Tag Archives: 24-bit

Harman Kardon Omni+ with Chromecast and Spotify Connect

September 5, 2017 admin Leave a comment

Omni+ Harman Kardon has upgraded their line of multi-room music speakers and they are now called Omni+. They all have 24Bit/192Khz HD audio, Spotify Connect, Chromecast built-in, Bluetooth and digital and analog input as well.

The previous version, Omni, lacked support for both Spotify Connect and Chromecast which made them almost unusable for most people. Now an Omni+ product, can re-broadcast Spotify Connect to first gen products.

The speakers are set up with the Harman Kardon controller app for iOS and Android.

OMNI 10+ fits small rooms and costs $249.95.

Omni 20+ is for larger rooms and costs $349.95.

Omni 50+ is portable and weatherproof, for use both indoors and outdoors. Has a rechargeable battery. Costs $499.95.

ADAPT+ connects to an existing system and lacks own speakers. Not released yet.

Multi-room

Denon upgrades HEOS with hi-res and Bluetooth

April 19, 2016 admin Leave a comment

Heos products

Denon upgrades its HEOS line of multi-room products and ads integrated bluetooth and hi-res 24-bit support. Basically what we have been waiting for Sonos to do a long time..

All products have been upgraded to the new HS2 platform (except the soundbar). So the new generation still has HEOS 1, HEOS 3, HEOS 5 and HEOS 7 wireless speakers. HEOS Amp for connecting to external speakers and Heos Link for connection to an existing sound system. 5 & 7 are available in stores now. 1 & 3 in june and Amp & Link in July. The prices will stay the same. See product links and prices below.

The HS2 platform has an upgraded processor (ARM A9 at 1.25GHz), 512MB flash memory and 256MB of RAM. This enables it to support high-resolution audio up to 24-bit/192kHz. An update later this year will also add support for the DSD format. Denon also adds fast Wi-Fi 802.11 ac to the existing 2.4/5GHz 802.11 a/b/g/n.

As before, the HEOS system supports the streaming services Spotify (through Spotify Connect), Pandora, TuneIn, Amazon Music, IHeart Radio, SiriusXM, Soundcloud, Tidal and Rhapsody. You can also access local network music through DLNA or attach a drive through USB.

The updated devices plays nice with existing HEOS products and can even down sample hi-res music to 16/44.1 for them when they are grouped. All controlled by the Heos App for iOS and Android.

Multi-room

Yamaha MusicCast multi-room

April 14, 2016 admin Leave a comment

Yamaha is going all-in with it´s MusicCast wireless multi-room system. Supported devices keeps growing and so does the functionality. So it is time to take a closer look at what it has to offer.

Let’s start with the basics: MusicCast devices has support for AirPlay, Spotify Connect, Internet Radio, Bluetooth and DLNA. They support 24-bit high resolution audio, can be linked to play in party mode and are controlled by an iOS or Android app. The system includes receivers, amplifiers, stand alone speakers, soundbars and Hi-Fi systems. They connect to each other through your wireless router and can also use wired ethernet.

MusicCast system

Streaming services

MusicCast supports Spotify Connect, Pandora, Rhapsody and SiriusXM Internet Radio streaming services.

AirPlay

You can AirPlay from your iOS device or Mac to all MusicCast devices. You can not AirPlay to multiple devices using the Link function. Use a Bluetooth for that instead.

Bluetooth

All MusicCast devices has Bluetooth. If you play with Bluetooth to a device, that device can in turn link with your other MusicCast devices to play synchronized music in multiple rooms, which is usually called party mode. You can use the app for volume, play/pause and track skip control.

Bluetooth has some latency between for example the phone sending the signal and the input device, but the linked devices will play in sync with each other.

You can also send music from MusicCast devices using Bluetooth to enabled speaker or headphones. But you can’t receive and transmit Bluetooth at the same time. So either as input or output.

DLNA

All MusicCast devices can access DLNA-compatible sources like computers and NAS devices.

Hi-res 24-bit

MusicCast supports true high-resolution audio formats like Apple Lossless (ALAC) up to 96 kHz / 24-bit, AIFF, FLAC and WAV files up to 192 kHz / 24-bit. Most MusicCast devices also support playback of DSD streams up to 5.6 MHz.

