Riva Audio Launches Wand Series of Portable, Multiroom Speakers

Riva Audio, which began selling its Wand (Wireless Audio Network Design) lifestyle audio products Tuesday, is “actively exploring” voice control for its next generation of products, Chief Engineer Don North told us on an embargoed news-media tour in New York last week. “We recognize the importance of what Amazon’s doing,” said North. “They’ve made such a wave in the market that you’d have to have your head in the sand to not see the opportunity," he said. Riva sees voice at work in music selection but also its role in home automation controlling lights, thermostats, alarms, locks -- and its role in e-commerce and intelligent search, said North. "It’s nice that we’ve developed a platform that can leverage all of those,” he said. Riva has Sonos in its crosshairs, selling a $249 Arena speaker shaped similarly to the Sonos Play:1 and the $499 Festival, with a larger form factor reminiscent of Sonos’ Play:5. Riva said differentiators are sound quality, Chromecast built-in for streaming services and multiroom capability up to 30 speakers, Google Home app setup and the ability to play music from apps directly. The Arena is portable, splashproof, operates over 2.4- or 5 GHz bands and has a charging output for smartphones, it said. A separate $99 add-on battery extends battery life by 20 hours, said North. The higher end Festival plays Hi-Res audio files up to 24-bit/192kHz.