Redmond, Wash. - Aperion Audio previewed a wireless home-theater speaker that's designed for use with Microsoft Windows. The brushed-aluminum Aris ($499) uses the DLNA media streaming protocol to connect to Windows 7 or Windows 8 Consumer Preview via Wi-Fi. It can also connect via Ethernet. The Windows Play To feature then lets users send music over their network to the speaker.

The Aris will not initially work with Macs when it ships in mid-June, but the company stated on its website that the Aris Airplay card will be available in the fall of 2012. However, an Aris Music app will let the speaker be used with any tablet or smartphone that supports DLNA.  

A single-piece enclosure, the Aris has two 1-inch neodymium, soft-dome silk tweeters; two 4-inch drivers; and two 4-inch passive radiators. Total power is listed at 100 watts RMS via four 25-watt Class D amplifiers. 

The speaker, which measures 6.5 inches high by 14.75 inches wide, will support WMA, AAC, FLAC, MP3 and Real file formats. It weighs 11 pounds.