Tech
Cleveland mayor responds to GeekWire guest column, calls Ohio city a ‘case study of what’s possible’
Cleveland Mayor Justin M. Bibb responded Wednesday to a GeekWire guest column in which Seattle tech veteran and angel investor Charles Fitzgerald warned the Pacific Northwest tech hub not to repeat the mistakes that led to the Ohio city’s decades-long decline.
The real lesson, Mayor Bibb asserted, isn’t in the city’s past but in its ongoing comeback.
“For decades, national narratives have framed Cleveland as a cautionary tale,” he wrote on LinkedIn. “But that framing misses the bigger story. Cleveland didn’t quit. Cleveland rebuilt.”
In his response, he pointed to Cleveland’s institutional anchors, including the Cleveland Clinic and Case Western Reserve University, as engines of a growing health-tech and research economy. “This is the Cleveland ERA,” he wrote, citing billions in infrastructure and development investments.
Bibb, 38, is a Cleveland native with degrees from American University and Case Western and a background in civic technology and racial equity advocacy. He took office in January 2022 and was reelected last November with nearly 74% of the vote. He recently ended a term as president of the Democratic Mayors Association.
Seattle, he wrote, “should study Cleveland as a case study of what’s possible when you confront age-old problems with bold, urgent leadership.”
In many ways, Fitzgerald and Bibb seem to be on the same page.
Fitzgerald welcomed Bibb’s response and, in a comment on LinkedIn, sought to clarify: “This is not about Cleveland today.”
He explained, “My point is how cities should respond when their world changes. Deindustrialization came for Cleveland 75 years ago. Seattle has punched well above its weight in software, but that era is ending. We must confront that reality plus, like every city, adapt to the broader AI wave.”
Fitzgerald also agreed that Seattle has a lot to learn from Cleveland.
“People in Seattle complain about the problems of being a prosperous city,” he wrote. “They should hear firsthand about what it means to manage a city that was once also very prosperous, but lost that prosperity. You’re playing the game in difficult mode. We can learn from that.”
In his original column, Fitzgerald drew a parallel between Seattle now and Cleveland in the 1950s, when it was the seventh-largest U.S. city, home to industrial giants like Standard Oil and Republic Steel, with median household incomes rivaling New York’s.
Within two decades, the city’s fortunes had reversed dramatically. Cleveland has since dropped to 56th in population, with median incomes less than half the national average.
Fitzgerald’s concern is that Seattle, riding decades of prosperity fueled by Microsoft, Amazon, and the broader software industry, may be approaching a similar inflection point as the AI era reshapes the tech landscape. He worries that local leaders aren’t paying attention.
What’s more, he asserted, legislators in Olympia are treating the tech industry as a bottomless source of revenue rather than working to nurture the region’s economic future — a dynamic he says mirrors Cleveland’s missteps during the Rust Belt era, when a confrontational posture from local government made it easier for companies to leave.
Bibb’s response cited specifics including a $100 million investment to transform 1,000 acres of industrial land, a $1.6 billion airport modernization, and nearly $5 billion reshaping the city’s lakefront and the Cuyahoga River.
The mayor’s post drew a wave of support from Clevelanders, many of whom took issue with Fitzgerald’s framing. “My lord, what a lazy, outdated trope,” wrote one commenter. Others pointed to Cleveland’s strengths in healthcare and the arts, and its cultural diversity.
The original column also generated spirited responses in GeekWire’s inbox, with no shortage of profanity from Cleveland partisans.
One LinkedIn commenter noted the juxtaposition of the “foreboding, black and white skyline photo” combined with the “Don’t become the next Cleveland” headline and the author’s closing disclaimer: “I want to be very clear that I mean no offense to Cleveland.”
(By the way, the photo on the column was chosen by GeekWire’s editors, not by Fitzgerald, so we’ll own that one. Note the blue skies in the lead photo on this follow-up piece!)
Others offered a more nuanced view. One commenter who moved to Cleveland from the Pacific Northwest wrote that the city “should be nervous about repeating mistakes that have failed repeatedly across the nation,” adding that Cleveland’s real opportunity lies in expanding economic prospects for working people rather than the wealthy.
In the end, the mayor invited Fitzgerald to visit and see the progress firsthand.
Fitzgerald seemed to be open to the idea, in his inimitable way. He has already emailed the mayor, and noted in his LinkedIn comment, “I’m waiting for the tickets for my junket to arrive.”
In the meantime, GeekWire has contacted Bibb’s office to see if we can arrange a follow-up interview, and raised the possibility of Fitzgerald joining the call. Stay tuned.
Even the folks behind generative AI writing are embarrassed at how bad it is, but Grammarly ripping off the voices of well-known modern writers is indicative of a much larger problem.
Grammarly turned people — both living and dead — into ghost editors
Apparently, Grammarly had a feature that encouraged users to rip off other well-known writers’ styles. TechCrunch has a great piece on it, in which you find out that Grammarly would offer “expert review” — sans experts.
It seems that, as you wrote, the tool would pop in and suggest revisions from the perspective of experts. Of course, the experts in question, like Platformer’s Casey Newton didn’t know this was happening.
Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
Thousands of people packed the ballroom of the New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square for CanJam NYC 2026, the largest headphone show in North America. From the moment the doors opened each morning last weekend, the listening tables were surrounded three and four deep with enthusiasts waiting to hear the latest gear. And yet, walking the show floor for even ten minutes revealed something that would have sounded ridiculous just a few years ago: wired headphones are becoming even more popular?
