T3 - UK (2022-01)

JANUARY 2022 T 3 53

Wi-Fi speakers

These mid-range wireless speakers will bring you

hi-fi quality sound without the hassle

Wi-Fi

speakers

Words: Simon Lucas, Matthew Bolton, Alex Cox Photography: Phil Barker

t’stempting to wade inhere
and make some grandiose
statement about the era of hi-fi
being over.But that wouldn’t be
quiteright. Audiophile hardwareis only
getting better,vinyl isback on the rise, and
there’s nothing quitelike building your own
system. at said, the smart speaker market
has evolved to such an extent that it hasall
but unseated the concept of complex hi-fi
separates for manyof us.

For a start, a smart speaker is a quick way

to get your hands on serious quality. Even at

the lower end, they exhibita remarkable

amount of poise; premiumwireless speakers,

tuned and engineered for fantastic sound,

stand almost statuesque abovethem.

Seriously:if you’venever wrapped your ears

around a high-end speaker, you don’t know

what you’re missing.

Secondly,premium wireless speakers offer

the perfectmix ofsimplicity and complexity.

ere’s literally nothing difficult to do at the

beginning:plug in your speaker,attach it to

the relevant networks using your phone, and

you’re ready to stream.If you want to expand

yourhorizons,you can. Youcould start playing

with multi-room, with advanced EQ and room

compensation, with built-in smart assistance.

Doing that withhi-fi is much more difficult.

And let’s not forget the looks. ehigh end

is thesexyend – these are a centrepiece for the

eyes asmuch as the ears.

I