In the market for a pair of high-end active speakers? Why not pick up a wireless streamer as well? Bang & Olufsen, a manufacturer of premium audio equipment, has announced its new Playmaker, a wireless audio receiver that streams wirelessly to any of the company’s own BeoLab active speakers.
Visually it’s quite discrete – the clean white design is simple and unassuming (it kind of looks like a bathroom fan–-shhh don’t tell them I said that), but this being Bang & Olufsen, there’s undoubtedly nothing minimalist about the sound. For nearly ninety years, Bang & Olufsen has earned a solid reputation for innovative design, high-quality materials, and great sound. And the Playmaker is no exception.
This clever little device handles AirPlay and DLNA, so it can stream from a wide range of smartphones and other media sources. Set up is easy, from the device itself or the accompanying app, and by adding more Playmakers, you can sync your tunes for multiroom audio or enable different users to stream to their own zone.
According to the news release, Bang & Olufsen is hoping that customers will throw in a Playmaker when buying a new set of BeoLab speakers (it can handle the full range, even the company’s most “demanding” speakers, the BeoLab 5). It’s a tempting offer, big multizone sound, ready to play anywhere, with no separate amp required.
So how much for all this convenience? Approximately $425 for the Playmaker (or you can bundle it with a pair of BeoLab 3 speakers for $4,310). Erm, maybe just the one room for starters…
The Bang & Olufsen PlayMaker will be available in North America by the end of July. For more information, visit the Playmaker product page at Bang & Olufsen.
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