Which makes the debut of the Grado Signature S550 Open-back Headphones feel less like nostalgia and more like a statement about where serious listening is headed next.
Some audiophiles and the Head-Fi crowd will undoubtedly scoff at the headline. To many of us who never abandoned cables in the first place, the idea that wired headphones are “back” is almost comical. We kept using them while the rest of the world drowned in a tidal wave of Bluetooth earbuds, ANC travel cans, and disposable wireless gadgets that needed charging every few hours.
But something interesting is happening outside the audiophile bubble.
Even the mainstream media is starting to notice. A feature published this week by BBC argued that the cable may actually have the advantage again, noting bluntly that “wired headphones offer better sound quality than Bluetooth” and avoid many of the compromises inherent in wireless audio transmission.
That realization was impossible to ignore at CanJam NYC 2026. The crowds weren’t just clustered around wireless experiments or streaming gear. They were lining up to hear wired headphones and IEMs from companies like Grado, Audeze, HiFiMAN, Meze, Campfire Audio, and dozens of smaller builders pushing the limits of what a simple cable and a great driver can do.
And when the Grado table unveiled the Signature S550, the reaction from the crowd made one thing clear.
The cable never really died.
It just waited for people to remember what better sound actually feels like.
Grado Signature S550 Arrives as the Cable Refuses to Die
Grado Labs continues to expand its Signature Series with the $995 Signature S550, an open-back dynamic headphone that sticks closely to the company’s long standing Brooklyn playbook while introducing a slightly more relaxed tonal balance. As the fourth model in the Signature line, the S550 carries forward the core Grado philosophy: low mass dynamic drivers, fast transient response, and a presentation that favors speed, clarity, and immediacy over studio safe politeness.
The shift this time comes down to voicing.
Where some Grado models lean forward and a little impatient, the S550 pulls back just enough to add a touch more warmth and a smoother top end while preserving the punch and energy the brand is known for. Having already spent time with the Signature S950, which impressed with its control and refinement, the S550 feels like a slightly more forgiving interpretation of the same formula designed for longer listening sessions.
Under the hood sits Grado’s 50mm S2 dynamic driver, paired with an all wood open back enclosure. Instead of launching an entirely new driver platform, Grado focused on refining how the existing S2 interacts with the acoustic behavior of the wooden housing. The goal is simple and very Grado: preserve speed, detail, and openness while nudging the tonal balance toward a warmer and more approachable presentation.
The S550 also introduces Grado’s new detachable Silver cable, a welcome shift away from the brand’s historically stubborn fixed leads. Each earcup uses a 4 pin balanced mini XLR connector, allowing users to swap cables depending on their source. The included cable terminates in 3.5mm with a 6.3mm adapter, making it easy to pair with portable players, desktop DAC amps, and traditional headphone outputs.
Pad rolling is still very much part of the Grado experience. The S550 ships with new B cushions, but remains compatible with the company’s S, F, L, and G pads, each subtly reshaping soundstage width, bass weight, and treble energy.
On paper, the numbers are solid. The S550 uses a 38 ohm driver with 112dB sensitivity, frequency response rated from 6 Hz to 44 kHz, total harmonic distortion under 0.2 percent at 100dB, and an impressively tight 0.005dB driver matching tolerance. Weight comes in at 335 grams without the cable, which keeps it manageable for a full size open back design.
This is not a headphone that demands a nuclear reactor for amplification. With its high sensitivity and moderate impedance, the S550 should play nicely with portable DAPs, desktop DAC amps, and even competent integrated amplifier headphone stages.
When I walked into CanJam NYC 2026 about twenty minutes before the show officially opened, Rich Grado spotted me immediately and waved me over.
“Sit down. Get comfortable. Don’t touch anything quite yet.”
Classic Brooklyn hospitality.
The listening chain was courtesy of Geshelli Labs, and because I showed up early, I had a rare window with the S550 before the show floor turned into chaos.
Getting there early wasn’t exactly optional. NJ Transit’s ongoing “infrastructure improvements” — which is a polite way of saying the weekend trains run whenever they feel like it, forced me onto a much earlier ride from the Jersey Shore. For once, their mistakes worked in my favor.
Nu? Think Warm Bialy and Black Coffee, Not Extra Hot Pastrami
So how did the Signature S550 actually sound?
Different. Immediately different from the S950.
Grado’s claim about a calmer voicing holds up. The S550 doesn’t jump forward the way some of the brand’s more aggressive models can. It’s still unmistakably Grado, but the edges are rounded just enough to make the presentation feel more relaxed and a little warmer. That said, I’m willing to wager the Geshelli Labs signal chain had a hand in that as well.
What I heard, I liked.
Bass was tight and well controlled, never bloated. The open back design still allowed for surprisingly good passive isolation, which helped keep the focus on the music even as the room started filling up. Comfort was solid too. The headband felt supportive, and the weight distribution didn’t create any pressure hotspots during the session.
Vocals came through smooth and clean. Maybe even a little too smooth at times, though again that could easily be the system voicing. The top end had zero hardness, which is not always a given with Grado if the pairing isn’t right.
Where the S550 really clicked was with rock, electronic music, and jazz. Electric guitars had bite without turning sharp, electronic tracks had pace and structure, and jazz recordings carried that sense of space and flow that open back designs tend to handle well when the tuning is right.
