R6 Wireless Audio 360
Classy sound – but a clumsy app
There are quite a few speakers available that have a circular or cylindrical shape, but the design is often just for show as these speakers still tend to emit sound in a relatively narrow area immediately in front of the speaker. But, for the new R6, Samsung developed a special ‘ring radiator’ that is able to emit sound in a full 360-degree range around the speaker.
The result is pretty impressive, as this nine-inch speaker pumps out a firm, full sound that is capable of filling a room for a decent-sized party. It weighs a comfortable 1.8kg and has a rechargeable battery that lasts for about six hours, so it’s ideal if you want to pick it up and blast your tunes outside.
You can connect to the R6 using either Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, and the Wi-Fi option also allows you to link multiple speakers as part of a multiroom audio system. Unfortunately, the Wi-Fi side of things is a bit untidy. Samsung’s Wireless Audio app is available for Macs and iOS devices, as well as Windows and Android, but it has some very rough edges – for instance, you still have to use the app on an iOS device in order to play music stored in iTunes on a Mac. Songs are also listed in alphabetical order rather than in their correct album-track order, which is sloppy.
At this price we’d have liked the R6 to support Apple’s AirPlay, which would have solved those problems with the Wireless Audio app. As it stands, the R6 is an impressive speaker that works best via Bluetooth, but which needs a better app in order to make the most of its Wi-Fi features. Cliff Joseph