MusicCast app

The app is available on iOS and Android. It provides browsing and playback of music libraries on the network and the device itself. It can also access sources connected to MusicCast products like gaming consoles, CD and Blu-ray players, turntables, and more, which can be played in any room with a linked MusicCast device. Up to 10 MusicCast devices can be controlled by the app.

MusicCast devices

WX-030WH

The MusicCast Wireless Speaker WX-030WH features a large passive radiator combined with Yamaha’s digital sound processing. It comes in black or white with a silver accent. It can be wall mounted using a threaded mounting hole. It is possible to pair two MusicCast Wireless Speakers in stereo mode.

NX-500 powered speakers

NX-N500 is a stereo pair of Hi-Fi network speakers with a built in amplifier and MusicCast. They can be used by themselves via Wi-Fi, ethernet or Bluetooth. Or connected to any music output device you like through optical or analog input.

ISX-80

ISX-80 is a more design oriented wireless speaker in the MusicCast family that can be placed on the wall.

Soundbars: YSP-5600, YSP-1600 and SRT-1500.

AV Receivers / Amplifiers: RX-V779, RX-V679
,RX-V579, RX-V479, RX-S601, RX-S601D, CX-A5100, RX-A3050, RX-A2050, RX-A1050, RX-A850, RX-A750, RX-A550 and RX-AS710D,

HiFi Components: R-N602, CD-NT670 and CD-NT670D,

HiFi Systems: MCR-N870, MCR-N870D, MCR-N670 and MCR-N670D.

Summary

Yamaha’s MusicCast offering is huge and the combinations and ways to use the devices seems almost endless. You get products that has support for the highest audio quality and you will always have Bluetooth to fall back on. Compared to Sonos, it is a more open system with broader technical functionality even though Sonos is best in their niche, in app control of the most streaming services.

Multi-room

Mobile Google Cast and Spotify Connect with Sony h.ear go

April 12, 2016 admin Leave a comment

sony h.ear go

Sony h.ear go is a wireless mobile speaker in their multi-room line that you can take with you and play music on the go. You stream music to it through Google Cast, Spotify Connect and Bluetooth. It also has a line in for old school connections. It outputs 12W+12W. The battery lasts up to 12 hours and it even supports high resolution audio, even though it may be on the small side for you to actually hear the difference. So have it at home as part of you ordinary multi-room setup and bring it with you on your trips. A great addition to the Sony lineup.

Oh, and it comes in lime, pink, blue, red and black. The price is 199$.

Multi-room

Multi-room news from ces 2016 part 2

January 6, 2016 admin Leave a comment

Read part 1 here.

srs-zr7

Sony has announced two new wireless speakers. The SRS-ZR7 with four built-in speakers, Hi-Res audio playback, support for Google Cast, Spotify Connect and Multi-room capability through the SongPal app. SRS-ZR7 also has HDMI with ARC so it can be connected to a TV to play Dolby Digital/DTS audio.

The SRS-ZR5 is smaller than its big brother but has the same features except that it lacks Hi-Res audio support and instead has Bluetooth with LDAC and NFC support.

They are both available in spring 2016.

ht-nt53-large

Sony also has two new sound bars that both has Multi-room support in the same way as their wireless speakers. The HT-NT5 sound bar with a wireless subwoofer has Hi-Res Audio playback, support for 4K content,HDR via HDMI HDCP 2.2. The HT-CT790 has similar specs and a few more HDMI inputs.

str-dn1070front-mid

Finally Sony upgrades its A/V receiver line with the STR-DN1070 A/V receiver. It has a new DAC with support for DSD native playback of High-res Audio files. It has 8 HDMI ports (6 in/2 out) with HDCP 2.2 for 4K/60p thus supporting 4K and HDR content. It has support for Sony’s other multi-room speakers, AirPlay, Bluetooth, Google Cast and Spotify Connect. So they all play nice together through the SongPal app.

In all, impressive upgrades across the multi-room product line by Sony.

Libratone

libratone_zipp_cph_edition

Libratone Zipp now comes in an updated design, the Copenhagen edition. The wireless multi-room speakers technology was updated a few months ago and has 360 audio, AirPlay, Spotify Connect, Bluetooth (APTX) and DLNA. The new covers comes in Salty Grey, Pepper Black, Raspberry Red and Steel Blue.

