Last chance to buy super popular speaker
Reader email: I read your article this weekend and ordered a Cambridge Audio Air 100. I consider myself lucky that some were still available. Well, it arrived this morning and it is fantastic! Setup was a breeze, it’s not too big and the sound is enormous. I’m testing my jazz collection over AirPlay. It’s easy and sounds great. I should have bought two.
— S.L., Aptos, Calif.
Q. As soon as I read your article on the Cambridge Audio Air 100 and Air 200 Bluetooth/ Wi-Fi speakers, I went to the site to purchase. Unfortunately, they don’t have it in stock, though you said they felt they had adequate supply to fill all the orders that might come in. Are these highly recommended speakers discontinued?
— J.L., Minneapolis
A. The Cambridge Audio Air 100 and Air 200 are discontinued, which is why Cambridge Audio reduced the prices so dramatically. I spoke with the company and the special prices are not considered a discount, as Cambridge Audio products usually sell for the same price everywhere at Minimum Advertised Price, or MAP, like Apple products do.
Ratherthan “discounted,” the Air 100 andAir 200 are discontinued products availableat a lower price than before. The Air100 and Air 200 have been replaced witha line of speakers called Yoyo. I just startedtesting the Yoyo speakers and theyare also excellent. I will have detailedreviews in a future column.
ReaderS.L. hit upon one of the reasonsthe speakers sold out so quickly: CambridgeAudio told me that a surprisinglyhigh percentage of customers orderednot just one speaker but multiple units,probably to get an early start on holidayshopping or to use in different rooms.I imagine that once purchasers hearthem, they will want to buy more.
Thegood news is readers will have onelast chance to get a Cambridge Audio Air 100 for $144.99, Air 200 for $189.99, orBluetone 100 for $129.99. The company isbringing in a limited quantity of each speakerfrom inventory located in other partsof the world, and they will be availablein mid-September.
Given the prices, it is not a moneymaking thing for Cambridge Audio. The company is just trying to do right by its customers and introduce more people to the brand. These speakers will be available on a first-come, firstserved basis, and when they are gone, they are gone.
You can call Cambridge Audio Customer Support at 1-877-357-8204 or submit a support ticket at techsupport.cambridgeaudio.com to be added to the contact list. Anyone who wrote to me about the situation received a personal reply with this information, so the list is filling up already. If you want a speaker, I suggest getting on the list right away as I suspect there may not be enough to go around, despite the manufacturer’s best efforts.
The good news is the smallest Yoyo speaker, the Yoyo (S) is only $179.99 and sounds a lot like its bigger brethren, as it uses the same innovative, patented Balanced Mode Radiator, or BMR, speaker technology. Befitting a fine speaker from a British manufacturer, the Yoyo (S) has a beautiful worsted wool finish from famed Yorkshire weaver Marton Mills. Available in four colors, the high-quality wool and the modern design of the Yoyo (S) combine to provide unbeatable visual and tactile appeal. You can see them all at cambridgeaudio.com.