Friday 30 July 2010 | Personalise | Help

SoundCast OutCast

By AVR

US-based wireless specialists Soundcast has launched a new fleet of products for spreading the audio love around your house - and even into the garden.

The basic Soundcast system (£120) is a sleek-looking transmitter connected to your sound source (hi-fi or PC) via the headphone socket, and an equally good-looking receiver which can be connected to a hi-fi or powered speakers. For an extra £50 you can get the iCast version which includes an iPod dock in the transmitter, as well as a standard line-in for other MP3 players or stereos.

The system uses FHSS frequency-hopping in the 2.4-2.85GHz band, similar to Bluetooth technology, but claims a distance of up to 45m indoors and up to 100m outdoors. SoundCast says the system gets around the problem of distortion or buzzes caused by other RF devices such as mobile phones, Wi-Fi connections or interfering devices like microwave ovens.

One step further up is the SpeakerCast (£300), which replaces the receiver with a compact stereo system featuring a 50-watt amp, a brace of 3in speakers and a remote. But the big boy in the family is the OutCast (£500), designed for the garden, or indeed the street. It stands about 3ft high with an 8in downward firing woofer and four 3in midrange speakers pumping out 100 watts of power at 360 degrees. It has rubberised buttons mounted on top for controlling the source and Soundcast claim it will provide noisy waterproof fun for up to ten hours. The basic system can be used in up to four different rooms, by the way, though the iCast, SpeakerCast and OutCast versions can only be streamed to two destinations from a single source.

When AVR were treated to a demo at the launch we found the SpeakerCast sounded distinctly tinny, though it may have been a bit overawed by the large room - it would probably be able to give a better account of itself in a kitchen or bedroom, which is where it's most likely to be used. The OutCast however sounded great even 30m or so from the iCast source, though it was a bit bass-heavy indoors.

SoundCast (transmitter and receiver) £120
iCast (iPod dock transmitter and receiver) £170
SpeakerCast (iCast plus speaker system) £300
OutCast (iCast plus garden speaker) £500

All products are due in UK shops by the end of November.