Indianapolis
– Pioneer is moving Apple’s AirPlay technology from AV receivers into tabletop
music systems for the first time with a CEDIA Expo launch of two Music Tap
systems.
Both systems also connect to multiple music sources, including Internet
radio and USB-connected devices.
The
$399 Pioneer-branded MusicTap and the $479 Elite-branded MusicTap ship in
October, both with built-in Wi-Fi, a 2.5-inch full-color LCD display, and
vTuner, which enables the streaming of 16,000 of Internet radio stations. They
also feature integrated pop-out dock for playing
and charging iPods and iPhones.
In addition, both models feature front USB
port to play back music from flash drives and hard drives in the MP3, WAV, WMA, AAC LPCM, and FLAC formats.
With
AirPlay, the single-chassis devices play back music streamed via a home Wi-Fi
network from an iTunes-equipped computer and from Apple’s iPhone, iPod Touch,
and iPad. Using Apple’s Remote app on the hand-held Apple devices, users can
remotely control their computer’s iTunes music library via Wi-Fi and play the
library’s songs through the Music Taps. The tabletop devices also play music
from AirPlay-enabled music-streaming
apps loaded onto the mobile devices. AirPlay-enabled apps include Pandora and
iHeart Radio.
The
systems, which lack CD, also feature DLNA 1.5 capability to stream music
wirelessly from networked NAS drives or from PCs that lack Apple’s iTunes
music-management software.
The
Elite model adds stereo Bluetooth, while the Pioneer model is compatible with
an optional $99 stereo Bluetooth adapter. With stereo Bluetooth and Pioneer’s
AirJam app for Apple’s mobile devices, up to four people at a time can
jointly create a master playlist of songs to be streamed via Bluetooth to the
compact systems from their Apple devices.
Both systems can be controlled
from an included IR remote or, via Wi-Fi, from a free Pioneer control app for the iPod touch, iPhone and iPad.
Both music systems feature dual full-range
drivers, passive radiator, and tuning by Pioneer’s noted TAD director of
speaker engineering, Andrew Jones.
AirPlay
requires iTunes 10.1 or later, or iPad, iPad 2, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPod
touch (2nd, 3rd or 4th generation) with iOS 4.2 or later. AirPlay streams music
in Apple Lossless, enabling owners to hear high-quality audio when music is
encoded in the high-resolution format.
