(Credit:
iHome)
We don't associate the iHome brand with "premium" audio and cutting-edge design, but the folks there are giving it their best shot with the 100-watt iP1, which has a new look for the company known for its budget iPod audio systems.
The first thing you notice about the iP1 is that it has a very distinct, industrial look. It's all black with translucent, dark tinted plastic on the front supporting two rather deep cylindrical speakers (they extend a little more than 6 inches out the back). Weighing 8 pounds, the system has some heft to it, but you can easily move it around the room, though it's a little awkward to carry.
The iP1 has a set of "custom-designed" 4-inch woofers and 1-inch silk dome tweeters that are powered by Bongiovi Acoustics' proprietary Digital Power Station processor. In terms of connectivity, there's a standard audio input to connect other audio sources along with a component AV output and a remote control. It also works with iPhones; it's GSM shielded, so you can dock the iPhone without having to toggle it to airplane mode.
We could lament the lack of a built-in alarm clock or radio on the iP1. However, all iPods have built-in clocks with alarms that will rouse you out of bed in the morning--just be sure to leave the iP1's speakers turned on. Likewise, the iPod Touch and the iPhone have plenty of live streaming audio options available, and the fifth-generation iPod Nano has a built-in FM radio--so the dearth of a radio on the iP1 isn't such a big deal.
So, does the iP1 sound as good as it looks?
Tivoli calls this finish Zebra.
(Credit: Tivoli)Tivoli Audio didn't announce any new products at its annual showcase this year in New York, but it did reveal lots of new looks--13 new finishes, in fact--for its NetWorks Internet radio.
The new finishes are broken down into three groups: Texture Collection (four options); Color Collection (six options); and Cappellini, which features three hand-lacquered finishes created by Italian furniture designer Giulio Cappellini (Tivoli will also make its original Model One tabletop AM/FM mono radio available in Cappellini finishes).
Tivoli continues to make firmware upgrades to its existing NetWorks radio, which came out last year, but no new changes have made to the hardware aside from the finishes.
The new models should be available within 90 days and carry the same prices as existing configurations of the NetWorks Global Audio System. The mono version goes for $599, the mono plus embedded FM radio costs $649, the stereo version (with second speaker in a separate enclosure) hits $699, and the line-topping FM/stereo version comes in at $750. If you go the Cappellini route, you're looking at $999 for the FM/stereo configuration (it only comes in this configuration).
We're not so keen on the price, especially when you can get a decent Internet radio for far less these days, but the newly finished radios do look beautiful up close and Tivoli is positioning NetWorks as an interior-design accessory. In other words, picture these guys in trendy lofts and other chic abodes and you'll get an idea where the company is headed with this colorful move, global recession be damned.
This hand-lacquered Cappellini finish is called Chinablue.
(Credit: Tivoli)
The Studio Series iP1 will go on sale in July with a list price of $300.
(Credit: iHome)We review a lot of iHome products on CNET and until now the brand has had more of budget slant to it. But this summer, with the introduction of its new iP1 Studio Series model, iHome is setting its sights a little higher.
We got an early look at the iP1 at an iHome event and it's definitely got an appealing and distinctive industrial design (iHome refers to the smoked acrylic surrounding the speakers as "museum quality"--we didn't now such a term existed for describing smoked acrylic). As far as the key specs go, the iP1 uses a "100 watt class D biamplified architecture with Bongiovi sound processing through twin 4-inch woofers and matched 1-inch dome tweeters." It's also got GSM shielding for iPhone use and a video-out port for watching iPod/iPhone video on a TV. However, there's no radio or alarm features.
The man behind the special sound processing is Tony Bongiovi, a music producer, second cousin of Jon Bon Jovi, and founder of the renowned Power Station recording studio where the event took place. The iP1 is equipped with Bongiovi Acoustics Digital Power Station, an active digital signal processor that the company says makes your MP3s sound better and maximizes the performance of the iP1.
Here's how iHome describes the feature:
When activated, "DPS constantly scans the program material and compensates for any deficiencies across the audio frequency spectrum. The result is a restoration of once-missing harmonics, brightness, clarity and presence. It also delivers a deeper, more resonant bass and miraculously extends audio bandwidth without adding peak output to the signal."
What we heard from the iP1 at the event seemed very decent for a compact system in this price range, which made us eager to pit it against some competing models in our labs to see how it stacks up. Hopefully, we'll have a review up shortly before its release in July.
(Credit:
Sonos)
A bit of news from the Sonos camp: the company has delivered a minor update to its iPhone controller app, and offered a short-term bundling deal for new customers.
The company launched its iPhone controller app--which lets any iPhone or iPod Touch control the company's multiroom digital music system--in October of 2008. Many Sonos owners liked the app more than the system's own CR100 remote (which is included in the two-room, $1,000 system, or available separately for $400). Today's minor upgrade adds multilingual support (Dutch, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Swedish, in addition to English), alarm and sleep functions, and PC-free setup (instruct your Sonos to access network music folders without the need to install software on a computer).
