B&W expands AirPlay speaker range with A7 and A5 models

B&W is expanding its range of AirPlay wireless music systems with the introduction of the A7 and A5 models, selling for £700 and £400 respectively. Both will be available from October.

B&W A7 AirPlay speaker review

B&W A5 AirPlay speaker review

Their design mirrors that of the B&W MM-1 desktop speakers: in essence, the A7 and A5 look like a couple of MM-1s joined together in a single unit.

The larger A7 has a 15cm Kevlar-reinforced subwoofer and a bank of four stereo drivers (2 x 25mm tweeters/2 x 7.5cm midrange) powered by five dedicated Class D amplifiers, delivering 25W to the tweeters and midrange, plus 50W to the sub.

What's more, its digital-to-analogue converter can upsample audio to 24-bit/96kHz.

The more compact A5 has two 25mm Nautilus tube aluminium tweeters and a pair of 10cm mid/low range drivers, powered by 20W amplification.

AirPlay compatibility means users can stream music via wi-fi or ethernet from an iPhone, iPad or a computer running iTunes. There's a free B&W Set-up App, downloadable from the App Store.

The A5 and A7 join the Zeppelin Air (£500) in the B&W range, bringing the number of AirPlay systems it sells to three.

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Andy Clough

Andy is Global Brand Director of What Hi-Fi? and has been a technology journalist for 30 years. During that time he has covered everything from VHS and Betamax, MiniDisc and DCC to CDi, Laserdisc and 3D TV, and any number of other formats that have come and gone. He loves nothing better than a good old format war. Andy edited several hi-fi and home cinema magazines before relaunching whathifi.com in 2008 and helping turn it into the global success it is today. When not listening to music or watching TV, he spends far too much of his time reading about cars he can't afford to buy.

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