LG's Blu-ray home theater systems bet big on wireless rear speakers

LAS VEGAS--LG's latest batch of home theater systems will make it tough for other manufacturers to treat wireless rear speakers as a premium feature.

LG announced four new home Blu-ray theater systems this morning at CES 2012, with all but the entry-level BH6720S featuring wireless rear speakers. That's a big shift from years past, when wireless rear speakers were typically only available on the flagship model.

The major features break down like this:

LG BH6720S: Smart TV + Wi-Fi + 3D LG BH6820SW: Smart TV + Wi-Fi + 3D + wireless rear speakers LG BH9220BW: Smart TV + Wi-Fi + 3D + wireless rear speakers + Bluetooth + &… Read more

Griffin's Twenty amps up AirPlay for Apple's AirPort Express

LAS VEGAS--Griffin's Twenty goes to 20--amps per channel, that is.

This funky Apple AirPort Express accessory basically turns any set of speakers into AirPlay-enabled speakers, or, as Griffin puts it:

"Twenty boasts a zero-configuration audio setup that streams Apple Lossless sound from iTunes or any other AirPlay-enabled app (Pandora, Spotify, etc.) to the user's speakers via a low-profile amplifier."

It's also worth noting that the Twenty comes equipped with a power connection and is wall mountable. It features a 2.1-channel sound system with 20 watts output per channel and also supports a powered subwoofer … Read more

Harman Kardon's sound bar goes for $800

Harman Kardon's SB 16 established that the company could charge a premium for its sound bar ($600), but actually back it up with superior performance.

Harman is upping the ante even further with the SB 30, the company's newest sound bar selling for a whopping $800. From the outside, you don't seem to get much more for your money, with it featuring a similar exterior design to the SB 16 and a wireless subwoofer. But inside, the SB 30 is packed with drivers, including six 2-inch woofers and seven 1-inch tweeters. Harman is also touting its dual … Read more

Take a shower with this Bluetooth speaker

The picture says it all on this one, but the iShower is designed to stick to the wall in your shower and stream tunes from your smartphone or other Bluetooth-enabled device.

Here are the down-and-dirty details: … Read more

Pioneer's networked audio players do high-res, AirPlay

Some might say "audiophile" and "digital music" shouldn't be used in the same sentence, but Pioneer is hoping they're wrong.

Pioneer released two new networked audio players yesterday aimed at the audiophile crowd, the N-30 and N-50. The two players feature Pioneer's Elite branding and have a sturdy-looking component-style design, including a 2.5-inch color display that shows cover art and artist/track information.

File-format support should please digital audiophiles: 192khz/24-bit FLAC and WAV support, plus MP3, WMA, AAC and Ogg Vorbis. Both AirPlay and DLNA are supported, which means you'll … Read more

Samsung's Blu-ray home theater systems get tubes, cloud DVD storage

Samsung's audio announcements yesterday included an innovative sound bar and tube-based iPod speakers, the company also rolled out its new line-up of all-in-one Blu-ray home theater systems.

Two new systems were announced, the HT-E6730W and HT-E5500W, both with a similar set of core features, including built-in 3D Blu-ray, hybrid vacuum tube amplifiers, built-in Wi-Fi, and Samsung Apps.

The higher end HT-E6730W is a 5.1 home theater system features two tall-boy front speaker, while the HT-E5500W has smaller, bookshelf front speakers. The press release mentions that the HT-E5500W has two HDMI inputs and an iPod dock; it's … Read more

Samsung's HW-E550 sound bar 'morphs' into vertical speakers

Typically, sound bars are horizontal speakers that are designed to be placed below your TV.

Samsung's upcoming HW-E550 Surround Sound Bar is just that--but with a twist. Not only can you place it horizontally below your TV (the speaker weighs 4 pounds), but you can split it in two and turn it into a traditional 2.1-channel floor-standing system using the included bases.

Yes, there's also a subwoofer, but the sound bar (or speakers if you split it in two) connects to it wirelessly using Samsung's proprietary dual-band 5.2/5.8GHz wireless technology. Samsung says the … Read more

New Samsung audio docks support both iPhone and Galaxy S

Samsung will unveil a new line of AirPlay audio docks at CES that are the first to support both the Samsung Galaxy S family and the iPhone.

The flagship DA-E750 features compatibility with both Samsung and Apple devices, including iPads, with what Samsung describes as "dual docking structure. Wireless connectivity is catered for with AirPlay, AllShare for Samsung Galaxy, and Bluetooth. A USB port is also provided with support for MP3, WMA, and WAV.

The DA-E750 will feature Samsung's proprietary 100-watt hybrid vacuum tube amplifier and a 2.1 speaker system.

Meanwhile, the 40-watt DA-E670 features AllShare, Airplay, … Read more

Can you name an audio company other than Bose?

Everyone knows Bose, in large part because it's the most heavily advertised audio brand in the world.

Then again, I can't think of any other audio brand that advertises on the radio, national magazines, or in newspapers. So unless you're an audiophile, or a regular reader of this blog, I doubt you could name another audio brand, if you're under 40. Older people might remember a few names from the days when audio was more mainstream.

Sure, a lot of folks would probably cite Sony or Apple, but those companies make all sorts of products. Bose just makes speakers and audio electronics; I might have to also include Monster's headphones or JBL as brands people know. That's it, I've run out of names that almost everyone would recognize.… Read more