Wall of Sound: World’s Biggest iPod Speaker

wall-of-sound

The world’s biggest iPod speaker is best described in numbers. The Wall of Sound weighs 102 kilos (225 pounds), stands almost a meter tall (a yard) and 1.25 meters wide (a bit more than a yard) and can rock up to around 125 watts.

The wall is made up of 28 individual speakers, each housed in their own chamber, and the whole thing is hand-built. It even has its own tube amplifier hidden away inside and yes, that tiny protrusion on the side is an iPod dock.

The pitch reads thusly: “It looks frightening and it IS frightening!” This is backed up by the horrendous music which blasts from the website of the maker, Brothers of Stockholm, and of course the name, Wall of Sound, which reminds us of the scary Phil Spector.

The most frightening part, though, is the price: $4,500. Incredibly, the first batch has already sold out.

Product page [WoS via Cult of Mac]


Sound Egg Chair: A Cocoon for Your Crib

sound_egg_chair

If you have any kind of imagination, you will have taken a look at the classic 1960s Ovalia egg-chair, perhaps during its starring role in Men in Black, and wondered why somebody didn’t make an uglier version, filled with sound-dampening material and speakers, and take a photo of it with full-frontal flash, rendering it even nastier-looking.

Well, good news! Somebody saw inside your twisted mind and actually went and did it. The result is the Sound Egg Chair, incorporating 5.1 surround sound. The $1,500 seat has six pairs of jack sockets on the back so you can trail cables from it like fluid pipes from a Matrix-style person-pod, and it will of course accept sound input of any kind — video games and movies being the main selling points.

It’s actually kind of cool, and we’re sure that when you aren’t illuminating the interior with a camera’s flash bulb it looks as good as Henrik Thor-Larsen’s original. You can even choose the color of the foam inside, as well as the plastic outside. Weirdly, all the foam color options will cost an extra $25, except burgundy, which the makers seem to agree was possibly the worst color ever invented.

Product page [Sound Egg. Thanks, Joel!]


Lullabelly is iPod Speaker for Your Womb

LullabellyAre you a mom who wears headphones on your belly to help pass the time for your unborn child? Well, I have good news: “There’s an app for that!” It’s called iTunes, and you can pair it with the new Lullabelly Prenatal Music Belt, available now for $49 or $55 (with packaged headphones for mom, too). I haven’t tried one out yet (know any unborn babies looking for freelance work?), but the device seems straightforward enough–and I doubt your kid will start kicking if the speakers lack rich-sounding bass.

The Prenantal Music Belt from Lullabelly ships in three colors–Pink, Green, or Blue with polka dots–and is available as a Standard Package (speakers only) for $49, or as a Deluxe Package (with a dual earphone adapter and earphones so you can listen along) for $55 from Lullabelly.com.

Rocketfish wireless whole home audio system cuts the cord on all your speakers

Anyone stumbling into a Best Buy looking for some sort of wireless speaker solution has probably been ushered over to the Rocketfish section, but up until now, only a few devices have been available. Now, the Best Buy staple is introducing an all-encompassing system that aims to cut the (speaker) cable to all of your speakers. The wireless whole home audio system, which is obviously only available at the yellow-tagged retailer, is comprised of a Wireless Amplified Audio Receiver, a Wireless Sender / Receiver, a Wireless Outdoor Speaker and a Wireless HD Audio Starter Kit, which includes both a sender and receiver. The whole rig is designed to work with standard connections for speaker line and line level inputs, so most any speaker assortment should play nice. All told, the devices combined can send up to five sources to nine receivers throughout the home, but not surprisingly, there’s no mention made of the presumably lofty price tag.

Filed under: ,

Rocketfish wireless whole home audio system cuts the cord on all your speakers originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Yamaha’s PDX-60 wireless iPod / iPhone dock adds yAired to the lexicon

Sony’s got its S-AIR, Yamaha has its yAired — so, what of it? The outfit famous for making just about everything from ATVs to wicked soundbars has today introduced a classy addition to the oversaturated iPod / iPhone sound system market: the PDX-60. Apple loyalists simply dock their media player in the wireless base and watch as the tunes are streamed effortlessly into the magical box on the other side. There’s also remote control capability for keeping tabs on that playlist whilst planted on the sofa, and the dock can even power on and off automatically with “yAired-enabled iPhones / iPods.” The music maker itself boasts a pair of 3.25-inch speakers and a digital amplifier of undisclosed wattage, and it’s available in black, gray, blue or pink for $299.95. So, any takers, or are you stickin’ with Bose?

