An extraordinary new release from Jean Michel Jarre, with the announcement from Jarre technologies of the lauch of what it describes as 'The ultimate tower station' iPod dock.
The new AeroDream One is a staggering 3.4 metres high, weighs just under a monumental 400kg and has a total power output of 10,000 watts. Helpfully, theres' a ladder included to allow the user to climb to the top and attach their iPod, iPhone or iPad. Its even compatible with the iPod Nano.
In teasers on facebook, the company had suggested "Let your dreams reach inaccessible heights" and "Think big. Dream HUGE." The hype certainly matches the reality!
Jarre Technologies is a company set up by Jean Michel Jarre in 2005 to explore the possibilities of taking his work in sound and vision technology and applying it to the development of cutting edge consumer home entertainment devices.
They were launched at the the IFA consumer electronics fair last year, and this year took the opportunity to reveal the latest (and largest) item in their range.
They unveiled the AeroSystem One dock system last year with the concept of restoring the quality to sound that had been compromised in the rush to make music more portable.
The AeroSystem One was developed with the purpose of retrieving and restoring the lost sound, bridging the gap between the meticulous recording process and the consumption of the music at home.
At the time of its release, Jarre said: "With the progress of technology, the conditions of recording music in the studio have advanced considerably, whereas the means of listening in general have not ceased to regress: the vinyl has been replaced by the CD, largely inferior in quality, which has now given way to even more low-grade MP3 files. We have progressively lost our emotional rapport with sound."
The AeroSytem One is a tower system that delivers stereo sound from a single point with its multidirectional speakers. It is an incredibly elegant device, as much sculpture as it is state of the art music system, able to handle sound from iPod or MP3 player or CD or even vinyl turntable sources.
While its price, just under 800 Euros puts it in the top end of the market, its certainly not prohibitive given of the prices of many other home entertainment devices, never mind those of high end entertainment systems command. Many homes having TVs alone that cost far more. Just a question of priorities for those wanting either top quality music playback or wanting to watch cable TV on a 48 inch plasma TV I suppose.
Of course, they are luxury items, as the endeavour to attain the highest possible standard of sound playback is not cheap, but not so elitist that they are unattainable.
While my pockets are certainly not deep enough at the moment to snap up the new devices, if anyone wants to give me one to try out I'd certainly give it a good workout!
The range has been increased with the AeroPad One and the Aeropad Two devices, both promising a similar sound experience but without the tower style. These are expected to be available from February 2012.
Of course, the AeroDream One takes things to a new level, and I suspect there are few whose budget would stretch to the 400,000 euro price tag, but it would certainly be an interesting item in the living room, although it might need a larger than average living room to make it feel at home. And deaf neighbours.
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