Russound who are currently looking for a new distributor in Australia to replace the troubled Leisuretech, is set to launch a replacement for their "Avenue" powerline multiroom audio system after major improvements to the system.

 Russound claim that they underestimated the demand for their powerline technology and after assessing the performance of their original Avenue product, decided to further develop the Russound's CAV 6.6 music distribution system.

"We were really just extending the analog signal over powerline," says Russound research director Michael Stein.

The new system called "Collage" will go on sale in October and will be shown at CEDIA in the USA.

When Russound showcased Avenue in 2007, "I think we underestimated the demand for a good multiroom audio system for the retrofit market," Stein told CEPro Magazine.

The new Collage system combines multiroom audio, intercom functionality and CCTV surveillance capabilities in a single solution. 
Russound have also created a new keypad and multiroom architecture for Collage with all of the smarts contained in an in-wall controller that includes both the interface and the processors.

On the front: a capacitive touchpad, click wheel and quarter VGA display; behind that: a 30-watt amp, power supply, HomePlug technology and a CPU.

Where do the sources go? One of them – an FM tuner – is built into each keypad. The others can plug into any AC outlet in the home to be accessed from any zone.

Russound has also created a new communications protocol called Gridcast that is built into every product in the Collage ecosystem, including the keypads and the powerline plug-in modules. There's a Gridcast iPod docking station, and Gridcast bridges for connecting (and controlling) analogue audio sources and surveillance cameras.

The Gridcast-enabled Media Manager gateway delivers IP-based content from media servers and DLNA-compliant devices, as well as Web-based music from sources such as Rhapsody, Shoutcast and Internet radio stations (no PC required).