Armonk, N.Y. – Autonomic, the supplier of multi-room media servers, will go to the CEDIA Expo with its first multi-room amplifiers/matrix-audio switchers and its first in-wall keypad controller to target consumers seeking basic multi-room-audio installs, the company said.
With the solutions, installers need only add speakers to create a multi-room-audio system built around Autonomic’s Mirage Media Server, which also streams music from the Internet, and any other connected sources. The solutions also simplify installation because the components were designed to work together, the company said.
“Autonomic built their brand on ease of integration into home-control platforms, [but] it was integrators building lower-priced stand-alone distributed-audio solutions who needed an out-of-the-box solution,” a spokesman said.
The company will also unveil an in-wall keypad mount turns a docked iPod Touch into a multi-room-audio controller.
All products ship in the fourth quarter.
The digital amps are the 8×50-watt M400 and 16×50-watt M800 at a suggested $2,495 and $3,495, respectively. The MKP-1 keypad is $200. The MKP-iOS keypad mount, which will be available through a partnership with iPort, is $250, excluding iPod Touch.
“Mirage Media Servers have become well known for their Cloud compatibility and integration with major control platforms,” said CEO Michael de Nigris. “However these new products make our systems ideal for distributed-audio packages in a wide price range of installations.”
He also said the products were engineered to work together. Both new amplifiers, for example, will be recognized automatically by Autonomic’s web, iOS or Android applications to provide out-of-the-box, control of all audio zones, including volume, source selection and independent zone power (on/off).
The M400 amp/switcher is a four-zone, six-source amplifier, and the M800 supports eight zones and eight sources. Whereas most matrix amps are controllable via RS-232, both amps are feature IP controllability, the company said. The 8×50-watt and 16×50-watt amplifier sections are rated into 8 ohms, but they are 4-ohm stable, and they provide more power than most matrix amplifiers, whose output ranges from 15 to 25 watts per channel, the company contended.
In addition to analog inputs, they feature coaxial digital inputs for all audio sources, thanks to the inclusion of D/A converters. Most matrix amps lack digital inputs, the company said.
An advanced scheduling interface enables any zone to automatically power on / off and play preset programs from local content or streaming services.
Both amps require a 2RU rack space.
The Autonomic MKP-1 in-wall keypad controls volume, source, and independent zone power. For more advanced control, the Autonomic MKP-iOS in-wall mount for the iPod Touch delivers full system control in heavily used zones. The MKP-iOS, which lacks hard keys, permanently affixes an iPod Touch into the wall to turn the iPod touchscreen into a controller. The mount also keeps other iPod Touch apps operational.
The MKP-iOS charges the iPod Touch through a single CAT-5 cable wired back to the amplifier location, but the mount can also be powered locally using a DC power supply.
