The Sond Audio Active Bookshelf Speakers, apart from being a mouthful of a name, are a tempting proposition if you’re after budget speakers that do it all.
The brand, launched by and available from online retailer Ebuyer, is offering big sound and plenty of connectivity options – all for just £150.
Sound
The first impression is one of size. These are a bulky pair of speakers (a little too big for a desktop system, we think), and appropriately, they deliver a great big spread of sound.
Play Florence + The Machine’s Ship To Wreck, and the Sonds will reward you with large-scale dynamics. These speakers can certainly go loud.
They have an upbeat and straightforward approach to music that will grab you immediately, with Florence Welch’s voice sounding clear, direct and solid. It reaches decent highs, with a fair amount of bite at the top end.
There’s a slight coarseness to the edges of notes, though, and while the soundstage is spacious, it’s not quite as layered or three-dimensional as we’d like.
Shifts in dynamics and rhythm are handled bluntly, with little subtlety to keep you fully engaged with the music. The taut bassline in Burning Spear’s Marcus Garvey charges along merrily, giving the Sond Audios their pleasing immediacy.
But there isn’t enough depth or texture, nor are the stop and start of notes definite and precise – and that stops us from fully engaging with the music.
In fact, while the speakers have a decent level of punch, they’re simply not as refined or as detailed as rivals, such as the Wharfedale DS-1s or Edifier R1700BTs.
The Sond Audios sound a touch cleaner and more solid through the USB input, although the attacking tempo, the brash edge and the room-filling sound remains consistent when using Bluetooth.
Features
For just £150, it’s pretty impressive that these powered speakers come with such a generous helping of inputs.
Along with Bluetooth streaming and a 3.5mm input, you also get a USB type B input to connect your laptop, plus two pairs of RCA line inputs, a pair of RCA outputs, and a subwoofer output.
LED indicators on the master right speaker (which houses the 180W amplifier) will tell you which input is in use. Confusingly, Sond Audio uses a blue LED for every wired input, while Bluetooth, usually indicated by blue, is white.
Build
Given their size, we’d recommend putting the Sonds on stands (especially if you want to use them as TV speakers). Just make sure you give them plenty of space to let that open sound flourish.
Placing them too close to a wall will block up the rear bass port, giving the sound some extra boom.
The speakers are built solidly, but the big rotary dial on the right speaker (which doubles as the input switcher) is a bit knobbly and inelegant, and feels cheaply made.
We prefer using the remote control, which is small and light, and has satisfyingly solid and responsive buttons. Selecting inputs and changing volumes is easily done.
It’s worth noting that the playback controls work only when you’re streaming via Bluetooth.
Verdict
The Sond Audio Active Bookshelf Speakers offer a great deal for such a budget price. The range of connections makes them flexible, and if it’s big and loud sound you’re after, you’ll certainly get it here.
However, there are more detailed, elegant and engaging speakers available for similar money. Ultimately, we’d urge you to explore its competitors for a better and more enjoyable performance.
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