The news is out! AudioControl's home cinema lineup is changing for the better. The outgoing Maestro (processors) and Concert (receivers or AVR's) ranges have officially been discontinued and new platforms are being introduced to replace them.
The primary driver of this change was AudioControl being sold to new owners, AV Pro group. Their go to market policy of not using contract manufacturing meant that the old platforms (developed by the Harman group) had to go and new products were developed from the ground up, no small task!
Bijou
The first range released is the Bijou line of compact HDMI eARC receivers:
These are just 1RU in height and come in three versions, 2, 3 or 5 channels active plus two selectable passive outputs plus subwoofer output. They feature AudioControl designed GaN amplification cards and run up to 100w 8 Ohm / 200w 4 Ohm.
Designed to be a 'control system-less' product, they are ideal to put on the back of a TV and run with HDMI-CEC control over the eARC port - meaning your TV remote controls the sound system - how sweet is that! The big 5 channel unit also features a Dante port for expanded functionality.
For more info on Bijou check out this short video.
Hyperion
Following this, the next product line under development is called Hyperion and is set to shake up the market. This will be a fully featured processor and receiver line up to replace the Maestro and Concert lines:
Hyperion will feature never before seen firsts in the industry which will be announced very soon. We expect to have a functional pre production sample on display in Australia around the end of September 2025.
The first product will be the APR-16, a 16 channel immersive processor. This will directly replace the outgoing Maestro products (X7S and X9S).
They will then work on releasing the next two products closer to the end of 2025. These are the RCV-11 - a 16 channel processor 11 channel active receiver which directly replaces the Concert products (eg XR-6S and XR-8S). Finally, they will launch DPR-16 - an all digital 16 channel processor which takes up a diminutive 1RU and outputs via Dante, AES67 and AES/EBU.
More info on the Hyperion line is coming soon so stay tuned for news!