Russound and sister brand Colorado vNet will go to the CEDIA Expo with multiple new products ranging from an improved vNet wireless-RF lighting-control system to a new Russound desktop/in-wall touchpanel.
Russound also plans to show its first stereo Bluetooth adapters for its A-BUS and C series multi-room-audio systems and an A-BUS sub-zone controller for its C-series multi-room-audio controllers.
Other vNet products will include the brand’s previously announced MS1-1 six-zone music streamer, whose ship date has been pushed back to September from July, and the three-zone AS3-800/3 music server, which began shipping last month.
In a distribution announcement, Russound said it has begun selling select passive products, including custom-installed speakers, speaker selectors and volume controls through the Magnolia Home Theater section of Best Buy’s online store. Russound has also been selling the products through Crutchfield’s online store and through a third-party store on Amazon.com.
In a pricing announcement, Russound said it made permanent a limited-time promotional price of almost half-off the dealer cost of its Collage powerline-based multi-room-audio system, designed for retrofit installs. The price cut is designed to stimulate interest by installers who are reluctant installers to try a new technology, said Russound CEO Charlie Porritt. Amplified keypads originally were priced at suggested a $849, and the Collage Media Manager originally cost a suggested $549.
In product developments, Russound plans August shipments of its new TS3 two-gang in-wall 3.5-inch touchscreen at $850, or $100 less than its predecessor. Despite the lower price, it adds faster processor and Chinese language support. The TS3 uses hard and soft buttons to control any of Russound’s latest products, including C series multi-room-audio controllers and the new DMS-3.1 Media Streamer, Advanced features include one-touch access to favorite CDs, movie discs and iPod play lists. It can be mounted in an optional tabletop mounting kit.
Details of Russound’s first stereo Bluetooth modules weren’t available, but two models will be available around November, one to stream music from a stereo Bluetooth source to an A-BUS multi-room-audio system and a second to stream music to a C-series multi-room-audio controller.
Also around November, Russound will ship an A-BUS sub-zone controller to add subzone capability to C series controllers, which feature integrated AM/FM tuner and multiple amplifier channels. Pricing wasn’t available.
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