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2013 Product of the Year Entrant

Monitor Audio Airstream WS100 Wireless Speakers

MSRP: $399

Monitor Audio’s Airstream WS100 Wireless Audio System comprises a pair of stylish cube speakers with amps and wireless receiver on-board. The matching, compact monitors, just 5" in dimension, are precision engineered to deliver a wire-free connection to any computer - desktop or laptop, Mac or PC, which is performed via the super-smart USB dongle transmitter supplied. Plug it in and the device configures automatically: Within seconds you’re ready to send clean, accurate, CD-quality music to the WS100 speakers.

The WS100 monitors employ custom-designed tweeters and mid-bass drivers based on the C-CAM transducers used by Monitor Audio’s flagship hi-fi speakers. C-CAM is our proprietary driver material, derived from the aerospace industry. It’s extremely light, but also very rigid, and so is able to reproduce best-in-class highs and dynamic lows accurately and effortlessly.

A further crucial element in the WS100 chemistry is Monitor Audio’s use of SKAA® wireless transmission. Integrated with each DAC is a specialised wireless receiver, employing a very high quality digital audio protocol to transport audio from source to destination without compression. Operating in the 2.4GHz band, it protects the lossless signal from other networks with a patented Walking Frequency Diversity® (WFD) technology, which uses sophisticated and seamless channel-hopping to eliminate clicks, pops and dropouts.

Each WS100 speaker cube has a rigid die-cast metal shell and weighs a hefty 1.7 kg! Not only does this feel reassuringly luxurious, it adds no cabinet resonance to the sound. The matching contoured cubes are finished with scratch-resistant polished glass top panels to retain their classy lustre in any environment. And for the final design touch, a unique magnetic pivot system allows each speaker to be tilted backwards, ensuring great sound from shelf or table at any range.

Learn more about Airstream WS100 Wireless Speakers.

Features

The WS100 speakers are built for listeners not network engineers. Built for peerless ease of use, the WS100 operates with plug and play simplicity. Power up the speakers with a single mains connection and plug the SKAA transmitter dongle in the nearest USB. When in range of the transmitter (up to 10 metres) as many as four WS100 systems will receive the same source. Further dongles will send pristine lossless audio from up to four sources to the same WS100 system.

Included with the WS100 audio system is the stylish WS100 remote, which is shaped to fit snugly in hand, will control power, play/pause, track up/down volume and input selection: the 3.5mm mini-jack input on the back of the WS100 will accept a wired connection from Apple iPhone™, iPod™, iPad™ and other sound sources. System volume may also be controlled from a touch panel on the side of the WS100.

Benefits

If you're one of the millions who store and play music from a desktop or laptop, Monitor Audio has designed the WS100 wireless audio system with you in mind. The compact monitors, just 5" in dimension, are precision engineered to deliver clean wideband lossless audio from any computer in seconds. Simply position the speakers, plug-in the USB transmitter and play CD quality sound wire-free.

The WS100 monitor employs custom-designed C-CAM drivers, based on the transducers used by Monitor Audio's flagship hi-fi speakers. They're driven directly by DSP (Digital Signal Processor) optimised signals from individual cool-running hi-fi amplifiers, so all the music gets through and goes loud! What's more, Monitor Audio's use of the excellent and robust SKAA® wireless transmission system ensures that no clicks, pops or dropouts will disturb your enjoyment of the WS100 system in action.

Each active speaker has been optimised to deliver the best audio experience possible from such a space-efficient system. Excellent acoustic design is dovetailed with advanced wireless architecture to maintain a clear signal path from source to speaker, free of the distortion that limits the enjoyment of music.


Company Info

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Monitor Audio Ltd is a British owned and managed global specialist in hi-fi loudspeaker design, incorporating stereo and surround sound systems and a range of sonically matched architectural speakers for ultra discreet high quality sound around the home and outside.

Whatever your taste and budget you’ll discover a Monitor Audio speaker that answers your desire for great sound. Since hi-fi was in its infancy we’ve dedicated all our technical expertise, innovation and craftsmanship to the creation of world-class loudspeakers, which communicate the essence of our brand and reward the people who buy them. We want you to share and enjoy the blend of style, quality, performance and sophistication that makes Monitor Audio unique.

Our success is not simply a matter of excellent sound quality, although expert listeners around the world will testify to that. It’s more about how we deliver the sonic superlatives. By consistently refining and applying our technologies, Monitor Audio has become the world’s foremost expert in developing metal dome drivers. Metal is not the easiest material to shape, which is why many of our competitors choose paper or plastic. But it does have amazing properties for more life-like sound reproduction when treated correctly.

The Ceramic-Coated Aluminium Magnesium (C-CAM®) metal alloy driver cones used throughout our comprehensive range are very light, but very rigid and strong. Such a magical mix of properties allows them to reproduce the most delicate musical atmospherics as well as the dynamic bass excursions of movie action scenes or an explosive kick drum barrage. Our proprietary C-CAM® drivers can be much smaller than conventional designs and yet operate way beyond the limits of human audibility without distortion. This means that we can design slimmer more elegant cabinets around them, so you enjoy class-leading audio performance from speakers that better suit your décor and lifestyle. And since they all share a consistency of tonal accuracy our on-wall, in-wall, floor or stand-mounting speakers may be mixed for the perfect aesthetic and sonic result in any environment. In the strength and depth of our ever-evolving product portfolio, Monitor Audio continues to demonstrate the power of a high quality, high performance loudspeaker brand that serves every application, taste and budget - and every possible desire.


Monitor Audio
902 McKay Rd
Pickering, Ontario
L1W 3X8
Canada
Tel: 905 428 2800
monitoraudiousa.com

Monitor Audio Products

Airstream WS100 Wireless Speakers

With Monitor Audio’s Airstream WS100 wireless speakers, you needn’t work too hard for great sound. Position the speakers, plug-in the USB transmitter and play CD-quality sound wire-free. It’s that simple!

Shadow series

Monitor Audio’s Shadow series is a stylish, no-compromise performance on-wall solution. It’s specifically designed to complement the profile of flat TV displays and for super-discreet installation around the home.