I have a gleam
Four lights a b ove
the buttons indicate
volume level and pulse
when the G10 is thinking,
while three beneath
show the audio
source.
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TESTED AUDIO PRO G10Swedish brand Audio Pro’s first boomer with
Google Assistant is going up against smart
speakers packing real hi-fi chops
■ The size of a loaf of bread and
attractive in a very Scandi way, the
G10 won’t go stale anywhere near
as quickly as sliced Hovis. In fact,
it looks almost incomplete without
some sort of trendy cold-brew
coffee apparatus next to it.■ A full suite of small, shiny metal
buttons on the brushed aluminium
top allows you to skip and pause
tracks, adjust the volume, switch
sources, mute the mic and summon
Google Assistant using your hands
instead of your voice – which is,
after all, more convenient if you’re
standing next to it.■ There’s still a distinction to be
made between smart speakers
and wireless speakers with voice
control... and this is the latter. With
a 3in long-throw woofer, 1.25in
Balanced Mode Radiator tweeter,
dual 4.5in passive radiators and a
52-Watt Class D amp, the priority
here is audio, not smarts.■ The G10 sounds good no matter
where you place it. The barrel shape
disperses sound in almost every
direction and everything feels in
proportion. If we’re being picky, the
mid-range lacks a little meat and
bass is limited, but given its physical
dimensions that’s nothing major to
complain about.■ Pump up the volume and it
maintains its composure admirably,
although the responsiveness
of the voice control suffers when
you crank it too far above normal
speaking volume – which is hardly
surprising or unique to the G10.Audio Pro has its work cut out convincing you to buy this over a Sonos One, an
Amazon Echo Studio or even an Apple HomePod... but perhaps its biggest rival lies
closer to home. Audio Pro’s own A10 has almost identical specs and can be found
fo r up to £100 less; you just lose the voice control and flexible multiroom capabilities.
Still, if those things are crucial, you’ll be very happy with the G10.Thank you for
the music, but
there are options
for under £200
Tom WigginsTake a chance on G
STUFF SAYS An impressive all-rounder, but do you really need the voice control? HHHH✩
Power 52W Drivers 1.25in tweeter,
3in woofer, 2x 4.5in radiators
Connectivity Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4,
3.5mm aux Dimensions
193x140x140mm, 1.43kg■ Super grouper
Audio Pro has its own multiroom
system... but this speaker isn’t
compatible with it, so you can’t
add it to a dedicated Audio Pro
network. But there is Chromecast
built-in and Apple AirPlay 2 for
multiroom with mixed brands.■ ‘Hey’ all your love on me
Having Google Assistant on board
means it can do everything a less
hi-fi-centric smart speaker can:
controlling your heating, making
a shopping list, or teaching you
how to say ‘mongoose’ in Swedish
(it’s ‘mungo’, by the way).£226 / stuff.tv/G10Tech specs