LAS VEGAS – Start-up Damson Audio is coming to International CES to diversify from Bluetooth-equipped speakers into networked Wi-Fi speakers that also incorporate Bluetooth.
The four new products could be the industry’s first Bluetooth or Wi-Fi speakers with automatic room equalization. Some of the new products are AC/DC speakers, and others are AC-only.
The company started shipping products in the U.S. in 2013 following a U.K. launch in April 2012.
The four new products at CES, all part of the JetStream tabletop series, include the $149-suggested JetStream mini, a Bluetooth-only AC/DC speaker for travelers and for outdoor use. It incorporates two full-range drivers, a small active subwoofer, and an exciter that boost volume and bass response by vibrating a sold flat surface on which the speaker is placed.
The three other speakers incorporate Bluetooth but also feature Wi-Fi to create a multizone wireless audio network. The speakers are the $249-suggested midi, $349 max, and the $449 soundbar.
The three speakers’ multizone wireless technology enables a smartphone or tablet to operate as a multizoneaudio controller, directing music from mobile devices, PCs, and NAS drives to up to eight speakers simultaneously. Each speaker can be playing a different source or song. The speakers will also feature embedded streaming services, including TuneIn and Spotify.
Songs from multiple smartphones and tablets can be streamed simultaneously via Wi-Fi, and PCs can stream more than one song at a time.
At press time, the company was working on enabling the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth speakers to retransmit a Bluetooth stream over Wi-Fi to other Damson Wi-Fi speakers.
Unlike wireless multizone systems from Sonos and others, users don’t have to connect a bridge to their wireless router to enable multizone playback and synchronization, the company said.
The networked Mini is a compact AC/DC speaker with exciter to vibrate the surface on which it rests. The Max is a higher power AC-only speaker.
The AC-only soundbar features 7.1-channel PCM playback, two HDMI inputs, HDMI output with audio return channel, two subwoofers, side-firing 3kHz to 5kHz drivers to widen the sound stage, and wavefield synthesis to deliver a room-wide sweet spot.
