Not keen to let the other big names have all the fun in the multi-room audio world, Sony is getting in on the action, announcing a range of speakers and even an amp or two that let people equip their home with a way of keeping music synchronised from room to room.
The new devices don’t just provide a way to get music across your home, but also include support for some of that high resolution audio Sony loves, already available in some of its media players and phones.
“Imagine stepping into your home and being greeted by your favourite music being streamed seamlessly throughout every room,” said Abel Makhraz, Head of Video for Sound and Tablet at Sony Australia.
“With a touch of a button, you can access a world of music options and control all the connected speakers within in your home.”
The products start with soundbars, with the NT3, a soundbar and subwoofer solution offering support for 4K content, useful if you have a UHD TV, with Google Cast and Spotify Connect letting you listen to music over the air. Multi-room is supported here, too, with 2.1 audio possible from this model.
Meanwhile, if you don’t want a soundbar and would prefer a plate to set your TV onto, Sony is taking care of that with the XT3, a smaller sound-plate with two 11cm subwoofers and support for high-resolution audio.
Sony’s NT3 soundbar will be available from May for $899, alongside the XT3 sound-plate for $799.
Next up are the wireless speakers, and these support the same Google Cast and Spotify connectivity, and multi-room handled through Sony’s “SongPal” app, which is used for all the other multi-room devices, too.
There are three wireless speakers delivering different amounts of power and different speakers, starting with the X77, a 2.1 portable speaker with 10 hours of battery life and a way of connecting to a Sony multi-room network.
The X88 is a little bigger again, losing the portability but including five speakers inbuilt, and pushing out 90 watts, while another larger model, the X99 stacks in 154 watts, seven speakers, and allows you to listen to high-resolution audio up to 24-bit and 192kHz.
These will hit stores in Australia in June, with the portable X77 coming in at $449, and the less portable X88 and X99 fetching recommended retail prices of $599 and $899 respectively.
But if you already have great speakers and you just want them to be a part of a multi-room setup, Sony has two new amplifiers on the way, delivering 7.2 channels of audio and multi-room support, alongside WiFi, Bluetooth, AirPlay, Google Cast, Spotify Connect, and high-res audio playback.
Two amps will take care of this, with the STR-DN860 and its larger brother, the STR-DN1060, on the way, the two separated mostly by the amount of power they deliver, with 1050W on the 860, and 1155W on the larger one.
Pricing on these is a little more substantial — they’re amps, after all — and you’ll find them available in May starting at $1099 for the STR-DN860 and $1299 for the STR-DN1060.
