The global 2013 home audio market (covering wireless speakers, speaker docks, AV receivers, integrated audio systems and soundbars) is set to achieve 10% growth according to Futuresource, making it a "positive force" in the home CE segment.
"As consumers demand more flexibility from their music and audio-- be it through music accessibility, discoverability, sharing their favourite songs or simply wanting a richer experience from their TV-- home audio continues to play a starring role in the Zeitgeist," the analyst says. "This year we're going to see home audio products ship around 60 million units worldwide, with a trade value of $7.3 billion. At a time when many segments of the CE industry seem to be driving with the brakes on, home audio represents an enormous opportunity for manufacturers and retailers alike."
NuVo sets to launch the P3500 player at ISE 2014-- a 3-zone, rack-mount player for the NuVo Wireless Audio System able to simultaneously supply 200W of power per zone.
Initially supposed to launch sometime during Q3 2013, Beats Music differentiates itself with the promise of curation from actual human beings as well as algorithm-generated recommendations. "It's like having your own guy when you go into the record store, who knows what you like but can also point you down some paths you wouldn't necessarily have encountered," chief creative officer Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor told Rolling Stone last year.
Customers wanting a means to play high resolution digital audio on legacy high-end audio equipment can get the Bryston BUC-1, a digital-to-digital converter allowing one to connect PCs to older DACs.
The SmartLink switch is available in 3 versions, each with 8 HDMI inputs and 8 S/PDIF audio-only outputs and a choice of 4, 6 or 8 HDBase T 5Play or HDMI outputs-- in other words enoough control ports for easy audio and video source management.
