Philips has introduced a new multi-room speaker platform called Fidelio Wireless AV that can act as a control center for your Philips speakers and TVs.
According to Philips, Fidelio Wireless AV is based on DTS's popular Play-Fi system and says that once you set it up, it'll be easy to control playback between compatible TVs, mobile devices, soundbars and speakers located throughout the house.
The first speakers to be included on the platform are the Fidelio FB1 Wireless Soundbar, Fidelio FW1 Wireless Subwoofer, and Fidelio FS1 Wireless Bookshelf Speaker, all of which are expected to be available in the second half of 2022.
Of course, you won't need all of the products in the series to build a system: you can start with one or two of the speakers and progress from there, building your home theater bit by bit.
Review: Looks a lot like Sonos...
When a company introduces a new multi-room audio product, it's hard not to immediately draw parallels with Sonos - a company that has built its entire reputation on multi-room, multi-channel wireless setups that could be built one room See you.
The big differentiator between Sonos and Fidelio Wireless AV is that the latter will likely include Philips TVs, an area Sonos has never really expanded into.
Like Sonos, the Fidelio Wireless AV System won't require a separate bridge for connectivity, as it appears all setup can be completed with an app on your smartphone.
However, Sonos has the advantage of decades of experience and products in this area. It has been making wireless speakers for years and its soundbars have won several awards. If Philips wants a piece of that multi-room pie, it needs to prove that it has usability and performance at least equal to Sonos.
We'll save our judgments for full reviews of the Fidelio wireless speakers and AV system when we get it into our own homes, but it's going to be an interesting product to look at in the year to come.