CES 2012: Griffin Twenty Provides AirPlay To Your Existing Non-AirPlay Speakers
Griffin Technology is definitely a known brand in the world of technology, and they have debuted with something spectacular at CES this year – the Twenty Audio Amplifier. This is great news for anyone that loves listening to audio, but does not have an AirPlay enabled speaker system yet.
The Twenty is an audio amplifier that will use an AirPort Express in order to catch an AirPlay stream, decode it, and then send amplified and lossless sound through the speakers. It has a zero-configuration setup, and will be ready to stream Apple Lossless sound from iTunes or any other AirPlay enabled app (such as Pandora, Spotify, last.fm, etc.) to the user’s speakers via a low-profile digital amplifier.
“The Griffin Twenty is the easiest, best-sounding solution for consumers who have speakers that are not AirPlay-enabled but still want to stream high-fidelity audio wirelessly,” said Mark Rowan, President of Griffin Technology. “Not only can users stream from their iTunes library, they can easily connect with any AirPlay-enabled iOS device.”
Each Twenty unit will come equipped with a power connect and a mount for an AirPort Express. It features a 2.1 channel sound system with 20 watts output per channel, and will also support a powered sub woofer with an automatic active crossover at 80 Hz.
Amplifier specs:
• Class D Stereo Amplifier -‐ TI PurePathTM
• Input: S/PDIF optical, TOSLINK connector (included)
• Outputs: Spring-‐loaded right & left channel connectors; RCA subwoofer connector
• Sensitivity: 0.34 dBFS for 20 watts (Volume control set to max.) Speaker Output
• Power: 20 watts per channel into 8 ohms @0.08% THD, both channels driven
• Frequency Response: 20 Hz -‐ 20kHz, +0, -‐0.34 dB
• Signal-‐to-‐Noise ratio: 95 dB
• Crosstalk: -‐71 dB Subwoofer Output
• Left + Right sub-‐bass audio
• Autoswitching when powered subwoofer is detected
• Power: Line-‐level output (2V rms at 0 dBFS input)
• High-‐Pass Filter: 80 Hz 2nd order Linkwitz-‐Riley applied to L+R channels
• Low-‐Pass Filter: 80 Hz 2nd order Linkwitz-‐Riley applied to subwoofer output AC Power
• 100 -‐ 240 VAC @ 50/60 Hz supplies both amp and power connection for AirPort Express.
No price has been announced yet, but you can learn more at the Twenty product page on Griffin’s site, watch a video of the Twenty in action, and also sign up to be notified of when it goes on sale.
This will definitely be useful for those that do not have AirPlay enabled speakers in their home. Will you be checking out the Twenty? Let us know what you think in the comments!
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