Sony S-Airplay iPod Dock

What’s 164 feet and sounds great? Why, the new iPod dock from Sony. Well, truth be told it’s actually quite small at merely a foot wide, and it’ll only sound great if you have great taste in music (and The Monkeys don’t count!). So what’s the skinny? Consider docking your iPod in the kitchen and having your tunes streamed throughout the entire house, wirelessly. And unless your humble abode is a humble manison, the S-Airplay iPod Dock is more than capable of accommodating whatever rooms you see fit.

The system utilizes satellite speakers (no, not the kind that were on MIR) that need to be plugged into a power outlet (which for some may limit placement). The system comes with two of these speakers, but it supports up to ten, which can be purchased separately. Each speaker itself is somewhat independent, in that it has a dedicated connection with the dock. This allows for what Sony calls “dual source, multi-zone capability,” which in layman’s terms means you can stream different content to each speaker. And since the dock offers AM/FM radio, one room can be blasting your iTunes library while the other is pumping out 8W of talk radio!

Speaking of wattage, that number seems rather low. The system is set to retail sometime in September so we’ll have to wait until then to get some hands on impressions.

And for your spec nuts out there:

Product Specifications
Amplifier

*
Convenience
o Timer : Sleep, Play
*
Power
o Output Power : 8W (RMS)
*
General
o Display : LCD (1Line/8 Digits) in White
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Inputs and Outputs
o Headphone Input(s) : 3.5mm

Transmitter

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General
o Capability : Tuner, iPod (sold separately)
o Mode(s) : Party, Multi-source
o Display : Display (1Line/8 Digits) in White
*
Inputs and Outputs
o Audio Line OUT : x1 (L/R) Analog
o Video OUT : x1 Composite

Tuner

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Audio
o Station Preset(s) : 10 (AM); 20 (FM)
o Tuner Frequency Range : 87.5 - 108.0 MHz (FM); 530 - 1710KHz/10KHz (AM)
o Tuner Type : AM, FM

Weights and Measurements

* Dimensions (Approx.) : Dock: 11.6 x 1.7 x 4.3 inches (295 x 43 x 110mm) ; Satellite: 11.8 x 5.3 x 4.5 inches (300 x 135 x 115mm)

* Weight (Approx.) : 1.5kg (included out trans)

Speaker

* Speaker System : 8W (4W x 2) RMS

Hardware

* Display : LCD (1Line/8 Digits) in White

* Remote Control : Wireless Remote

Power

* Power Consumption : 15W (Reciever); Below 1W (Receiver)

* Power Consumption (in Standby) : Below 0.5W (Transmitter)

* Power Requirements : 120V AC, 60Hz

Capability

* MP3 Player : Made for iPod1

* Radio : AM/FM

Inputs and Outputs

* Analog Audio Input(s) (Total) : 1

* Composite Video Output(s) : 1

Audio

* Tuning : AM, FM (need antenna)

Front Speaker

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Speaker
o Speaker Type : Full Range 6.5cm x2
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Audio
o Impedance : 3 ohms
o Sensitivity : 83 dB/w/m