LG is planning on showing their Wireless Multiroom-Audio System at September’s IFA show in Berlin. Called the LG Music Flow System it will include a 70-watt H7 Speaker, 40-watt H5 speaker and their R1 network bridge that connects to a home router to synchronize music among multiple speakers in different rooms. They will add a 30-watt H3 speaker and soundbar soon after.
The products incorporate mesh network technology and dual-band Wi-Fi. Although the company promoted it as the first system of its type to offer high-resolution 24 bit/192kHz playback, a wireless multiroom-audio system from Lenbrook Industries' Bluesound brand also offers such a capability.
These products are slated to enter the US market late Q2 or early Q3. The system used iOS and Android mobile devices that need to be equipped with an LG App that makes them a system controller to stream music from the mobile devices or PC’s to the speakers. The app also accesses Internet radio stations, recommends songs and playlists, and functions as a smartphone music player when the user is on the go.
A song can be directed to all the speakers simultaneously, or different songs to different speakers at the same time. If you have two speakers in the same room you can join them for stereo playback. There are many more features available in the app to give you more versatility.
This seems to this year’s hot new product area so keep looking at other companies coming out with similar products. Sonos has been the leader for years but Samsung (probably Sono’s closest product rival), Panasonic, BlueSound, Voco and Pure Audio to name a few. While Sonos has had this area all to itself for years we may be seeing some products that will give them a run for their money just like LG.
Thursday, August 14, 2014 at 3:47PM 
