Sony Launches Pair of Car AV Receivers With LDAC, FLAC Playback

Sony launched two car AV receivers with wireless smartphone conversion, allowing drivers to use voice control for navigation or playing music from a smartphone. Voice control works via Wi-Fi connection from the user’s smartphone to the supplied GPS antenna, the company said Friday. The receivers are Apple CarPlay and Android Auto-compatible. The vehicle’s onboard computer connects with car audio via iDatalink Maestro4, enabling the Sony receiver to be the customized display for the car's factory-equipped functions and features, including vehicle information, air conditioning and performance and safety features, Sony said. The XAV-AX6000 ($699, September) has a 6.95-inch bezel-less flush surface display with capacitive touch screen; the XAV-AX4000 ($499, August) has a 6.95-inch anti-glare touch screen. Sony’s LDAC decoding can stream audio at 24-bit/96 kHz over Bluetooth from compatible devices; FLAC files are playable at up to 24-bit/384 kHz, it said.