Lately, almost everything has become wireless: wireless charging, wireless mice and keyboards, wireless headphones and more. It’s no wonder, then, that speakers have come to be wireless as well. When it first appeared, this type of device had a lot of minuses such as poor sound, low autonomy, distortions etc. But in a few years,
wireless speakers have had a small revolution. Manufacturers began releasing units capable of playing songs with tremendous quality, that have battery autonomy of over 10 hours, and some that are even waterproof! Today, you can even get
bluetooth alarm clocks that will play music from your mobile devices.
If you own an iPhone and you’re looking for a wireless speaker, you may want to go for airplay speakers that are especially designed to connect easily to your phone and allow you to listen to your favorite songs. They have incorporated multiple speakers and a powerful subwoofer, so your listening experience will be sure to be a pleasant one.
Apart from being able to connect the airplay speakers to your iPhone, most of them can also sync with other devices such as
LED TVs, PCs, Bluetooth-enabled smartphones and more.
Price
Airplay speakers are considered a bit expensive by the vast majority of users, but the features they come with and their innovative design are truly thrilling so they’re well-worth the money. Still, airplay speakers can cost as low as $150 for the entry-level models, but they can also go as high as $2500 for the more powerful units.
There are also cheap airplay speakers on the market, but we advise you not to be lured in by their low price tag because, in addition to a greater likelihood of their breaking down, these types of speakers don’t deliver a great sound experience and won’t have the autonomy a quality airplay speaker has.
Features
Airplay speakers work on batteries and you can take them with you everywhere go; if you want to listen to music as you climb a mountain, provide a picnic with a relaxing musical ambiance, or have a small party outdoors with your friends, you can easily do so. These devices can be connected to your iPhone or Android devices, so you don’t have to worry that your party will be lacking the main ingredient — the music.
Here are the main features to look for when buying an airplay speaker:
- Compatibility — Check out the list of devices you can connect to your airplay speaker to. Most of them can be connected to iOS & Android devices, TVs, PCs and more
- Sound Quality — Is supported by the built-in amplifiers. It’s also one of the most important aspects and it also depends on where the speakers are being used
- Dimensions — Can range from very large items, suitable for indoor tables, to some small and compact ones that fit in your pocket
- Power — The power of the airplay speaker is also important. If you want to listen to loud music, get one that has over 300W power
Now that you know what features to look for, let’s see the construction and design characteristics of airplay speakers.
Construction and Design
Airplay speakers have stunning designs that can improve the appearance of any room. They’re compact and attractive and will certainly be admired by anyone if you decide to take them out. They usually come in different colors such as black, red, blue, green, purple and more, and we also came upon some leather covered airplay speakers which were the definition of elegance.
The fact that airplay speakers can be used anywhere gives no certainty that they can be protected from natural hazards. When used outdoors, they must be compact enough to withstand the weather, but large enough for the bass to be heard. Furthermore, if you use them around the water, make sure that they’re water or splash-resistant, but also that they’re provided with a casing or a metal grille, if there’s sand around. There are elements that make the speakers shielded from dirt and humidity, as well as submersible models that’ll resist diving. Of course, in such cases the sound quality might be affected.
Airplay speakers can also be great in a presentation at the workplace, but if they’re too small and can’t fill an average-sized room, then they won’t help you much. So, although portability is another key element of these items, you probably want to keep in mind your needs so you can enjoy the product properly.
Performance and Ease of Use
When it comes to the performance of airplay speakers there’s not much to say. They’re usually powerful and offer a high quality sound. They’re easy to use by anyone, especially the models which come with a dedicated app that you can install on your smartphone, while others connect natively to any app such as YouTube, Netflix, Spotify Connect and more. Also, for iPhone owners, in order to send streaming audio with Airplay, both devices should be connected to the same wireless network.
Before buying an airplay speaker, check to see if it has the features you’re looking for and if it’s powerful enough for your needs. Similarly, if you want to take it with you when travelling, determine whether it’s portable and easy to use outdoors. Most airplay speakers are controlled through a dedicated app on your smartphone.
Features
Bowers and Wilkins was founded back in 1966 and manufactures speakers that you can find in homes, buildings and even in the music industry. Its range of products consists of home speakers, theatre solutions, computer speakers and multiple editions of wireless speakers. It also sells car audio systems for BMW, Maserati, McLaren and Volvo so if you own such a car you should check out its high quality speakers. It’s also said that in the leading recording studios, any song that might become known around the world is first heard on Bowers & Wilkins loudspeakers.
The Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Wireless Airplay Speaker is available in white or black and will enhance your experience with music. It’s also available in other buying options, such as an echo dot that’ll help you control it and organize various media. If you go for the speaker on its own, you still needn’t worry as you can control it through a dedicated app on your smartphone. It has 2 double dome tweeters, two midrange drivers and a powerful subwoofer that can play music at an impressive volume. Its design is sleek and appealing and will improve the appearance of any home.
Features
Libratone believes great music makes great moments and this is why it designs speakers that have amazing and balanced sound quality and the ability to convey it from all directions. All its speakers are available in multiple colors to match the tastes of all its customers. This brand also thought about those of you who like traveling and do it a lot, which is why it also manufactures airplay speakers in compact sizes that can be paired with up to 6 other speakers for a greater sound experience.
The The Libratone ZIPP Portable Airplay Speaker is available in multiple colors, including blue, green, red, gray, purple, yellow, gray and black. It’s powerful and fills any room with clean and clear music and features an intuitive interface for volume, play, pause and skip forward / back. It also streams any app natively such as Apple music, Netflix, YouTube and multiple others. The battery is rechargeable and lasts for more than 10 hours and even has a carrying handle, which makes this airplay speaker highly portable for those of you who like to listen to music anywhere and at any moment.
Features
Naim pays a lot of attention to the manufacturing of its speakers. When in the design phase its main purpose is to reduce any interference between the listeners and the intention of the artist, and this is why it always tries to improve its products and to create new technologies. It makes no compromises when it comes to the purity of the sound and uses only high quality materials for its speakers. Naim wants to take any listener deeper into its music experience and allow them to hear every single note clearly.
The Naim Audio Mu-so Qb Airplay Speaker is compact yet powerful. It allows you to boost audio from almost any source such as TVs, set up boxes, CD players, PCs, Macs, iOS and Android smartphones and more. It features five drivers such as 2 dome tweeters, two mid drivers and a custom-made woofer with a 100W amplifier. All these together can generate music at 300W which is pretty darn loud. The audio experience is refined, with no distortion and increased accuracy. It also features an alarm clock that can be controlled through the Naim app.
Most airplay speakers have stunning designs and features. It’s important to pick the one that’s suitable for your needs as you’ll likely have it for a long period of time and you’ll soon be relying on it to enhance your home music experience. We hope that our review of some of the best airplay speakers around today has helped you find something you like, but if not, there’s plenty more where these came from, so check out these great brands to see what else they have!
