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TechRadar: Sonos has announced that it plans to launch a wireless iPod and iPhone dock next month, making it even easier to stream your tunes from anywhere in your house.

Sonos’ new WD100 Wireless Dock will set you back £99 although, of course, you will have to have a Sonos multi-room music system already installed in your crib to begin with.

Multi-room music streaming

“The leading developer of wireless multi-room music systems for the home, today introduced the Sonos Wireless Dock (WD100), an accessory for the award-winning Sonos Multi-Room Music System,” reads Sonos’ press release just in.

“With the Sonos Wireless Dock you can now play all of the music stored on an iPod or iPhone in every room of the house.

Phil Abram, President, Sonos, Inc. adds: “The Sonos Wireless Dock is the perfect accessory for our music loving customers who own an iPod or iPhone and want to enjoy the music stored on them in any or every room of the home.

“This new dock reinforces our mission to provide our customers with access to all of the music on the planet, including everything available on an iPod and iPhone in the home.”

The dock sends your iPod/iPhone tunes to Sonos ZonePlayers dotted around your home before converting the music to analogue “guaranteeing the best possible audio quality.”

For more check out www.sonos.com.

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Akihabara News: JVC today expanded its Procision series of premium-level products with the introduction of a new high-performance micro audio system. The new JVC UX-J51 is a three-piece system that combines class-leading performance with clean, elegant design.

The new JVC UX-J51 is a CD micro component system with a built-in dock for iPod, USB (2.0) input and an FM/AM tuner. It’s comprised of a single main unit and a pair of two-way, bass reflex speakers. Most functions are controlled using flush, top-mounted touch keys illuminated in blue, with the exception of volume, which is handled by a large, silver knob on the main unit’s front panel. A full function remote control is also included.

A key performance feature is the system’s separate left and right channel amplifiers, each rated at 40 watts. The two-way speakers feature a one-inch (2.5cm) soft-dome tweeter and a 4.3-inch (11cm) cone woofer. The audio performance is optimized using CONEQTM technology that matches amplifier and speaker performance to ensure equalized power levels across all frequencies, resulting in a clean, natural sound throughout the listening room.

For system expansion, the UX-J51 includes a digital optical input and output, analog input and output, aux input, and a subwoofer preout. There’s also a headphone jack, FM and AM antenna jacks and banana speaker jacks. The system also features a clock/timer.

The JVC UX-J51 will be available in October for $399.95.

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Übergizmo: Sony’s an old hand when it comes to home theater systems, and their offerings while not high end, are enough to satisfy most people out there. Their latest offering would be the BDV-F7 home theater system which will target beginners who do not want to spend time figuring out how to set up a 5.1 surround sound configuration, preferring to use those precious minutes watching their favorite movie instead. Apart from that, the BDV-F7 comprises of a sound bar, a subwoofer and a Blu-ray player to make life a whole lot easier.

Don’t be fooled by its sound bar, since it is the equivalent of two speakers crammed into a long, slim design, and won’t have any trouble residing under your TV. As for its Blu-ray player, it is 3D ready so don’t worry about watching the latest 3D blockbusters in the comfort of your own home – just make sure you have enough active shutter glasses to go around.A Wi-Fi adapter is thrown into the mix for you to connect it to your home’s wireless broadband network so that all can access or stream movies from Netflix, Pandora and YouTube among others. No idea on an official release date, but expect the BDV-F7 configuration to ship this coming October 6th for $600.

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Akihabara News: Not only Yamaha‘s TSX-140 can handle pretty much everything, by being iPod and iPhone 3/3GS/4 friendly, as well as being capable to play files (MP3/WMA) stores on a USB Drive or let you connect any PC via USB, play CDs or let you enjoy (if you can) FM and AM Radio shows, but it also comes in a dead gorgeous design and available in 3 different colors including “Brick Orange” our favorite and the usual Grey and black.

Expected at around 40,000 Yen, the TSX-140 comes with a 2x15W output at 6Ω and 2x 8cm driver unite.

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Crave at CNET UK: Here’s a clever (and horribly overdue) idea–BMW’s set to install iPad mounting brackets in the rear of its next X3 compact 4×4. Three cheers for common sense!

The brackets–an optional extra–will allow users to mount their iPads in the rear of the vehicle, just behind the driver or passenger seats. A special hinge will let the wonder tablets swivel into vertical and horizontal positions.

With a system like this, the entertainment and productivity possibilities are pretty much endless. Passengers will be able to use their iPads to enjoy music, videos, books, as well as thousands of apps and games.

Read more of “iPad docks coming to BMW X3″ at Crave UK.

