Get the weekly hi-fi digest — new gear, best reads, and deals.

Huawei unveiled HUAWEI WATCH GT Runner 2 in Madrid, marking its return to professional running watches after five years, with Olympian Eliud Kipchoge as ambassador.
WATCH GT Runner 2 features a new 3D floating antenna and AI-powered positioning algorithm, ensuring continuous, high-precision GPS tracking even during signal interruptions.
An intelligent Marathon mode acts as a personal coach, guiding preparation, pacing, completion, and post-race analysis for both professional athletes and amateur runners.
Huawei’s renewed focus on performance wearables reads less like a cosmetic update and more like a systems-level rethink. The GT Runner 2 is engineered around signal integrity rather than raw feature count, a philosophy familiar to audiophiles who prioritize low noise floors over inflated wattage figures. The watch’s architecture treats positioning data as a continuous stream that must remain phase-coherent even when external conditions degrade—urban canyons and tree cover acting much like RF interference in poorly shielded audio chains. This approach contrasts with earlier consumer running watches that logged distance in discrete, easily corrupted chunks, and places Huawei closer to the mindset of professional sports instrumentation rather than lifestyle tracking.
Another notable angle emerging from coverage is Huawei’s emphasis on biomechanics and efficiency metrics over simplistic pace readouts. Instead of chasing headline-grabbing specs, the Runner 2 leans into algorithmic interpretation of stride, load, and recovery, translating raw sensor data into actionable guidance. From a technical standpoint, this mirrors the evolution seen in high-end DACs, where advanced digital filtering and clock management matter more than nominal bit depth. Competing brands often treat coaching features as UI-layer add-ons; Huawei positions them as part of the core processing pipeline, which may explain the five-year development gap hinted at by the company’s narrative.
Seen alongside the broader product lineup unveiled at the same event, the GT Runner 2 also highlights an internal divide within Huawei’s wearable strategy. While the WATCH Ultimate 2 caters to extreme outdoor scenarios with modular sport profiles, the Runner 2 is unapologetically specialized, tuned like a reference monitor rather than a multi-room speaker. This specialization suggests Huawei is comfortable segmenting its ecosystem by use-case fidelity, a move that resonates with enthusiasts who value purpose-built hardware. For serious runners, the implication is clear: precision and interpretive depth are being treated as first-order design goals, not optional firmware flourishes.
New gear, best reads, and deals — every Friday.

* Shokz Japan appointed Sakanaction frontman Ichiro Yamaguchi as brand ambassador, launching the collaboratively designed open-ear wireless earbuds, OpenFit 2+…

* Munich launches the inaugural Munich HiFi Days in March, filling the gap left by the departed international High End trade show.

* Audio Research I/55 is a compact tube integrated amplifier derived from I/70, succeeding I/50, targeting high-end listeners seeking classic tube sound with m…

* Nagra Compact Player is a complete high-end digital source integrating advanced streaming, a built-in DAC, and dual-mono analog outputs for improved channel…