You could say a wireless speaker of this nature has been a long time coming for Dynaudio, a company that branched out into active hi-fi speakers with its Xeo and Focus XD speaker range a few years back but hasn't delivered a truly “lifestyle” wireless speaker.
Until now, of course. And, like buses, four come along at once.
The Dynaudio Music range, which comprises Music 1 (£450), Music 3 (£575), Music 5 (£700) and Music 7 (£875), is all about learning your tastes. That’s thanks to Dynaudio’s new Music Now algorithm technology, which observes listening habits and uses in-app questions to curate tailored playlists.
The Music speakers’ “intelligence” extends to their awareness of (and consequent adaptation to) the environment they sit in, too. RoomAdapt technology is designed to optimise performance based on where the speaker has been placed in a room – whether that’s in a corner, against or wall or in free space – while NoiseAdapt supposedly tweaks volume based on how loud conversation is around it.
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More conventially, the Music speakers can access DLNA devices over wi-fi (there’s no Ethernet socket) through the free Dynaudio app (iOS and Android). Streaming is possible via aptX Bluetooth and Apple AirPlay.
The dedicated app also offers direct access to Tidal (a free 90-day trial comes with the speakers at launch), and is where users can pair (and control) up to six Music speakers together for a multiroom experience.
Dynaudio has another card to play. Five preset buttons on the speakers’ top panel let users directly access anything from the app – a curated “Music Now” playlist, an internet radio station or specific album, say.
All the speakers have USB inputs for Apple device playback and charging, as well as 3.5mm inputs. The Music 5 and Music 7 can both be used as a soundbar thanks to their digital optical inputs (with support up to 24bit/96kHz), and the Music 7 takes those possibilities further with an HDMI (ARC) socket.
Every speaker in the family is mains-powered, but Musics 1 and 3 also have built-in batteries that can, Dynaudio claims, deliver eight hours of music on the fly from a single charge.
Naturally, there are discrepancies in driver count and power output, although every driver is driven by Class D amplification.
The 80-watt Music 1 (the only speaker without a remote) features a 4in woofer and 1in soft dome tweeter, while the Music 3 ups that to 120 watts and a 5in woofer with twin 1in soft dome tweeters.
The Music 5 goes larger again with one 5in woofer, twin 3in midrange drivers and a pair of 1in soft dome tweeters, driven by 250 watts of power.
The Music 7 is the 300-watt daddy of the range, packing two 5in woofers, two 3in midrange drivers and two 1in soft-dome tweeters into its chassis.
On that note, the design was apparently inspired by origami, traditional Chinese boat sails and even stealth fighter jets. The speakers are available in light grey, dark grey, red or blue cloth finishes.
The Music 5 and Music 7 go further with their one-piece brushed aluminium surrounds, interchangeable front grille cloths and ability to be wall-mounted using a dedicated steel wall-bracket.
Dynaudio is far from the first traditional hi-fi brand to spread its wings towards lifestyle speakers, so naturally on launch the Music range will face a raft of tough competition from the likes of the Naim Mu-So and Mu-so Qb, the B&O BeoPlay A6 and Dali Kubik Free.
We’ve already had a first look at the Music range, and once we've gone the full twelve rounds with it (in the near future) you’ll be first to know. In the meantime, you can see the range for yourself if you scuttle on down to the Indulgence Show in London this weekend.
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