Philips WACS700 Wireless Audio System
Philips WACS700 Wireless Audio System
The product: Taking a page out of Bang & Olufsen's design book, Philips has put together the slick-looking Wireless Audio System (WACS700), which can be linked to five satellite stations in rooms throughout your home. The base unit features a CD player and a 40GB hard drive, so you can rip CDs to MP3 and store them directly to disk without a PC. Of course, you can also stream music from your PC via a Wi-Fi (802.11g) network. One standout feature is that the music you stream can be the same in every room, or you can choose a different playlist for each room. The slim, built-in speakers use something Philips calls Super Sound Panel Speaker technology, which it says, "replaces the traditional woofers and tweeters with a single membrane." The WACS700's specs include:

• 40GB hard drive
• Built-in wireless (802.11g)
• Built-in Ethernet for wired connection
• Gracenote CDDB database
• Six-line LCD
• Up to five satellite stations can be added

The price: Available in April 2005, the WACS700 will have a suggested retail price of $999. Additional satellites will cost between $200 and $250.

The prospects: Though it's a bit on the expensive side compared to similarly featured products, the Wireless Audio System has a slick design that will appeal to those looking for modern, Bang & Olufsen-style components at non-B&O prices.

By David Carnoy, executive editor, CNET Reviews