Pioneer with three new AirPlay speakers

Pioneer already have a few AirPlay systems in the market, including AV receivers and all-in-one sound systems, and now they are adding a series of compact AirPlay speakers to their portfolio as well.

The three new AirPlay speakers from Pioneer includes the top model XW-SMA4 (£350), the splash proof XW-SMA3 (£300) with rechargeable battery, and the compact XW-SMA1. All of them have dual 3-inch woofers, a 1-inch tweeter and a central bass reflex port. The top model also have an additional tweeter and a 4-inch subwoofer. All are powered by class D amp and supports streaming over both AirPlay and DLNA.

Pioneer has also added Wireless Direct technology so there is no need to be connected to a wireless router to stream your music to the speakers.

All of them will become available around August/September this year.

[source: ipodrepublic via WhatHifi]

Pioneer brings out two new AirPlay enabled network audio players

Pioneer has long been in the forefront when it comes to adopting Apple Airplay technology in their suite of audio visuel products, and the two latest models are the network enabled audio players Pioneer Elite N-30 and N-50.

Both the N-50 and N-30 Pioneer network audio players feature support for lossless audio streaming through Airplay as well as DLNA 1.5. The systems use ethernet connection to your home network, or you can alternatively buy a compatible wireless adapter (AS-WL300). A bluetooth adapter can also be purchased separately to enable streaming over bluetooth.

While the main features of both systems are its wireless streaming capabilities over Airplay and DLNA, both systems also have built in support for vTuner internet radio, giving you access to over 16,000 radio stations. The top model Pioneer N-50 comes with an armoured chassis for improved noise resistance, gold RCA jacks, Advanced Sound Retriever and Sound Retriever AIR for better quality compressed audio. You will also find that it has twin EL transformers and a 32-bit conversion processor that further improves  audio performance.

I will be back with more information on UK prices and availability, which on the other side of the atlantic is set at $499 (N-30) and $699 (N-50) respectively.

[source: iLounge]

Pioneer launches slimline AirPlay music tap systems

Unless we get another iHome iW1 story we should see quite a few AirPlay speakers and sound systems hitting the market in October, including a duo slimline wireless AirPlay multi-room systems from Pioneer in the form of the X-SMC3-K and X-SMC5-K.

Both systems are quite featured packed, including of course Apple AirPlay streaming through built in Wi-Fi and LAN connection, DLNA streaming, Internet radio, USB, and it even has a traditional docking station, although it does not support docking of your iPad. You can even enable bluetooth streaming if you want, which requires an additional adapter. The top model Pioneer X-SMC5-K also features DVD player and HDMI output.

At the front of the systems you find a 2.5-inch LCD screen giving you information about tracks, media, sources etc. In terms of performance, both systems feature dual channel digital amplifier that provides up to 2 x 20W RMS power output through dual full range drivers.

Pioneer X-SMC3-K and X-SMC5-K with AirPlay are now available from amongst other Amazon UK and John Lewis online with prices around £190 / £329.



[source: Pioneer via iPodRepublic]

Pioneer VSX-1021 AV receiver first of many with AirPlay from Pioneer

It looks like 2011 is the year when Apple's AirPlay technology really gains some traction in the market, even with well known brands like Pioneer who have just released their first AirPlay compatible AV receiver in the Pioneer VSX-1021.

Pioneer getting onboard embracing the new technology for wireless streaming of audio and video from iTunes and iOS devices is another sign that it is not only Apple and specialised speaker dock producers that are now embracing the technology. As someone that believes in unified systems it is also nice to see that AirPlay is being embraced by AV receivers, giving people more options for creating their own bespoke home entertainment systems.

The Pioneer VSX-1021 is a 7.1-channel AV receiver with AirPlay integration, so all you have to do to enable it is to connect the receiver to your home ethernet or to your home wifi (requires an additional wifi adapter).

The system is not yet widely available in the UK, but expected retail price is around £500.

It is clear that audiovisual manufacturers are starting to see the sales potential of AirPlay devices, knowing the explosive growth Apple has seen in sales of their iOS devices, including the iPhone and the iPad, over the last couple of years. There is an estimated 160 million iOS devices currently in the global market.

[source: iPodRepublic]