Pure have just launched the Contour 200i Air Wireless Audio System, and last night at CES Unveiled I had a demo.
Pure – the world leading maker of wireless music and radio systems – presents Contour 200i Air, a powerful and stylish wireless audio system with Apple AirPlay* that allows the user to play their music wirelessly via a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch without the need to dock the device.
At an SRP of just £199.99, the Pure Contour 200i Air not only supports wireless streaming, but also includes a dock for iPad, iPhone and iPod for charging as well as music playback.
Says Colin Crawford, Pure’s director of marketing: “Some day we’ll wonder why we ever had to physically connect devices, and Apple AirPlay is leading that behavioural seachange. There is nothing to beat the convenience of sitting back in your armchair to control your music collection with your iPad or iPhone, while the music itself is played beautifully and powerfully by Contour 200i Air.”
Contour 200i Air connects simply to the user’s home network via Ethernet or WiFi, and produces 36W RMS of digital quality sound delivering an expansive, room-filling listening experience. The DSP corrected, high-efficiency audio amplifiers and custom designed 3.5 inch dual full-range speaker drive units ensure exceptional clarity and tonal richness.
Contour 200i Air is an ideal companion to the free Pure Lounge app which enables access to tens of thousands of internet radio stations, on demand content (podcasts and listen again programmes) and ambient sounds, as well as the ability to discover, explore and listen to millions of music tracks via the Pure Music subscription service**. All content from the Pure Lounge app including Pure Music, can be streamed wirelessly to Contour 200i Air.
‘Works with iPhone, iPod and iPad’ compliant, the Pure Contour 200i Air allows users to dock, charge and play their iPad, iPod or iPhone. When docked, music stored on the Apple device can be controlled using the supplied credit card style remote control. It is also possible to connect the Contour 200i Air to a home AV system using the digital audio ouput and there is an auxiliary input for connecting an MP3 player. A multi-coloured LED status indicator shows which source the Contour 200i Air is playing. Software updates are delivered seamlessly to Contour 200i Air over WiFi.
As well as being a key part of the expanding Contour dock family, Contour 200i Air is also part of the an EcoPlus programme, a statement of Pure’s ethical philosophy and ongoing commitment to looking after the environment. All Pure products are designed to minimise their environmental impact and manufactured in ethically approved and audited facilities. They have reduced power consumption in operation and standby, use recycled packaging materials, have the smallest possible packaging and components selected to minimise environmental impact.
Contour 200i Air is available from all good retailers. Please visit www.pure.com.
I saw this last night at CES Unveiled and I have to say I was pretty impressed. Expect a hands-on review in the coming weeks.
*AirPlay enables iTunes users to play their music library, hosted on a Mac, PC, iPad, iPhone or iPod touch on any AirPlay-enabled device such as the Pure Contour 200i Air. If the user has more than one AirPlay-enabled device, the user can control and run a multiroom music environment from a PC or Mac running iTunes.
**Pure Music is a subscription service, which is coming soon to the UK with an international roll out to follow during 2012; the Pure Lounge iPhone and Android App will support the service from the moment it goes live. People can register their interest at www.thelounge.com/puremusic