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Electronista: Japan’s Logitec has released what is claiming are the world’s smallest stereo Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR earphones. The LBT-PCHP02 series are designed for PC users, while the LBT-AVHP02 are designed for portable audio players. The batteries in both models allow for four hours of playback, while they weigh just a third of an ounce and are just 1.3 inches long and 0.23 inches thick.

Like most in-ear buds, they come with a range of bud sizes from small, medium to large to suit all wearers. The earphones can support two different Bluetooth sources simultaneously, and so could connect to an audio player and pair with a phone. They have been iOS 4.1 tested and will support Apple’s recent implementation of AVRCP on top of A2DP.

They will be released in Japan in mid-October, but can be shipped to the US. They come in four colors, black, gold, pink and silver, for the US equivalent price of $54.

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Übergizmo: The name says it all – the Altec Lansing Octiv Duo (M202) dual docking and charging speaker system. This model will also be accompanied by a free Music Mix App that will enable multiple device households to play as well as charge their iPod and iPhones simultaneously. Just in case you have a third device, fret not – you can juice it up via the integrated USB port while expanding the musical player options with the aux-in. It will come in a low profile compact wedge design, making the Octiv Duo ideal for homes with many nooks and crannies, such as in the kitchen or on the nightstand. Another plus point with couch potatoes would be the full-featured remote that enables easy playlist access and control from across the room.

What about the free Music Mix app, you ask? This application will shuffle songs from both players, letting users set the percentage of music played from each iPhone or iPod while docked in a jiffy. If you prefer to wake up to your favorite tunes, then the free Altec Lansing Alarm Rock app is just the tonic, no longer do you need to be subject to irritating ringing dins of a traditional alarm clock. Expect the Altec Lansing Octiv Duo to arrive later this October for $99.95. We would venture far enough to say this is good for those who do not yet own an iPod/iPhone dock of any kind, but those who already do might want to give this a pass. Strangely enough, the product page mentions that this is no longer on sale. Weird. Gremlins on Altec Lansing’s side?

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Akihabara News: Yamaha, the musical instrument company that also builds motorcycles, is preparing to sell a component stereo with a an iPod dock in early October. The component receiver accepts audio CDs, CD-Rs, and CD-RWs, as well as an iPod dock with digital sound in; it also comes with a USB port and analog AUX in jack for compatible sound sources. Yamaha’s Music Enhancer technology cleans up compression artifacts in iPod-source audio for a dynamic and deep sound. Also onboard is an FM radio. The unit measures 215x125x309 mm (8.46×4.92×12.17 in) and weights 4.8 kg or 10.6 lbs. The speakers use 12 cm cone woofers and 3 cm soft dome tweeters; but what makes this set of speakers stand out most is the piano black finish on the sides of the units and covers with a guitar-like shape.

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Gizmag: As any cola-swilling child of the 90’s will tell you, things are better when they’re clear. Water? Definitely better clear. Conscience? Ditto. Speakers? Sure, why not? We’ve already had Harman Kadon’s GLA-55 speakers featuring faceted cut-glass enclosures to expose the audio engine, but the glass speakers from Greensound Technology are even more striking. Looking like little more than a shaped pane of glass sitting atop a base, the speakers use the glass to project the sound and deliver “true 360 degree sound.”

Unlike traditional speakers that project sound in one direction, a sound generator in the base of the Greensound speakers vibrates the glass to project the sound from both sides. Different areas of the glass are responsible for producing different frequency sounds – the curved area at the top produces high frequency sounds, the middle produces mid-range sounds, while low frequencies are produced by the area at the bottom near the base. The use of glass also provides the opportunity for some nice color changing lighting to be built into the base.

Serac Series
Greensound Technology offers two different lines of glass speakers in different configurations. The Serac Series consists of various combinations of the stand-alone Serac speaker and the boxy Bravura subwoofer. The Serac speaker measures 21.5” long x 43” wide x 65.5” high (54.6 x 109 x 166 cm) and weighs 246.18 lbs (111.6 kg). It has an output of 25-Watts, frequency range of 300 Hz to 15 kHz and can pump out sounds up to 90.6 dB. The Bravura ups the output to 150 Watts, extends the frequency range from 40 Hz to 400 kHz and pumps up the jam a couple of extra decibels to 91.8 dB.

Floe Series
The Floe Series are a little smaller than Serac but boast similar specs and add wireless capabilities into the mix. The Floe stand-alone speaker measures 18” long x 18” wide x 49” high (46 x 46 x 124 cm) and weighs in at 80 lbs (36 kg). Yet it still boasts an output of 25 Watts, frequency range of 300 Hz to 15 kHz and decibel level of 90.6 dB. The Forza subwoofer is much curvier than its Bravura stablemate and doesn’t pack the same punch. It has an output of 25 Watts, frequency response of 60 Hz to 180 kHz and decibel level of 91.8. Like the stand-alone Floe speaker, the Forza is also wireless to a range of 100 ft (30 m).

