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Gear Live: We think this is truly a gift for the person who has everything…provided he or she already owns an iPod. It’s the Tune-In Bed, a fully-functional bed built with two 4” speakers, volume control and audio connections!

Just hook up your iPod (or any MP3 player) and enjoy complete surround sound as you doze off to sleep…or engage in other bedroom activities *wink*.
The headboard is upholstered in cotton twill, and the wood frame is available in two colors. Available in twin, full and Queen size, ranging from $699-$999 (525-750 euro). 

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Popgadget: Designed by Jacob Palmborg, these cute little speakers attach to your backpack, your belt, or your tent should you happen to be camping. Jacob recommends combining a bunch of them to make a portable sound system. The bottom half houses a carrying strap and protection sock that can be dragged out for protection (that’s the fushia-colored core you see in the pictures).He won a design award for these but there’s no word on the site about when — or how — these would be coming to market. I just know I want a pair, or maybe 6.

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Slashgear: Like your speakers nice and shiny? Well then instead of wrapping your current speakers in aluminum foil you can buy the I Light Speaker. I like shiny things as much as the next gal, I even have a purple lava lamp on my desk. However, while I’m trying to concentrate at my desk I don’t want something pulsing with the beat of the music. I know some people really enjoy this, but I am one of those easily distracted types.

I initially really loved the overall shape and color of these speakers, but the strobe light effect would annoy me more than anything. If you are better at concentrating than I am just plug the included cable into the headphone jack of your MP3/CD player. It features one speaker on the top and one on the bottom and is fairly light weight.
The quality of the speakers is supposed to be high and is extremely portable. These speakers are priced at 51 euro and you can be entertained for hours.

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Popgaget: While I don’t sing in the shower very much, I often wish I could boogie to one of my iTunes playlists while going through my morning ablutions. So even though this wireless water-resistant iPod speaker doesn’t come in classic iPod white, I’d be happy to have it in my bathroom, knowing that I wouldn’t have to worry about any accidental splash damage.The 3″ full-range 6-watt speaker comes with a dock, of course, but it’s kept separate from the speaker so that it can be kept somewhere safe and dry – anywhere within the 150′ radius of its wireless signal, in fact. So you could leave the docking station in one place and move the speaker around the house, even out to the pool if that’s where you need some tunes going. However, both the dock and the speaker need AC power, so they’re not truly portable units.

The system is compatible with all iPod nanos, 30GB and 60GB iPod video, and the 20GB iPod photo. The dock also recharges iPods while it’s playing. Speakers come with AM/FM radio, an alarm clock, 3 audio/video out jacks, and one audio in jack for connection to a PC or CD player. And there’s a remote control, of course.

The entire speaker system costs $199.95 (about 150 euro).

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Popgadget: Bang & Olufsen comes out with products that make you ogle at them endlessly in their classy showrooms. However, only a very few of us can think of taking them home given their pricing. Following in the same tradition are the latest range of Beo speakers, the Beolab 9.

The unique conical shaped cabinet houses the usual mid-range and bass units. Sitting atop the speaker is the B&O patented Acoustic Lens that disperses the treble within a 180 degrees arc. This, according to the company, guarantees uniform sound characteristics in front of the speaker, letting the listener hear constant timbre even while he is shifting places. The absence of a sub-woofer is compensated for by another technology, “Adaptive Bass Linearisation,” that prevents distortion while delivering excellent bass performance. The speaker also has a manual position switch that changes the sound based on it’s position in the room. The speaker can be placed in an open area, a corner or against a flat wall without any compromise of the sound.

While the speakers may be overkill for just listening to music, they will fit in well with a high-end home theatre system. The speakers come in red, blue, dark grey, and black, and will set you back almost 10,000 bucks (7700 euro).

(more…)

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Gizmodo: If you’re looking for a pair of speakers that can do the same thing five speakers normally do, KEF‘s fivetwo series can surround you with sound with just two swanky-looking audio towers. Their cool euro design and the fact that you only need two of them instead of a roomful of speakers appealed to a lot of the ladies at the 2006 IFA in Berlin.The surround sound effect is achieved by using side-facing SurfaceSound panels by NXT, coupled with drivers that KEF calls Uni-Q. Those side-firing SurfaceSound panels create left and right ambient effects, while the Uni-Q drivers deliver the left, center and right channels up front.

Available this fall, the seven-driver Model 7 will be 600 £/pair (about 900 eur), and the eleven-speaker Model 11 pictured here will be 1,100£/pair (about 1660 eur)

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Newlaunches: When it comes to home entertainment we do have a lot of options. These options narrow down as we pick out wireless entertainment systems as an option. And for those who need a perfect iPod speaker system, the Eos wireless system is something made for you.

