Onkyo's £150 DS-A5 iPad/iPhone dock brings AirPlay wireless music streaming to legacy hi-fi and home cinema systems.
With a DS-A5, owners of current-model Onkyo home cinema receivers – as well as older models without a USB port or an ethernet connection – can enjoy all the benefits of AirPlay as well as a secure digital-to-digital docking connection to iOS devices.
The Onkyo dock is wi-fi certified and compatible with the majority of iPad, iPhone and iPod models. It will also work with non-Onkyo hi-fi and AV systems.
When the device s docked, a digital audio output can be used to send sound directly to a receiver's DACs (digital-to-analogue converters) for better sound reporduction. And a composite video output to view photos and videos stored on an Apple device on a big screen or TV. Playback can be controlled using the supplied remote.
There's also a standard set of analogue audio outs and an ethernet connection.
What's more, if the DS-A5 is linked to an Onkyo stereo or multichannel receiver via the supplied RI (Remote Interactive) cable, the user can power up the entire system from cold simply by selecting content on their iPhone/iPad and tapping the AirPlay icon.
