Ferrari by logic3 with two AirPlay speakers - does super cars equalsuper speakers?

One of the big Apple related stories yesterday at CES was the partnership between premier supercar brand Ferrari and speaker dock / headphone manufacturer Logic3, resulting in a line of Ferrari by Logic3 products.

Whilst the two Cavallino and Scuderia collections feature 9 headphone models and 4 speaker docks, it is the two premiere AirPlay speaker docks that caught my attention.

The top model Cavallino GT1 Air draws inspiration from the classic GT cars, where quality and style reigns supreme. The speaker dock looks great with its black and silver finish, and of course the prancing horse logo. Inside there is plenty to get excited about as well with a class HD amp with 250W RMS power fueling the speaker set up that includes a 6.5-inch subwoofer. In addition to AirPlay streaming this Ferrari comes with a retractable docking station for iOS devices and Bluetooth streaming for those non-Apple gadgets. Expected release date is around April with a retail price for the Cavallino GT1 Air AT&T £599 (£100 less for the version without AirPlay).

The second of the Ferrari by Logic3 AirPlay speakers is the Scuderia FS1 Air, taking a more F1 inspired approach featuring the famous yellow Ferrari badge and a red line running through it. It remains stylish, but in my opinion has more of an edge to it.

Inside the 2.1 speaker set up you will find passive bass radiators and a 120W class HD amp. It is not quite as powerful as the other model, but otherwise it has more or less the same features, including docking station for iOS devices and Bluetooth streaming to go along with AirPlay.

The Scuderia FS1 Air is also expected out in April time with a retail price around £499.

Now let's just hope that the sound from these speakers can live up to the humming of a Ferrari engine.

[source: pocket-lint]

iHome iW4 is the first Airplay enabled alarm dock

CES 2012 is just a few days away, but already we are starting to see companies releasing information about the new products they are displaying, including iHome with their latest AirPlay speaker dock; the iHome iW4 alarm dock with AirPlay technology.

Last year it was all about the iHome iW1 AirPlay speaker, with a couple of extra side distractions in form of iHome iW2 and iW3, which are yet to hit the market and there are doubts they ever will. This year the company is bringing their latest Airplay device in the iW4, which forms part of 3 new alarm speaker docks that will be shown off at CES.

Besides being AirPlay enabled, the iHome iW4 is a bedside unit that supports docking of all iOS devices, has dual alarm settings, FM radio, SRS TruBass sound enhancement, and packs about 20W of power, which should be plenty enough for the bedroom (or at least a normal size bedroom).

U.S retail price for the iHome iW4 is expected at around $270 and i'm waiting to hear back about UK price, but would expect it to be around £200, so on the pricey side for a bedroom alarm dock. I will be back with more details as soon as available, including expected retail release dates.

[source: iLounge]

Samsung delivering two AirPlay Audio Docks at CES 2012

Samsung will be revealing two new Audio Docks at CES 2012, both featuring docking support for both iOS and Galaxy devices, as well as streaming through Airplay, AllShare, and bluetooth.

The top model is the Samsung DA-E750 that comes with Samsung's own hybrid vacuum tube amplifier technology, combining the sharpness of a digital amplifier with the vacuum tubes audiophile rich and warm sound. This 2.1 speaker with a built-in subwoofer comes with some great expectations and 100w power output, all packed in a great looking polished wood finish.

Less features and power, but still the same good looking design, is the little brother in the Samsung DA-E670 Audio Dock. You still get the same streaming support across Airplay, AllShare and bluetooth, as well as docking support for a multitude of devices. Power output for the DA-E670 is 40W.

Pricing and availability is yet to be revealed for both systems, but i will be back with more information as soon as available.

[source: Marketwatch via Airplayspeakers]

House of Marley One Foundation AirPlay speaker dock - hope i'm not waiting in vain

The House of Marley first teased us with their top model One Foundation speaker dock with Airplay technology back at CES 2011, but since then it has been a waiting game, and at least for us in the UK it will be sometime 2012 before we get to play with the HoM One Foundation speaker.

Fingers crossed that it will be early 2012 and we don't end up with another iHome iW1 situation, as there are some good reasons as to why the One Foundation Airplay speaker should be a popular alternative in the Airplay speaker market.

First of all with its FSC-certified wood front panel it looks the part of a high-end home speaker dock, and yes, it does also feature a docking station for your iOS device so you can dock and charge while playing your Bob Marley tunes as well.

Secondly, House of Marley have packed some good technical specifications into the One Foundation speaker. DSP sound processing 1-inch aluminum dome 5-inch tweeter and subwoofer that outputs 100w (RMS) should hopefully bring both a good audio quality as well as plenty of room filling sound. If they have done as good a job on their speaker docks as they have on their headphones, including the House of Marley Stir it Up headphones, then i have no doubt the One Foundation Airplay speaker will sound great.

So House of Marley, in the words of your founding father Bob Marley "I don't wanna wait in vain for your love".

LG ND8520 speaker dock with Airplay revealed in CES Innovation Honorees

It looks like CES 2012 will have some strong Airplay systems present, including a new one from LG in the LG ND8520 Airplay enabled speaker dock.

The system is featured in the Audio Component category of the CES Innovations Honorees list for 2012, and besides the information available there, very little is know about the system. Good news is that we are looking at a system with an untraditional and iconic design. It actually reminds me a bit of an all black rubix cube with its square boxed design. it is also a fairly powerful system with its 2.1-channel speaker set up and 80W of output power.

I will be back with more information on the LG ND8520 Airplay speaker dock as soon as it becomes available.

