Audio Pro Addon C5A
As headlines go, Audio Pro receiving five stars for one of its wireless speakers ranks closer to ‘dog bites man’ than the more sensational ‘man bites dog’.
In this review, it’s even less of a surprise, given that the Addon C5A is almost identical to the Addon C5, which is just one of many Audio Pro speakers to have picked up What Hi-fi? Awards over the past few years.
The C5 was also part of the group that earned Audio Pro its first multi-room Award in 2018, repeated that feat in 2019, and has missed out on an individual Award for those years only because we opted to hand those prizes to the cheaper Addon C3 and the more expensive Addon C10 that sandwich it in the range.
Touch of sophistication
The Addon range also shares the sophisticated design touches we’ve come to appreciate from Audio Pro. The textured surfaces and embossed leather carry handle are very grown up for a wireless speaker at this sort of price.
The Addon C5A is a neat package with attractive proportions. It’s properly portable, but couldn’t really be described as light enough to be carted around in a rucksack all day. It is probably more suited to positioning on a patio, installing in a holiday home or placing on a desktop.
The ‘A’ added to the end of the model number refers to the Amazon Alexa voice control capabilities Audio Pro has built in to this version.
There is a control bar behind the handle where the microphones book-end buttons for turning on and controlling them and an LED volume indicator – but otherwise there’s nothing else to distinguish the Addon C5A physically from its nearest cousin.
On the front panel, you’ll find buttons for source selection – wi-fi, Bluetooth, aux and line-in – volume control, four presets and the 3.5mm analogue input.
The back of the unit houses the Addon C5A’S RCA input, subwoofer out, USB charging point and ethernet terminal. Internet connectivity also places it firmly in Audio Pro’s Award-winning multiroom family.
The Addon C5A retains the Addon C5’s driver configuration: a 10cm woofer flanked by a pair of 18mm tweeters. Though Audio Pro has recently changed tack with its cylindrical A10 speaker, it has opted not to tamper with the consummately class-leading performances of this Addon range.
Musical comprehension
The Addon C5A welcomes us with that same Award-winning musical understanding. We set ourselves up for a party with The Rapture’s Echoes, and we’re in love again within the first minute of the opening track Olio.
The heft is there in the kick drum, which thumps with metronomic precision. There are layers of textures exposed in the synthesizers, while Luke Jenner’s wail stretches dizzyingly in-between.
The Addon C5A refuses to be tripped up, not in its organisation of Heaven’s discordant vocal harmonies, nor the same track’s off-kilter rhythms. And it isn't fazed by the searing treble of the guitars in the album’s title track, nor when Open Up Your Heart demands delicacy and nuance instead.
There’s plenty of bass for a unit this size, and a level of detail we’ve become used to from these speakers, but the highlight is undoubtedly this box’s level of expression.
Rhythms snap in time, with instruments expertly organised and dynamics effortlessly contoured. We’re not talking hi-fi, of course, but as far as wireless speakers of this size and price go, we could barely hope for a manufacturer to better understand what makes a track tick.
This range of speakers has always been blessed with straightforward musicality, but as part of a multi-room system, the range of tasks the Addon C5A is asked to perform is likely to be wider than simply playing music. Talk radio and podcasts are on the menu, perhaps even services as an upgrade to TV speakers.
So let it be known the C5AS most obvious talents – expressive dynamics and low-end stability – are entirely transferable. We listen to Bob Mortimer and Andy Dawson’s football podcast Athletico Mince, for example. The Addon C5A is as happy expressing the irreverence in Mortimer’s tone – and the desperation in Dawson’s as he attempts to say something funny – as it is laying down the grooves on Echoes.
Most importantly for this particular speaker, though, is the question of how well Audio Pro has integrated its voice control abilities, and whether there is enough reason to pay the extra over a regular Addon C5.
Captures the attention
If you’re already sold on the idea of issuing voice commands to your speakers, the Addon C5A ticks all the boxes. Set-up is simple, via the Audio Pro app, it understands our requests and we are able to capture its attention even with music playing full blast.
Ultimately, the Addon C5A is more of an update than an upgrade on its non-alexa namesake. Available for the price of an Addon C5 plus the cost of an Amazon Echo product bolt on, it brings the whole package together into one neat and tidy box.
"THE ADDON C5A IS AN UPDATE TO ITS NON-ALEXA NAMESAKE, BRINGING THE WHOLE PACKAGE TOGETHER INTO ONE NEAT AND TIDY BOX"