Continue reading Yamaha’s PDX-60 wireless iPod / iPhone dock adds yAired to the lexicon

Filed under: ,

Yamaha’s PDX-60 wireless iPod / iPhone dock adds yAired to the lexicon originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Oct 2009 09:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Altec Lansing FX3021 Expressionist Plus reviewed, deemed good value

Speakers might be among the worst hardware to assess online. What do 36 watts of power output and a 40Hz to 20kHz response range tell you about the actual audio quality? A kindly soul over at Macworld has tried to clear that up for us with a review of Altec Lansing’s prettified Expressionist Plus 2.1 setup. The tiltable satellites score design points for their looks, though that all-important sound output was deemed only middle of the road. Real bass response begins at somewhere around 70Hz and the midrange is, well, middling, though treble definition is considered rich and well detailed. The reviewer also notes that while the design is attractive, the positioning of the power button and extra audio input on the subwoofer makes for awkward day-to-day use. On the whole, with online prices in the vicinity of $75, this looks like a decent value, so hit up the full review if your interest has been piqued.

Filed under:

Altec Lansing FX3021 Expressionist Plus reviewed, deemed good value originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

JVC SP-FT is a drool-inducing, 31mm thin home theater speaker system

We know, life’s tough. You want to buy the latest ultraslim HDTV, but find that your home theater speakers will look monstrously bulky sitting alongside it. JVC wouldn’t want to cause you such headaches, which is why it’s trotted out the above pair of 31mm thin speaker satelittes — known as the SP-FT1 in black and SP-FT2 in their white garb — and the AX-FT amplifier squeezed in between them. While you should probably not expect Telos 5000-like output, the amp will deliver 80W of total output over 4 independent channels, and has support for Dolby Digital, DTS and AAC formats. Prices are expected to be around ¥24,000 ($267) for the amp and ¥20,000 ($223) for the speakers when their black iterations hit Japan later this month, with the willowy white option showing up in November.

[Via Akihabara News]

Filed under:

JVC SP-FT is a drool-inducing, 31mm thin home theater speaker system originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Sonos ZonePlayer S5 all-in-one wireless speaker lowers cost of entry (video!)

For many, the perceived high cost of getting into a Sonos wireless home audio system has been a significant barrier. While you crave whole-home, distributed audio that just works without pops, hisses, or clicks, you simply can’t justify dropping $350 on a ZonePlayer ZP90 and another $200 or so for a pair of decent amplified speakers. Even then, you’re still only talking about a single room — adding more rooms (or zones) and dedicated Sonos controllers jacks the price up even higher. Today, Sonos fills a significant gap in its product portfolio with the introduction of its $399 / €399 all-in-one ZonePlayer S5 speaker. The 217 x 365 x 123-mm S5 brings a decidedly Bose-like external design while packing a 5-driver speaker system (two tweeters, two 3-inch mids, and a built-in 3.5-inch sub) that’s meant to fill a room with Sonos’ wireless audio. And because the ZonePlayer is integrated right into the all-in-one chassis, it easily drops into your existing Sonos device network to extend audio into any room that needs it — no wiring required. There’s even a headphone jack for stealth listening in the bedroom. Of course, the beauty of Sonos is in the wide variety of audio sources available: freebies like thousands of internet radio stations, your iTunes library, CIFS NAS storage, or line-in devices like your home stereo or MP3 player; or subscriptions music services like Last.fm, Pandora, Rhapsody, Sirius, or Deezer depending upon your geographic location.

If you already have an iPhone or iPod touch and the ability to easily network the S5 back into your router (via fixed Ethernet or close proximity), then $399 / €399 is what it now takes to get started with Sonos. Otherwise, you’ll need to add a $99 / €99 ZoneBridge to link the S5 to your router over Sonos’ proprietary SonosNet 2.0 (think 802.11n but optimized for distributed mesh audio) and another $349 / €349 for the dedicated CR200 controller if the free PC / Mac software controllers don’t serve your need. We’ll be getting our hands-on with a unit soon and will update you with our subjective listening experience. Until then, you can ponder the “end of October” and November 10th ship dates for the US and Europe, respectively. Video demonstration after the break.

Show full PR text
SONOS INTRODUCES THE SONOS ZONEPLAYER S5: THE ALL-IN-ONE WIRELESS MUSIC SYSTEM CONTROLLED WITH AN IPHONE

  • Wirelessly play music in any or every room of the house for $399 per room
  • Enjoy room-filling, high-performance sound with all digital architecture
  • Access your iTunes(R) library, plus thousands of radio stations and millions of songs from the Internet
  • Control your music experience with free Sonos Controller for iPhone[TM] app or any other Sonos Controller

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – October 13, 2009 – Sonos(R), Inc., the leading developer of wireless multi-room music systems for the home, today introduced the Sonos ZonePlayer S5, an all-in-one wireless music system that can be controlled with an iPhone, iPod(R) touch or any Sonos Controller. The S5 delivers crystal-clear, room-filling sound that rivals much larger, more complicated audio equipment. Plus, the S5 provides instant access to unlimited music with control from the palm of your hand. Now music lovers can find and play any song from an iTunes library, plus, a world of music and radio on the Internet, in any room of the house. The S5 will be available for $399 in late October. To see the S5 in action, please visit: www.sonos.com/S5demo. “Our customers tell us they listen to twice as much music after bringing Sonos into their homes,” said John MacFarlane, CEO of Sonos. “The new S5 is our latest effort to simplify the Sonos experience so more people can enjoy more music than ever before.”