My instinct says these will respond well to a brighter or more analytical amplifier and DAC, something that pushes a bit more illumination into the upper registers. That’s already on the list for when the review sample arrives, which should be happening soon.
One thing feels clear after hearing them.
Grado is firing on all cylinders right now.
And that’s exactly what needed to happen. The wired headphone category is more competitive than it’s been in years, with serious pressure coming from Audeze, Meze, HiFiMAN, and a growing number of boutique builders.
One more thing before the vinyl crowd starts emailing me.
Headphones aren’t the only thing Grado has cooking this quarter.
If you’re the type who still flips records instead of swiping playlists, you might want to pay attention to what’s coming next. Brooklyn isn’t done yet.
Where to buy the Grado Signature S550: $995 at Crutchfield | Grado Labs
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Editor’s note: GeekWire publishes guest opinions to foster informed discussion and highlight a diversity of perspectives on issues shaping the tech and startup community. If you’re interested in submitting a guest column, email us at tips@geekwire.com. Submissions are reviewed by our editorial team for relevance and editorial standards.
At a meeting in San Francisco a few months ago, an icebreaker asked where we’d live if we could live anywhere in the world. I was the only one in the room whose answer was the same place I already call home. Over the years, opportunities have tried to entice me away, and I’ve turned down offers worth multiples of what I was earning to stay. I’m certain I’d have been in a position to be affected by a higher tax bracket sooner if I had followed them, but I’m equally certain it would not have made me happier.
My relationship with Washington started when I fell in love with Seattle during a visit in 2004. Shortly after, I moved to Alaska, co-founded my first company, and when it was acquired by a Seattle startup in 2006, my dream of living here came true. That move changed my life. It landed me in a place that felt alive with lush beauty, non-ostentatious ambition, and a kind of defiantly clever creativity, all surrounded by pioneers building new things that mattered. In high school and college I had followed the story of Microsoft and the early engineers who helped create an entire technology ecosystem. At the same time I of course loved the music coming from the Seattle scene. Washington felt like a place where innovation could coexist with culture, where a generation of makers and artists fostered the foundations of the next. Twenty years of living here later, that still feels true.
I’ve done pretty well here. I’ve founded companies here and worked alongside venture capitalists at Madrona Venture Labs and Pioneer Square Labs and seen firsthand how startup ecosystems actually work. For years I hoped I might someday be able to invest myself, and now I can. I’m excited to keep participating in the same cycle of building that drew me here in the first place. But one of the things I love most about this region is that it’s never been just a tech ecosystem.
Some of the people I care most about in this community are artists, musicians, and creatives. They shape the culture and spirit of this place in ways no economic model can capture. As someone who has benefited enormously from working in technology and AI, I feel a real responsibility to support the broader community that makes this region vibrant. Honestly, it’s that community that has kept me from burning out during the hardest stretches of my career.
That’s why my view on Washington’s proposed tax on very high incomes is simple: if I’ve found myself in the position of making that much in a year, I can afford to contribute a little more to the place that helped make that circumstance possible.
As someone who started my career in Georgia, a red state that does have personal income taxes, it’s always struck me as strangely backward that we don’t. People here have long pointed out that Washington’s tax system is among the most regressive in the country. In that context, and after observing the past 20 years of attempts at a fix, the proposed wealth tax feels like one of the few realistic ways to make the system more balanced.
Is the proposal perfect? Of course not. Washington’s laws and constitution make this kind of policy exceptionally hard to design. But as I once heard at a talk at Y Combinator in 2008, perfect is the enemy of good enough, and sometimes good enough is the enemy of at all. “Imperfect” is not a compelling argument for doing nothing forever.
I’m certainly not an expert on this topic. But I also don’t think my job is to pretend I know more about tax design than the people whose job is to work on it. We elect legislators to make difficult tradeoffs in public and represent the interests of the entire community. I take that process seriously and trust democratic representatives far more than I trust whatever pithy inflammatory argument happens to be boosted by algorithms on social media. Governing, like building companies, is iterative. We try things. We improve them. If something doesn’t work, we fix it or elect new people and try again. We act with agency.
I keep hearing that taxes like this will drive founders and business away, that investors will leave, that Washington will stop being a place where ambitious or creative people build things. Whether or not you can scrounge up data to support that case, I’m at best skeptical. But for me at least, as someone who has actually started companies, that just feels obviously wrong.
Founders don’t decide where to build by researching marginal tax rates. They build from their homes, in coffee shops or garages, where their supportive friends and collaborators live. They build where their community is. They build where their loved ones can live and where they can survive the grind of years of stressful and uncertain work. Building a company is too consuming and too personal to optimize around a hypothetical line item on a spreadsheet of imagined future outcomes.
One of the things I love most about Washington is that it doesn’t feel like a place that belongs to just one kind of person. It’s beautifully wild, culturally and environmentally diverse, and a little weird in the best ways. It has quirky cities and cozy neighborhoods, incredible scenery and nature, and a long tradition of people showing up to build things, have them literally burn down, and rebuild them one story up. In investor parlance this is our unfair advantage. People will keep moving here because of all of our natural assets. Some will start companies. Some will work at successful ones. Some will sell shovels. Some will strike gold.
What I care about for myself is that finding wealth here comes with a sense of reciprocity. If someone becomes extremely highly compensated in Washington and decides that a reasonable tax on their very high income means they no longer want to be part of this place, fine! That’s their choice. I’m certainly not leaving. Some have said “just donate.” I do. But anyone who has run a business knows that one-time lump sums are not the predictable source of funds required to plan a future and sustain an ecosystem.
