New York State sues former Celsius CEO over alleged cryptocurrency fraud

Crypto lender Celsius Network is still facing the consequences of its tumultuous 2022 long after it declared bankruptcy. New York State Attorney General Letitia James has sued former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky for allegedly defrauding investors out of “billions of dollars” in cryptocurrency. The executive purportedly misled customers about Celsius’ worsening financial health, and didn’t register either as a salesperson or as a commodities and securities dealer.

The Attorney General’s office claims Mashinsky falsely boasted of low-risk investments and reliable lending partners while “routinely” exposing investors to high-risk approaches that resulted in losses the company chief hid from customers. He also made untrue statements about safety, strategies and user numbers, according to the lawsuit. Celsius’ ex-chief supposedly deceived hundreds of thousands of investors (over 26,000 in the state), some of which James says suffered “financial ruin.”

New York hopes to ban Mashinsky from doing business in the state. It also wants him to pay damages and otherwise compensate investors. In a statement to Engadget, Celsius would only reiterate that Mashinsky resigned as CEO in September and is “no longer involved” in managing the firm.

Celsius is one of the more prominent casualties of last year’s crypto crash. Its token’s value plunged from $7 in 2021 to just $3 last spring. That was particularly damaging to a company that offered loans with little collateral and promised yields as high as 18.6 percent — it didn’t have the resources needed to endure the crisis. It tried freezing withdrawals last June to stabilize its assets, but opted for bankruptcy the following month to restructure and otherwise give it a better chance to regroup.

The lawsuit isn’t likely to be the end of the fallout. Several states are investigating Celsius’ practices, and the Securities and Exchange Commission has been in touch. Celsius isn’t alone in dealing with legal repercussions. Just this week, the crypto exchange Coinbase reached a $100 million settlement with New York over alleged financial rule violations. However, it’s notable that the state is going after Mashinsky directly, not just the business he once ran.

Audio-Technica adapted its popular M50x headphones into headsets

At CES, Audio-Technica unveiled new StreamSet wired headsets that it designed with content creators in mind. Based on the popular M50x headphones, the M50xSTS comes in two flavors. One model has 3.5mm aux and XLR connectivity. The other has a USB cable that enables some extra features, but the two versions are otherwise very similar.

You’ll get the same 45mm large-aperture drivers with rare earth magnets and copper-clad aluminum wire voice coils that are present in the M50x, along with swappable earpads. The M50x earpads are focused on audio quality and sound isolation, while the mesh and leatherette earpads are all about breathability and comfort.

As for the microphone, Audio-Technica adopted a cardioid condenser from its 20 Series models. The mic, which is said to offer studio-level audio quality without background noise, is on a boom arm. Handily, when you flip the boom up, the headset will mute the mic. One advantage that the M50xSTS-USB has over the 3.5mm model is that, thanks to the sidetone circuitry, you’ll be able to hear your voice through the headset if you wish. You can adjust that volume with an earcup dial.

The M50xSTS has a two-meter cable with a 3.5mm headphone input and, for the mic, an XLR output that you can connect to an audio interface or mixer. The M50xSTS-USB version has a two-meter cable as well, but with a USB-A connector (you’ll get a USB-C adapter too). The latter model also has an analog-to-digital converter with a sampling rate up to 24 bits or 96 kHz. The M50xSTS costs $199, while the M50xSTS-USB will run you $229.

Expressive E finally starts shipping its unique Osmose synth

A few years back Expressive E swung by the Engadget offices to show off its first standalone synthesizer, the Osmose. That was late 2019, and the instrument was originally expected to ship in the Summer of 2020. Well, as we all know, almost nothing has gone as planned since 2020. And it’s only now, nearly three years later, that Osmose is actually ready for consumers. Today the first units started shipping those who placed a preorder all those many moons ago. Expressive E is also reopening preorders for the next batch and are expected to start shipping soon. 

While I can’t pass full judgement on the Osmose from my short demo over three years ago, it still is shaping up to be a very unique and exciting instrument. The core synth engine is borrowed from MPE pioneers Haken Audio and delivers a combination of FM, virtual analog and physical modeling. That physical modeling engine is particularly big deal since it really shine’s on Expressive E’s unique keybed.

