CES 2015: The best audio products showcased so far

It’s only been a day since this year’s CES kickstarted, and we’re already witnessed some ground-breaking products making headlines. TV’s, watches, and automobiles seem to have got a notch smarter this year, with the latest offerings by Samsung, Lenovo, LG and Sony. Audiophiles, too, have lots to swoon over with a bunch of ostentatious audio products showcased this time. From floatable speakers to intelligent music streaming,  here are the best audio products we’ve seen so far at the CES 2015. Monster Superstar Backfloat [caption id=“attachment_248709” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  Image: TechCrunch[/caption] Next time you have a pool party, your music speakers could enjoy a couple of dips and splashes, too. Monster has announced a waterproof Bluetooth speaker called Monster Superstar Backfloat, which can play music on water. The speaker can float on water which prevents damage due to submersion. “This is the first audiophile speaker that can float on its back,” said Monster’s Vern Smith at launch. Google Cast–ready speakers  Google has announced Google Cast for audio, which lets you “cast” audio wirelessly from your Android or iOS device, or the web to speakers, sound bars, and A/V receivers. Popular brands have already showcased products that will support Google Cast for audio this CES. According to Google, Cast Ready speakers will pull content directly from the cloud, so you’ll get the best audio quality and can freely multi-task on your phone, tablet, or laptop, all without straining the battery. These speakers will work with a growing list of apps including Deezer, Google Play Music, iHeartRadio, NPR One, Pandora, Rdio, TuneIn. LG has unveiled a Music Flow line-up of Wi-Fi speakers, which will work with Google Cast for audio. Google claims that Sony, LG, and HEOS by Denon will launch devices supporting the feature soon. Samsung 360 degree speakers  Samsung has shown off two 360-degree speakers, one of which flaunts a design reminiscent of the robot ‘Eva’ from Wall-E. Samsung claims the speakers make use of ‘Ring Radiator’ technology, which fills a room with sound. The other is a movable version of the 360-speaker, which looks like a traditional kettle. According to TheVerge, both devices display the Bluetooth logo, so they’ll be able to connect to audio sources wirelessly. PonoPlayer  Legendary rocker Neil Young showcased the 64GB music player called PonoPlayer that plays MP3s, WAV and FLAC music files from any source. The triangular music player can play CD-quality 16-bit/44.1kHz to 24-bit/192kHz high-resolution sound. “It’s the same as an iPod except it sounds like God,” said Young in the press conference. The PonoPlayer has its own music store, called Pono Music World. The PonoPlayer runs on the Android operating system and is priced at a steep $399. Bang & Olufsen’s two-faced BeoSound Moment [caption id=“attachment_248670” align=“aligncenter” width=“640” class=" “]  Image: ubergizmo[/caption] Bang & Olufsen showcased a multi-purpose wireless music streamer called **BeoSound Moment** , which is a two-sided tablet that accesses our cloud music and tries to play music according to your mood and surroundings. According to TheNextWeb, the streamer plays music based on your listening habits via Deezer, TuneIn radio or music stored on your iTunes account. When you flip the device over, you see a metallic face and touchscreen that lets you control music stored on either your local network or outside sources to let you browse through the music playlist. Harman’s personalised in-car audio system  Harman has announced a new technology that lets each passenger in a car listen to their own music - without headphones! As reported by AutoCarExpress, the technology, called Individual Sound Zones (ISZ), creates separate listening zones for each passenger, with limited disruption or interference from other passengers. Sony Walkman ZX2  The 128GB Walkman ZX2 is a high-end music player that can play high-resolution audio and a range of audio formats including DSD, WAV, FLAC, AIFF, ALAC, MP3, WMA and more. Sony claims that the ZX2 can provide 60 hours of MP3, and 33 hours Hi-Res playback on a single charge. It also supports Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and DLNA for streaming audio wirelessly from different sources such as a smartphone, laptop or a tablet.