The Eos system has four speakers that connect wirelessly and produce a kicking 48KHz sound output. The iPod dock in between accepts your tiny music houses (iPods) and amplifies the sound to enchant a thrilling multimedia experience. The base station blessed with a couple of stereo drivers, a subwoofer and SRS WOW technology, used to provide fantastic clarity and high quality sound, and it does just that. The whole system is detachable by removing power supply from the back of the cabinet. The wireless speakers also have two stereo drivers of their own to give you a clearer feel of the music you are hearing.

The Eos Wireless iPod Speaker System will be out by March 2007 and the entire system (the docking system plus a single wireless speaker) ca cost you about $300 (226 euro). If you intend to purchase additional speaker remotes, a wireless weather proof amp and a stand alone transmitter/receiver unit then it would cost you about $129 (97 euro) to get them separately.

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Crave: Sometimes, it seems that iPod speaker makers are just trying to outdo each other with the tallest models they can get away with. (Not that we have anything against tall models.)The Philips Docking Entertainment System DCM270 appears to be entering the contest, though its dimensions have not yet been revealed. In fact, not much of anything about it has been revealed, other than that it will work with Philips’ GoGear MP3 player as well as the iPod (big surprise). One thing we do know: (…) the Philips system is at least stylishly designed.

The height trend is kind of a throwback to ’70s, when stereo speakers seemed to get paid by the inch, many being ridiculously overpriced. Let’s just hope that’s where the similarities end.

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PC Magazine: JBL’s Spyro 2.1 speaker system boasts a fun design and good sound quality.

Harmon’s JBL Spyro speaker system continues Harmon’s tradition of making interesting-looking desktop speakers (other prime examples are the Encounter and the Radial speakers). But, hey, the oddball looks are complemented by good sound quality, so why not go with something more fun than typical desktop speakers?

In Spyro’s case, the subwoofer resembles a stormtrooper toadstool, while the two small satellite speakers are shaped roughly like flowers. The system comes in several colors, and Harmon says subwoofer covers will be available with more designs and styles for customization.

The Spyro speakers are available now for €129.

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Yahoo: Veteran audio engineer Tony Bongiovi, who once worked with Jimi Hendrix, has been disappointed for decades that the equipment most people used to listen to music couldn’t replicate the high-quality sound heard in the studio. Now, he thinks he’s created an answer: a technique for sound processing that’s making its debut in a JVC car stereo this week.

“Speakers are such a primitive device, but with digital technology we can overcome that,” Bongiovi said. (…)

The technique, which Bongiovi calls the Digital Power Station for the studio he once built in a converted power station in Manhattan, can be described as a very sophisticated equalizer. It adapts intelligently to the music to give even cheap speakers a full, robust sound and compensate for the deficiencies of the listening space.

This is accomplished by digital signal processing, a technology found in virtually all consumer audio products. But according to Bongiovi, it has never been employed in this way.

(more…)

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Ecoustics: If size were not a factor and budget were limitless, building truly awesome loudspeakers would be easy. One can imagine (and purchase) close approximations to the perfect speaker. For most of us, however, reality intrudes. Realistically, we need speakers sized to fit into our media rooms (leaving space for a nice bigscreen TV and one, or preferably more, people). And some of us would prefer not to tap into our home equity to meet our entertainment needs. As a result, we need speakers that are comfortably small and reasonably priced. Tannoy, no stranger to the realities of loudspeaker building, honed that equation and brought forth the HTS 200 home theater speaker system.

Priced at $999 (about 760 euro), the HTS 200 comprises short and slender towers, small but not tiny center and sats, and a comparably abbreviated subwoofer.

Plus:
•Bright, lively sound just right for some listeners
•Excellent transient response with good clarity
•Tastefully designed small cabinets will delight decorators

Minus:
•Bright, lively sound too much for some listeners
•Surrounds a bit bass-shy for the towers
•Diminutive sub hits only 5 on Richter scale

Full review?

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Anythingbutipod: Indicative of the global success of Creative’s Creative Zen V and V Plus flash players is the TravelSound Zen V speaker system/docking station announced yesterday in Japan (…).

The TravelSound Zen V is designed exclusively for use with the V and V Plus, allowing simultaneous music playing and battery charging. Priced at an incredible $109 (about 85 euros), the speakers measure 9.3″ x 5.3″ x 2.2″ and are bundled with a wireless remote control, AC adapter, stereo audio cable, carrying pouch, quick start guide, and other paperwork.

The unit itself weighs 1.7 pounds, is equipped with an antenna for the FM tuner built into the V Plus, and features surround sound, mute button, volume controls, and a mode button (for what, we have no idea: I studied Japanese for over 10 years, but I’m still very rusty).

The TravelSound Zen V should be available in Japan in early December, with preorders being accepted in late November.

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