Samsung

Samsung_radiant

Samsung has its Radiant wireless multi-room audio speakers and will launch four new sound bars that will be a part of Samsung’s wireless multiroom-audio system. No mention of their product names yet, exempt for the HW-K950 mentioned in yesterday’s post. They have also added support for the streaming services SiriusXM and Tidal.

All multi-room products will become part of Samsung’s home-automation network controlled by their new line of TVs, that will be home automation hubs.

Intel Compute Stick

If you want to build your own multi-room device based on windows 10, then the new Intel Compute stick line is something to look closer at. The entry level atom has twice the power of last years top device and they have also added the m3 and m5 with even better cpus paired with 4 gig ram and 64 gig on board storage. So with HDMI output and two real USB ports, you can easily play Hi-res audio, stream Spotify and AirPlay, with the right software of course.

Multi-room

Multi-room news from CES 2016 part 1

January 5, 2016 admin Leave a comment

CES 2016, in Las Vegas, has started and multi-room audio is, just like last year, one of the bigger areas. So let’s go through the hottest news so far.

Harman Kardon Omni+

harmonkardon_omni_plus

Harman Kardon revealed its new Omni+ multi-room system. It includes the Omni 10+, Omni 20+, OmniBar+, Adapt+, and the Omni 50+. Four speakers, a soundbar and a streamer that connects to existing systems.

They all handle high-definition audio streaming with 24-bit/192KHz quality. The system supports both Spotify Connect, Google Cast, Deezer and Tidal. In the controller app, you can group a pair of Omni+ speakers with the OmniBar+ to build a 3.1 or 5.1 wireless surround system. It has 5G WiFi connectivity, Bluetooth, Ethernet and an aux input.

The Adapt+ will cost 129$, The Omni 10+ $199 and the OmniBar+ $999. The Omni+ system arrives in stores in the spring.

Prizm

prizm_music

The Social music player Prizm is getting ready to launch after a successful kickstarter campaign. It is said to be able to sense the mood in the room and choose music type accordingly. If you hear a song in the room that you like, click on its heart icon, and the song will be added to your connected account.

Prizm will have support for Spotify, Deezer and Soundcloud at launch. It will also support AirPlay, UPnP, DLNA and Bluetooth. Prizm does not have integrated speakers and should be connected to an existing sound system through optical or 3.5mm audio output. The price will be 169$.

MQA hi-res audio

The new hi-res audio technology MQA (Master Quality Authenticated), that consumes less bandwidth without sacrificing quality, is a hot topic at CES 2016.

BLS_Gen2_Family_Wifi-600px

Bluesound has announced that all of their products, both 1st-gen and 2nd-gen, will be MQA compatible through a free firmware update later this year.

The music service Tidal showcased its coming MQA support that also will come later this year.

Samsung Dolby Atmos soundbar

Audio_CES2016_Main_2

Samsung’s new HW-K950 soundbar supports Dolby Atmos surround. It has three forward-facing front-channel drivers and two upward-firing Atmos height drivers that reflect sound off the ceiling to deliver height channels. The system also includes a wireless subwoofer and a pair of wireless surround speakers with upward-firing drivers, enabling the system to deliver a 5.1.4-channel Dolby Atmos sound field.

More info will come later this week about pricing and compatibility with the other Samsung audio products.

Multi-room

Google Chromecast Audio with Spotify

September 29, 2015 admin Leave a comment

chromecast_audio

Update December 10, 2015: Google has released the multiroom functionality firmware that enables party mode for Chromecast Audio. Simply group the Chromecasts together in the Chromecast App to play the same music on them. The firmware also includes support for high resolution lossless audio up to 96KHz/24bit.

Google has just announced two new Chromecast devices. One called the new Chromecast that basically is an upgraded version of the existing Chromecast with focus on streaming video. Then there is the Chromecast Audio that is targeted at playing multiroom music in your home. Now with native Spotify support!

Chromecast Audio has both analog and digital audio output through rca, aux (3.5mm) and optical that is connected to a receiver or active speakers (full size or more like computer speakers). This is because Chromecast Audio does not have a built in amplifier that can drive passive speakers on its own.

As the number of chromecast supported apps grows fast, Google has turned its focus to Content discovery, to let you be able to find quality sources that matches your taste. Support for Spotify was also announced which is a great addition. Pandora and iheart radio are two other popular services.

