Sonos has unveiled its Sonos Controller for Android app at this week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The free app transforms most Android™ smartphones into a wireless music controller for the Sonos Digital Music System and will be officially released for download soon. Watch a promotional video here.

The Sonos Controller for Android features Sonos’ latest innovation in the home music experience – music voice search – allowing users to find any artist, album or track by simply speaking into the phone.

Sony has started a new music streaming service along similar lines to Rhapsody, called Anubis.FM – not Bandit.FM as previously thought. This will be immediately available to Australian customers, while Rhapsody is not – unless you know how to trick the system!

For a monthly charge of just $12.99 you’ll have access 24/7 to a huge catalogue of music that you can listen to via streaming.

Electrocompaniet’s new Prelude series model PD-1 DAC ($2499) has USB, Coaxial and optical inputs. Analogue outputs are XLR or RCA, and as an extra avenue for music distribution it can be supplemented with a point-to-point wireless Media Streamer module. It supports sampling rates at up to 192kHz/24 bit, so is capable of handling high resolution Master Audio files.

When connected to a PC via USB the PD-1 can (a) stream music and (b) control media players via the supplied remote control. Output volume can also be controlled if using powered speakers or going directly to a power amplifier.

Point-to-point wireless capability can be added via the optional EMS 1 Media Streamer $499), which can be connected via USB to a remote computer to allow streaming at 16Bit/48kHz without the need for any local wireless network.

How can you combine a light and speaker in one small fitting, which can be inserted as a downlight, hung as a pendant, or installed in various compatible lamp fittings? LuxSound have worked out how to do it, and they didn’t stop there. They also made them wireless for program sourcing, and remote-controlled. This is a completely new category of product and will have instant appeal to all our customers wanting distributed sound with no visible impact on the décor – and that’s quite a few people.

The system consists of: a Transmitter, operating on a proprietary 2.4GHz wireless technology which runs separately from other household systems; two LightSpeakers (the light has a lifespan of 15 years) and a remote control. You can add a subwoofer if you wish, and expand to 16 speakers in total. Two sources can be connected to the transmitter, and you can operate two different programs in separate rooms if you wish. The lights are long-life, low power LEDs, so are very efficient as well.

The $999 kit contains 2 x LightSpeakers, Transmitter and Remote Control. Additional LightSpeakers are $399 each. They can be installed as downlights or pendants, or even in some bedside or table lamps if the dimensions are suitable.

There are often situations where wiring to the rear effects speakers, or to speakers in another room, is difficult if not impossible. People tend to assume that there exist a wide range of wireless speakers which are suitable for this purpose, but unfortunately this is not the case. A more practical solution is to package the wireless capability separately, and attach it to the most appropriate speaker for that particular room. This is what Speakercraft have now done.

The Speakercraft SonicAir 2.1 system enables wireless distribution of a stereo source to any other room in the home. It consists of a Transmitter (connected to the source) and a Receiver/Amplifier connected to the speakers in the target room or to rear effect speakers. The two units look similar and are easily housed on a shelf or in a cupboard, but must be connected to power. They are quite small, with a footprint of only 155x100mm.

The system carries Left & Right audio channels plus a subwoofer signal for connection to a powered subwoofer. The amplifier built into the receiving unit is a capable 50w per channel and will happily drive most speaker types. The subwoofer signal can be taken out via a 3.5mm socket and fed to the subwoofer via a shielded subwoofer lead.

The SonicAir 2.1 sells for $599.

I am sure that there has never been a release of a piece of electronics that has sparked as much interest and controversy as the recent iPad release from Apple. On the whole the consumer reaction has been positive, but it continues to receive critical comments from many within the industry. I have yet to have the opportunity to play with an iPad, but have watched the emergence of the concept closely.
To be honest I have been fascinated by many of the comments and the criticism aimed at this product. Yes, it appears that the iPad has some obvious failings, but given what I believe this product is all about, these failings are certainly not critical. It also appears that most people passing comment on the iPad expected it to be either an iPhone on steroids or a stripped down version MacBook. My expectation has always been that this would be a stand alone product. Because of its design (and heritage) it would always share features of the two other product categories, but I don’t believe that Apple ever intended it to ‘be’ either category.

