which quality Wifi Speaker option?

[hybridauth_Google_104278424356535160439]

helloI am in the market for some HIFI and would like some advice. Basically, my ideal is for powered speakers that I can control via software on my macbook. In other words, I want the HIFI to act as the 'audio output' for my laptop. I'm not really after a component system, just integrated/powered speakers. I will use it for main 2 purposes - 1) playing my digital music library 2) playing mixcloud and various dj mixes on youtube (i.e. what's playing in my web browser). Over WIFI would be best, but if I have to use an optical input on the HIFI then I would consider this. Options I've been looking at are:Naim Mu-soYamaha MusicCast Speakers NX-N500Sonos PLAY:5 (x2 for stereo sound) if anyone has advice or personal experience that would be great. thanks!

 

[davedotco]

The NX-N500 is probably the most flexible solution for a non component system. It is very difficult to find anything that this system can not do, so this would would definitely be my starting point.

You need to get a demonstration of the app, how it works for you is pivotal here and you simply have to give it a try. My experience is that the Yamaha control app is one of the best I have used but YMMV.

Performance wise, it is up to you, I find the Sonos speakers to produce what I describe as a 'manufactured' sound, but that's a personal response. My own choice for a system of this choice would be the new Yamaha WXC50 as a streamer/dac/preamp controller which would allow me the flexibility of choosing whatever active speaker I prefer.

I understand that this adds an extra component, but it can be hidden away and controlled remotely, so for me the extra flexibility would be worthwhile.

 

[hybridauth_Google_104278424356535160439]

hi Dave - thanks for the reply. sorry about the formatting, i tried to fix it but it still comes out wrong.

The WXC50 doesn't appear to be available here in New Zealand until later this year, but i'll keep that in mind for the future.

I feel like I want to avoid the apps that acompany the speaker systems and just use them as the 'audio output' of my mac, but maybe its not that simple from a technical perspective. (maybe still use the apps for settings and audio EQ setup etc, but they all come with a remote for volume control. I really just want to send my laptop digital audio output to quality speakers).

 

[davedotco]

If you want to keep it simple and you are happy to control everything from your computer then you are paying far to much for the facilities and functionality of both the Yamaha and Sonos systems.

Having run a hi-fi store in Sydney (with a fair few clients from across the Tasman) I understand the limits of price and availability in your part of the world, so I would be tempted to look at a different solution.

Your local music shop should be able to supply a Behringer UCA202 dac (interface), which is a perfectly acceptable usb dac that is very cheap (£25 in the UK) and a pair of Yamaha HS5 or HS7 speakers (£230-300 in the UK). These are famous and very capable products sold in huge numbers all over the world and are great vfm.

This gives you a very simple wired setup that sounds great and costs way less than the original suggestions, functionality is basic but if you are happy to control everything from the laptop, it will work fine. The Yamaha speakers are better versions than the speakers in the NX-N500, cheaper too.

This will give you a functional, powerful and functional system and time for you to work out all the benefits of adding the WXC50 at a later date, once you get a handle on the capabilities of this unit and are come to terms with using a control app, you will wonder how you managed without.

If, like me, you prefer to keep the hi-fi symple, get the cheapest decent Tablet you can find and simply use it as a dedicated remote for the WXC50, keeps it very tidy.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_10154670196031664]

I was on the hunt, and I listenned to the Dali Zensor 5AX Speakers. I then compared them during the session to Dali Zensor 5 (i.e. no build in amp) and a Rotel RA11 amp. Playing the music that Iiked it was night and day difference, and I asked the guy doing the demo why that was so, and he basically said "well it is a lifestyle product". So I felt that they had taken some very nice speakers (the 5's), and put in a rather less capable amp in them to make the 5AX, and that was rather a shame.

It is possible that there was a problem with the 5AX, or that I was giving them an unfair test, but what I took away from that, was that one should make a careful comparison, just in case the combined unit is way inferior to a seperate setup.

Having said that I would be very interested in a comparison between say:

http://www.whathifi.com/dynaudio/xeo-2/review

and

Rotel Ra11 + Dynaudio M10 which are about the same price

Good luck!

 

[davedotco]

I was on the hunt, and I listenned to the Dali Zensor 5AX Speakers. I then compared them during the session to Dali Zensor 5 (i.e. no build in amp) and a Rotel RA11 amp. Playing the music that Iiked it was night and day difference, and I asked the guy doing the demo why that was so, and he basically said "well it is a lifestyle product". So I felt that they had taken some very nice speakers (the 5's), and put in a rather less capable amp in them to make the 5AX, and that was rather a shame.

It is possible that there was a problem with the 5AX, or that I was giving them an unfair test, but what I took away from that, was that one should make a careful comparison, just in case the combined unit is way inferior to a seperate setup.

Having said that I would be very interested in a comparison between say:

http://www.whathifi.com/dynaudio/xeo-2/review

and

Rotel Ra11 + Dynaudio M10 which are about the same price

Good luck!

There is some truth to what you say though it is way more complicated.

There is a demand, among 'non component hi-fi' buyers to get something simple, a pair of speakers with built in Bluetooth being the minimum requirement and there are loads of models from known manufacturers from about £200 up. Quality is variable and value for money is usually poor.

Most of these designs are 'powered passive' designs, ie regular hi-fi speakers with a Bluetooth receiver, dac and two channel amp built into one master speaker with a second slave speaker connected by a regular length of speaker wire.

The Yamaha NX-N500 takes this to another level by building in network capabilities, Spotify Connect, Airplay and Bluetooth connectivity, real multi-room capability and fully active (not powered passive) speakers. The functionality is fantastic, leaving alternatives, at anything like the same price, for dead.

The weakest point is, surprisingly, the speakers themselves being somewhat less capable versions of Yamahas own HS5, a simple active monitor at an excellent price, under £250.

That said, Yamaha seem to be leading from the front in this sector, look at the new WXA and WXC models, very capable devices at affordable prices.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_10154670196031664]

Hi the Yamaha NX-N500 came up on my radar, when I was hunting. I really liked the concept, it is most attractive idea...but...

I did not find any reviews of it that really went into the sound (sorry if I was not looking hard enough), so I did not try and find a location to listen to them. Have you heard them, if so how do you rate them?

 

[davedotco]

I have read one or two online reviews that rate the sound quality quite highly but think they are a near unique product currently occupying the middle ground between 'lifestyle', Sonos Play type systems and component hi-fi. This makes it difficult to evaluate their quality and value as there is no comparable product to evaluate them against.

I am very familier with the Yamaha HS5, a 'pro' speaker on which the NX-N500 is based which is terrific value at under £250pr. Building all the functionality into the NX-N500 and producing them in smaller numbers than the HS5 means that the £599 price is reasonableeven though the speakers appear slightly less capable than the HS5s themselves.

The new WXC50 is a stand alone control unit that combines all the functionality of the NX-N500 with the flexibility of being able to chose your own speaker and amplifiers.

For example, a pairing of the WXC50 and a pair of HS7s would cost the same as a pair of NX-N500 and the HS7s are altogether more capable, as indeed are a number of alternate combinations.