While there seems to be an unending stream of wireless speakers designed primarily to stream audio from iOS or Android mobile devices using AirPlay or Bluetooth, Oregon-based Aperion Audio is showing Windows-using music fans some love with the ARIS wireless speaker. The unit is designed to work with Windows 7’s “Play To” feature that makes it easy to stream content from a PC over a home network.
Instead of Bluetooth or AirPlay, the ARIS uses the DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) protocol, which is supported on many new HDTVs and Blu-ray players, but up until now hasn’t really been embraced in the wireless speaker space. After connecting the ARIS to a home network via Ethernet or Wi-Fi, the unit will show up as a device on a networked PC running Windows 7 or Windows 8 Consumer Preview.
Mobile devices can also connect to the device using a DLNA app, but Aperion plans to release its own ARIS Music Apps for iOS, Android and Windows 8 mobile devices in the future. But if you’ve got a device that can’t connect wirelessly, the ARIS also has a 3.5 mm auxiliary audio input jack for connecting any device with a headphone or line-out jack.
The unit’s six internal drivers (2x 4-inch woven fiberglass drivers and 2x passive radiators for the midrange and 2x 1-inch Neodymium, soft-dome silk tweeters) and four 25 W Class D amplifiers with DSP, combine to pump out a total of 100 W RMS power with a frequency response of 65 Hz to 20 kHz (+/- 3 dB).
Featuring a single-piece brushed aluminum enclosure, the ARIS measures 6.5 in (16.5 cm) high, 6.5 in deep, and 14.75 in (37.5 cm) wide, and weighs in at 11.3 lbs (5.1 kg). It’s Windows compatibility comes courtesy of the included ARIS Wireless Card for Windows, but this can be swapped out to help ensure compatibility with a change in networking protocols in the future.
The ARIS wireless speaker for Windows is priced at US$499 and is due to ship mid-June 2012. Pre-orders are currently being taken on the company website.
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