We cannot ignore Apple’s ability to create both market categories and demand. While the success of the iPod has been phenomenal many people have forgotten that MP3 players had been around for years before Apple took an interest, and it was a struggling category. In only a few years the iPhone not only reached market dominance, but changed the entire philosophy of mobile phoning. They immediately raised the bar to an exceedingly high level (which consequently spawned challengers such as HTC), and they have created an industry where the ‘phone’ is now only one of the attractions of the mobile phone industry. When was the last time you read a critique on a ‘smart phone’ which made reference to its ability as a phone in the traditional sense? Have no doubt, what Apple has done with the iPod and the iPhone they will do with the iPad.

The potential for the iPad, and the product category that Apple will create, is enormous. Obviously Len Wallis Audio views it in relation to the services that we offer, but its usefulness will go way beyond what LWA can do with it. For us it will have an immediate application for multi-room audio/visual distribution and for Home Automation. The success and consumer acceptance of both of these concepts depends on convenience, interface and price. The iPad potentially come up trumps on all counts.
(The Crestron app has already been released, click here for more information.)

The one criticism that I do have issue with is price – many critics have commented that the iPad is overpriced. Give me a break please! One of the first companies to jump on board with an app for the iPad was the Home Automation company Crestron. They are arguably the best Home Automation company in the world, and are priced accordingly. Their app will turn the 9.7” iPad into a Crestron touch screen controller for way less than $1,000. The 8.4” Crestron equivalent will cost you a cool $6,600. In fact the iPad will sell for around the same price as a Sonos remote, gives you much, much more real estate, and still do all the other cool things that the iPad does. The ability of the iPad to control anything from a simple Olive multi-room audio distribution system to remotely controlling your entire Home Automation system, including security, will make it one of the most valuable, yet least expensive, products that we offer.

Possibly the best and most balanced critique of the iPad I have seen has come from Michael Greeson of the Diffusion Group, a consumer technology research company based in the US. I was alerted to this review by David Richards of SmartHouse magazine, and following is the article as it appeared in SmartHouse.

‘Michael Greeson, a founding partner of Diffusion Group research claims that “What the iPhone is to the Mobile Web, the iPad will be to the Home Web” and that the new Apple device will have a major impact in the home.

He says “Yes, the iPad is relatively expensive. Yes, it is closed. Yes, it further extends Apple’s tightly-controlled ecosystem onto an ever-broadening array of usage domains. Yes, Wi Fi receptivity is an issue, as is the “walled garden” of sanctioned applications, the lack of support for Flash video, etc. And, yes, all of these shortcomings piss me off”. He said.

“All the same, I do not regret deciding to purchase a $699 64-GB Wi-Fi-only iPad, not in the slightest. It is sleek, fast, and highly functional, and consistent with my expectations of the first-generation of Apple tablets. And just as the iPhone was a huge step forward for mobile computing, the introduction of the iPad is a huge step forward for tablet computing. What the iPhone is to the Mobile Web, the iPad will be to the Home Web” he added.
He said that, just as the iPhone spurred the advance of mobile computing and made mobile web use a daily activity for many consumers, the iPad will spur the advance of tablet computing and alter the way in which the Internet is engaged in the home.
“No, tablets will not replace the PC, be it a desktop or notebook. It will, however, change the way in which consumers use the web, and in a good way. In terms of the applications and usage scenarios most likely to be advanced, I offer the following (admittedly incomplete) list. The reader is encouraged to think beyond the gen-one iPad. Again, this is less about the iPad specifically than it is about the platform in general. I am certain this list will encourage discussion (if not outright fistfights).
The tablet is a shared platform for whole-home computing. As I described to a group of Intel executives some five years ago, the digital home of the future will likely have a single server and a variety of multi-purpose thin tablets that will be used by household members to access local and web-based applications and content.
Imagine a rack that charges and holds two or three of these tablets (much like gaming terminals used in your favourite pub), and an easy-to-use widget-based interface that enables a wide variety of applications. The iPad represents a meaningful step in this direction.