The 49 full-sized keys don’t just move downward, but also side to side. This gives you an additional dimension for exploring sounds, the most obvious case being to add vibrato just by wiggling your fingers back and forth. And since the Osmose is built expressly for MPE, that means each note is controlled individually, so you can play a chord, then bend only the highest note while keeping the bass notes the same. That makes the Osmose the first traditional keyboard (at least that I’m aware of) that supports MPE.

While there is a builtin sound engine with 24-notes of polyphony, the 5-pin MIDI dins and USB connection mean you can control any soft or hardware synth with the Osmose too. That includes passing along MPE data to compatible instruments.

To the left of the keyboard are an array of controls and a color LCD for navigating the synth’s interface. There will also be an app for both Windows and macOS that allows you to create and edit sounds. The Expressive E is available for preorder now at $1,799.

Victrola’s Stream Onyx is a more affordable version of its Sonos-compatible turntable

Last fall, turntable Victrola released the $799 Stream Carbon, a record player that could wirelessly connect to Sonos speakers so you can play records all around your house. As a vinyl nerd who also has a bunch of Sonos speakers, this product felt like it was made for me — and while it’s undeniably nice, it’s also quite expensive. Just a few months later, though, Victrola is making good on its promise to expand its Sonos-compatible lineup with the Stream Onyx. Visually and functionally, it’s very similar to the Stream Carbon, but it costs $599, 25 percent less than the Carbon.

It seems the main difference between the two turntables are the materials used, though Victrola’s spec sheets note that the Stream Onyx is built with a “low-resonance” MDF plinth (or base) combined with metal turntable components. The tonearm here is aluminum, rather than the carbon fiber variety found on the Stream Carbon. The Carbon also has an aluminum headshell for the cartridge, while the Onyx appears to use plastic. 

The all-black design of the Stream Onyx does away with the striking silver front that made the Stream Carbon a distinctive piece of hardware — but if you’re not in it for looks, the Onyx seems like a solid way to get the same streaming experience while saving some cash. The Onyx has the same simple counterweight system for the tonearm that I found extremely easy to set up, and it retains the large and useful volume knob right up front. 

And naturally, this turntable can connect to basically any Sonos speaker (or group of speakers) that has been released in the last decade. I tested the Stream Carbon with my old Play:1 speakers from 2015, as well as some newer models, and everything worked seamlessly — I expect that’ll be the case with the Onyx, as well. If you already have a good set of wired speakers, the Onyx retains the classic RCA output in addition to its wireless capabilities.

Somewhat surprisingly, the Stream Onyx will be available very soon. Victrola says that it’ll be up for pre-order directly, on Amazon or from a number of audio gear retailers for $599 starting on January 7th. The turntable should ship in February. 

Lenovo YogaBook 9i hands-on: A huge leap for dual-screen laptops

We’ve seen a handful of companies attempt to make dual-screen laptops a thing – from Dell’s Concept Duet back in 2020 to more recent systems like ASUS’ line of ZenBook Duo notebooks. But with the YogaBook 9i at CES 2023, Lenovo is pushing the idea of a…

Lenovo’s Smart Paper tablet is a $400 answer to the Kindle Scribe

Alongside its regular slate of laptops and other gear, Lenovo has announced an E-Ink notepad at CES. Smart Paper is a 10.3-inch display with an anti-glare screen. The company says it’s a lightweight device with 50GB of storage, enough for 50,000 pages …

ThinkPhone hands-on: Moto’s attempt to woo big business

While Lenovo has been a huge force in the enterprise laptop space thanks to its long line of ThinkPads and ThinkBooks, Motorola is now hoping to leverage its parent company’s expertise by bringing some of Lenovo’s best features over to its newest mobil…

After 30 years of ThinkPads, Lenovo decided it’s time for a ThinkPhone

Believe it or not, ThinkPad business-oriented laptops have been around for 30 years, and Lenovo is celebrating by adding a new mobile companion: the ThinkPhone. Designed for IT pros to pair seamlessly with ThinkPad PCs, the handset launches “in the com…