If you recently bought a higher-end Onkyo, Integra, Pioneer, or Pioneer Elite receiver and wished you could integrate it with your Sonos wireless multiroom system, you just got your wish. Following the announcement of the Sonos Beam, Onkyo has rolled out a firmware update that brings “Works with Sonos” certification to a number of models from the above brands, enabling them to work with Sonos systems.
Certified models integrate seamlessly with the Sonos platform, letting you treat your hi-fi or home theater system as another component in your Sonos system. Once your firmware is updated, you’ll be able to stream music directly from the Sonos app to your receiver, and even control things like volume directly from the app.
The ability to treat your receiver as part of your Sonos system isn’t the only new functionality that supported receivers are getting as part of the update. As Sonos has recently added voice control via Amazon Alexa, you’ll be able to use limited voice control functionality on your receiver as well. Given the nature of Sonos’ voice control, you likely won’t be able to control every aspect of the receiver with your voice, but it will still come in handy. Some receivers from Onkyo brands already feature Google Assistant support via Google Home, so this won’t be brand new functionality for them, but if you’d rather control everything via your Sonos system, this will be a welcome addition.
For Onkyo, receivers that can add the new functionality via the firmware update are the TX-NR585, TX-NR686, TX-RZ630, TX-RZ730, TX-NR787, TX-RZ830, TX-RZ920, TX-8270, TX-RZ1100, TX-RZ3100, PR-RZ5100, and TX-8260. Eligible Pioneer models are the ELITE SC-LX901, ELITE SC-LX801, ELITE SC-LX701, ELITE VSX-LX503, ELITE VSX-LX303, ELITE VSX-LX103, and the Pioneer VSX-933. For Integra, eligible models are the DRX-3.2, DRX-4.2, DRX-5.2, DRX-7.1, DRX-R1.1, DRC-R1.1, DTM-7, DTM-6, DRX-7, DRX-R1, and the DRC-R1.
The firmware updates are available now for every brand. To find out more about the update and instructions on how to update, see the Onkyo website, Pioneer website, or Integra website for details. If this news has you looking to buy a receiver, take a look at our buying guide, as well as our list of the best A/V receivers available right now.
Instagram is making its way to yet another screen, and this time, Apple TV is getting a taste of the Reels rabbit hole. The company has launched a dedicated Instagram app for Apple TV, bringing Reels, longer videos, and live shows to the big screen. So, if watching one quick clip on a phone somehow turns into an hour of scrolling, there's now a much larger screen for that.
Instagram brings Reels and more to Apple TV
Audio-Technica, a brand well known for making some of the best studio and professional headphones on the market, has just come out with the ATH-AWX7000, which the company itself claims to be its "finest headphones ever." The new flagship closed-back headphone has debuted at an eye-watering price of $3,799. It combines hand-finished Japanese woodwork with a newly developed 58mm driver.
The earcups are made from Kiso cypress, a prized wood historically used for Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Each housing is finished by hand with traditional Echizen lacquer, which brings out the grain and is expected to darken over time. The frame and sliders are finished in a deep navy kachi-iro shade traditionally associated with samurai.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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