AshK
“THE FUTURE IS wireless” is something that’s been said over and over on this site in recent months. Being typical hi-fi blokes in addition to writers, the future of audio is something the Witchdoctor team actually discusses on a semi-regular basis (and that’s nowhere near as sad as it sounds).
Just a couple of days ago, I was eating lunch with Gary Steel, and as is often the case, I was rambling on about wireless speakers. You know the ones I mean – proper hi-fi speakers that are fully powered or active, needing nothing but a power cord because they’ve got some kind of Wi-Fi connectivity built in, so they talk to smartphones, tablets and computers without needing a whole rack full of stereo components.
I was wondering who was in a better position to embrace this potential wireless future – the speaker manufacturers or companies who built amps and sources. Obviously a company that does both is in the driving seat, but I looked at two NZ-based companies – Perreaux Audio and Theophany Loudspeakers. I thought that Theophany would be better placed – after all, if you build subwoofers, you’re already in the powered speaker business. Moving from there to active wireless speakers isn’t as big a leap as moving from making power amplifiers all the way into the speaker manufacturing game.
Just a couple of hours later, my iPhone beeped to let me know that I’d received yet another email, and with four mailboxes being directed to the phone, this happens all the time. However, this particular email proved to be very interesting, especially in light of our lunchtime chat. This email was from the aforementioned Perreaux Audio and it had a sneak peak at the company’s new Audiant loudspeakers. What are the odds of that?
Now, I have no real reason to believe that the new passive speakers are part of Perreaux’s master plan to move into the wireless world, but the company would certainly be ready to go there when and if it becomes necessary. Dynaudio is there already, as is AudioPro – it’s only a matter of time before anyone who wants to sell stereo playback gear to mainstream consumers needs to have a wireless option.
As for the latest NZ speaker brand, there’s zero information available beyond these images, but rest assured that we’ll be trying to get a review set as soon as possible. ASHLEY KRAMER
