Need a new buddy for your iPhone that takes advantage of your music library? The Sonos ZonePlayer S5 is an all-in-one wireless music system designed to work with the iPhone to bring all the music the internet has to offer to every corner of the home. Unlike traditional docks, you don't have to leave your iPhone connected and unavailable for use to enjoy music. With the S5, you can queue up whatever you'd like to hear from your own iTunes library collection or any of the major online music sources and slip your phone back in your pocket.

The S5 has a five-driver speaker system-- two tweeters, two mid-range drivers and a built-in single subwoofer – each individually powered by a dedicated digital amplifier and optimized to deliver room-filling sound with smooth tonal balance and deep bass. The free Sonos Controller for iPhone app lets you choose the music and control the volume. The S5 also includes free Sonos Controller software for your Mac or PC. It sells for $399 and will be available starting at the end of this month. Check out a video of the S5 in action after the jump.

For those who still have private aircraft, the options for improved audio/video performance keeps getting better. A company called Skytheater in Fort Lauderdale, Florida does for planes what home theater outfits do for houses. They put a high tech cinema experience on a plane including acoustical considerations, user-friendly operation and optimum performance. SkyTheater uses Richard Gray's Power Company's ClearSky, an A/V power management solution designed for private aircraft to improve onboard A/V performance. The product can be installed on aircraft as part of a complete Skytheater system.

The performance of high-end audio/visual system can suffer because an aircraft's power supply is not designed to feed sensitive and demanding A/V equipment. The RGPC ClearSky product offers surge protection and removes "noise" from the system that can negatively impact audio and video for a richer A/V experience.

Artist Joel Scilley has a unique niche, he makes burlwood turntables. His Audiowood line is an artistic group of turntables, each informed by the piece of wood he chooses whether it is a redwood burl or a clean slice of tree trunk. His unique decks will be showcased tonight at the FiveTen Studios in Oakland, California. Above is the Pod design which is available for purchase.

[via MoCo Loco]

Bose is out, the iHome is in. The iHome is made specifically to house your various Apple devices and the sound it creates packs a punch!

The iHome devices are equipped to operate with iPods and iPhones as well as Zunes and most MP3 players with an audio cord - or even Bluetooth technology.

The range runs from $49.95 to $199.99 and any order over $99.00 comes with free earbuds. Our pick? The Rotating Alarm Clock, $79.99, at right. Check out the gallery to see what it does (it flips!), and for more cool products like the color-changing iPod player.

Shop the iHome store here (finally, a music site that doesn't crash your web browser).

From the same folks who brought us the elaborate Lusso turntable comes another luxury turntable that is a little less extravagant in design and price. Koetsu USA has created the Montegiro Legno Turntable, a spare and modern combination of wood and high-grade steel. It has a bamboo-clad chassis and the turntable has four rounded steel feet with rubber O-rings. The tonearm is a10.5-inch model specially modified for Montegiro. It sells for $13,240 and comes in white or bamboo.

You are probably familiar with the name THX from the systems at the movie theaters but they are making strides on the home market too. This time last year, the first THX-certified television from Vidikron was introduced. Now the first desktop speaker system to use THX's Ground Plane and Slot Speaker technologies has come out. The Razer Mako 2.1 Speaker System costs $400 and promises great sound in a compact size. Engadget reviewed the system this week and were pretty impressed with its capabilities, check out the review here.

[via Uncrate]

Usually the term Fat lady isn't one of endearment but the Morel company has given this moniker to their new floorstanding loudspeakers. The speakers are made of an outer layer of carbon-fiber composite with an inside fiberglass enhanced layer. The Fat Lady's zaftig shape is the result of over two years of research and development to create extraordinary sound dispersion through the driver membranes without deflection and sound distortion. The speaker uses two 9" woofers, a single 6" midrange and a 1.1" hand-coated soft dome tweeter. They are expected to cost around $20,000 a pair.

Another entry into the blockbuster speaker category, the Klipsch Palladium™ P-39F floorstanding speaker just looks loud. The P-39F uses a proprietary horn-loaded tweeter assembly made of unique acoustically-damped materials and three high-output woofers to offer high sensitivity and extremely low distortion. The P-39F's three low-frequency drivers have nine-inch hybrid cone woofers (made of aluminum, Rohacell and Kevlar), powered by a three-part neodymium magnet structure. The boat-tail-shaped cabinets are up to 30mm thick with multiple laminations of medium density fiberboard. Each set is a left and right speaker pair that are acoustically matched. The pair sells for $15,000.

