French startup Whyd are preparing to launch a range of Wi-Fi speakers that can connect up to each other, and be controlled with your voice.

Whyd, a French startup known for the wifi speaker Sonos Whydmusic-based social media network, are changing direction and entering the world of home speakers. Their plan to stand out is to combine the voice control of speakers like Amazon’s Echo with the multi-room connectivity of popular home speaker systems like Sonos.

 

Whyd offers crisp sound with a powerful subwoofer powering the low end and 4 full range drivers providing crystal clear quality. Whyd speakers can connect to each other so you can listen to music through multiple rooms, or place them in the same room for a surround sound experience.

Whyd offers multiple options for playing your music using either voice activation with the speakers, controlling with Whyd’s official app or using it’s unique “magic touchpad”. The touchpad is a curved, glass panel on top of the speaker that uses intuitive touch control rather than buttons. For example tapping plays/pauses songs, swiping skips a track, zooming with two fingers in and out increases and decreases the volume.

 

Whyd wifi speakerWhyd’s speaker has a striking appearance with an ovoid shape and a three dimensionally knitted sleeve of Teknit Fabric covering the exterior. In the middle of the speaker is a small RGB LCD display that gives indications of what the speaker’s doing when you need it.

Whyd’s speaker will stream from all the major streaming services and will be available early 2017. You can pre-order Whyd today for $299, almost half of it’s RRP of $499.

Pre-order here.