Piega Premium Wireless 301
What do you think of when you hear Switzerland? Chocolate, watches and skiing, maybe – probably not speakers. But Piega has been making high-end speakers from its base near Lake Zurich since 1986 and is now adding wireless into the mix.
The Piega Premium Wireless 301 is the most affordable system in a new wireless range. Weighing 9kg each, the speakers take some getting out of the box. Piega's Connect wireless box, the functional part of the system, is less imposing, and is happy to be placed in a corner.
The aluminium cabinets are responsible for a lot of that weight and, along with the ribbon tweeters, are a key part of Piega’s USP. The 301 bookshelf speaker has a baffle the size of an A4 sheet, with a single 14cm MDS low midrange driver. The ribbon tweeter sits above it and inside is a 100W amplifier.
Fully active system
The Piega Premium Wireless 301 is a fully active system, so each speaker requires connecting to a power outlet, as does the Connect. Around the back of the 301 speakers you’ll see a control panel with lots of retro switches.
The Group switch has three options (red, white and blue) and allows you to link multiple pairs of Piega wireless speakers in a multi-room system. Only the ‘red’ supports 24-bit/96khz audio, whereas white and blue deal with wireless transmission at 24-bit/48khz.
There are a couple of switches for positioning. Set each speaker as left or right, and indicate whether it’s in a neutral position, close to a wall or in a corner; the sonic balance will be set accordingly. An analogue input and a USB port complete the connections.
Most of the action in terms of connectivity comes via the Connect box. There are stereo RCA analogue, digital optical and digital coaxial inputs, plus a stereo RCA analogue output for a speaker, subwoofer or amplifier. There’s a service connection here too, and a button should you need to set a fixed or variable volume level.
The same Group setting is on the box (if you have multiple Piega wireless systems) plus a choice of three wireless frequency bands over which you can connect your speakers. We find this useful in terms of avoiding interference.
You can use the aptx Bluetooth connection to play music directly from a phone, tablet or laptop, negating the need to wire a source to your Connect box. Volume and Bluetooth pairing buttons sit atop the box.
Making music come out of these Piega speakers is a smooth process. Playing Freddie Gibbs & Madlib’s Crime Pays from Tidal, the Piega Premium Wireless 301 system gets off to a solid start. Clearly these are musical, well-tuned, nicely balanced speakers, capable of a high-fidelity wireless sound – a step above even the most premium one-box systems. There’s good separation of sounds and a clear stereo image.
Massive Attack’s Angel is a good test of a speaker. Happily, the menacing bassline creeps into the room as it should, with the Piega system capable of delivering sufficient weight. Bass is controlled and detailed, and the system makes a decent stab at filling our room. Control is the operative word, with the track struggling to engage our ears fully.
A little more attack and excitement would be welcome: this is a safe pair of hands rather than a thrill-a-minute. The speakers are transparent and musical, and capable of clear vocals that are light on their feet rather than full-bodied.
Both wireless streaming and aptx Bluetooth perform admirably, though we notice a clear drop in quality with an analogue connection to the Connect box – the analogue to digital and back again conversion clearly takes its toll here.
The Premium Wireless 301 is far more affordable and more wireless than any previous offering from the Swiss speaker specialist. If you value a solid, roomfilling sound, with clear vocals and clean bass, this Piega system could be for you – it's just more sunbathing by Lake Zurich than tearing down the Alps.