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]

Audyssey Audio Dock Air set for April European launch

It has been a while since Audyssey first announced their first AirPlay speaker dock in the Lower East Side Audio Dock Air, and finally it is ready for the market.

US consumers can get their hands on the new AirPlay speaker pretty much straight away, while us here in the UK and Europe will have to wait another month, with European models reported to be shipping towards end of April.

Read more from the press release here or check out earlier coverage of the Audyssey Audio Dock Air.

Philips Fidelio Soundsphere DS6800W AirPlay speaker delayed in UK

It has been a few months since Philips revealed their range of AirPlay enabled speakers and most of them have now found their way onto the UK market, with the exception of the Soundsphere DS6800W.

The Soundsphere DS6800W Airplay speaker is the little brother of the Philips DS9800W, having half the output power (2 x 25W) and without the physical docking station to go with the pair of speakers. It does however still have the same unique design, although in a smaller package, but also with a significantly smaller price tag ($300 less in U.S).

Unfortunately for us living in the UK the Philips Fidelio Soundsphere DS6800W still has an unknown release date as confirmed by their PR team, so unless you are looking to get one from the U.S (perhaps through eBay) you will have to either go for the big brother in the Fidelio DS9800W or one of their other AirPlay speakers.

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]

Philips Fidelio AD7000W has arrived in UK

The fourth member of the Philips Fidelio AirPlay family has arrived in the UK as the Philips Fidelio AD7000W goes on sale at amongst other John Lewis and Amazon UK.

The Philips Fidelio AD7000W is one of the more affordable AirPlay speakers from Philips, taking inspiration from their more traditional Fidelio range, but without the physical docking station, instead relying completely (almost) on AirPlay streaming.

Design wise it looks a bit similar to a Bose SoundDock. The front is in black mesh with the back in a black plastic finish. Making it stand out is the brushed aluminum top cover, giving it that additional edge that we all want when spending hard earned money on an AirPlay speaker. Even the onboard controls are minimalistic, with well integrated power button and volume controls situated at the top of the back, and all other inputs also situated at bottom back of the system. Those include USB for connecting an external dock, power connection, and aux-in.

The output power of the Fidelio AD7000W is at the lower end compared to some of its more expensive Philips AirPlay speaker cousins, but that is also reflected in the price. The sound performance is however reported to be of normal Philips quality, so i guess it is down to how much power you need for your use, and how much to expect for the price. I will be able to give you more detailed sound performance/experience once had a chance to test the system hands-on.

Where is the iHome iW1?

One of the big AirPlay questions out there at the moment seems to be what has happened to the iHome iW1? And so far we are none the wiser/

The iHome iW1 was the first AirPlay speaker announced after Apple first introduced the technology, and it was widely expected to the the first system to become widely available in the market, but that has not happened.

Having searched the web for information the closest i have come is that a UK release was expected for March/April, around the same time as B&W Zeppelin Air became available. At the moment, in terms of speaker docks with AirPlay, the Zeppelin Air pretty much stands alone in the UK market with more systems coming soon.

As for the iHome iW1 and the other AirPlay systems from iHome, i can only guess on a release date for now. Based on earlier information though it looks like it will come exclusively to Apple and be priced around £300.

[source: Electricpig]