It’s worth saying that obviously supporting this proposal doesn’t mean I wouldn’t mind some changes. I’d especially like to see clearer connections between new revenue and the quality-of-life issues that determine whether Washington remains livable: housing, transportation, education, and the ability for people from many backgrounds and situations to stay rooted here. We should measure and adjust accordingly.
Ultimately for me, it comes down to this: I feel lucky to be here. A thriving community pulled me into this region and gave me the chance to build new things, work alongside investors I respect, among wonderful and creative people I love, and eventually become someone who can pay it forward. I benefited from what earlier generations built here and I feel responsible to the next. This is just my personal perspective. I can’t speak for everyone affected by this policy proposal or even for those who hope that one day they might. But if my circumstances and lifestyle make it easy to afford to contribute more to the place that helped shape the best years of my life, I think I should.
And if this proposed bug fix to a design flaw in our revenue collection code is enough to make someone give up on Washington, sell the boat, and move to Florida, cool. Personally, I’d be happy to invest in the next cohort of folks who love it here as much as I do and want to build a life in this magical place.
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Wealthy Californian luxury car owners looking to avoid taxes have taken advantage of a loophole that allows them to register their cars in other states, with Montana being a particularly popular place to seek registrations. In response, Californian authorities are launching a new crackdown on the loophole. The state’s Department of Tax and Fee Administration has announced that it is examining every sale made by a Californian dealership that resulted in a car being given Montana plates since 2023, both to LLCs and to private customers.
In a statement, the DMV director Steve Gordon said he would “encourage all Californians to do the right thing,” and CDTFA director Trista Gonzalez noted that the state relies on sales tax “to support our schools, roads, public safety, and essential services that all Californians depend on.” So far, the DMV has opened 81 criminal investigations into the practice, including a recent felony complaint against 14 defendants. That complaint included 57 counts, including perjury, filing false sales tax returns, and conspiracy to commit sales tax evasion.
As well as luxury cars, RVs have reportedly been purchased using the “Montana loophole.” The loophole involves buyers setting up LLCs in Montana, allowing them to title the car within the state. They then falsely claim that the car is being shipped from California to Montana, which does not have a statewide sales tax. According to the CDTFA, this practice currently means that California loses out on around $10 million in sales tax revenue every year.
Beverly Hills dealers are particularly fond of the Montana loophole
Dealers in certain parts of California have exploited the loophole particularly frequently, with the CDTFA reporting that Beverly Hills saw the highest number of new car registrations with Montana purchasers. Costa Mesa wasn’t far behind, while Van Nuys also saw a particularly high number of Montana registrations.
Montana isn’t the only state that shady dealers have allegedly used to swerve taxes either: Oregon, Delaware, New Hampshire, and Alaska have also reportedly been used for similar avoidance schemes, since they’re also among the cheapest places to register new cars. Investigators have said that they are also looking to recover unpaid taxes from buyers fraudulently registering their cars in these states.
While driving around California in a car with a Montana registration isn’t going to make you a police magnet, any Californian residents who recently bought a new car with Montana license plates should be concerned about the latest enforcement initiative. Owners caught evading taxes can be hit with significant fines, while dealers using the loophole can expect more lawsuits to be filed in the near future.
We’ve all been there — thumbs mid-air, staring at a suggested word that somehow nailed what we were trying to say. So we tap it. Obviously. But a new study suggests those little taps might be doing more than saving us a few seconds.
Research out of Cornell Tech, published this week in Science Advances, found that AI-powered autocomplete suggestions don’t just change how you write — they nudge how you actually think. And you won’t even notice it happening.
What did the research actually find?
Researchers ran two large-scale experiments with over 2,500 participants, asking them to write short essays on spicy societal topics — think death penalty, fracking, GMOs, voting rights for felons.
Some participants got autocomplete suggestions secretly engineered to lean a certain direction, generated using a large language model from the GPT-3 and GPT-4 families. Others got nothing.
The result? People who wrote with the biased AI gradually warmed up to the AI’s positions. Not because they were convinced by arguments. Not because they read anything persuasive. Just because their phone kept finishing their thoughts for them.
Knowing the trick didn’t break the spell either
Now here’s the part that should make you put your phone down for a second. Researchers told some participants upfront the AI had a bias problem — a sort of “don’t say we didn’t warn you” disclaimer. Then they tried debriefing others afterward. In most misinformation studies, these approaches work like mental vaccines. This time, neither did a thing.
“Their attitudes about the issues still shifted,” said senior author Mor Naaman, who also noted autocomplete has exploded in scope — Gmail now offers to write entire emails on your behalf.
So next time your phone suggests you “totally support” something, maybe give that little blue word a second look. Your opinion might be one tap away from becoming someone else’s.
Emotiva’s new BasX TA2+ stereo receiver arrives at an interesting moment for two channel audio. While traditional receivers have lost some of their momentum with consumers in the age of network amplifiers and streaming focused systems, there is still a clear demand for a single component that can anchor a living room setup and handle both music and television duties without complexity.
For listeners who want solid amplification, modern connectivity, and straightforward usability in one box, the receiver still makes sense. The BasX TA2+ is Emotiva’s latest attempt to deliver that balance.
Tennessee-based Emotiva has built its reputation since 2003 by focusing on performance, solid engineering, and long term reliability rather than boutique pricing or cosmetic excess. The company’s track record has been consistent: deliver real world sound quality and robust build at prices that remain accessible to serious listeners.