You can play local network music stored on a NAS, computer or a phone by using an App that can play the music from the source and also has chromecast output.

Google also announced the Google Play Music family plan for only 14.99$/month, for up to 6 people simultaneously. It will come later this year.

Chromecast Audio is Googles first Audio Player since the failed Nexus q that costed 8 times more and was withdrawn from the market after a few months. That fiasco led Google to revise their whole strategy for streamers and to focus on simpler and lower prices devices.

new_chromecast

Like the previous version, the new Chromecast (not Audio) has a HDMI output and can be attached to a receiver and play music through it without any loss in quality. The optical out on the Chromecast Audio gives the same quality.

Both new Chromecasts supports 2.4 and 5ghz wireless. The signal strength is twice that of the previous version.

The process of casting audio looks the same as casting video and other.

Chromecast Audio has a guest mode that lets your friends connect and share their music in a safe way.

Multiroom

You can have multiple Chromecasts in your home, in different rooms, and play the music you want on them from your smartphone, one at a time. Each person in your home can play music at the same time on different players. An update that enables party mode, to group players as one and play the same music on them simultaneously, will come later this year.

Where to buy it

All this makes the Chromecast Audio a great entry level music streaming device for its price.

Chromecast Audio is priced at 35$.

The new Chromecast is priced at 35$.

You can buy them now at the Google online store.

The old Chromecast gets spotify

The owners of the 20 million Chromecast units already sold will be glad to hear that the old Chromecast gets Spotify support in an upcoming firmware update within a few weeks.

Multi-room

Bluesound Gen 2

September 23, 2015 admin Leave a comment

Bluesound has upgraded their multiroom system to generation 2 which brings new design and features. Bluesound has support for Spotify Connect built in and Airplay if you connect an Airport to the analog input. Existing CDs are ripped, stored and played from the VAULT 2. As before, Bluesound support 24-bit high resolution audio.

Changes includes:

ARM Cortex-A9 CPU running at 1GHz
Improved connectivity with both Analog and Optical Inputs
IR Sensor with TV Connect learning function
Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX high-fidelity codec support
Headphone Output with Dedicated Amplifier
Coax Digital Out (NODE 2 and VAULT 2)
Gigabit Ethernet speed
New advanced Wi-Fi design
Industrial design by David Farrage of DF-ID.

The system now consists of:

NODE2
NODE 2 Wireless streaming music player that you connect to your existing music system. ($499/549€)

POWERNODE2
POWERNODE 2 Amplified wireless streaming music player that you connect to speakers of choice. ($799/899€)

Vault2

VAULT 2 Streaming music player, 2TB storage and CD ripper. ($1199/1299€)

PULSE
PULSE 2 Full size all-in-one wireless streaming music player.($699/799€)

PULSEMINI
PULSE MINI all-in-one wireless streaming music player. ($499/599€)

PULSEFLEX
PULSE FLEX all-in-one wireless streaming music player with an optional battery pack that last for 8 hours of streaming. ($299/349€)

Supported cloud services and internet radio

WiMP, Rdio, Slacker Radio, Qobuz, HighResAudio, JUKE, Deezer, Murfie, HDTracks, Spotify, TIDAL, Napster, Rhapsody, TuneIn Radio and iHeartRadio.

Multi-room

New Sony devices with Airplay and Spotify Connect

September 12, 2015 admin Leave a comment

Sony has released three new wireless multiroom speakers that makes them a serious market contender. They are SRS-X77, SRS-X88 and SRS-X99. All three has support for all major streaming technologies: AirPlay, Google Cast, Spotify Connect, Bluetooth, NFC and DLNA. SRS-X88 and SRS-X99 also supports Hi-Resolution audio. They can be used one at a time or grouped together in the Song pal link app for iOS and Android. The HT-ST9 and HT-NT3 sound bars and STR-DN1060 and STR-DN860 A/V receivers also has the same functionality.

SRS-X88 and SRS-X99 support playback of a wide variety of Hi-Resolution audio including MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV, FLAC, AIFF, ALAC and DSD. You can also attach an external hard drive to the speakers through USB. SRS-X77 has a battery so it is mobile.

The SRS-X99 has 154 Watts and seven speakers: Two super tweeters, two front tweeters, two mid-range drivers and a single subwoofer.

