Axiim might be a small company, but they’ve lead the charge in ridding our home theaters of unnecessary speaker wires. They burst onto the scene less than two years ago with a revolutionary wireless audio/video receiver (AVR) system that was powered by technology compliant with the Wireless Speaker & Audio Association (WiSA) standard. Their first system, the Axiim Q, was a full AVR and 5.1 or 7.1 speaker configuration. We reviewed it, and we loved the convenience and fidelity it offered. We also recently announced their plans to release an updated version of their receiver that supports full UHD 4k and HDR across all six of its HDMI inputs. Today they’ve announced something different and special.
Today Axiim has announced the Axiim Link HD. It essentially takes all the wireless speaker technology from the Q and crams it into a small USB-connected puck. It can then be plugged directly into an Xbox One or Windows 10 PC and wirelessly provide uncompressed 5.1 or 7.1 audio to speakers around the room. The puck just has one USB 2.0 cable that will both receive data from the Xbox or computer, and power it. It has a magnetic base too, so you can stick it to the back of your television and you’ll have one wire to route to the Xbox.
We spoke a few weeks ago on Entertainment 2.0 about Microsoft and Xbox joining WiSA. We expected Microsoft to find a way to build the technology directly into the Xbox, but in some ways, this is better. That’s partly because this method allows for it to be used on computers too. It’s not just an Xbox solution.
While Axiim has created mobile apps for iOS and Android, phones don’t always make the best remote controls. The Axiim Link HD has a built-in infrared receiver that can be controlled by universal remotes such as the Logitech Harmony line. We’re also curious if the Xbox Media Remote could directly control volume on the Link HD.
Pricing hasn’t been announced yet, but Axiim will be showing the Link HD at CES in January. We’ll be on hand to check it out, and hopefully, we’ll get a price from them at that time. Until then, let us know in the comments below what you think about this new device.
Source: Axiim