Emotiva’s first product entry for 2026 was the Differential Reference Design Series Stack, a four component system that includes a streamer, DAC, stereo preamp, and power amplifier designed to work together as a single ecosystem. The BasX TA2+ now follows as the company’s second product launch of the year, offering a more traditional but still modern solution for two channel systems.
Inside the Emotiva BasX TA2+: A Modern Stereo Receiver for Music and TV
As Emotiva describes it, the BasX TA2+ combines a preamp, DAC, FM tuner, and integrated amplifier into a single chassis. In simple terms, it’s a two channel stereo receiver on steroids.
The BasX TA2+ is aimed at listeners who want a flexible centerpiece for a high performance two channel or 2.1 system that can handle both music listening and TV duties without the need for multiple components.
It replaces the now discontinued BasX TA2 and is designed to serve as the heart of a modern stereo system. The TA2+ incorporates an analog preamp stage with outputs for external amplification if desired, an Analog Devices AD1955 DAC supporting up to 24-bit/192 kHz audio, and a high current Class A/B amplifier section. Expanded input connectivity rounds out the package, giving users the flexibility to connect multiple sources while delivering the kind of sonic performance normally associated with far more expensive integrated amplifiers.
Add a source and a capable pair of speakers such as Emotiva’s LB12 floorstanders with their vintage inspired swagger, and the BasX TA2+ becomes a straightforward path to a powerful and versatile stereo system.
What’s New?
The new generation BasX TA2+ builds on the flexibility of the original TA2 but adds several key upgrades aimed at modern systems:
- Balanced XLR analog inputs and outputs
- Balanced subwoofer output
- HDMI ARC for easier integration with TVs and improved audio performance
- USB C connectivity for current computers and many portable devices
- Improved analog bass management for more precise 2.1 system integration
- Quieter phono stage
- Metal remote control
Compatibility carried over from the previous TA2 includes three pairs of unbalanced RCA stereo analog line level inputs (the original TA2 offered four), along with one pair of stereo phono inputs that can be switched between moving coil and moving magnet cartridges.
Digital connectivity also continues from the TA2, including one coaxial S/PDIF input, two optical Toslink inputs, built-in Bluetooth, and an FM radio tuner.
“The BasX TA2+ is the heart and soul of a high performance stereo system,” said Dan Laufman, President of Emotiva. “We designed it to be a simple, robust solution for anyone ready to improve their listening experience with the utmost flexibility, no matter what sources are connected. Typical of Emotiva, we accomplished this at a price that is a fraction of similar, significantly more expensive models.”
Comparison
| Emotiva Model | BasX TA2+ (2026) | BasX TA2 (2023) |
| Product Type | Preamp/DAC/Tuner with Integrated Amplifier | Preamp/DAC/Tuner with Integrated Amplifier |
| Price | $1,299 | $1,099 |
| Amplifier Type | Class A/B | Class A/B |
| Amplifier Performance | 135 watts RMS / channel; into 8 Ohms, both channels driven, 20 Hz – 20 kHz, THD < 0.02%
250 watts RMS / channel; into 4 Ohms, both channels driven, at 1 kHz, THD < 1% Minimum load impedance: 4 Ohms; Rated impedance: 8 Ohms Frequency response: 20 Hz to 20 kHz +/- 0.15 dB; 5 Hz to 80 kHz +0 / -2.1 dB. S/N ratio: 116 dB Gain: 29 dB |
135 watts RMS/channel; 8 Ohms; both channels driven; 20 Hz – 20 kHz; THD < 0.02%
200 watts RMS/channel; 4 Ohms; both channels driven; at 1 kHz; THD < 1% Minimum load impedance: 4 Ohms. Rated impedance: 8 Ohms Frequency response: 20 Hz to 20 kHz +/- 0.15 dB; 5 Hz to 80 kHz +0/-1.8 dB. S/N ratio: 116 dB Gain: 29 dB |
| Analog Inputs | 3 pairs – Unbalanced (RCA) stereo analog line level inputs (Analog 1 through Analog 3).
1 pair – Balanced (XLR) stereo analog line level inputs (Bal). 1 pair – Stereo phono inputs (switchable; moving magnet or moving coil). 1 set – Home Theater Bypass inputs (front main channels plus subwoofer). 1 Tuner – FM (with external antenna input; 15 station presets). |
4 pairs – Unbalanced (RCA)level inputs (Analog 1 through Analog 4).
1 pair – Stereo phono inputs (switchable; moving magnet or moving coil). 1 set – Home Theater Bypass inputs (front main channels plus subwoofer). 1 Tuner – FM (with external antenna input; 15 station presets). |
| Digital Inputs | 1 – Digital coax (S/PDIF); stereo; 24-bit/192kHz
2 – Digital optical (Toslink); stereo; 24-bit/192kHz 1 – Digital USB (DAC input); stereo; 24-bit/192kHz 1 – Bluetooth receiver; Bluetooth 5, AptX, and AAC (antenna included). 1 – HDMI-ARC input; stereo (PCM 2.0) |
1 – Digital coax (S/PDIF); 24-bit/192kHz
2 – Digital optical (Toslink); 24-bit/192kHz 1 – Digital USB (DAC input); 24-bit/192kHz 1 – Bluetooth receiver up to 96k (Bluetooth 5, with AptX, AptX HD, and AAC support, antenna included). |
| Preamp Outputs | 1 pair – Unbalanced (RCA) stereo line level Preamp Outputs.
