Smart speakers and one remote to rule them all. So we could define the new AVA system, a Swiss-American company seeking to position itself above Sonos both for the quality of its sound equipment and its benefits. According to some of its executives, the company's mission is to return the true stereo sound to homes while offering all the benefits of the most advanced smart speakers on the market.
This is how the new AVA devices are
AVA may not sound familiar to you. To know its origins, we have to go back a bit. One of the company's founders, Raphael Oberholzer, founded the company NEO, which marketed a smart controller capable of controlling a whole house centrally. Shortly after, Oberholzer would leave with his product to the company. Control4, which is dedicated to the commercialization of home automation products.
Finally, AVA was born driven by Oberholzer and Ted Haeger, a former Control4 executive. The plan of this new company is to enter the business of sound and control thanks to its first two products: a 2:1 audio system and an intelligent remote control that is an improved version of what we already saw at the time at NEEO.
AVA 2.1
The AVA 2.1 system is the first audio equipment of this new company. It is designed to be a stereo solution with a pair of speakers (AVA A1) and a subwoofer (AVA B1). The equipment has a full-range driver, various transmission technologies, DAC, digital signal processing (DSP) and active amplification. The development of this product has been done in collaboration with the manufacturer Revox.
The B1 bass module connects to the AVA A1 via Kleer, a high-end wireless audio protocol that has zero latency. On the other hand, the A1 speaker guarantees impeccable audio performance thanks to the DSP system. This technology controls what audio frequencies are sent to connected components within the system and adjusts playback based on the original audio. Thus, the bass module becomes a logical and homogeneous extension within the audio system, offering a vibrant and dynamic listening experience.
Connectivity
The AVA A1 has numerous connectivity options, such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. It supports Apple AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect and can be configured via a touch user interface or using the AVA Remote.
Price
AVA sound equipment is currently only available in the United States for a price of $3.200.
AVA Remote
The AVA remote control is also a very promising product, although we have already seen its origins in NEEO almost four years ago. It's about a android based device and has been google certified. It allows you to control all kinds of smart home automation systems, as well as Control4 and Sonos equipment.
And no, we are not talking about the typical universal remote control. The AVA Remote will allow manage any home automation device smart or controlled by an Android app. It also has Bluetooth, NFC, accelerometer, GPS and a fingerprint lock. It is loaded in its own dock and has an autonomy of 6 days. The difficult thing will be to justify its price, since it will cost a few 1.299 dollars.