home stereo: $16K headphones and other iPod necessities
Belkin booth
Most iPod owners are familiar with the name Belkin, as the company has released a steady stream of iPod accessories over the past several years. And although Belkin’s presence at HES was focused mainly on the company’s high-end PureAV audio/video accessory offerings, they took some time to show Playlist a number of upcoming—and potentially upcoming—products.
First up was the TuneStage nano, an iPod-nano-fitting version of the Plays of the Year-winning TuneStage. Like the original, the TuneStage nano uses a Bluetooth transmitter connected to your iPod to send the iPod’s music wirelessly to your home stereo or powered speakers, letting you use your iPod itself—with its famous Click Wheel and on-screen interface—as a “remote.” However, because the TuneStage nano connects to your iPod’s dock-connector port, it works with the nano (and, based on our observation of the design of the demonstration model, with the 5G iPod [with video]). In addition, with the TuneStage nano, Belkin officially supports pairing the TuneStage’s transmitter with A2DP-capable Bluetooth headsets, headphones, and auto head units. The TuneStage nano will retail at the same $180 price as the original and should be available in July. On a related note, Belkin told Playlist that a version of the TuneStage designed specifically for the iPod (with video) will be released in September; that model will be available in black or white and will feature new wireless technology and a new receiver design.
The company was also demonstrating the new TuneTalk Stereo, an accessory for the iPod (with video) that lets you record CD-quality audio. The dock-connector-port add-on provides two omnidirectional microphones for recording stereo audio, as well as a 1/8” (3.5mm) minijack input for using an external microphone. A switchable auto-gain feature can automatically set recording levels, and a USB-mini port on the TuneTalk lets you power/charge your iPod while recording. Also included with the TuneTalk is a plastic stand that lets you place your TuneTalk-equipped iPod upright and a spacer that lets you use the TuneTalk Stereo with many iPod cases. The TuneTalk Stereo will retail for $70 and should be available later this month.
Belkin’s TuneTalk Stereo
Belkin also showed us the upcoming TuneCommand AV, an audio/video docking cradle that lets you connect your iPod to your home stereo for playing music and to your TV or home theater system for showing video and photos; like other similar products, it also charges your iPod while docked. The RF-based, eight-function wireless remote, identical to the one used in Belkin’s standard TuneCommand, has an advertised range of 120 feet and works through walls. The $80 TuneCommand AV will be available later this month.
Finally, Belkin gave Playlist a sneak peek at one other interesting piece of potential gear: A tube-based stereo amplifier with built-in iPod dock. What we saw was clearly a prototype, with a rough metal enclosure and off-the-shelf switches and knobs, but it’s an interesting product nonetheless. Like Scandyna’s Dock, you slide your iPod in the dock cradle, connect a set of quality bookshelf speakers, and you’ve got an iPod stereo system. I call the product “potential” because Belkin hasn’t decided whether or not they’ll actually produce it.
Most iPod owners are familiar with the name Belkin, as the company has released a steady stream of iPod accessories over the past several years. And although Belkin’s presence at HES was focused mainly on the company’s high-end PureAV audio/video accessory offerings, they took some time to show Playlist a number of upcoming—and potentially upcoming—products.
First up was the TuneStage nano, an iPod-nano-fitting version of the Plays of the Year-winning TuneStage. Like the original, the TuneStage nano uses a Bluetooth transmitter connected to your iPod to send the iPod’s music wirelessly to your home stereo or powered speakers, letting you use your iPod itself—with its famous Click Wheel and on-screen interface—as a “remote.” However, because the TuneStage nano connects to your iPod’s dock-connector port, it works with the nano (and, based on our observation of the design of the demonstration model, with the 5G iPod [with video]). In addition, with the TuneStage nano, Belkin officially supports pairing the TuneStage’s transmitter with A2DP-capable Bluetooth headsets, headphones, and auto head units. The TuneStage nano will retail at the same $180 price as the original and should be available in July. On a related note, Belkin told Playlist that a version of the TuneStage designed specifically for the iPod (with video) will be released in September; that model will be available in black or white and will feature new wireless technology and a new receiver design.
The company was also demonstrating the new TuneTalk Stereo, an accessory for the iPod (with video) that lets you record CD-quality audio. The dock-connector-port add-on provides two omnidirectional microphones for recording stereo audio, as well as a 1/8” (3.5mm) minijack input for using an external microphone. A switchable auto-gain feature can automatically set recording levels, and a USB-mini port on the TuneTalk lets you power/charge your iPod while recording. Also included with the TuneTalk is a plastic stand that lets you place your TuneTalk-equipped iPod upright and a spacer that lets you use the TuneTalk Stereo with many iPod cases. The TuneTalk Stereo will retail for $70 and should be available later this month.
Belkin’s TuneTalk Stereo
Belkin also showed us the upcoming TuneCommand AV, an audio/video docking cradle that lets you connect your iPod to your home stereo for playing music and to your TV or home theater system for showing video and photos; like other similar products, it also charges your iPod while docked. The RF-based, eight-function wireless remote, identical to the one used in Belkin’s standard TuneCommand, has an advertised range of 120 feet and works through walls. The $80 TuneCommand AV will be available later this month.
Finally, Belkin gave Playlist a sneak peek at one other interesting piece of potential gear: A tube-based stereo amplifier with built-in iPod dock. What we saw was clearly a prototype, with a rough metal enclosure and off-the-shelf switches and knobs, but it’s an interesting product nonetheless. Like Scandyna’s Dock, you slide your iPod in the dock cradle, connect a set of quality bookshelf speakers, and you’ve got an iPod stereo system. I call the product “potential” because Belkin hasn’t decided whether or not they’ll actually produce it.