1 pair – Balanced (XLR) stereo line level Preamp Outputs. Both outputs are fed by a switchable analog 12 dB/octave high-pass filter, whose cutoff frequency can be set to anywhere between 40 Hz and 200 Hz. 1 – Unbalanced (RCA) line level summed Subwoofer Output. 1 – Balanced (XLR) line level summed Subwoofer Output. (Both outputs are fed by a switchable analog 12 dB/octave low-pass filter, whose cutoff frequency can be set to anywhere between 40 Hz and 200 Hz.) 1 – 1/8” (3.5mm) front panel stereo headphone output. |
1 pair – Line level main outputs (can be configured to Full Range or Bass Managed; Bass Managed has a 12 dB/octave active analog high-pass filter with cutoff configurable between 40 Hz and 200 Hz.)
1 – Summed subwoofer output (can be configured to be Full Range or Bass Managed; Bass Managed has a 12 dB/octave active analog low-pass filter with cutoff configurable between 40 Hz and 200 Hz.) 1 – 1/8” (3.5mm) front panel stereo headphone output. |
| Speaker Outputs | 1 pair – Audiophile-grade five-way binding posts which accept banana plugs, spade lugs, or bare wires. | 1 pair – Speaker outputs (fed from the same audio signal as the line level main outputs – can be configured to be either Full Range or Bass Managed; Bass Managed has a 12 dB/octave active analog high-pass filter with cutoff configurable between 40 Hz and 200 Hz.) |
| Line Level Analog Performance | Maximum output level (balanced and unbalanced outputs): 4 VRMS.
Frequency response: 20 Hz to 50 kHz +/- 0.25 dB. THD+noise: < 0.005% (A-weighted). IMD: < 0.004% (SMPTE). S/N ratio: > 120 dB. |
Maximum output level: 4 VRMS.
Frequency response: 5 Hz to 50 kHz +/- 0.04 dB. THD+noise: < 0.001% (A-weighted). IMD: < 0.004% (SMPTE). S/N ratio: > 120 dB. Crosstalk: < 90 dB. |
| Phono Input Analog Performance | 20 Hz to 20 kHz; ref standard RIAA curve (MM and MC)
THD+noise: < 0.010% (moving magnet; A-weighted); < 0.04% (moving coil; A-weighted) Gain (ref unity gain on main inputs; at 1 kHz): 44 dB (moving magnet); 55 dB (moving coil) S/N ratio: > 78 dB (ref 5 mV; moving magnet); > 58 dB (ref 0.5 mV; moving coil) Load Impedance: 47 kOhms (moving magnet); 47 Ohms or 100 Ohms (moving coil) |
20 Hz to 20 kHz; ref standard RIAA curve (MM and MC)
THD+noise: < 0.015% (MM; A-weighted); < 0.06% (MC; A-weighted) Gain (ref unity gain on main outputs at 1 kHz): 44 dB (MM); 55 dB (MC) S/N ratio: > 78 dB (ref 5 mV; MM); > 58 dB (ref 0.5 mV; MC) Load impedance: 47 kOhms (moving magnet); 47 Ohms or 100 Ohms (moving coil) |
| Digital Performance | 20 Hz to 20 kHz +/- 0.1 dB (44k sample rate)
20 Hz to 80 kHz + 0 /- 1 dB (192k sample rate) THD+noise: < 0.003% (A-weighted; all sample rates) IMD: < 0.007% (SMPTE). S/N ratio: > 110 dB. |
5 Hz to 20 kHz +/- 0.15 dB (44k sample rate). 5 Hz to 80 kHz +/- 0.25 dB (192k sample rate)
THD+noise: < 0.003% (A-weighted; all sample rates) IMD: < 0.007% (SMPTE). S/N ratio: > 110 dB ref rated output |
| Controls | Power: rocker switch; rear panel
Standby: front panel pushes button Two front panel push-buttons: Input Select; menu operation Front panel digital encoder knob: Volume, Tuning; menu operation. |
Power: rocker switch; rear panel
Standby: one front panel pushbutton Two front panel pushbuttons: Input Select; menu operation One front panel knob: Volume, Tuning, and menu operation. |
| Indicators | Display: high-visibility blue alphanumeric VFD display (dimmable).
LEDs – amber Standby LED; blue illuminated legend for |
Display: high-visibility blue alphanumeric VFD display (dimmable). |
| Remote Control | Compact, all-metal, full-function infrared remote control (which is powered by a single CR2025 button-cell battery). | Compact full-function infrared remote control (AAA batteries required). LEDs: amber Standby LED; blue illuminated legends for Input buttons and Headphone output. |
| Trigger Connections | 12 VDC trigger output
Trigger Input: accepts inputs between 5V and 12V AC or DC |
12 VDC trigger output
Trigger Input: accepts inputs between 5V and 12V AC or DC |
| Power | 115 VAC or 230 VAC @ 50 / 60 Hz (automatically detected).
