Eve Systems today announced the upcoming launch of the Eve Play, an audio streaming interface created for AirPlay 2. Eve Play adds AirPlay streaming capabilities to existing amplifiers, active speakers, and sound bars, allowing them to be synchronized with other AirPlay speakers for whole-house audio.
The Eve Play includes RCA connectors, optical digital outputs, and coaxial digital outputs, along with an Ethernet port and the option to connect to either 2.4 or 5GHz WiFi. According to Eve, the digital-to-analog converter has a signal-to-noise ratio of 112 dB for an "audiophile sound experience."
When used with the Apple Home app and Apple Music, the Eve Play can be integrated into automations similar to other AirPlay-equipped devices.
Alongside the Eve Play, Eve today introduced the Eve Thermo Control, a wireless temperature sensor and controller for rooms that are equipped with the Eve Thermo smart radiator valve. The Eve Thermo radiator valve is sold in Europe, so the new temperature sensor is also designed for the European market.
The Eve Thermo Control senses the ambient temperature and relays it to the smart radiator valve for more accurate climate control.
In November, Eve plans to release a Matter update for Eve MotionBlinds roller blind motors and the Eve MotionBlinds Upgrade Kit, adding Adaptive Shading as a free upgrade feature. Adaptive Shading allows the blinds to open and close automatically based on location, date, and time.
Eve Play is priced at $150 and it will be available starting on November 14. The Eve Thermo Control is priced at €79.95 and will also be available on the same day. More information is available on the Eve website.
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https://wiimhome.com/wiimmini/overview
Wiim Pro also (for more features)
AirPlay 2 actually supports lossless audio encoded as either PCM or ALAC. Apple Music will send ALAC to AirPlay 2 receivers when playing back an ALAC rip from a CD, but only sends 256kbps AAC when playing from the Apple Music streaming service.
The lack of HiRes audio with Apple Music is fairly unimportant because the people who are sure they can hear a difference vs CD-quality audio, or even 256kbps AAC, are most likely wrong and would fail to distinguish them in a double-blind test.