[source: CES]

Gear4 AirZone Series 1 joins the AirPlay speaker market

Gear4 have announced the coming release of their Gear4 AirZone Series 1 AirPlay speaker dock, showing that they are keeping up with their competitors in delivering the latest Apple technology for the masses of music streaming hungry consumers out there.

Gear4 have long been a popular choice amongst iPod and iPhone owners that are looking for affordable quality speaker docks, alongside the likes of Sony and Logitech, which both have announced their AirPlay speakers in the Sony SA-NS500 homeshare airplay speaker and the Logitech Air Speaker. With the Gear4 AirZone Series 1 they are once again looking to bring an affordable solutions to a market that is largely dominated by high-end high-price systems.

On first look one almost gets the impression that Gear4 have taken a leaf out of the iHome iW1 Airplay speaker with their AirZone Series 1, as it got a similar design. Gear4 have been clever and added a physical docking station as well that even allows you to dock your iPad with the unit, and there is a 3.5mm aux in connection for those media players that does not support AirPlay streaming or docking.

Gear4 have also added a built in FM radio to go alongside what is likely to be access to a myriad of internet radio stations as well given its AirPlay technology and WiFi connectability.

Gear4 did not add AirPlay to their recently launched series of officially licensed Angry Birds speaker docks (shame as Airplay and birds fit together!) so it is nice to see that their first AirPlay speaker will be released soon. In fact it is scheduled for a end of November release date and priced at £199 here in the UK.

I will be back with more information about where you can buy the Gear4 AirZone Series 1 Airplay speaker as soon as it is released.

[source: Gear4]

JBL turns OnBeat speaker dock into AirPlay speaker with JBL OnBeat Air

The IFA 2011 in Berlin has been one long AirPlay festival with several new systems and speakers getting announced for release in the coming month or so, including the JBL OnBeat Air speaker dock.

JBL by Harman has already delivered one AirPlay speaker dock to the market with the JBL OnAir Wireless, which has received some luke warm receptions as one of the earlier AirPlay speakers to be released. Now it looks like JBL has taken a look at their already popular iPad speaker dock line-up, and basically added AirPlay functionality to the excisting OnBeat speaker dock, although i'm still waiting on confirmation as to the detailed specification of this new system.

Good news is that the JBL OnBeat Air will still have the same docking facilities as its 1.0 model, and price wise it will be at the more affordable range of the AirPlay speaker market at around £200 when it comes out sometime in October. In fact, it is already being listed at Amazon UK, but without any price or release details.

Loewe Air Speaker with AirPlay coming in October

German audio brand Loewe has announced the release of their first Apple AirPlay speaker with the minimalistic and stylish Loewe Air Speaker.

As well as packing some good power into the Air Speaker with dual subwoofers, tweeters, and mid-range drivers, totaling 80W (RMS) power output, they have added some color options and customization to the system as well.

The base of the 'box' will be available in black and silver with a strong aluminum finish, whilst the top introduced some colorful replaceable panels that they say will be available in the entire RAL spectrum upon request. It is nice to see that they are incorporating some form of personalization into a system that with its design is already quite adaptable to settings and interior design.

Add in features like multi-room support, USB connection, and AUX-in, and you have a serious contender for the likes of B&W Zeppelin Air and Philips Fidelio Soundsphere DS9800 when the system arrives in October.

Price of the Loewe Air Speaker in the UK will be around £699.

[source: Loewe / WhatHiFi / iPodRepublic]

Teac announces AirPlay systems to include new NS-X1 speaker dock

Teac has given us some outstanding speaker docks over the years, including the iconic Teac Aurb SR-100i, and now they have announced that they too are embracing the future of audio streaming; Apple Airplay.

According to information available they are releasing their first AirPlay product in the very near future, the CR-H700 CD receiver which will support streaming through both AirPlay as well as DLNA + USB support for additional audio sources. Power output from this system is two-channels of 40W each.

As for AirPlay speaker docks, they have announced a September arrival for the new Teac NS-X1 speaker dock, a slimline speaker dock that can also be wall mounted and supports a multi-room set up if you want to build further on the system. The NS-X1 is reported to be retailing at £279 when it arrives on the UK market later this year, and it will also support DLNA in addition to AirPlay streaming.

The third Teac AirPlay product announced will form part of a family of products to come in the same design format, and is a DAC system called UD H01 DAC.

I will be back with more information on all of these systems when available.

[WhatHiFi via iPodRepublic]

Philips reveals second AirPlay speaker in Fidelio DS8800

According to a wall post on the Philips Sound Facebook page the company is ready to launch their second Airplay speaker towards the end of this year in the Philips Fidelio DS8800.

After posting a note talking about their Airplay speaker range questions where raised if there is more than one, to which they replied that the second Airplay speaker in the Fidelio DS8800 will arrive by the end of the year, and to "watch this space".

Hopefully the coming Fidelio DS8800 will continue along the lines of the rest of the Fidelio range, perhaps delivering a system that can compete with the B&W Zeppelin Air when it comes to value for money.

I will be back with more information on the Philips Fidelio DS8800 when available.

[source: iPodRepublic]

Logitech with no planned AirPlay devices....yet

According to a forum post Logitech has no immediate plans to make any of their current iPod speaker docks Airplay compatible, stating that at the moment they are not partnering with Apple AirPlay.

As one of the leading providers of iPod speaker docks for years, Logitech was one of the companies that we expected would be embracing AirPlay, but at least for now it looks like Logitech will stay 'docked'.

[source: Logitech forum]