Audio Suppliers Expanding Bluetooth Audio Lineups With Lighting, Water-Resistant Designs

Bluetooth audio will be a hot item at CES 2015, launching in a variety of configurations. Lifestyle audio company ION Audio will bow a Bluetooth turntable, Air LP, that uses analog-to-digital conversion via USB to turn cuts into digital files on a PC or Mac, the company said. The turntable supports 33-1/3, 45 and 78 rpm vinyl recordings. Price of the turntable is $149, or $179 when paired with Bluetooth speakers, the company said, with availability Q1. The Road King 200-watt stereo speaker system ($399, Q1), with rechargeable battery, has a rugged design, making it well-suited for outdoor parties and tailgating, ION said. The Road King streams music from any Bluetooth device and includes an AM/FM radio. ION will also show at CES its combination Bluetooth speakers and lighting systems, including Block Party Live ($249) and Flash Cube ($129), it said. Nyne, from parent company Boss, will unveil at CES three water-resistant Bluetooth 4.0 speakers. The Edge ($159) and Verge ($119) are designed for use on bikes and come with a handlebar mount and built-in LED lamp with strobe safety settings for use in low light. The Rock, designed for outdoor parties, has a 50-watt power rating, two tweeters and a woofer, near-field communications, a microphone and a rechargeable battery with a 12-hour operating rating. Altec Lansing also is introducing at CES Bluetooth speakers for parties. The Sphere 360 blasts omnidirectional sound along with LED light shows, the company said. Altec Lansing also will take the wraps off the Immerse Bluetooth earphones, which it said are submersible, antimicrobial earphones for hands-free use with a smartphone. The company also will bow the Altec BoomJacket, an all-weather Bluetooth speaker said to run for 40 hours on a charge.