Once in the marine audio business, Roswell Global is trying it’s hat in the multi-room wireless audio sector with it’s new Airhome Wi-Fi Home Audio systems. Roswell’s start up company, Zenovia Electronics, is giving Sonos a run for its money, combining Airhome’s good looking components connect via Wi-Fi or Apple AirPlay.
Airhome- How it Works
Airhome is an audio system that integrates into a house’s architectural speakers and lets you control your music via WiFi. The system is compatible with any in-wall or in-ceiling speakers, so customers can purchase speakers through Airhome or use their own. The largest component, the Airhome panel, mounts to the wall and can be placed in a utility room, much ike the Sonos panel. An electrician can run the speaker wiring throughout the home and to the Airhome panel. Following that, you simply close the metallic door and the wires are out of your way.
The home’s in-room speakers are wired to the special Airhome amps. Each amp controls the speakers for one room. One amp style allows you to listen to music in stereo; the other allows you to listen in surround sound. Each panel can support up to five amps: four stereo amps and one surround-sound amp. If you need more than five rooms with music, you simply add an additional panel and amps. The amps are powered by the panel and must be configured with the WiFi using the Airhome app, which is available on iOS devices. For Android users, there’s a web-based solution to configure the amps.
You can control music with your iOS device, and the Airhome app is not required to play music. Rather, Airhome works with apps compatible with AirPlay, such as Pandora, Apple Music and Spotify. While there aren’t as many apps available for Android, you can still play music from iTunes from a PC or Mac.
The Airhome system consists of the $799 AirHome 5 wired hub and speakers. The speakers are driven by up to five $499-each AMP40 stereo amplifier modules into front-panel slots of the hub. These amps are rated at 2 x 20 watts into 8 ohms. An $899 AMP 5.1S five-channel module delivers surround sound to a room if the room is equipped with Apple TV. That amp is rated at 3 x20 watts plus 2 x 7.5 watts into 8 ohms. You can play a song in up to five rooms simultaneously from an iTunes-equipped computer using an Apple device as a remote control.
Because each amp module incorporates AirPlay, up to five different Apple mobile devices can be connected wirelessly to the hub, enabling each device to send music simultaneously to a different room from the devices’ music apps or libraries.
Airhome Design
The Airhome system has a very clean, crisp and minimalist design, thanks to its ability to hide cables and speaker wires, which immediately transforms your home into a concert hall.
Zenovia CTO and founder Logan Jacobs says, “You don’t want a house full of boomboxes – and you also don’t want a closet full of complex components.” With the Airhome, component racks are reduced an out-of-site unit that drives the whole house audio. “AIRHOME enhances and amplifies your life soundtrack very intimately within the walls of your home, never intruding, always responding when you simply press play,” Says Jacobs. No remotes. No additional ‘middleman’ software.
There’s no doubt that home technology and home automation is huge, and millennials make up a huge user section of this market. This is evidence that Airhome should make an impactful dent in this growing business sector.
Performance and Bottom Line
We’ve found few wireless home audio systems that have sounded as superior as the Airhome. The performance is fantastic, with a frequency response that is studio quality. Bass is booming, and mid and high frequencies are crisp and rich. Of course the sound is dependent on the type of speakers you have, but the Airhome really accentuates the sound with it’s premium amps. And while installation of your speakers probably needs to be handled by a professional, the plug-and-play Airhome integrates easily in most any existing system, and is a breeze to install.
Airhome pricing may appear a bit salty, but when you compare systems like Bose and Sonos, the Airhome is a better design, much easier to integrate, and most importantly, rids your house of those unsightly wires. You can purchase the Airhome system here.
