NetworkAudio
Latest
Denon DNP-720AE does network audio and not much else for $660 (update: $500 in the US)
The DNP-720AE has been hanging around at trade shows for a while, but it's only just been tagged up with a price. And boy, what a price: £429 ($660) for a stereo box that snatches AirPlay, DLNA, Internet radio, Napster and Last.fm off your WiFi or wired network and outputs to your amp. Sure, it packs a decent 24-bit DAC and will no doubt deliver that sweet Denon sound when added to your stack -- but if you don't already own a bunch of same-brand components then there's plenty of alternatives to consider. To pick a random example, even the ancient and infinitely cheaper Logitech Squeezebox Duet has similar functionality, without AirPlay or DLNA specifically but with basic iTunes compatibility and Spotify too. You could put those savings towards a networked AV receiver instead. Update: We've just heard that the US price for this thing will be $499. The $660 we mentioned above derived from a straight currency conversion from the UK Sterling price.
Sonos recounts its successes, dishes on future plans but not Android support
Amid the doom and gloom of the economic... whatever it is we're stuck in at the moment, it's nice to look at a success story. Sonos is such a tale and GigaOm has taken the time to profile the upstart, which started in 2002 and has gone on to produce a series of high-end docks, networked audio players, and an iOS controller app that ties it all together. Sadly, users of non-Apple devices have been left out in the cold and, while Sonos VP of Sales Tom Cullen wouldn't say when other versions are coming, he did at least say "We can see a handful of other potential platforms, and we want to see which one has the biggest concentration of music lovers." We say why choose one? Plenty of music lovers exist on them all. Moving back to hardware, Cullen indicated that a person's music largely moves with them these days, and so the company is looking to moving into the car and personal audio areas, meaning we could see some Sonos-branded headphones and head units in the not too distant future. This could be in addition to what looked to be a potential move into proper home theater. These are crowded spaces compared to the world of wireless audio that the company currently plays, but another quality option is certainly not a bad thing. Update: Just got a note from Sonos indicating that "at no point in the near future does Sonos plan on moving into cars." So, it looks like you're stuck with any of the dozens of other alternatives for now.