The tablet as an entertainment remote control
There is no doubt that, properly equipped, an iPad-like web tablet would be the perfect multi-source, multi-function remote control. Demand is already there, the challenge is to make it happen, and there is no doubt several vendors will soon address this need. Companies like OpenPeak are already supplying telecom operators with the “OpenTablet,” a platform that looks very much like the first-gen iPad and features a variety of entertainment and home controls. These tablets will be able to interface with, access, and shift all sorts of content and applications to other connected devices.

The tablet as a home management and control platform.
 While the iPad is hardly an open platform (all apps must be vetted by Apple), application developers from across the home control spectrum will enable a variety of apps that exploit this platform, thus reducing the need for dedicated, brand-specific home control interfaces such as those offered by Crestron.
Why pay an extra $500 or more for this type of “touchpanel” when this same functionality can be downloaded to an iPad? You wouldn’t, and that’s why Crestron, unlike OpenPeak whose business depends on hardware sales, has already launched an iPad app for just this purpose.

A secondary TV that can be used in any part of the residence. Homeowners will no longer need to buy a second stand-alone TV for each room, instead having a couple web tablets that can access TV and online video customized to the specific user. This is an especially useful application given the fact that younger consumers watch so much online video on their PCs and, as TDG predicts, much of the video viewed on home TVs will soon come from online sources.
As the price of the iPad comes down (and it will, by several hundred dollars for Christmas 2010), these platforms will become an inexpensive way to extend video viewing (and Internet access, in general) to every room of the home.
A “coffee table” platform for immediate access to relevant news and weather. The simple widget-based interface of the iPad foretells of a day when consumers will not have to hassle with booting-up a PC or typing URLs in order to access content. For example, The Weather Channel widget pulls up real-time weather for your specific locale, all on-demand. No need to enter a URL or wait for a TV broadcast to get around to such details.
An easy-on-the-eye platform for reading all sorts of online newspapers and magazines. 
iPad like tablets offer a much simpler way to enjoy online text, offering a wide variety of widgets by which to access your favourite periodicals. Again, the consumer no longer needs to haul out and boot-up a laptop in order to read online text.
 A platform your grandmother could use (yes, the expression is overused but this time it really applies). Using the iPad is sinfully simple for basic applications like email communications and viewing online photos and video, the stuff that most appeals to those older consumers that have yet to buy into the PC culture. I intend to sneak an iPad into my mom’s home as a digital picture frame, and then teach her how to use it for the stuff that matters most to her. Yes, this is the same woman for whom I purchased an Apple iMac and who, though properly configured for easy use, could not bring herself to engage it. I swear this time will be different!

Ultimately, Apple’s iPad will advance the tablet PC market in the same way the iPhone advanced the mobile phone market: both in terms of functionality and mainstream appeal. Thanks to Apple’s entry into this market space, the value proposition for web tablets will rapidly become less about the hardware and more about the applications it enables – precisely as it should be.
As I have said on several occasions, vendors and service providers must cease talking to consumers about “the technology” and show them what it will do…as individual human beings. After that, consumers will be much more likely to buy into the vision espoused by tech leviathans.
Yes, it will take several years before mainstream consumers buy into this vision, but let there be no doubt that the introduction of Apple’s iPad—an easy-to-use, app-driven platform with loads of useful home applications—will be the first step toward a revolution in in-home computing.’

If you have any interest in Home Automation you would know the name Creston. This brand is the market leader in this field. However you may not be aware that they also manufacture some of the world’s finest Home Theatre electronics under the name of Adagio.
Crestron have one huge advantage over most of its competitors when it comes to Home Theatre. Because they are first and foremost an automation company they have approached the Home Theatre offering in a round-about fashion, by adding a stunning and versatile A/V receiver to their existing multi-room package. If you are looking for two things in your entertainment system:
1) a very high quality theatre, and
2) a very high quality multi-room audio, it is difficult to dismiss the Crestron Adagio offering.
The other advantage of being a Home Automation manufacturer is that Crestron, by necessity, are accustomed to manufacturing product which is bulletproof. Their Home Theatre systems are beautifully engineered.
Like any product considered as being one of the best in its field Crestron is not inexpensive. However there is now another reason to consider Crestron Adagio, they have just reduced the price on their two packages by almost 40%.

