St. Charles, Mo. — Auvi Electronics is combining two relatively new concepts, the iPod hi-fi station and the bar-style virtual-surround system.
The company plans shipments in April and May of its first two models, the $199-everyday HT20 and $299-everyday HT25. Both can be hung on a wall with a flat-panel display, and both come with separate powered subwoofer incorporating system electronics, including Dolby Digital decoding and AM/FM tuner.
The main black-and-silver chassis of each model is 6 inches tall and 5.5 inches deep, but one is 28 inches wide, and the other is 38 inches wide. The main chassis incorporates seven speakers, which deliver five channels of sound, and an iPod dock that recharges an iPod. Other MP3 players can be connected via a 3.5mm audio input but won’t recharge. A video-output enables iPod-stored videos and photos to be displayed on a TV screen. Video inputs enable video-source connection.
