AlphaTheta – Pioneer DJ’s owners and now a brand onto themselves – are taking on low-latency wireless audio. Today they’re introducing the WAVE-EIGHT, a portable wireless DJ speaker that aims to make setting up a party without running cables that much easier.
The easiest way to explain the WAVE-EIGHT to DJs who already are familiar with other current offerings: think of it like a Soundboks, but with an included wireless transmitter box. It’s battery powered (up to 8 hours), it has ultra-low-latency wireless audio input (with a transmitter), it can daisy-chain to other WAVE-EIGHTs/SonicLink devices, it can toggle into different sound modes.
Oh, and did we mention it has wheels and a handle?
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SonicLink, the wireless technology that AlphaTheta is touting in this new PA speaker, is a propietary 2.4ghz signal – so there’s probably not going to be any chance of it getting merged with SKAA – but we can dream, right?
The WAVE-EIGHT offers various connectivity options, including XLR/TRS combo jacks and a USB Type-C port. But the main way it connects to other DJ gear is by using the transmitter – “Simply remove the included transmitter from its storage compartment on the WAVE-EIGHT and connect it to any DJ gear to instantly create a wireless connection between decks and the speaker.”
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The WAVE-EIGHT also is switchable between different sound mode – so you could set one up as a subwoofer, or use a different one as a mono speaker in a room by itself, or set up a pair of speakers in stereo.
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It’s coming later this month – January, 2024, and will be priced at $899. Yes, that includes the transmitter. Yes, AlphaTheta has heavily promoted this as being a good choice alongside the battery-powered, just-announced OMNIS-DUO – but the reality is it’ll work with any devices. See, here’s a setup they sent photos of with a full CDJ setup. It’s almost oddly comforting to see brand new press images with the Pioneer DJ logo still in them…
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We’re excited to see how it sounds and test the SonicLink reliability, but do you think that this could be the beginning of an era of cableless DJing?
There’s a bunch of new gear coming out and stories to explore this week.
See more NAMM 2024 coverage of DJ products here