A new day, a new iPod dock hits the market. But unlike the rest, this one has something new to offer. The PDX-60 introduces a new form of wireless audio transmission from Yamaha, yAired. I imagine for those consumers who are too lazy to walk all the way across the room to their stereo, just to change the song.
You set up the dock unit wherever you like, and attach a small transmitter to your iPhone or iPod, and voila! You’re connected to those speakers like it’s nobody’s business! The big selling point behind yAired is that it uses Linear PCM encoding. So unlike Bluetooth, it doesn’t compress the audio stream before flying it through the air. So you get to hear your compressed MP3s uncompressed. Yay.
The woofer is only rated to 60 Hz, so don’t expect a booming bass response. It supports all flavors of iPod (Phone, nano, classic, etc.). It’ll charge, playback, even let you control them with the included remote. My stereo system is centered around my computer, so listening from my iPod is something I only do on the subway. But if you really want one, you can pick it up at your local consumer electronics retailer in any of four fantastic colors for $299.95.
Augmented reality is all the new buzz, I guess. I don’t know, because I only have an iPhone 3G — mine’s missing that important “S” indicating it’s the new model on which augmented reality can actually execute. But at CEATEC today I saw some Sekai Camera examples in the real world. My experience wasn’t entirely positive: find out why.
In case you are an avid runner and don’t like to carry an iPod with you during your exercise, Yamaha Japan might have developed the right device for you. The so-called BODiBEAT (notice the small “i”) portable music player is specifically geared towards joggers.
It may sound bizarre at first but Yamaha’s portable rooms, dubbed myroomII [JP], do make sense. Yamaha says it’s the perfect product for all people wanting some alone time without having to move into apartments with more rooms.
In the product catalogue [JP, PDF], the company suggests watching movies, working on your PC, reading, studying, Karaoke, listening to music and playing instruments as the main examples for use. The room could be especially useful in Japan (where it’s available exclusively at this point), where apartment buildings with super-thin walls are not really rare.
Integra tends to put out very nice, abet pricey AV equipment, so the CE companies first Blu-ray players low price surprised the CEDIA out of me. According to one of their product minions, the DBS-6.9 is going to hit all Integra distribution channels for $599. Expect the normal Blu-ray tech of HDMI 1.3a output, bitstream compatibility, and unfortunately Profile 1.1. Sorry, no BD Live here, but it’s only 600 bones, unlike Yamaha’s $1,199 overpriced monster. Available shortly.
I don’t get it. A ‘new’ $1,199 Blu-ray player that doesn’t support the latest Blu-ray standard. The player leaked out a few weeks ago, so there really isn’t anything here but some gadget pr0n. It might look nice, but without BD Live, who in their right mind will buy it?
CEDIA is right around the corner, so AV heads can count on a slew of new high-def gear dropping and Yamaha isn’t disappointing. Word is that their latest Blu-ray player — the BD2900 — should drop in November, packed to the chassis full of goodies. 1080p/24fps-compatible HDMI, 12-bit Deep Colour, BONUSVIEW, and other standard fair for high-end equipment. In fact, there might not be anything that Yamaha left out of this $1,199 puppy. The unit might just become a reference player for some, but then again, CEDIA is sure to be full of other uber-high players. After all, the event does house $110K Runco projectors and 10-foot tall CAT speakers.
Yamaha collaborated with lighting company Koizumi to release the YST001 [JP], a set of speakers with built-in lighting. Koizumi developed 3 Halogen lights (with 25W power each), the brightness of which can be adjusted via a remote control.
The speakers are 47 inches high and come in black. They feature a frequency response of 70Hz-35,000Hz, an impedance of 6Ω and a maximum output of 120W.
The companies say they wanted to cross sound and light with the YST001 (”Koizumi-Yamaha Versus Project”). Placed next to a TV set, the light coming from the speakers is supposed to “soften” the TV picture during night time.
The light speaker set is already available in Japan and costs $1,240.
I’m kind of weaning myself off of music while I run. It lets me concentrate a bit more on, say, finishing a race in less than 6 hours. However, the Bodibeat by Yamaha might be just what the doctor ordered. It is a music player that senses your current heart rate and changes the music depending on your effort level. Strolling casually away from a murder scene? NIN. Running from creditors? Black Sabbath. Sleeping? Maybe whale song.
I doubt Yamaha will be able to sell this thing but it’s interesting to see them move into the music player market, however small a share of said market they currently own. Who knows? Maybe I’ll pick one up and, given my current state of health, rock out to “The Chicken Dance” while walking to to the fridge. It should be available in the next few months.
THX Loudness Plus, an audio technology to be built into various AV receivers, including Yamaha’s upcoming RX-Z11 (more on that later), should help those of you who have to watch TV and movies *extra quiet* for whatever reason: baby in the next room, having a fight with the wife… The technology boosts bass, surround and ambient sounds so that you don’t have to turn the volume up of your entire rig. In other words, you’ll get surround sound, but without having to violate local noise ordinances.
So yesterday we told you about that crazy wearable air guitar, right? Turns out the Aussies copied the Japanese (isn’t that always the case?) version of the same shit from the 1990s. Dubbed “Miburi” and released by Yamaha in the 1990s, this wearable instrument allows for 1980s-style outlandish and synthesized performance. Just check out the video of some chicks and dudes playing a virtual drum kit by moving their body around. Very hot stuff. Same concept, sort of different implementation.
The Yamaha YSP-1100 is a great looking system that features 40 individually-amped 1-inch drivers that simulate a surround sound experience. The unit supports Dolby and DTS formats for maximum versatility. It seems to offer all the goods without the the trouble of cables, speaker mounting or clutter in our living room.
Another great feature of the Yamaha YSP-1100 is its Night Listening Enhancer mode, which allows quiet sounds (especially dialogue) to be heard crystal clear without the volume. And just in case you were wondering if this thing can project surround sound anywhere int the room, check this out:
There are five selectable sound settings that allow users to choose between 5-Beam Mode, Stereo Mode, 3-Beam Mode, Stereo+3-Beam Mode and My Beam Mode. The YSP-1100 has a wider soundstage than its predecessors, affording more optimum listening positions within a room. My Beam mode allows users to focus sound to a specific position in their room at the touch of a button to avoid disturbing others.
The Yamaha YSP-1100 is a sexy and load, but kinda pricey–she’ll be on the shelves for $1700. I guess it’s not too bad if you think of what the product features.
A new day, a new iPod dock hits the market. But unlike the rest, this one has something new to offer. The PDX-60 introduces a new form of wireless audio transmission from Yamaha, yAired. I imagine for those consumers who are too lazy to walk all the way across the room to their stereo, just to change the song.
 you’re doing you and your loved ones a serious disservice by using them.
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To help you out, ‘cause that’s how we do, we put together this run down of eight of our favorite home-theater-in-a-box systems (HTIB, pronounced “HTIB”). Are they as good as buying individual components to handle your media needs? No, probably not. True audiophiles and film freaks will probably want to go with individual specialized components, especially if you’re trying to fill a large room with mind-blowing, bone-rattling sound. Will they pump out satisfying surround sound for the average music-and-movie enthusiast? Absolutely.</p>
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