The S5 features a 5-driver speaker system that packs a big sound – filling an entire room with music. Sonos uniquely designed the S5 with an all-digital sound architecture for precise sound reproduction. The S5 includes two tweeters, two mid-range drivers and a built-in single subwoofer – each individually powered by a dedicated digital amplifier and optimized to deliver room-filling sound with smooth tonal balance and deep bass. All filter settings, bass and treble controls, active equalization, and time-alignment are done in the digital domain through state-of-the-art DSP circuitry, so there’s absolutely no loss of audio quality or energy. With the Internet-connected S5, you can listen to way more music than you can with a dock that only plays the songs that fit on your iPod. The S5 gives you instant access to a world of music, including 25,000 Internet radio stations, shows and podcasts -all free of charge and pre-loaded on Sonos. Sonos works seamlessly with the most popular music services to provide computer-free access to millions of songs and stations from the likes of Last.fm, Napster, Rhapsody, Pandora, SIRIUS Internet Radio, and Deezer. The S5 also gives you instant access to any iTunes library stored on any computer or Network Attached storage, such as an Apple Time Capsule. The S5’s analog audio input lets you connect to an external audio source (such as an iPod, CD player, TV, DVD, VCR, or radio) and play music or audio on all ZonePlayers in the system.

When it comes to controlling your S5, you simply reach into your pocket for your iPhone or iPod touch. With the free Sonos Controller for iPhone app (available on the iTunes App Store), you can search for songs and stations, choose the music and control the volume in as many rooms as you like. And because the iPhone is controlling the music, and not the source of it, when a text comes in or you need to make a phone call, the music doesn’t stop. That also means you can keep your iPhone in your pocket, not stuck in a dock. The S5 also includes free Sonos Controller software for your Mac or PC. Or you can let everyone in the house share the control with the dedicated Sonos Controller 200 (sold separately). As with all Sonos ZonePlayers, the S5 is simple to set up, easy to expand and 100% compatible with all other Sonos products. Just plug in the S5 wherever you want music. One ZonePlayer or Sonos ZoneBridge[TM] (sold separately) must be connected to your router and all the rest will work wirelessly. When you’re ready to play more music in more rooms, simply add S5s or other ZonePlayers without adding wires. Now you can play the same song in every room with perfect synchronicity or mix it up by playing different songs in different rooms. The S5 will be available for purchase in the United States beginning in late October. To learn more or to locate an authorized Sonos dealer, please visit www.sonos.com or call 877.80.SONOS.

Continue reading Sonos ZonePlayer S5 all-in-one wireless speaker lowers cost of entry (video!)

Filed under: ,

Sonos ZonePlayer S5 all-in-one wireless speaker lowers cost of entry (video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

LG’s 5.1 HB954SP Blu-ray HTIB system makes room for your iPod or iPhone

If you’ve somehow managed to hold out from joining into the HTIB revolution, the time for caving is upon you. LG has just tapped Sir Mark Levinson to engineer the acoustics behind its latest bundle, the HB954SP. Packing a 5.1-channel sound system that includes 1,000 total watts of power, a quintet of oval drivers and a ported subwoofer, the system gets direction from a BD-Live-enabled Blu-ray player that’s actually a fair bit more stylish than the tried-and-true black rectangle. You’ll also find a pair of HDMI inputs, an iDock function for charging and controlling your iPod / iPhone right from the BD deck, 1080p upscaling of traditional DVDs, touch sensitive controls, a USB port for loading up external media and an optical audio input. There’s nary a mention of price, but it should splash down this November for a hefty premium.

LG’s 5.1 HB954SP Blu-ray HTIB system makes room for your iPod or iPhone originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Oct 2009 08:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

OrigAudio: Fold N Play Paper Speakers

OrigAudio_speakers.jpg

They’re arty, cleverly designed, and eco-friendly–oh, and they’re really cheap, too. These OrigAudio Fold ‘N Plays ($16 direct) arrive as two flattened boxes of cardboard with embedded speakers and an attached cable. You fold each into a 3-inch cube and plug the cable into any music player with a headphone jack. Voila, your new audio system is complete.

Surely you’re not expecting high quality or high volume, and you won’t get either; each speaker is just 1 watt. But that’s really not the point here (see my lead sentence, above). The speakers are made of recycled materials and are powered from your player; and they’re really quite portable since they’re refoldable. The designs are attractive: Pictured is “Flowers,” but check out the other five designs. You can even order the whole “Sixpack” for $60. As icing on the sustainable cake, the company donates a portion of each sale to causes it deems worthy.

Check out the packaging (also recycled) after the jump.