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Jarre Aeroskull speaker dock packs dual 15-watt woofers, recently departed Apple Dock Connector
Just in time for Halloween, Jarre's new Aeroskull dock embodies 70 watts of total power in a human-like cranium, complete with a pair of speaker-packing shades. Jarre is showing off the colorful chrome tune machine in black, white, blue, green, orange, pink, purple and yellow finishes, with a matching IR bone remote to boot. With a tinted lens appearance, the permanently affixed sunglasses actually contain two 15-watt speakers, with a 40-watt subwoofer occupying the skull's rear. The lofty £349 (about $565) sticker price will net you some of the latest technologies, including Bluetooth audio support and a standard 3.5mm audio input, but Apple's new Lightning port is notably absent, with a good-as-dead Dock Connector mounted up top, instead. With 70 watts of power and Jarre's backing, this seemingly bizarre rig may actually offer decent performance. You'll need to wait until its October ship date to see for yourself, but if a skeletal sound system is on your list of must-haves, you can rest in peace knowing that you have but weeks to live (with your current spirited setup).
Visualized: 50 shades of Nexus, by ASUS
ASUS is never shy at showing off its creative side. At Taiwan Designers' Week last Sunday, we spotted the company's above art installation dubbed "Palette": a mesmerizing circle of 50 overlapping Nexus 7 back covers, each in its very own shade of color. Interestingly, all of these were actually used in the development process of Google's Nexus 7, which just goes to show the kind of mad dedication ASUS had put into the joint project. But wait, there's more! To match the event's "Flow" theme this year, ASUS decided to also show off parts of the design process that determined the final appearance of its other hero products -- hence the title "Becoming" for the booth's own theme. For instance, much like what the company's lovely Michelle Hsiao showed us on the Engadget Show, the booth again featured a handful of tablet chassis parts and dummies (mainly of PadFone, Zenbook, Transformer Prime and a 7-inch device) at different stages of their development, complemented by a generous selection of colors and finishes. Only this time the designers used some of them to create gradient wall art that we wouldn't mind having at home. Check them out after the break.
Grace Digital's FireDock is a speaker dock for your Kindle Fire
Own a Kindle Fire? Can't find an audio dock made specifically for your gizmo, and not an iThing or Android device? Say hello to Grace Digital's FireDock, the $130 solution to your quandary. While we've seen Kindle-compatible docks before, this stereo system is actually made to seamlessly connect with the Fire's bottom ports and power button, allowing it to charge while docked. What's more, there's a turn-and-tilt feature that'll let you switch between landscape and portrait orientations -- perfect for going from books to movies. If that wasn't enough, an optional rechargeable battery can also be attached to the mini-rig for listening sans cords while you're out and about (though, this route disables the ability to charge the Kindle itself). If you're burning with desire for the FireDock, the bad news is that it won't be available for purchase until July. In the meantime, you'll find more info in the press release after the break to help you cool down.
Samsung's vacuum tube driven speaker lineup gets priced for US, available this spring (update)
It's no secret that Samsung's been teasing a major interest in premium audio since CES, blending digitally powered speakers with vacuum tube pre-amplifiers. We didn't get a chance to check the systems out in Vegas, but today the company's spilling the details regarding US pricing on a trio of systems, all of which will be available in the spring. The star of the show is the $800 DA-E750 Audio Dock, featuring the rear-mounted dual dock for Galaxy (charging only) and iOS devices we first saw last month. Clad in a polished wood case (available in black or cherry), the 2.1 stereo system pumps out up to 100 watts of power through its glass fiber speakers and tweeters. As an added touch, its JJ Electronics 12AU7 tubes (the same you could use for guitar amps) are sunken in from its top under glass, allowing for clear view of their glow. Best of all, aside from the requisite USB and 3.5mm inputs, the DA-870 works wirelessly with Samsung's AllShare Play, AirPlay and Bluetooth 3.0 w/ aptX.Moving past the HiFi category, Samsung's also priced a duo of surround sound systems aimed at the home theater market. To start, there's the $1,000 HT-E6730W Blu-ray 3D 7.1 home theater system and its $800 5.1 sibling, the HT-E6500W Blu-ray 3D -- both of which feature the same tube pre-amp and similar wireless capabilities as the DA-E750. Notably, the E6730W features a tiltable top speaker on each of its stereo towers, allowing for a more personalized output depending on your room. Furthermore, if you happen to have a DA-E750, too, you'll be able to stream the audio via Bluetooth if you find yourself far away from your television. There's no exact date on when you'll be able snag any of them, but Samsung notes that the 5.1 system is currently shipping.Update: You'll find a press release with all the drool-inducing details after the break.