The BasX TA2+ has a linear main power supply that accepts either 115 VAC or 230 VAC. |
Linear power supply that automatically detects and configures itself for either 115 VAC or 230 VAC 50/60 Hz operation. |
| Dimensions | 17” wide x 3-3/8” high (without feet) x 15-1/2” deep (without connectors)
17” wide x 4” high (including feet) x 15-1/2” deep (without connectors) |
17” wide x 3-3/8” high x 15-1/2” deep (unboxed; without feet; without connectors)
17” wide x 4” high x 15-1/2” deep (unboxed; with feet; without connectors). |
| Weight | 25 lbs | 25 lbs |
The Bottom Line
The Emotiva BasX TA2+ isn’t trying to be a streaming hub or a network amplifier. Instead, it doubles down on the classic stereo receiver formula and modernizes it with serious power, balanced connectivity, HDMI ARC, and a surprisingly capable MM and MC phono stage. With 135 watts per channel and both RCA and XLR inputs and outputs, it offers the kind of flexibility that many integrated amplifiers in this price range simply don’t.
What’s missing is just as important to understand. There’s no built in streaming, network control, or multiroom ecosystem, features that competitors from Onkyo, Integra, and Marantz often include at similar or even lower price points. If your system revolves around apps and wireless platforms, the TA2+ will feel a little old school.
But for listeners who prefer dedicated sources, turntables, and a powerful two channel centerpiece that can also integrate easily with a TV through HDMI ARC, the BasX TA2+ stands out. It’s a practical, high powered stereo receiver aimed squarely at music first listeners who want strong amplification, serious connectivity, and a straightforward path to a capable two channel or 2.1 system without spending several thousand dollars.
Price & Availability
The BasX TA2+ is available for $1,299 at Emotiva and worldwide through Authorized Distributors
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As the expected iPhone Fold should now be in production, a leaker claims to have details of its storage options — and its top price.
Render of a possible iPhone Fold design — image credit: AppleInsider
Despite all of the rumors, there is still doubt that there will be an iPhone Fold in September 2026 because of how few solid leaks there have been. Now, though, leaker Instant Digital claims to have both storage capacities and prices.
In a post on the Chinese social media site Weibo, Instant Digital says that the configurations will be:
Rumor Score: 🤔 Possible
Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
The 2018 Startup Battlefield winner is joining Zendesk as the race to own agentic customer service accelerates
When Forethought won the TechCrunch Startup Battlefield competition in 2018, ChatGPT was four years from existing. The company’s pitch, that AI could handle customer service conversations autonomously, was considered ambitious to the point of eccentricity.
On Wednesday, Zendesk announced it has agreed to acquire Forethought, in what Computer Weekly reports is the company’s largest acquisition in two decades.
The deal, expected to close by the end of March, carries an undisclosed price tag. Forethought had raised $115 million in total funding from backers including Blue Cloud Ventures, NEA, Industry Ventures, Neo, Village Global, and Sound Ventures, as well as angel investors including May Habib of Writer, Scott Wu of Cognition, and Karan Goel of Cartesia.
Forethought was co-founded by Deon Nicholas, who serves as executive chairman, and Sami Ghoche, who became CEO in 2024 after previously serving as CTO.
The pair founded the company when they were 24, and by 2025 the platform was handling more than a billion customer interactions per month for clients including Upwork, Grammarly, Airtable, and Datadog.
Zendesk, which has been privately held since its $10.2 billion acquisition by private equity firms Hellman & Friedman and Permira in November 2022, is making the move because it believes 2026 will be the year AI agents handle more customer service interactions than human agents.
The company says integrating Forethought’s technology will accelerate its product roadmap by more than a year.
The specific capability Zendesk is acquiring is what Forethought calls self-improving AI, agents that do not simply execute scripts but learn from each interaction, generate their own workflows, and adapt to new situations without requiring re-engineering. Zendesk intends to weave this into its Resolution Platform, which currently claims to handle more than 80% of customer interactions from start to finish for its clients.
“The era of simply managing conversations is over,” said Zendesk CEO Tom Eggemeier.
“The future of customer experience requires agentic capabilities built for definitive resolution. Forethought’s advanced capabilities perfectly align with our vision for agentic service.”
For Zendesk, the transaction continues a pattern of quiet consolidation. The company has made roughly a dozen acquisitions since its founding in 2007, though it has historically disclosed prices on only a handful, including $29.8 million for live-chat firm Zopim in 2014 and $45 million for analytics company BIME in 2015.
The Forethought deal follows its 2024 acquisition of Finnish service automation provider Ultimate, which set the groundwork for its current AI strategy.
The agentic AI market for customer service is becoming crowded quickly, with Salesforce, Intercom, and a wave of well-funded startups all pursuing similar ground. The question for Zendesk is whether acquiring the early pioneer gives it a durable lead, or whether the technology advantage closes faster than the deal does.
Tilly Norwood, a digital character from the UK studio Particle6, dropped her debut music video “Take the Lead” on March 10. The project is meant to be a playful response to the criticism she faced after her introduction in 2025. But instead of silencing the skeptics, the clip has become a fresh flashpoint in the conversation about whether artificial intelligence can produce good art.
The early reviews are pretty brutal. Critics have described the track as “copy-paste uplift” that reads like a corporate mission statement rather than pop music. The lyrics lean on jargon like “scale” and “next evolution.” Visually, the piece struggles with the uncanny valley, with moments like Norwood’s teeth blurring into a single block in earlier sketches.
How the video makes its case
The visuals in “Take the Lead” are chaotic on purpose. You get flamingos floating through clouds, dolphins flying through the air, and Norwood performing in packed stadiums. But the song’s message is dead serious. Its central hook argues that AI is not the enemy and frames the technology as a superpower for human creators.
That message gets a weirdly self-aware visual aid. In one scene, Norwood tries and fails to complete a CAPTCHA test, a joke about her own digital nature. The track itself was generated using the AI platform Suno, giving it a polished but generic pop foundation.
