Sonos Introduces Significantly Improved Move 2 Portable Speaker

Sonos debuted Move 2, the next generation of its original Move portable speaker, now with a dual tweeter design that delivers a more spacious stereo image, improved Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, and new touch controls. But the improved Move 2 also features an expanded battery life for up to 24 hours, a new Wireless Charging Base (included), plus new USB-C Line in and USB-C device charging, which expands its possibilities considerably. The Move 2 is rated IP56 for dust and water resistance, making it perfect for outdoor use.

Bluesound, the manufacturer of high-resolution audio wireless multiroom products, expanded its already comprehensive range with the HUB, a network accessory that allows connecting a variety of analog and digital audio sources to the Bluesound ecosystem for multiroom streaming. This simple BluOS device easily adds any audio source and transmits music wirelessly to one or many Bluesound players around the home.

Control4, the fast-growing smart home solutions company, announced the launch of its new Control4 Smart Home OS 3. The core product that allowed the Salt Lake City company to become a leading name in residential integration, is now updated with more than a thousand new capabilities across lighting, whole-home music and video, security, comfort, and more. OS 3 is available now and can be experienced in Control4 Certified Showrooms around the world on C4Yourself day, June 13.

Dayton Audio announced its WFA400 4-Zone Wi-Fi Audio Receiver is now able to support wireless, whole-home, multi-room and multi-user streaming thanks to its integration with the new Hi-Fly app for iOS and Android. With the new mobile app integration, the WFA400 provides total control over a whole home audio system right from the user's phone or tablet. And the new Dayton Audio Hi-Fly App turns any mobile device into a fully-featured remote control for all Dayton Audio Hi-Fly enabled devices.

Voice Personal Assistants are grabbing the AV industry’s attention for multiple applications. At CEDIA 2016, voice control is one of the hot topics, and Amazon’s Alexa Skills Kit (ASK) and the Alexa Voice Service (AVS) are allowing developers to build new capabilities for Alexa and integrate Alexa into their own products. Lutron announced Alexa integration with its control systems allowing users to adjust the lights, shades and temperature simply using voice commands.

Autonomic Control added Murfie integration, providing another source of High-Resolution Audio content for the Mirage Music Players with access to cloud-based storage, apart from the most popular streaming music services. Murfie stores and converts physical media such as CDs and LPs for lossless and high-resolution streaming.

This may be from my “word-to-the-wise” department, given the number of Sonos clone products that have proliferated in the market place, but Sonos has filed a lawsuit against D&M Holdings in the state of Delaware over Denon’s HEOS wireless home audio product line. Sonos says D&M Holdings infringes on at least four of its patents.