Samsung unveils new HTIB systems plus audio docks with Galaxy S and iPhone support
While it's hardly pulling the curtain back on its entire CES 2012 slate of products, Samsung's earliest preview for your AV pleasure is an updated range of HTIB systems and sound bars, as well as two new Audio Docks that support Apple devices as well as its own Galaxy S phones and players. The DA-E750 Audio Dock (pictured above) is the first to include Samsung's "hybrid vacuum tube amplifier technology" which it claims raises the bar for mainstream audio products, by delivering the clear sound output of digital combined with the natural sound of a vacuum tube in its preamp. Both docks will play from and charge both Samsung and Apple hardware, as well as stream music wirelessly via AllShare or AirPlay, although the DA-E670 lacks that high end vacuum tube tech. For your entire home theater needs, the new HT-E6730W 7.1 Blu-ray 3D HTIB features the same vacuum tube tech as the DA-E750, while the HT-E5500W boasts an iPod dock and 3D sound effects.Finally the HW-E550 Surround Sound Bar also produces 3D sound with vertically mounted speakers and comes with its own wirelessly connected subwoofer. One other new feature this year is the "Disc to Digital" integration in the HT-E5500W's Blu-ray player which will give users access to streaming copies of eligible discs just by registering into the player. It sounds like it's powered by Ultraviolet, although we'd expect to hear more about that closer to the show. Check after the break for press releases, and the gallery for a few pics of all this hardware -- if you know anything about Samsung, you know the onslaught has only just begun.
HP Touchstone Audio Dock passes FCC on the way to anonymous launch
If your grandest dream involves HP releasing a Touchstone dock that could stream music over Bluetooth, you probably suffer from the same lack of ambition that caused it to meekly push the Pre 3, unheralded, into Europe this week. Such a dock has made the rounds at the FCC, and from their documents we can glean that it's packing a 3.5mm audio-out jack and can broadcast over 6MHz, a capability that was also added to the Pre 3 for an as-yet ambiguous reason. Perhaps we can expect the new dock to arrive in Europe prior to the Pre 3 landing stateside -- it's asking a lot, we know, but crazier miracles have come to pass.
Speakal Doctor Who TARDIS speaker prototype hands-on
Hardcore Doctor Who fans might argue that the faulty chameleon circuit is to be blamed here, but really, this mini TARDIS is just a forthcoming Speakal iPod speaker dock that also doubles as a Bluetooth speaker and an IR remote control. As pictured above, the dock connector lies in a pull-out tray at the bottom-front of the device, with the stereo speaker drivers hidden behind the front windows. There's also a bass chamber inside the box, and we could see the opening through the back windows, along with the volume dial and power switch at the bottom. We were told that the final product will actually be slightly smaller than this prototype, and the lamp at the top will also have an IR emitter installed, which can control your TV via an iOS app (presumably via Bluetooth). Anyhow, expect to see this blue box on the shelves for around $130 to $150 come April. %Gallery-113118%
Logitech S715i and Z515 portable speakers hands-on (video)
You're sick of audio docks, we know. So are we. But as much as we wanted to skip merrily along beyond Logitech's S715i set, we couldn't help but note that it's something of a rarity. Whereas most other iDevice speakers tend to keep themselves safely tethered to the nearest wall plug, this unit claims it can get an ambitious eight hours of music playback from its battery, while boasting a whopping eight drivers (two rear-firing ones on the back) in total, including a pair of "laser-tuned" neodymium 3-inchers for midrange delivery. We could hardly gauge audio quality in our noisy environment, but we'll say this much: Logitech isn't fooling around with the volume the S715i can put out. Even our video after the break doesn't do justice to the surprising roar you can generate from this otherwise compact package. A standard 3.5mm audio input will let you stray outside of the Apple product family if you wish, and there's a bundled remote too. Yet, in spite of all these goodies, we still can't recommend this as a sage purchase at Logitech's lofty $150 price. Don't get us wrong, the S715i looks neat, just not that neat. We also managed to grab a few images of its family mate, the Z515 Bluetooth speaker, which similarly rolls on its own power (for up to 10 hours, it's claimed) and captures tunes from your nearest Bluetooth-equipped device. It's another well built and easily portable little thing, priced at $60 $100 by Logitech. %Gallery-102488%%Gallery-102492%
