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AirGo, the ultimate wireless outdoor speaker uses Airport Express inside
The AirGo is a sturdy outdoor speaker designed by Russound, a company with years of experience making quality speakers. While there are a lot of great things about the AirGo, being shown off this week at CES 2012, the most interesting thing to me was that instead of using Bluetooth or cables or even embedded AirPlay for transmitting audio from a music machine, the AirGo instead has a space on the back for inserting your own Airport Express. You buy the speaker, and then put in your own little Wi-Fi unit from Apple, which is where all the audio comes from. There are some distinct advantages to this, one of which is that you can use the Express as a Wi-Fi extender (not to mention that you might already have one lying around your house). But the AirGo has more to it than the novelty of an actual Airport Express inside. The enclosure of the AirGo can best be described as rugged. This unit is designed to live outside. Russound did extensive testing in a variety of harsh conditions to ensure that heat, rain, and all the elements an outdoor speaker might encounter will not affect the unit. And yes, we were assured the Airport Express can withstand some pretty harsh conditions (temperature-wise). The Express is sealed inside a watertight enclosure on the back of the speaker system, and they were smart enough to provide a way to see the status light on the Express without having to open this cover. And if your Express needs an update, that is easily done wirelessly as you would normally do. If the Express dies, you won't need to buy another speaker, either, and Russound specifically designed the form factor with plenty of space, so even if Apple changes the external look of the Airport Express, the new version will probably still fit just fine. Business up front, party in the back The speaker base is largely metal, giving it heft and rigidity. There's a large handle up top for moving the unit around. The speaker itself is incredibly high quality, and I was very impressed with the sound even when relatively quiet, so if you like a little background jazz while sitting on your patio, you'll still hear a very crisp and clear sound at low volumes. Then there's loudness, which was more than adequate. We were in a small room for the demo filled with executives and media types chatting, but we could hear the music quite well. The speaker quickly filled the room when cranked up, drowning all the noise out. From the heavy duty power cord to metal base to metal speaker grille, this thing is designed to last. There's also a power light on the front so you know it is on. The overall design reminded me of an old TV set, mounted on a pivoting armature. Of course, quality doesn't come cheap. The speaker sells for $399 (not including the Airport Express), which some users might balk at, but this is not some cheapo plastic Bluetooth speaker you toss in your backpack. This is a product for people who care about quality and durability, and probably spend a lot of time lounging by the pool or perhaps entertaining outside. Really, I could see some business like a caterer using these to quickly set up ambient music at an event. So if you're looking for a solid product that can withstand any number of tough uses, that price tag makes a lot of sense in the long run. You'll likely be enjoying this speaker for years.
AirGo Outdoor Speaker adopts AirPort Express, shrugs off rain
Sure, you could buy an outdoor speaker with native AirPlay support, or you could stuff that spare AirPort Express you have laying around into the AirGo Outdoor Sound Station. This weather resistant speaker forgoes the usual baked in BridgeCo silicone for an integrated AirPort Express dock. Of course, this kind of ad hoc integration isn't cheap -- the AirGo will set you back almost $400, and that's without an Apple AirPort Express. The AirGo's AC cord (that's right, no batteries) ensures that you won't get too far into the great outdoors with this rig, but Russound's CEO is confident that weather won't be a problem. Rain? "Break out the Slip 'N Slide," he says "and continue to rock on." Sounds good to us. Slide on past the break for the official press release.
iPort's in-wall iPod system gets upgraded with iPhone support
Though we'd have to say this introduction was made just a hair too late, iPort has just introduced a revamped version of its in-wall iPod system that will accommodate the original iPhone. More specifically, each of the firm's five models features a re-designed faceplate that plays nice with Apple's older cellphone and all existing touch-wheel iPods. Aside from that, you're still looking at the same whole home approach to distributing iPhone / iPod content, and while we can't say for sure that the iPhone 3G will work outright, there's nothing that a little Dremel can't fix. %Gallery-24853%
Russound licenses iPort technology, aims to bring iPods into whole home systems
As if the iPod wasn't ubiquitous enough, Russound has just licensed Dana Innovations' patented iPort concept and integrating technologies in an attempt to tie in Apple's darling with whole home AV systems. Apparently the company views said PMP as a "music server rather than a simple portable player," and now that the agreement is in place, we should see a slew of new kit designed with tight iPod integration in mind. Unfortunately, details beyond that are scant, but Charlie Porritt, Russound's vice president of sales, did note that the forthcoming products would be aimed at consumers "who treat their iPods as a primary source of entertainment in the home."
Russound intros RF / IR-capable RFR-E5 remote
Last we heard from Russound, it was teaming up with Lifeware to create the Viiv-compliant Media Console, but this CES, it's doing it up solo and introducing a svelte new remote. Beyond the slender design, high-resolution display and the mid-mounted clickwheel, the RFR-E5 manages to stand out even further by including support for both IR and RF. The two-way design enables it to act as a "true multiroom remote control," and it can also rely on IP / Zigbee RF to communicate with an ACA-E5 Multizone Controller. Furthermore, you'll find a rechargeable battery, white LED backlighting and a cradle complete with an Ethernet port for connecting to the firm's aforementioned ACA-E5. Sadly, Russound has yet to mention how costly this one will be, but it should be available through certified integrators in Q2.
Russound and Lifeware join forces to create Media Console
Every few months it seems like some company comes out with some new hotsy-totsy media server setup. CES is no exception, with Russound and Lifeware announcing that they're putting their heads together to create the Viiv-compliant Media Console, complete with a keypad that can display metadata. We don't know much about what exactly these consoles can do (as in specs), nor what they'll cost, but CEPro reports that the higher-end systems will be around $6,000 or $7,000, with two other more inexpensive models sometime in May or June of this year. That said, ZDNET spied a demo model with a Russound multi-zone audio distribution system along with a trio of Lifeware components in a concept house -- however, while the reporter was checking it out, the system had to be rebooted in order while MCE froze. So on second thought, a waiting for a few months might not be such a bad idea after all. [Via ZDNET]