The SRS-X88 has 90 Watts and five speakers: Two front tweeters, two mid-range drivers and a single subwoofer.

The SRS-X77 has 40 Watts and three speakers: Two front tweeters, a subwoofer and dual passive radiators.

The HT-ST9 and HT-NT3 sound bars and STR-DN1060 and STR-DN860 A/V receivers supports the same techniques and audio formats as the three new speakers and all seven units can be used together in the app.

So how do we compare this with Sonos? Sony has stronger hardware with support for hi res audio and all major streaming technologies. Sonys app is limited to grouping the speakers. The market leader Sonos has moderate hardware, that lacks hi res audio and manny technologies that Sony supports but instead has strong software that can handle almost any streaming service and scenario out there in a refined manner, with different songs playing in different zones from the same controller. So which of those two are best for a customer that wants to play multiroom music in the easiest and most powerful way? The boring answer is that it depends on how you want to use it. Both will handle the most scenarios but in different ways.

Multi-room

CES Multi-room News Part 2

January 6, 2015 admin Leave a comment

More Multi-room news is coming in from CES. Read part 1 here.

Raumfeld stereo M
The German company Raumfeld is launching its multi-room system in the US in 2015. Previously launched in Europe. The speakers use your existing Wi-Fi, uses 24-bit FLAC and WAV decoding, services like Spotify and Wimp HiFi, and DLNA. The system is controlled with the free Raumfeld app for iOS and Android.

The system has stereo speakers, stand alone speakers and a connector box for connecting to an existing stereo. Prices start at $299 for the stand alone speaker One S.

capsule-mat
The French company Voxtok launches its Audio Capsule that is both a multi-room music player and server. It incorporates local storage and access to Cloud services (backup of library. Streaming of library). Based on dual Wolfson WM8741 DAC chipsets, it supports audio quality up to 24-bit/192kHz. The server can transcode to formats that is supported by the client in real time. You can also connect an external CD player and rip music to the server, which then can add the right cover art. It can handle most audio formats and is both AirPlay and Bluetooth compatible. The Audio Capsule is controlled by an app available for iOS, Connected TVs, computers and soon for Android and some smartwatches.

Audio Capsule had a failed kickstarter campaign before funding the work in other ways (or maybe the campaign was marketing). I think its an interesting product and good for them to make it a reality even though the campaign failed. They will probably need to add support for the most common services like Spotify and Google Music to succeed.

Musaic

A kickstarter project that succeeded in reaching its goal is Musaic. They are now showing their new system at CES. The system has two stand alone speakers. The big brother Musaic MP10 Music Player, with integrated subwoofer, and the smaller Musaic MP5 Music Player. They support up to 24 Bit /192kHz quality in the usual formats (MP3, AAC, FLAC, Apple Lossless, AIFF and WAV). Both units has preset button on them so you do not always need the app. Musaic also supports Bluetooth and UPnP/DLNA.

Musaic is based on Qualcomm AllPlay. They currently have partnerships with services like Rhapsody, Napster, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, DAR.fm and Grooveshark. Musaic is also in the certification process for Spotify.

DISH
The satellite and internet TV company Dish is powering their existing and new set top boxes with multi-room functionality that supports Pandora, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn Radio from the start. An upcoming Dish Music app will control the system. Worth trying out for people that already has Dish set top boxes in their home, probably connected to sound systems.

EMTEC Air Music Streamer - 3_4

EMTEC has announced the Music Cube Air Music Streamer and the Sound Unity Multi-Room Speakers. EMTEC will probably not win any design awards for their products, but its the inside that counts, right?

The Music Cube Air Music Streamer can be connected via analog or digital audio input to an existing audio system. It supports AirPlay, Miracast Audio, DLNA and Bluetooth. The Music Cube Air Music Streamer will be in stores in summer 2015 with an estimated price of $129.

EMTEC Sound Unity speaker - small package
The Sound Unity Multi-Room Speakers will be available in a variety of sizes and configurations, including portable, bookshelf, medium, large, soundbar and subwoofer. They can also be configured into a 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound. It is unclear whether they have the same functionality as The Music Cube. But it would be a bit strange if they were not interoperable. The Sound Unity wireless speaker line will be in stores Summer 2015, with estimated prices from $99 to $299.