Champlain, N.Y. – High-end component-audio supplier Cambridge Audio has diversified into the tabletop media-speaker market with the launch of two high-power models incorporating Wi-Fi, AirPlay, Bluetooth and Internet radio streaming.
The single-chassis stereo speakers are the $449 100-watt Minx Air 100 and the larger $599 200-watt Minx Air 200. Both feature Ethernet ports and embedded Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g for network connectivity. They use Apple’s AirPlay to stream music from Apple’s mobile devices and from iTunes-equipped computers. Bluetooth enables music streaming from other mobile devices in the AAC, aptX and standard Bluetooth SBC codecs.
The speakers also stream music from UPnP- and DLNA-equipped PCs and servers when used with the Minx Air control app and with a UPnP control app installed on a mobile device. The mobile device streams music and redirects the music from a PC or server to the speakers via AirPlay or, if the mobile device is Android, via Bluetooth, the company’s web site shows.
The Minx control apps, available for Apple and Android tablets and smartphones, also let users choose from more than 20,000 Internet radio stations that the speakers can stream. The app also lets users choose Internet radio stations to store into preset buttons on the speakers, on their supplied remotes, and on the control apps. Five preset buttons appear on the speakers and 10 preset buttons appear on the supplied remote and control apps.
The control apps also open the mobile devices’ music player and control the speakers’ volume, EQ, and bass response.
Both models also feature RCA and 3.5mm aux inputs for wired connections to mobile devices and to TVs.
The speakers also feature Balanced Mode Radiator (BMR) flat-panel driver design, which combines elements of flat-panel and traditional pistonic-driver design to deliver wider frequency response, wider dispersion and a wider sweet spot compared with traditional drivers while overcoming the lack of bass in other flat-panel designs, the company said.
The Minx 100 packs two 4-inch BMR drivers and a 100-watt Class D amp into a chassis that measures 13.9 inches by 7.2 inches by 4.6 inches.
The Minx 200 packs two 2.25-inch BMR drivers and a 6.5-inch subwoofer into a chassis that measures 17.7 inches by 8.7 inches by 6.9 inches.
The products, designed and built by London-based Cambridge, are marketed in the U.S. by Champlain, N.Y.-based Audio Plus Services, which also imports and markets multiple other home audio brands.
