Home theater

Unfortunately for Sonos, the last few weeks have been a torrent of leaks surrounding one of the company’s as-yet-unreleased speakers. The most recent of these leaks — a series of publicity-quality photos — comes from Twitter account SnoopyTech , and they leave little doubt that Sonos will soon launch a soundbar that is a little smaller than the $449 Sonos Beam, and likely considerably more affordable. In April, reports emerged that Sonos is planning to release a new home theater soundbar that will be smaller and less expensive than its $399 Beam, according to a report from Chris Welch at The Verge . This was followed on May 4 by another report from Welch, citing internal documents and people familiar with the company’s plans, claiming that this new product will be called the Sonos Ray . Welch, who had claimed to have seen “genuine photos” of the new speaker, but did not indicate how he came across them, worked with artists at The Verge to create renders that purportedly … [Read more...] about New photos leave little doubt that the Sonos Ray is real | Digital Trends

The leaks, hints, and other implications were all true. Sonos today unleashed a new soundbar , its own voice control service, and new colors for an existing speaker. Contents Sonos Ray Sonos Voice Control Sonos Roam colors Sonos Ray is the new entry in the product line and the new least-expensive option in the company’s home theater lineup. Sonos Voice Control — that’s the official name — perhaps is the most intriguing of the three releases, if for no other reason than it’s using a serious actor’s intonations. (Or an actor’s serious intonations. More on that in a minute.) And the portable Sonos Roam has some new colors on the way. Digital Trends got a sneak peek at the new fare this week in New York City — let’s break it all down. Sonos Ray Sonos has had some great soundbars for a while now, from the now-discontinued Playbar to its two Dolby Atmos -enabled models — the $899 Sonos Arc , and the less-expensive-but-still-excellent $449 Sonos Beam Gen … [Read more...] about Sonos announces Ray Soundbar and its own voice control | Digital Trends

With the recent launch of the Sonos Ray , a small and (by Sonos standards) affordable soundbar, questions about the company’s plans for a smaller, more affordable subwoofer kicked into high gear. We now have the first tangible evidence that such a speaker — likely called the Sonos Sub Mini — is on the way: The product was spotted by Protocol ’s Janko Roettgers , in a recent Federal Communications Commission (FCC) filing , which is usually a strong sign that an announcement is imminent. The documents are light on details — there’s no mention of the new product by name and no product photography — but they do shed some light on a few aspects. According to a diagram indicating the required FCC ID label placement, the speaker — which goes by the Sonos model designation, S37 — is cylindrical. We can see the bottom of the unit, which appears to be a perfect circle, along with what looks like four “legs” or supports. This is consistent with a previous report from The Verge ‘s … [Read more...] about Sonos’ Sub Mini goes from rumor to the FCC | Digital Trends

In 2021, rumors began to emerge that Sonos had started working on its own voice assistant technology in a bid to supplement (or even rival) the existing integration the company’s smart speakers have with both Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. Now, a new report from The Verge, that cites unnamed people familiar with the company’s plans, suggests that Sonos is very close to launching such a service and we could see it as soon as June 1, 2022 in the U.S., with other countries to follow. Digital Trends reached out to Sonos representatives for comment on the reported launch of Sonos Voice but we were told only that, “We don’t comment on rumor or speculation.” This new report comes on the heels of a Sonos leak for a new speaker that will reportedly be called the Sonos Ray — a soundbar-style speaker that will be smaller and less expensive than the Sonos Beam. It’s been suggested that the Ray could be used in pairs as surround sound speakers with either a Beam for 5.1 sound, or a … [Read more...] about Report: Sonos Voice could launch as early as June 2022 | Digital Trends

In a move that has been anticipated for years, Apple finally — if somewhat awkwardly — confirmed that it will no longer make the iPod Touch , the last remaining iPod version. The reasons, according to Apple are clear: Given our ability to access music through all of our other digital devices (phones, laptops, tablets, and smart speakers), we’ve all moved beyond needing a dedicated device for listening to music on-the-go, especially one that can’t connect to streaming services like Apple Music through mobile data. Contents A&K Kann Max, $1,299, available in June 2022 A&K HC2 USB-C Dual DAC Cable, $249, available in June 2022 AK Pathfinder IEMs, $1,899, available in July 2022 That may be true, but Apple’s devices have in any case never fully satisfied audiophiles — a group of music lovers who expect convenience to go hand-in-hand with quality, not one at the expense of the other. Astell&Kern’s (A&K) lineup of hi-res digital audio players … [Read more...] about Miss the iPod? Astell&Kern has the cure — for a price | Digital Trends