The main features of the Adagio Home Theatre systems include:
· 7.1 surround sound processing. Rated at 100 watts per channel x 7. These are genuine watts, measured with all channels driven at the same time (I have just looked at a site where the Dynamic Power of a well known A/V receiver was rated at 400watts. In small print it is revealed that this is one channel driven only, and at 3 Ohms!! Don’t be fooled by specifications.)
· Audyssey MultEQ® XT surround sound equalization. This will adjust the system acoustics to be at an optimum for a number of seating positions in your room – most A/V receivers adjust acoustics only for the primary seating position (yours?)
· High-definition analog and HDMI/DVI digital video switching
· Professional video scaling and de-interlacing.
· Audio distribution for 4 to 6 rooms, expandable up to 24. Listeners in each room can enjoy their own choice of radio, CD’s, MP3’s or even a stereo downmix of the surround sound output. Each room has control over volume plus bass & treble. The multi-room amplifiers are rated at 45watts each. Control in these rooms can be by a 12 button wall mounted key-pad, a wall mounted LCD controller or a hand-help touch screen controller. These control options are at an additional cost.
· Accepts up to 3 dual tuner cards for AM/FM. This allows household members to listen to different radio stations in the home simultaneously.
· Plug-and-play connectivity with Apple® iPod® via CEN-IDOC
· Powerful Crestron control system.

The new prices on the Adagio systems are:
· AMS1 $7,999 (initially $12,700)
· AMS1-AIP (the same as the model above but with advanced image processing) $9,999 (initially $16,100)

There is no doubt that the Adagio system is one of the best sounding and most versatile Home Theatre receivers on the market. Crestron are also universally recognised as the manufacturers of the finest multi-room audio systems available. Put them together, at these prices and you have a bargain.

If you would like to learn more on this product you can access their brochure at http://www.crestron.com/downloads/pdf/product_brochures/adagio.pdf

Peachtree Nova Hybrid Amplifier.

The release of the Peachtree Nova amplifier heralds a new era of high fidelity in Australia. MP3, iPod, digital downloads, etc. has been a phenomenal world-wide success, embraced by all walks of life. Except, it appears, by one group – the specialist Hi-Fi industry. Most Hi-Fi dealer principles have been in the industry for a long time, and as you would expect judge the value of any component on its ability to accurately recreate the original performance. Despite the convenience of the digital music format, performance has not been one of its strong points.

This has been slowly changing over the last couple of years with FLAC, WAV and other lossless codecs becoming more popular, and with the cost of storage plummeting.

All of a sudden digital music has become fashionable in the world of Hi-Fi. One of the early converts was high-end Scottish manufacturer Linn who surprised many in the Hi-Fi fraternity by claiming that their DS (Digital Stream) players were as good as, or better than their very best (and very expensive) CD players. Suddenly everyone is jumping on the bandwagon, and with very good reason, it is – as Linn pointed out – possible to extract a very high performance level from digital music – theoretically at least better than CD.

This is something that we are researching in depth at the moment. The stimulus was the release of Reference Recordings HRx audio discs. These discs are recorded on DVD-R discs in WAV format, with a resolution of 24bit, 176.4kHz. They cannot be played on a CD, SACD or DVD player but must be downloaded onto a hard-drive. This is where the fun starts – your sound card must be able to handle this resolution, and you will need a very high quality DAC to convert the files. Storage space is also a premium – each disc requires up to 4.7GB.

It is still early days for us with this format. We have done considerable research on suitable DAC’s and the universal recommendation is the Berkeley Alpha DAC from the US. We have ordered a small shipment of these for evaluation. We are also researching storage devices, and have placed an order for a Hush Technologies computer (specially configured for our requirements) from Germany. We will be using the Lynx Studio Technology sound card, and are still battling with a suitable interface. Another option is that a company in the US has modified the Sonos ZP90 to pass through this level of resolution. Does it work? We don’t know but we are waiting on a sample to find out. It is also feasible to use the new MusicM8 server from XIVA ($1,499) in place of the Hush.

