The vanishing stereo rack

i don't think this will happen. stereo will be around for a long time!!

Dynaudio used the Munich High End Audio Show 2022 to show their three new wireless powered speakers of the "Focus" line, 

I didn't realize wireless power was a real thing???  There are no power cords shown in the picture!

There are no power cords shown in the picture!

Yeah there are — just can’t see them cause they used Cardas “Clear.”

i don't think this will happen. stereo will be around for a long time!!

Stereo systems will be around a long time but powered speakers with a streamer or bluetooth will take over the market. Most people just want to listen to music from their phone, any half decent system will work the majority. 

@danager  Stereo will be, but the wireless Dynaudio speakers make it unnecessary to keep a rack of stereo gear in your listening room.  Just the speakers.

New Kef LS60 is another where all you need is the speakers.

you would think the stereo would be completely irrelevant.  The DAC/ Streamer left and right channels should be built into the speaker and you you would connect to them using WiFi / DLNA and you could stream to them from your phone.

Think they have built in linear power supplies?

Ah the dream of all-in-one.

Far better off with separate components so the weakest link is easily replaced.

If that picture is the future, count me OUT.

What a HORRIBLE looking room to have any experience in. 

I'm sure these speakers have a built-in blender and vacuum cleaner

@pedroeb I was talking to a friend about this the other day. Building everything in one box might actually give you better sound for the money and a lot of people that are not audiophiles will prefer to have as few boxes as possible. 

You are totally correct that a system with separate parts is easier to improve one step at a time and might also be adjusted to taste much more easily. 

I think there will be more active speakers in the future but separates will still exist. 

One of the best active speakers I've heard was the Cabasse La Pearl Pelegrina. 

One box solution never really worked for audiophiles, let's see the new generation, though i think we have a way to go. 

I believe that main issue is how to vanish the speakers and if industry figures it out then the big guns will have a way to push it in volume.

Amazing - you can’t even see the slot where the records go in. 

If this catches on, we will save an awful lot of $$$$ on smart, even exotic, case design.  That will enable better SQ for money, which can only be a good thing.

But I don't think I'm alone in saying that I get a kick from seeing all that expensive case-work while I'm listening...

If that picture is the future, count me OUT.

Well that space does look like it would need some room correction.

Hey, i have a Sony boombox with built in cassette and CD and a bass boost button.  What more would you want?

Dirac is said to bring a multitude of improvements to the sound, including a larger sweet spot, more precise staging as well as deeper and tighter bass, among other things.

Where have I heard that before?

I have not heard Dirac specifically, but given how often problems arise in the bass this can be a very good thing.

When they can drag this stuff from my cold dead hands.  🤣

I don't think the primary base these companies are looking at hang out here. These types of speakers are already the top selling. Sonos, air pods etc.. 

I’m sure the Dynaudio Focus speakers will never be same quality as a well thought out system, but having said that, I would be interested in seeing them in action on a HT system.

I have all my components hidden away in an entrainment cabinet.  We have a beautiful living room and we don’t want to goober it up.  The systems I have seen are ugly.  My wife would kick me out our house.

Since adding a BlueSound Node 2i I no longer play CD’s.  I hope to hear some more expensive streamers to see if you can hear a difference.  That’s next on my list.

I am very enthusiastic about the concept. Might not be what you put in a dedicated listening room, but for family shared space, you might get more sound quality out of these than any other option acceptable to the family. Lots of potential here.

I'd love to hear full range powered speakers like these.  Imagine the WAF that would go with not having a stack of audio gear.  My entertainment cabinet could be replaced by a loveseat of something else.

A lot of the joy in the journey would be lost not being able to make changes with various components and I don't see this taking over the audiophile market, but it does get all-in-one closer to what's possible.

I own two pairs of powered Dynaudio speakers. One set in the bedroom and one in the living room. Both are standmount. Bedroom pair is on metal stands (with springs) and the pair in the living room are on heavy stands on top of Townshend Podiums.

Both pair run Amazon HD via Node/ Dynaudio Connect. They sound great to me and I love the ease of setup and use. (Each speaker requires AC power of course.)

The older I get, the more I prefer to live simply, so it’s a good fit for me.

@mceljo I showed my wife pictures of the Kii Three with bass towers (they are full range) and she thought it was one of the ugliest speakers she had ever seen. It seems like we need to hide the speakers also to get a god WAF (or PAF). Lucky for me I could not afford them anyway.

Cabasse's biggest speaker in the Perl series are also full range. See the end of the page below for a short description (but I think the price is $29k). There will probably be more brands doing this within a few years and some of them will probably go down deep in the bass.

And there is Goldmund with Prana and some other models. The Prana are the smallest in a serie but should go down to 35 Hz, the bigger ones probably lower. Looks like R2D2, you have to decide for yourself what you think about that. And they are expensive.
 

This is definitely a niche concept and not the "norm" or usual arrangement.  Wide range adoption of the "vanishing stereo rack" will be unusual and or futuristic.

This is definitely a niche concept and not the "norm" or usual arrangement.  Wide range adoption of the "vanishing stereo rack" will be unusual and or futuristic.

I love dedicated gear as much as anyone, and I am literally negotiating with my wife right now where the dedicated rack will go in our remodel. But make no mistake everyone, WE are the niche (and in many ways dying) concept, not lifestyle products. I would estimate that a single-digit percentage of my friends have a dedicated stereo at this point. Fractions of a percent if you count millennials and younger (I work with a lot of them). 

taww,

I get your point(s) about where to place the dedicated rack in your remodeled space and the fact that 2-channel systems are not commonplace.  Passions and pursuits are not the same for everyone.  I can simply wish you luck going forward.

I look at this speaker and picture the Woody Allen movie “Sleeper.”   Everything wireless.  I guess an IPad controls everything.  Could you imagine these speakers in the movie Sleeper, the iPad on the table next to the Sex ball :)

Re:  that Cabasse speaker, for $21K, seems like a great speaker for the science fiction fan or someone who loves War of the Worlds….

My equipment racks are grandfathered in. I had them before I met my wife and made it clear to her when we got together that they weren't going anywhere. Ever. Some of the equipment has turned over periodically, but the racks are there to stay.

Fortunately for me, she is as avid a music fan as I am, so I guess I'll keep her.

I'm hiding the racks of equipment in a room behind the front speakers in my new music room/theater and hiding the ATMOS and surround speakers.  I would have hid all the speakers if I could have done that without changing the sound for 2 channel sound.  A stereo that sounds much larger than it looks is the dream that Bose and others sell so I thought it would be fun to take that to another level.

I would rather keep my equipment in the same room with the speakers.  Where else will the equipment go, in a closet with my wife's clothes and shoes?   In the bedroom or bathroom?  Also wouldn't want a cell phone anywhere near my listening room.  Never did like yakking on the phone.  In my main listening room I use powered speakers with the DAC/Pre/HP Amp on the desk in front of me.  No point in moving that anywhere...it's already in the best place and only takes up as much space as a book.