[via Uncrate]

These sexy headphones are the result of a new collaboration between rap producer Dr. Dre, Jimmy Iovine, the Chairman of Interscope Geffen A & M Records and audio company Monster. The Beats by Dre headphones were in development for two years and are designed to offer clean sound with powerful deep bass. The headphones have a wide headband and hinged ear cups. They come in a carrying case with antimicrobial cleaning cloths a Monster headphone cable and Monster's iSonitalk, and a microphone/headphone adapter for an iPhone. They will be available this spring for $399.95.

[via Uncrate]

Loiminchay, a company best known for their fine pens, has now expanded into the world of speakers with Loiminchay Audio. The speakers are made from shaped solid layers of Birch MultiPly bored out and finished inside and out with sixteen coats of lacquer. The Loiminchay speakers are designed in New York by Loiminchay's owner Patrick Chu, and crafted in China. They will show three models named after artists at the upcoming CES 2008. The Degas is a stand-mounted monitor, shown at right, that promises excellent bass down to 35Hz in moderate- to large-sized listening rooms of about 50 to 500 square feet. It has a 6.5-inch ceramic midrange driver and a sparkling 1" diamond tweeter. The Degas with Diamond Tweeter is $30,000 in clear, and $32,500 in piano lacquer finish.

The Chagall has a bass cabinet built up of MultiPly Laminate, with an 8-inch woofer in a 1-inch thick concrete board wrapped with leather for a non-resonant driver platform. They weight around 150 lbs and the Chagall equipped with the Diamond Tweeter is $48,500 in clear, and $53,500 in piano lacquer finish.

The most lavish and compellingly designed speakers are the Kandinsky, which handle frequencies above 750Hz up to 27kHz with a curved 19-inch wooden horn driven by a custom 2-inch beryllium high-compression driver. The Kandinsky starts at $45,000 a pair and the Chagall custom-finished in solid cherry runs $75,000.

Care for a little sculpture with your speaker? The latest entry into the increasingly crowded field of speakers that are meant to be noticed rather than hidden are the NACSound for Sonance line. These loudspeakers are made out of ceramic, aluminum, wood, and carbon-fiber materials and are designed to be either suspended from the ceiling or be placed on a flat surface (it's the rather birdfeeder-like looking object in the picture above). The speakers range in price from $1,000 to $4,500. More pictures and styles in the gallery below.

Audio systems maker Paradigm has created a new line of speakers designed to work with your flatscreen TV. There are four separate systems designed for different applications.

The first is the Paradigm Vista system, a strictly a speaker set-up including Paradigm's new Millenia S1, C1 and ADP1 loudspeakers. It has front and rear speakers which are designed for bookshelf mounting but can be also be used with floorstands. It sells for $5,100

The Paradigm Impact system is a slim floorstanding system designed for places where space is at a premium. It sells for $11,400.

The Paradigm Prestige system uses Paradigm's Studio Series speakers with Anthem Statement amplification and AV processing. The system is designed for high-end sound but is also compact enough to sit on a bookshelf. It sells for $19,800.

The top-of-the-line system is the Paradigm Elitist, the ultimate Paradigm entertainment system that uses a preamplifier/processor combination from the Anthem Statement Seriesd with Paradigm's Seismic 12 subwoofer and floorstanding Studio Series loudspeakers for deep bass, low distortion and exceptional definition. It sells for $23,600.

I recently posted about the Goldmund Media Room, a high-end custom design for a home theater system. The folks at Goldmund were kind enough to invite me out to check out the system in action. They have tricked out a luxury home inside a gated community in Tarazana, CA with several different sound systems including the lavish home theater room. It doesn't look as large as it does in the pictures but it really is a very impressive system.

These days the rules of speakers are simple, they have to sound great and have really cool looks. The Duevel Planets are omni-directional speakers topped by a pair of chrome "planets," one over the woofer, the other over the tweeter. The company that sells them, Urban Fidelity, is on a mission to get people not to buy plastic speakers. The speakers can also be used as part of a home theater system. They have received a variety of good reviews including a rave from Sonic Flare. They come in silver, red or black for $1295 or blue, green, or gunmetal for $1395.

In the world of high-end loudspeakers these Penaudio Chronos speakers aren't striking me as particularly impressive to look at, although they are very tall and stately looking. Cased in wood (there are several different colors and options available) they don't have the same high-tech modern appearance as many other expensive speakers, but that doesn't mean they can't punch out sound with the best of them. Read this review and decide for yourself if they're worth the $8,550/pair price tag they come with -- I have to say I'm not convinced.