre HD" technology. This patented technology leverages on a discrete 5-channel output to deliver full audio surround, which users can experience whenever they are directly in front of the speaker. In a First Player Shooter game, the Cine5 provides precise sound location that improves shooting accuracy and heightens gaming thrills. The Cine5 also revives 5-channel audio from any down-mixed 2-channel source-for a high-fidelity, multi-channel sound during PC gaming or movie sessions.

MAINGEAR Computers, award-winning builders of high performance custom computers, is proud to announce the Relief for Haiti Charity Auction in benefit of Save the Children to help support the victims of the earthquake in Haiti. This special edition SHIFT will feature one of the last remaining AMD Phenom II X4 TWKR processors, of which only a few dozen were made. The last time one of these processors went up for sale on eBay for charity, it went for over $10,000 - just for the CPU. For this charity event MAINGEAR is building a whole computer around it with signed hardware and software from industry partners including Microsoft, Valve, SilverStone, Kingston, and Psyko Audio.

"We're thrilled that so many of our industry partners leapt at the opportunity to support this cause." said Wallace Santos, CEO and Founder of MAINGEAR. "With AMD's TWKR, this is truly a special system and it should generate a significant donation to Save the Children's worthy cause."

VIA Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of PC and prosumer audio silicon, today unveiled the VIA Vinyl Envy VT1730 USB 2.0 Audio Controller, the industry's first highly-integrated single chip solution that leverages the broad USB 2.0 bandwidth (480 Mb/s) to deliver uncompromised audio quality.

The VIA Envy VT1730 is an 8-channel, 24-bit/192kHz audio controller specifically designed to achieve cinema-quality audio recording and playback in high fidelity USB and MIDI system applications. Whether it's using the bandwidth capacity of USB 2.0 to simultaneously support audio streams from a guitar, bass, keyboard and microphone, or delivering true-to-life sound to multiple speakers in a home theatre set-up, the VIA Envy VT1730 offers outstanding audio performance and impressive application flexibility.

Support for the latest generation of Intel Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7 takes the ZOTAC H55-ITX WiFi to performance levels previously unattainable by the mini-ITX form factor. The ZOTAC H55-ITX WiFi supports Intel QuickPath technology for lightning-fast communications to high-speed dual-channel DDR3 memory for superior bandwidth and quicker memory access that delivers the chart-topping performance enthusiasts and performance-hungry users desire.

"Since Intel announced its latest generation of Nehalem CPUs, there's been great demand for a mini-ITX platform for the CPUs, unfortunately the power consumption and heat output of the original Intel Core i7 900 series would've been too high for such a small form factor," said Carsten Berger, marketing director, ZOTAC International (MCO), Ltd. "With the latest generation of Intel Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7 processors, greater energy efficiency and improved thermal management, the ZOTAC H55-ITX WiFi is able to deliver a mini-ITX platform capable of accommodating the new high-performance processors with no compromises."

Scythe expands its portfolio of audio devices. The new 5.25" mountable active speaker is now available in silver (Model Number: SCBS-2000S-S) and black (Model Number: SCBS-2000S-BK). Luxury appearance is provided by the aluminum finished front panel and meshed speaker cover to enhance your PC system. The switchable LED backlight turns the decent panel into a real eye-catcher in elegant blue LED illumination as needed.

On the technical side, Kama Bay Speaker ACE comes with 4 x built-in 1,25" concaved shape speakers with a real output of 2x 1,5 Watt. This provides high quality stereo sound for home and office PCs. By using the easy to access operating elements, users have full control whenever one requires to. If you need to shut down the sound or turn up/down the volume, one can do this directly by accessing the panel.

HDMI Licensing, LLC, the agent responsible for licensing the High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) specification, today announced the features that will be incorporated in the upcoming HDMI 1.4 specification. This latest version of the HDMI specification will, among other advancements, offer networking capabilities with Ethernet connectivity and will add an Audio Return Channel to enable upstream audio connections via the HDMI cable. The HDMI specification 1.4 will be available for download on the HDMI LLC website no later than June 30, 2009.

ASUS, a leading producer of home theater PC (HTPC) solutions, today added a new member to its HDAV family: the ASUS Xonar HDAV1.3 Slim sound card. The CES-award winning Xonar HDAV1.3 Series of audio cards has been credited for revolutionizing the world of HTPC by offering the world's first and only solution to bitstream true Blu-ray audio on the PC platform, and this new offering is no different.

In its search for the purest essence of sound, ASUS have broken the boundaries with the newest soundcard on the market, the Xonar Essence ST. This PCI card is the world's first audio card to incorporate precision clock tuning to minimize audio jitter, bringing the user a clearer, crisper listening experience. The Xonar Essence ST card can also be upgraded to 7.1 channel output with the use of the Xonar H6 multi-channel extension board, which will be sold separately in the near future.

The Xonar Essence ST is capable of achieving an industry-leading 124dB SNR (Signal-to-Noise Ratio) in signal clarity and offers a built-in headphone amplifier to obtain the best performance out of any available pair of headphones. Thanks to ASUS' exclusive Hyper-grounding and EMI Shield design, even the most demanding audiophile will be satisfied with the unprecedented sound quality.