Monitor Audio at CE Week bowed a trio of...

Monitor Audio at CE Week bowed a trio of AirPlay-enabled products: a tabletop amplifier/speaker system, a streaming amplifier and a soundbar for TVs 40 inches and larger. The bi-amplified speakers in the 150-watt S300 tabletop system are “a cut above” mainstream AirPlay products on the market due in part to an equalization circuit that’s designed to compensate for boundary effects and room acoustics, Jay O'Brian, sales director, told Consumer Electronics Daily. When the unit is turned on for the first time after plug-in, the processor automatically sends out a test tone and then measures the results captured by a built-in microphone to determine the frequency response of the room. The processor compares the room response against an ideal sound curve and adjusts the balance of the system to match, O'Brian said. For customers happy with their own speakers, Monitor will ship in late September the $500 AirStream 100, a 50-watt-per-channel, multi-zone streaming Class A/B amplifier with a high-resolution digital-to-analog converter, a USB input for charging devices and a subwoofer output. In addition, Monitor’s $1,600 ASB-2 is the company’s first active soundbar, O'Brian said. It decodes a Dolby Digital or DTS soundtrack through a proprietary processor, he said. Monitor bills the sub as a “party box” that allows friends to connect their mobile devices wirelessly directly via AirPlay. The sub plays files up to 24-bit/96 kHz resolution, and has three HDMI inputs and an HDMI output with Audio Return Channel, according to literature. The 160-watt system is powered by five Class D amplifiers, it said. The ASB-2 will be in stores this fall, O'Brian said.