Audio Video News

Sound United today announced that it has reached a settlement with Sonos, resolving all patent infringement litigation between the two companies, including the upcoming case filed against Sonos by Denon.

Sound United, parent company of a half-dozen venerable audio brands, has announced that Denon, Marantz, Polk Audio, Heos by Denon, and Definitive Technology that will support AirPlay 2, the updated version of the AirPlay wireless streaming protocol Apple announced last week at its developers conference where it also introduced the HomePod smart speaker.

Sound United — parent company of Denon, Marantz, Polk Audio, Classé, Definitive Technology, and Boston Acoustics — has started a foundation dedicated to donating 10,000 musical instruments to children in need over the next three years.

Do you know anyone addicted to white noise to lull them to sleep? At home with your favorite fan, it's not a problem. But, start traveling, and its a whole new problem. Nights are spent trying to find static on hotel radios as most TVs now...

Once a soundbar is mounted on the wall below the TV, a lot of folks are tempted to use it for music. An NPD Group survey found that 55 percent of soundbar owners use it for such things as podcasts and radio (though probably not vinyl). That makes sense, since more than 80 percent of bars have Bluetooth capability to communicate with mobile devices. Among 18-to-34-year-olds, 66 percent use the bar for music. As soundbars wax, other product categories wane. Forty-five percent of soundbar owners retired a home theater in a box system and 35 percent retired an A/V receiver.

San Diego-based Soundcast today introduced the VG1 portable Bluetooth speaker ($150) featuring an IP67 “ingress protection” rating certifying that it’s impervious to dust and submersible in 3 feet of water.