As much as I love the tactile presence of a CD there is no doubt that the future of recorded music will be on-line. The stumbling block of performance is now being resolved. Better broadband speeds and offerings make access more available. Convenience is the key, and once we have the combination of convenience and performance we will have ready access to a previously unimagined quantity and quality of music.

How does this relate to the Peachtree Nova? To the best of my knowledge The Peachtree is the first release of an integrated amplifier designed to access both analogue and digital sources. It is a very fine amplifier in its own right, with a valve pre-amplifier stage and an 80 watt/channel mos-fet power amp. What really sets it apart is the inclusion of a high quality DAC for your digital music sources (it even has a slot in the back to house a Sonos ZP90 for all those Sonos devotees.) At $1,799 it is an inexpensive and very versatile means of getting the best from those thousands of files that you already have sitting on your hard-drive.

There are not many terms that audiophiles fear more than the term ‘MP3’, no matter how it’s used and in what context it tends to turn people off very quickly.

So why is this I hear you ask, what is the issue?

Let me take you back to the 1970’s and 80’s for the answer.

What do you think of when you read the word Hoover?

I’m betting the picture in your mind is a generic vacuum cleaner and not a specific brand. When I grew up we tended to Hoover the carpet no matter what brand of vacuum cleaner we had.

Do you see what I am getting at; do you see how easy it is to blanket a product with a term that just sticks in your mind forever?

How does this relate to MP3? Well let’s just say that MP3 suffers from the same problem, people tend use this term to cover all forms of digital music no matter what’s its origin.

My goal is to set the record straight, MP3 describes one form of compressed music that in reality sounds pretty average. It came about in the early 90’s as people started to push what computers could do in terms of the playback of music.MP3 allowed an average of 200 songs to be compressed onto a standard CD.

Back then space was a premium and the goal was to compress as much as possible to dazzle people with high numbers of sounds ready to play. Remember that people appear to see better than they can hear so big claims from the likes of portable MP3 player manufactures were warmly greeted.

All this was going on much to the scorn of Audiophiles whom dismissed the concept of digital music completely.

So over the years what has happened to bring about change?

Well the main thing is that hard drive storage now virtually costs nothing which in turn has meant more development in this field. Literally MP3 evolved and became FLAC.

Free Lossless Audio Codec is a system that can turn a CD into about half its normal size with no audible degradation. This means that if we were to encode FLAC onto a CD we would get maybe 25 songs give or take, not really that impressive in terms of an ad campaign. Can you imagine the launch of every ones favorite MP3 player telling the world it could store 140 songs in total!!!.

 Sooloos aims to re-educate everyone safe in the knowledge that what they have produced is the best sounding hard drive solution in the world using FLAC as their encoder.

The aim of Sooloos was simple, design a system that gives audiophile results with hard drive convenience.

 So once Sooloos worked out that encoding music onto a hard drive with this new lossless codec worked very well they had to figure out how the end result could be managed in a normal listening environment with no computer in sight.

i.e. we have a hard drive source that we connect to our normal amplifier like we would a CD player but how can we control and select what we cannot see?

One of the biggest gripes from the detractors has been this point, staring at a small hand held remote or worse still watching a scrolling text based device telling us what we had in our library was not that attractive.  They wanted something tangible, they wanted to be able to read the liner notes and learn about what they heard. The best of both worlds I hear you say!!.

 Of course the clever people at Sooloos took this into account and have provided their systems with a stunning 20” LCD touch screen that not only displays your complete library in glorious colour but also allows you read all about the artists and even gives you reviews if needed at the touch of a finger. You can create play lists based on type of genre or to the extreme of selecting particular musician’s performances on multiple albums.

How about a night of movie soundtracks or maybe even blues pre 1970? It’s all here ready to go with the greatest of ease.

This truly is a very rich experience and one that I ask everyone to come and take a look and listen to. Don’t fear we are not trying to convert the masses here; we’ll leave that decision to you.

What we are trying to do is let you have a glimpse of how exciting music can be again.