No word from Greensound Technology regarding pricing, but the company says production is in full swing and both glass speaker lines are available now. Contact Greensound Technologies for more info.

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Engadget: We’ll hand it to ‘em — Olive Media sure knows how to design a music server. For the niche crowd out there wishing to blow big bucks on a not-at-all-multifaceted jukebox, the company has just introduced its first “affordable” HD music server, the O3HD. It’s designed after the OH4D, which retailed for a buck under two large when it debuted last November. This guy, on the other hand, is listed for the low, low price of $999, and it’s pretty obvious to see which corner was cut the most. The aforesaid 4HD packed a 2TB HDD, and while Olive isn’t saying how large (or small, as it were) the hard drive is in the O3HD, it’s built to hold just 1500 CDs versus 6000 in the 4HD. Ideally, you’d rip all of your discs directly to the system, where it would store them as FLAC (lossless) files and then pump them out over the 24-bit DAC. There’s also a color touchpanel on the front, support for internet radio and a gratis iPhone / iPad controller app, just so you know. She’s on sale starting today should you find yourself with copious amounts of disposable income.

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Techradar: I confess that I have never really been excited by Marantz’s AV receivers. They were never ahead of the features game and always aired too much on the side of sonic caution for my liking. Safe, reliable, solid and about as exciting as endurance snail racing.

When the SR7005 arrived I brewed a really fresh cup of Horlicks, put my slippers on and settled down for an evening of light entertainment.

I should have known something was different the moment the SR7005′s curvy-sided fascia came out of the box, like Angelina Jolie emerging from the lake in Beowulf.

Based on the successful styling of Marantz’s high end hi-fi equipment, this multichannel receiver is utterly gorgeous. The curves are in all the right places, different fascia textures, brushed knobs and that unique circular display make our previous favourite super-models from Pioneer look as if they have had a good thrashing with the ugly stick.

And just when you are thinking that the display window is going to prove a little petite for comprehensive menu display, you drop down the front flap to reveal a bigger main display. That is so cool.

And then there is the features list. No longer the stripped down, audiophile device of previous Marantz receivers, the SR7005 is right up there at the cutting edge of AV tech. Based on the latest generation 32-bit SHARC processor from Analog Devices, it handles all the regular HD audio formats as well as Audyssey MultEQ XT room EQ, Audyssey DSX height/width processing and Dolby Pro-Logic IIz height channels.

It remains a seven-channel amp, which means running height or width channels will require binning rear-back speakers, but at a claimed 125W per channel who is complaining?

Very much a network-ready receiver, the SR7005 offers a dedicated iPod/Phone input, IP addressable and web-access interface and Marantz’s bespoke M-Xport interface to hook up to its optional R X1010 Bluetooth module.

The networking side is hardwired Ethernet with vTuner net radio and direct access to your Napster and Last.FM accounts.

Apps to go… soon

In development and, alas, not available for this review is a seductive iPhone/Touch app that will control the SR7005 from your Apple device – ideal for when the dog has eaten the relatively mundane remote handset supplied.

The 6-in 2-out HDMI connections all have 3D compatible V1.4a spec, and there is an Anchor Bay upscaler to work some hi-def magic into your SD DVD collection and video material.

Under the hood, Marantz has gone to town to ensure the SR7005 shakes off the older, rather sedate sound and can drive an action movie as fast, if not faster, than any competing device.

The power amplifiers are a current feedback circuit with a whopping transformer power supply for high current on demand. There are a bunch of hand-selected components that would make the most anorak-wearing of hi-fi aficionados nod appreciatively.

Much attention has been lavished on separate power supplies for each key audio section and extensive internal shielding to avoid electrical interference. There’s also a Pure Direct mode that closes down all superfluous circuits and features, such as the display.

The SR7005 is a whole lot of receiver for the money and, in technology and features alone, has leapfrogged forward to join the leading pack. Back this up with Marantz’s audiophile expertise and this receiver has the potential to be a real winner.
 

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GPS Business News: In the United Kingdom Ford started to sell MirrorNavi, an after-market navigation accessory that replaces an existing rear-view mirror. The product consists of an ordinary mirror and a 3.5-inch touchscreen display on the far left side with Garmin’s navigation software.

The device integrates RDS-TMC for real-time traffic information as well as a built-in Bluetooth chipset for hands-free calls.

The MirrorNavi can be installed in any Ford car (except the Ranger and 2009 Ka) by local Ford dealerships for £300 plus installation charges.
 

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