NetXL is pleased to announce that it is now distributing Lithe Audio products. Lithe Audio is a UK manufacturer of audio equipment, including WiFi and Bluetooth ceiling speakers. In this article, we will be introducing Lithe Audio and its product range, as well as discussing some exciting applications for their WiFi and Bluetooth ceiling speakers.
Lithe Audio 2-Way Passive Slave IP44 Rated Ceiling Speaker
Why Lithe Audio?
Ease of Installation
A new challenger for the Sonos ceiling speaker throne, Lithe Audio brings the edge in ease of installation. Since Sonos ceiling speakers require extensive wiring during the installation process, unless they’re being used as part of a pre-planned install in a new-build or new extension, installing Sonos ceiling speakers is difficult, time-consuming and expensive.
Lithe Audio ceiling speakers, by contrast, are comparatively effortless to get ready-to-play. In fact, the installation process comprises a quick and simple DIY job for anyone interested in bringing the soft drift of ambient sound to their kitchen, bathroom or reception area.
This ease of installation stems partly from the built-in amplifier included with every Lithe Audio master unit. Sold as either active ‘master’ speakers or passive ‘slave’ units, more ambitious installations instantly become more cost-effective as only one amplifier (built into each ‘master’ unit) is required per slave-master pair.
Due to the built-in amplifier in every master Lithe Audio speaker, the only necessary cable is a power cable. Speakers can be powered either by direct connection to your lighting circuit for the neatest, tidiest solution possible, or the included power cable can be routed to a wall outlet.
With the included cutting template and power supply, everything you need comes included, making a multi-room music experience for an impromptu party, event or waiting-room upgrade as simple as a one-time purchase. Just place your order, grab your toolbox and get to work upgrading your home or business with entertainment capabilities for your kids, visitors or staff. Professional installation services are, of course, available for those who prefer them.
Lithe Audio WiFi ceiling speakers supply multi-room audio for home or office
Total Cost of Ownership
The all-in-one design of Lithe Audio speakers drastically reduces installation and maintenance costs, since anyone with DIY experience will be capable of fitting them in most cases. Businesses with dropped ceilings and ceiling tiles are especially good candidates for simple installation, since ceiling tiles are easy to remove, cut through and replace with your new ceiling speaker successfully installed.
Moreover, when you choose Lithe Audio ceiling speakers, there are fewer products to buy overall before your speakers are ready-to-play. You don’t need to purchase a separate amp since one is built into each active unit. You don’t need to purchase additional cables to route each speaker to the amp either. This cuts down on installation costs, accessory (cable) costs, and overall total cost of ownership.
In addition, cost-per-unit for Lithe Audio products is significantly lower than that of their competitors, without any sacrifice in audio quality or ease of use.
Technical Ingenuity
A truly premium product, Lithe Audio speakers are made of a woven kevlar woofer and titanium tweeter. It goes without saying that such materials make for an incredibly durable unit, but kevlar’s greater structural integrity versus foam, or better flexibility versus polypropylene, makes for improved consistency in sound quality across the entire dynamic range.
Lightweight, durable and compact, Lithe Audio ceiling speakers are an all-in-one solution that makes multi-room home or business music playback a flexible new possibility for those homes and businesses that would like to upgrade their living and customer experiences.
IP44 Rated Units Afford Flexibility in Application
With both standard and IP44-rated versions of their entire lineup of speakers, Lithe Audio helps you make wireless music playback happen in, not just your kitchens and reception areas, but in your bathrooms and indoor swimming pools too.
IP44 rated units are fully waterproofed, meaning they handle wet and humid conditions effortlessly whilst delivering high-quality audio playback to the ears of your visitors.
WiFi vs Bluetooth Ceiling Speakers
Both Bluetooth ceiling speakers and WiFi ceiling speakers are available for purchase.
Bluetooth speakers are ideal for single-room applications and other simple deployment models. For large rooms, a fuller sound experience can be achieved by daisy-chaining multiple master speaker units together, each themselves wired to a passive slave unit. This daisy-chaining is achieved simply, with a single aux cable connecting each master unit to the next, whilst a speaker cable takes care of the master/slave connection.
Lithe Audio IP44 Rated WiFi Ceiling Speaker
WiFi speakers make multi-room music playback easy. So long as your WiFi is strong and stable throughout your chosen location, music will be played back synchronously through all speakers on the same network. This is configurable via the Lithe Audio app, whereby you can ‘group’ speakers together into ‘zones’ to control which groups of speakers playback together.
WiFi speakers, like the Bluetooth offerings, can be wired together in master/slave fashion for a fuller sound experience.
The user cannot connect to a passive slave speaker by either Bluetooth or WiFi. Instead, they are powered via a direct, wired connection to a Lithe Audio active speaker unit and it is this active unit that the user connects to. For this reason, never purchase a passive unit on its own. Purchase either a single active unit, or an active/passive pair.
Connectivity Options: Apple Airplay 2
Lithe Audio WiFi speakers are compatible with Airplay 2, meaning you don’t even have to download the Lithe Audio app to conduct multi-room playback. As you’re no doubt aware, what was originally a one-to-one connectivity solution in Apple’s Airplay is now capable of delivering seamless multi-device media playback in Airplay 2.
For this reason, along with the others discussed in this article, Lithe Audio speakers might represent the most elegant, affordable solution on the market for multi-room audio playback.
Other connectivity options include:
- Spotify Connect
- DLNA (Android devices)
- PnP (Network devices e.g. NAS/media server)
- Connection via Aux Cable (smart speakers, external devices)
Introduction to Products
Lithe Active WiFi Speaker
Perfect for multi-room music playback. Homes, hotel suites and businesses looking for musical cohesion throughout the building are a few examples of ideal use cases. As with the Bluetooth speaker, connect a passive WiFi speaker via speaker cable to this unit to add body and depth to your audio playback experience.
Group WiFi speakers together into ‘zones’ for more control over how you unify your music playback via the Lithe Audio app.
IP44 rated options are available for purchase, ready for deployment into bathrooms, wetrooms, indoor swimming pools and other locations where humidity and moisture are present.
Lithe Active Bluetooth Speaker
Perfect for single room applications where WiFi connectivity is not desired, such as hotel rooms. Users connect to the unit familiarly via Bluetooth 5.0 and can wire it together with a passive Bluetooth speaker to mirror playback for a fuller sound experience.
Lithe Audio Active Bluetooth Speaker
Conclusion
NetXL is very excited to become a Lithe Audio distributor and to bring Lithe Audio’s dynamic and powerful products to its customers. Technical ingenuity and ease of installation, setup and use make Lithe Audio an exciting competitor in the audio space.
Lithe Audio offers professional advice on its products and services at its website. Alternatively, you can get in touch with us and we would be glad to advise you of the best product for you and your application.
