aethercone

Aether's Cone speaker is a fresh spin on music streaming

The first HiFi I had all to myself was a hand-me-down Sony music center (something like this). It was a mix of faux-wood panels and brushed metal, with three media options: cassette, vinyl and radio. Then the '90s mainstay "all-in-one" HiFi (and CD!) became my main music hub for many years. These days, it's a very different game. If you're not running a networked system, connected to your favorite streaming services, then, frankly, you're doing it wrong. But, what if you don't want an all-encompassing solution from the likes of Sonos or Bang & Olufsen? You could go with Bluetooth speakers, but that's a whole different proposition altogether (and a bit of a minefield). Then there's the Cone by Aether. It's portable, networked and works with streaming services. At $400 (the same price as Sonos' Play:5 speaker), it's going to have to have a few tricks up it's sleeve to lure in potential buyers. I have a fairly large gap in my music room though -- can this fill it?