With the first major U.S. holiday weekend in the review mirror, the tech news cycle may be on an extended holiday. However, the KMB Comm Technology Week in Review marches on with some interesting tech-related items to recap the week of May 25-29.
This week’s news includes posts from traditional tech websites such as eCoustics and Future Audiophile; mainstream websites like Yahoo Finance and LinkedIn, and the musical instrument industry website, Guitar World.
KMB Comm Tech Week in Review Audiophile Nuggets
Audiophiles never sleep or possibly take vacations, and here’s some proof.
The website eCoustics is reporting the LIVEBOX single-box audio system will debut at the High End Vienna 2026 show. The $39,000 product is a collaborative effort between Weiss Engineering, PSI Audio and Illusonic, and the all-in-one system combines loudspeakers, digital-to-analog conversion (DAC), amplification, streaming and digital signal processing (DSP).
eCoustics points out, the LIVEBOX also offers room calibration options, and for those wondering how large the product is, the single enclosure measures 62.6 inches x 20 inches.
Staying in the audiophile world, Future Audiophile posted a review on the $999 Audio-Technica AT-LP7X turntable. The review notes the AT-LP7X is the newest LP Series product from the consumer audio and pro audio company.
Some of the turntable’s features include a J-shaped tonearm, and a built-in phono preamp that offers compatibility with moving magnet (MM) and moving coil (MC) phono cartridges. Future Audiophile says the turntable ships with an Audio-Technica AT-VM95E MM phono cartridge for those that simply want to drop the needle to hear their favorite music.
KMB’s Look at Some Broader News Topics
These following stories may not necessarily be technology news, but they are tech-related and they will still be of interest for many people.
The first tech-related item in the KMB Comm Tech Week in Review comes from Deadline.
It’s been well documented that Disney has not fared well in its stewardship of huge franchises such as Star Wars and the Marvel Comic Universe (MCU). Based on the opening of the latest Star Wars movie, “Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu,” the huge company is not close to turning that trend around.
Deadline states that back in 2018 when the Disney-owned “Solo: A Star Wars Story” opened with an $84 million 3-day box office and 4-day $103 million figure, the publication criticized the result. Fast forward to 2026, and Deadline says, “Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu,” opened with a 3-day figure of $81 million and a 4-day number of $98 million to signal further cause for concern.
The story does state that Disney is trying to make the best of the situation and it may end up making plenty of money through toy sales despite the sluggish box-office numbers.
Showing how things have changed in terms of how the public views electric vehicles (EVs), LinkedIn posted a story on Ferrari shares falling after the famed Italian car company showed its first EV.
The story says with prices starting at $640,000, the Ferrari Luce was designed in part with former Apple design chief Jony Ive. The new electric car enters the market at a time in which demand for EVs is on the decline in the U.S.
According to LinkedIn, Ferrari’s main competition that includes McLaren and Lamborghini have stayed away from EV category.
For perspective, another Ferrari competitor, Porsche entered the market aggressively a few years ago with EVs, but it is now scaling back its EV efforts after taking hits in markets that include China.
Circling back to a story that KMB Comm first covered in the Tech Week in Review for May 18-22, Fender is making news again with its litigious actions against companies that make “S-style” guitars.
In the story from the prior technology weekly news roundup, Guitar World reported the company LsL was in Fender’s legal crosshairs. Now, Guitar World is reporting the popular guitar manufacturer Paul Reed Smith (PRS) is the latest company to have received cease-and-desist legal documents from Fender.
PRS’s collaboration with John Mayer on his top-selling Silver Sky guitar is Mayer’s take on a classic Stratocaster with several unique design elements from PRS. This guitar is likely the reason for the legal actions.
Veering back into consumer electronics to close the KMB Comm Tech Week in Review out, Yahoo Finance has an item on Best Buy’s strong stock earnings. The story says the large retailer’s stock surged 18% after Best Buy announced that its first-quarter earnings exceeded Wall Street expectations.
Yahoo Finance states revenues came in at $8.9 billion to eclipse the $8.8 billion Wall Street expectations.
The story goes on to point out that consumers spent money on items such as gaming consoles, AI glasses, 3D printers, smart rings, and Pokemon cards to help drive those revenue numbers.
If KMB Comm client news and blogs aren’t enough, check out the new KMB Comm AV Trade Talk Podcast with Paul Bochner of AHT New York Metro and Joseph Cali of Gryphon Audio LA discussing the revival of stereo and the emergence of “analog rooms” here.