The upgrade also enables the playback of DRM-encoded WMA files from the likes of the Zune Marketplace. Sonos is also trumpeting the fact that Apple's decision to drop DRM from its iTunes Store means that newly purchased iTunes music will stream perfectly on the Sonos system (though DRM iTunes music you've purchased in the past will need a de-DRM'd version--which requires an upgrade fee through Apple.)
Separately, Sonos is also running a short-term bundling deal for its hardware. Those who don't want to go for the $1,000 two-room bundle (one ZP90 base station, one ZP120 amplified base station, and one CR100 controller) can instead get $150 to $200 off when purchasing either the ZP90 or the ZP120 plus the CR100. The deal runs through May 31, 2009.
We've long prodded Sonos to lower its prices, but $600 to $700 for a one-room system is still too rich for our blood. If you've already got an iPhone or iPod Touch, a better choice would be to pick up a single ZP90 for $350, and just grab the free Sonos controller app--you'll just need a stereo or a pair of powered speakers to hear your music. (That's assuming you don't already have an Apple TV or an AirPort Express--in which case you can cobble together your own Apple-ized multiroom audio system as well, albeit without access to the wider range of non-iTunes music services available on the Sonos.)
Check out Sonos' demo video of the iPhone controller app below (we've tested it, and can vouch that the video is a good representation of the software and hardware.)
... Read more
(Credit:
Cisco)
After hinting at a "digital stereo" product in The New York Times last week, Cisco unveiled the details of its Wireless Home Audio System today, which will be released under the networking giant's "Linksys by Cisco" consumer networking brand. At first glance, the system--which is actually a suite of six products that will be available separately or in a variety of preconfigured bundles--bears a remarkable resemblance to the Sonos Multi-Room Music System. Like the Sonos, the Linksys product has a large-screen remote and offers networked base stations designed to live in several rooms of the house where they can play digital music from networked PCs or online audio sources (Internet radio via RadioTime, Rhapsody subscription service in the U.S., and the AudioLounge premium service in Europe). The Linksys device can also use a "zone" system, so different rooms can access different audio sources, or be linked together for synchronized playback of a single audio stream in multiple rooms simultaneously.
...Read the full post at CNET's CES 2009 blog.
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iLuv hits the wall with iMM9500 vertical CD/MP3 hi-fi audio aystem
iLuv's wall-mountable iMM9500 Vertical 4CD/MP3 Hi-Fi Audio System is due out in May.
(Credit: ILuv)If you ever wanted a Bang & Olufsen wall-mountable system but couldn't afford one, iLuv will be offering the poor man's version this May when it releases the iMM9500 Vertical 4CD/MP3 Hi-Fi Audio System with Subwoofer. No word yet on its price, but it has a built-in iPod/iPhone dock ...
Read the full post at CNET's CES 2009 blog.
(Credit:
Pro-Idee)
We've seen everything from toasters to coffee makers developed by Porsche Design, so it's always nice when they come out with something that's a little farther along on the high-tech evolutionary scale. And the Porsche Audio System fits that bill, at least where design is concerned.
What makes it different are the three dials that control the volume, AM/FM radio, and other functions, which are hollow for a good reason: There's a speaker in the middle of each one, in a 1.5-inch cone, complementing the 3-inch subwoofer in the back, SlashGear says. A separate dock accommodates an iPod or other MP3 player. Topping it all off is an acrylic finish that has the appearance of black glass, and even a remote that looks good.
(Credit:
Steinway Lyngdorf)
An eon ago, when Sony was at the top of the world, it attempted a strategy to lock up entertainment by owning the source--Hollywood studios, for example--and making all the products that played their movies and records. We all know what happened to that brilliant plan, but Sony's failed history apparently hasn't deterred another company from trying its own version of that studio-to-store strategy: 154-year-old Steinway & Sons.
In this case, the origin isn't the content itself but the instrument that's used to produce it, the legendary Steinway piano. On the other end of the chain is something called the "Model-D," a $150,000 music system to be produced in partnership with the founder of Denmark-based Lyngdorf Audio. Details are non-existent, as are the systems themselves, though they supposedly will include a receiver, speakers and Lyngdorf calibration equipment.
But as Engadget points out, those who are interested in the Model-D (and have the means to seriously consider a purchase), should take note: Only 100 of the products will be made--whatever they are.
(Credit:
Amadana)
Maybe it's our midlife crisis taking over again, but we have a serious crush on Amadana, the Japanese company that created the bamboo-clad DVD player and other gorgeous products that reflect its zen-like design philosophy. If Amadana had a retail outlet, we imagine it would look like a cross between an Apple store and a Buddhist monastery. (We just wish the company would change its logo, which looks way to much like Amana's.)
Amadana's all-in-one audio system is a perfect example of the company's devotion to clean lines. Krunker.com says its 7-inch-sided cube has touch-sensitive buttons and houses a two-way speaker system, CD player, radio, sound processor and an alarm clock.
Surprisingly, and unfortunately, the audio system doesn't appear to store MP3 files. But it won't break the bank either, at $380. Plus, if you get a "CuboGlass" TV, you'll have the makings of an entire home filled with a series of cubes (not to be confused with tubes).
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