Posted 11/04/09 at 08:09:15 AM by Paul Lilly

Sonos has released its new ZonePlayer S5 in the U.S., an all-in-one music sysetem with a built-in wireless receiver and amplified 5-driver speaker. The all-in-one can be controlled with an iPhone, iPod touch, or any Sonos Controller.

"This is the best time in history to love music," said John MacFarlane, CEO, Sonos. "The marriage of devices such the iPhone and the Sonos ZonePlayer S5 connects consumers to an entire world of music and gives them an easy way to control it all from the palm of their hand, in any and every room of their home."

Each of the five speakers comes with its own dedicated Class-D digital amplifier. The S5 also includes a 2-port Ethernet switch, auto-detecting headphone jack, analog audio inputs, support for several major music services, such as Last.fm, Napster, Pandora, Rhapsody, and SIRIUS, and the ability to download from any service offering DRM-free tracks, including iTunes and AmazonMP3.

On the social networking side, the Sonos Software v3.1 integrates Twitter into the Controller interface, allowing users to tweet the name and artist of whatever track they're rocking out to.

The ZonePlayer S5 is available now direct from Sonos for $399.

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Posted 09/08/09 at 09:38:15 AM by Paul Lilly

We haven't seen a product more aptly named since the PushUp, the tasty treat (not the exercise) from our childhood years. Now that we're all grown up, we prefer to spend our ducats on computer parts than ice cream, and that's where Philips' CushionSpeaker laptop stand comes in.

The name leaves little room for further description, but suffice to say, the CushionSpeaker is exactly what it sounds like. It's a cushion for resting your laptop on your lap and a speaker for blaring out your groovy music, all in one.

What's not so evident from the product's title is that the CushionSpeaker is made from heat resistant material, and the speaker is powered by your laptop via USB. We suppose that's because CushionSpeaker sounds a lot better than HeatResistantUSBPoweredCushionLaptopSpeaker.

No word yet on price or availability.

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Posted 04/02/09 at 05:26:19 PM by Andy Salisbury

While speakers have been getting thinner and thinner, the geniuses behind Warwick Audio have developed a speaker so thin, you may accidentally wrap your leftover Italian with it.

“FFL technology is a carefully designed assembly of thin, conducting and insulating, materials resulting in the development of a flexible laminate, which when excited by an electrical signal will vibrate and produce sound,” states PhysOrg. “The speaker laminate operates as a perfect piston resonator. The entire diaphragm therefore radiates in phase, forming an area source. The wave front emitted by the vibrating surface is phase coherent, producing a plane wave with very high directivity and very accurate sound imaging.”

This probably means that the speaker won’t work like some newer speakers (by producing electrical charges that excite nearby air molecules, making sound without any vibrations), but instead will work like traditional speakers (but in much tighter wavelengths).

No word yet on just how long we’ll have to wait to see this tech implemented, but according to the site it’s meant to be used in conference rooms and cars.

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Posted 01/02/08 at 11:59:25 AM by Michael Brown

Only the best-sounding speakers ever earn our highest praise. Griffin’s Evolve wireless iPod quite speakers don’t reach that height, but their wireless capabilities are almost remarkable enough to overcome their middle-of-the-road sound.

Click Read More for more. 

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