Incoming: B&O Playmaker wireless receiver lets you stream music from any device

Bang & Olufsen has announced the Playmaker, a wireless audio streamer that basically adds wireless connectivity to an existing set of compatible speakers. When paired with a set of speakers, the Playmaker will let you stream music wirelessly via AirPlay or DLNA, over Wi-Fi or Ethernet, from just about any audio source.

It basically turns your home audio system into a very flexible one, letting you play music from family members’ smartphones, tablets, computers, or media server. The Playmaker also comes with a regular line-in connection for hooking up audio devices without network or wireless connectivity (like from an old iPod or Walkman). Multiple Playmakers can also be set up for different rooms in the house, letting you move your music from one room to another, play different music in different rooms, or sync multiple rooms to play from one audio source.

Setup is as easy as connecting a compatible set of speakers, while connecting to the home network involves a press of a button under the Playmaker and running B&O’s free Setup app for iOS. Unfortunately, it’ll only work with B&O’s own speaker systems – none of which come cheap – but if you already bought into the B&O ecosystem, then this serves as a nice bridge between your speakers and multiple audio sources.

The Playmaker will be available in North America later this month for $425. A starter bundle that includes the Playmaker and the BeoLab 3 louspeaker costs $4,310.