Naim has proven the worth of second drafts with the Mu-so Qb 2nd Generation, which has just been named best wireless speaker over £500 in this year’s What Hi-Fi? Awards.
It isn’t the only new product to be included in the category, however, with another second gen speaker, the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2, replacing the UE Roll 2 as our favourite wireless unit costing less than £100.
They sandwich two repeat winners from Audio Pro – the boombox-like Addon C3 and Addon C10 – as the Scandinavian brand proves great sound lasts a long time.
It’s this quartet that will be vying for a sought-after Product of the Year Award at the What Hi-Fi? Awards ceremony on Tuesday 5th November, but all four are unquestionably class leaders at their various price points.
The Mu-so Qb represents one of the most pleasant surprises we’ve had this year. While its first iteration achieved a five-star review when we first tested it back in 2016, it was caught up with pretty quickly, and subsequent rival products forced us to subtract a star not long later.
It’s hard to envisage that happening again, with the second generation comfortably dispensing of all rivals within a few hundred pounds’ radius. A combination of punchy bass and a startlingly airy soundstage bring real hi-fi sensibility to the presentation, which would serve well as many people’s main audio system.
The Wonderboom 2 (pictured below), meanwhile, is a delightfully entertaining portable speaker, about the size of a hockey ball, built for the outdoors and listening on the move. It pipped its UE stable mate thanks to its more full-bodied, sturdier performance that still retains the enthusiastic nature of the Roll 2.
As for Audio Pro: well, there’s just no shifting its Addon range for the moment. The C3 is the smaller, portable version of this boombox range, with the C10 offering a far grander scale but the same unwavering focus, faultless organisation and wildly expressive dynamic range. They’re both part of the company’s multi-room family, too, which also retains its Award in 2019.
You can find out which is named best of the best on 5th of November, when we’ll be reporting live on whathifi.com from our London ceremony.
Until then, check out all 111 of the 2019 What Hi-Fi? Award winners.
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