The collection, unsurprisingly, is for audiophiles and serious hi-fi enthusiasts. Formation promises "high-fidelity performance" underpinned by 24-bit audio and 96kHz sample-rate streaming. (Sonos, for comparison, tops out at 16-bit and 48kHz audio.) In addition, all the new hardware will use a mesh networking system co-developed by EVA Automation, the parent company of Bowers & Wilkins, that keeps speaker synchronization at roughly one microsecond. "This software is patented," a Bowers & Wilkins spokesperson told Engadget. "It's not built on anyone else's patents. It's not licensed from anyone. It's built 100 percent in house."

That technology, combined with the company's long-standing expertise in building high-end speakers, should trump any other wireless system.

Or that's the claim, anyway.