Innovative MP3 speakers to 'leave the shelf' for living rooms in July

After two years of development, Altec Lansing finally plans to ship the M812 -- the latest addition to its line-up of digital speaker systems for iPod, Zune, and other MP3 players -- on July 15.

NEW YORK CITY (BetaNews) -- "Actually, the M812 won an innovation award at CES 2007," pointed out Patrick Beck, marketing manager, talking with BetaNews this week at Pepcom's Digital Experience show. "But then, it got shelved," he acknowledged.

As one reason behind the delay of the M812, Beck cited a belief among some employees that the speaker system would compete with an existing home entertainment system, also from Altec Lansing.

But also, as Beck sees it, the market is a lot more ready now than in 2007 for home digital speaker systems where iPods, Zunes, and downloaded tunes take the place of traditional music CDs.

With its high wattage, the M812 is loud enough to function as an alternative to conventional living room audio speakers, Beck said. RMS wattage is 80W, and peak wattage is 160W, according to system spec sheets.

Beck told BetaNews that Altec Lansing is now planning a complete home entertainment system -- with 2009 as a target date -- to be based around technology in the M812 digital speaker system.

Demo'd in Altec Lansing's booth at Digital Experience, the M812 certainly had enough volume to cut through the surrounding conversations among vendors and journalists. The clarity of the speaker system sounded fine, too, although the tune played back to editors and reporters had been pre-downloaded on to the iPod.

Although the M812 offers a built-in docking station for charging the iPod, the system also uses 2.4 GHz wireless technology for communications between the iPod and the speakers, for clear audio even when the iPod is stationed apart from the digital speakers, BetaNews was told.

Outfitted with two four-inch drivers and two one-inch silk-dome tweeters per speaker system, the system also includes a built-in FM radio, along with controls for the system and basic iPod functions. Also included is a wireless remote for the speaker and some iPod functions. The speaker system runs on AC only, with no battery operation. Accessories include power supply dock adapters.

Pricing will be $399.95 for the M812 and $699.95 for an M812-2 system, which comes with a second speaker.

Altec Lansing also produces about four other digital speaker systems for iPods, along with $99.95 portable digital speaker systems for Zune and Sansa devices, offering built-in docks, FM radio, and a choice of AA batteries or AC power.