Audyssey have a new speaker dock on the way, the Lower East Side Audio Dock Air, due in stores next month. Actually, calling it an iPod dock does it something of a disservice. Yes, it will play music from your iPod, and iPhone and iPad for that matter, and computers running the iTunes music software, but it does so wirelessly, using Apple’s AirPlay technology. AirPlay streams your iTunes over Wi-Fi or an Ethernet connections, or a combination of both.
You don’t own an iTunes-driven device? Then your wireless options are gone, but you can still get sound out of the Audyssey Lower East Side Audio Dock Air, plugging your portable AV device into the 3.5 mm speaker jack.
”AirPlay represents a huge step forward in the pursuit of wireless audio and we believe our Lower East Side Audio Dock Air will please even the most discerning listeners,” said Robb Mason, Audyssey’s vice president of marketing. “Our Smart Speaker technology enables us to generate audio output that’s simply not attainable by other manufacturers – we’re confident our new dock will outperform any comparably priced AirPlay dock on the market.
AirPlay isn’t the only smarts built into the Lower East Side Audio Dock Air. Audyssey are able to keep the size of the speaker dock down, while at the same time keeping the speaker quality up, through its Smart Speaker technology, providing “deeper bass, better audio clarity and more power than any other speaker of its size.”
Audyssey names its products after neighbourhoods. In the case of the Lower East Side Audio Dock Air:
Manhattan’s Lower East Side is a neighborhood rich in culture and history. Its tenement lined streets have been the home of immigrants from nearly every country since the neighborhood’s inception. More recently, the LES has been the stomping ground for bands and their followers at venues such as CBGB, ABC No Rio and Arlene’s Grocery. The sights and sounds of LES serve as the backdrop and inspiration for Audyssey’s Lower East Side Audio Dock Air.
Just to be clear, this is not Audyssey’s first product named after this particular neighbourhood. In August this year the company released the Audyssey Lower East Side Media Speakers – same name, but that product was a small set of wired speakers.
Audyssey Lower East Side Dock Air price and availability
The Audyssey Lower East Side Dock Air will begin to ship his November. The RRP will be US$399, though Audyssey expect to quickly see a ‘street price’ of around US$349.
UPDATE, 30 May, 2012: The Audyssey Lower East Side Dock Air is shipping in Australia now. The price is $499.95 RRP.
Audyssey Lower East Side Dock Air specifications
- Two 1-inch tweeters
- Two 3-inch midrange woofers
- Two 4-inch passive bass radiators
- AirPlay wireless streaming
- Audyssey Smart Speaker audio technology
- 3.5 mm line input
- 3.5 mm headphone output
- Weight: 2.26 kg
- Dimensions: 12.2 x 22.6 x 21.1 cm (W x D x H)