(April 27, 2020) StormAudio is one of a handful of brands to have attacked 2020's COVID-laced home theater market with vigor, launching its newly designed MK2 amplifiers and processors. Both products are badged with StormAudio's striking new logo and carry a confidently mysterious, if not sinister, physical presence, backed by innards that will satisfy the most demanding of home theater dreams. The ISP MK2 processor lineup offers up to 24 channels of decoding for playback of every immersive sound codec under the sun, while the PA MK2 amplifiers can punch with up to 200 watts of Class D power in eight and 16 channel configurations. Both lineups are deserving of close inspection, so visit StormAudio.com to feast your eyes on all they have to offer.
To bolster the MK2 lineup's release, StormAudio recently announced a new firmware package (Firmware 4.0). While 4.0 will significantly benefit MK2 processor owners, the company says that existing MK1 owners can download and update their devices to run this firmware, too… for free. And if you're a new buyer, you can expect 4.0 to ship pre-installed with your new MK2 gear.
Firmware 4.0's feature list is headlined by the latest Dirac Live Bass Control module, which enables one of the most highly touted bass management software solutions on the market. It also supports Dolby Atmos layouts up to 13.1.10 (if you can imagine a system locked and loaded with ten Atmos channels) with support for additional center screen, rear surround, and front/rear height channels. Additionally, setups using Dolby Enabled speakers will benefit from extra management tools. Auro-3D also gets a boost with a new version of Auro's unique technologies, including a speaker layout analyzer and the ability to use rear channels during 9.1 and 11.1 playback. Auro has even updated its Auro-Matic upmixer.
According to StormAudio, 4.0 also features a redesigned Speaker Configurator (for added flexibility and integration of the Roon music management system) and a new graphical user interface.
Firmware 4.0 can be downloaded from Storm's new-look website (stormaudio.com).