Where the real work happened
Here is the part of the story that complicates things. While Norwood is a synthetic performer, she is not a solo act. A team of 18 people spent months bringing this project to life. The group included a director, a costume designer, and even a comedy writer. The vocals came from Suno, but real-world fingerprints are all over the final product.
But the heavy human involvement raises its own questions. If it took nearly 20 professionals months to make a three-minute clip that critics are calling hollow, what does that say about the limits of this technology?
How the industry is responding
The team behind Norwood is not slowing down. The video description teased a possible appearance at the 2026 Academy Awards on March 15, with a joke about valet parking for her flamingo.
The creators have bigger plans. They are building what they call the Tillyverse, a cloud-based space where interconnected AI characters can live and work. They want to create 40 more digital personalities, and Norwood has an official acting debut scheduled for later this year.
That puts the industry in an odd spot. The critics are loud, and the union opposition is clear. SAG-AFTRA has stated flatly that Norwood is not an actor. But the projects keep coming. Whether you see this video as a cautionary tune or a misunderstood trailblazer, the experiment is moving forward. The next test arrives whenever that acting debut drops.
Tech
Startup Radar: Seattle-area founders use AI for medical records, gaming, mortgages, search, and more
Our latest Startup Radar spotlight features founders from the Seattle region using AI to help automate the assessment of medical records, video game production, and much more.
Read on for brief descriptions of each company — along with pitch assessments from “Mean VC,” a GPT-powered critic offering a mix of encouragement and constructive feedback.
Check out past Startup Radar posts here, and email tips@geekwire.com to flag other companies and startup news.
AttorneyAide
Founded: 2025
The business: AI tool for personal injury law firms to automate the review of medical records. It ingests records and produces structured outputs like patient chronologies, expense summaries, and draft case narratives. The product launched publicly in February, with early users in small and mid-sized personal injury firms across the U.S.
Leadership: Founder Rohit Kundaji was an engineering leader at DoorDash and a software engineering manager at Facebook and OfferUp.
Mean VC: “Solid wedge — medical record review is brutal — but the bar for accuracy and traceability is high, and one confident mistake will get you tossed. Win by being obsessively verifiable (page-level citations, redlines, review workflow), integrate with case management, and price per matter so firms can justify it instantly.”
Flightline
Founded: 2026
The business: Building a verification layer for financial decisions, starting with mortgages. Designed to help banks pressure-test decisions against documentation and rules or standards. The company is pre-launch and working with banks and independent mortgage lenders as design partners.
Leadership: Founder and CEO Jesse Collins previously co-founded Friday Harbor, a mortgage automation startup based in the Seattle region. He was also a senior engineer at Affirm and led engineering at the United States Senate Federal Credit Union.
Mean VC: “Mortgage underwriting is full of painful, expensive errors, but ‘verification layer’ can easily become a slow compliance tax that no one owns internally. Pick one must-fix point (doc-to-rule validation), make every decision fully auditable, and integrate directly into the Loan Origination System (LOS) so it saves time instead of adding steps.”
Liminary
Founded: 2024
The business: AI-native storage and memory layer that automatically recalls material from various sources when they’re needed. Initially targeting independent strategy consultants. The company spun out of Madrona Venture Labs and has raised funding from Crosslink Capital, ex/ante, and two Seattle funds: Pack VC and TheFounderVC.
Leadership: CEO Sarah Andrabi previously was a head of engineering at Dropbox and a security engineer at Microsoft.
Mean VC: “The promise — pull the right snippets from all your sources at the right moment — is real, but consultants won’t adopt another tool unless it saves hours every week and never leaks or mis-cites. Make it obsessive about provenance (citations, permissions, versioning), and package it as a ‘client-ready brief generator’ that turns scattered material into something billable in under an hour.”
Makko
Founded: 2025
The business: Game development platform aimed at helping studios and indie creators make games faster and cheaper. Its AI tools accelerate production but is designed to let humans steer creative decisions. More than 3,000 people joined its beta that wrapped up last month.
Leadership: CEO and co-founder Jeremy Bird spent more than a decade at Amazon across gaming and Prime Video. Co-founder Tony Valcarcel previously led marketing at Seattle gaming startup Shrapnel and was a digital marketing director at Convoy, and co-founder Mike Fehlauer Hayes helped create Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) conference.
Mean VC: “The risk is you become a grab bag of features when studios really want one tool they can rely on every day. Build a couple opinionated, end-to-end workflows that output production-ready assets in a consistent style, then showcase creators who shipped and will publicly say you sped them up.”
Pipeshub
Founded: 2025
The business: Open-source “workplace AI” that uses enterprise context graphs to enable search and Q&A for internal company information across existing software tools. It also lets users deploy AI agents that triage tickets, generate insights, and trigger workflows. Pipeshub is pre-revenue and recently relocated to Seattle from San Francisco after raising funding from the AI2 Incubator.
Leadership: CEO and co-founder Rishabh Gupta spent four years at Adobe working on cloud infrastructure. Co-founder Abhishek Gupta — Rishabh’s brother — was previously a vice president at Goldman Sachs leading global trading infrastructure.
Mean VC: “The space is crowded, and the quickest way to lose trust is confident answers built on stale or unauthorized data. Lean hard into permissions, citations, and freshness guarantees, then anchor adoption through an IT/helpdesk deployment with a managed option so it doesn’t turn into an internal maintenance project.”
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