Multi-speaker setups
WIRELESS SPEAKER 1
SONOS ERA 100
The all-singing, all-dancing Era 300 may make a statement in your living room. But its smaller, more affordable sibling is an ideal wireless speaker for a bedroom or kitchen, and revealing enough to dig up detail in any lossless streams you throw its way. Buy
two and you can use them in stereo or as rear surrounds with Sonos’s best-value soundbar…
$758, sonos.com SOUNDBAR 2 $799, sonos.com
SONOS BEAM
The best soundbar under $1,000
also happens to be the best soundbar for lossless streaming at this level – because soundbars can play music too. The secondgen Beam revels in all of the usual Sonos streaming skills, including lossless 24-bit audio from Amazon and Qobuz, while supporting Dolby Atmos for an immersive movie experience.
WIRELESS SPEAKER 3
SONOS ERA 300
Say hello to the best-sounding
Sonos speaker to date and as close to the perfect smart speaker as you can get. Not only does the Era need to be heard to be believed, it also pushes the Sonos ecosystem ever onwards with immersive spatial audio and a neat new hourglass design. Sonos plays ball with Amazon and Qobuz hi-res streaming, too.
$749, sonos.com TURNTABLE 4
REGA PLANAR 1 PLUS Turn the Era 300’s USB-C port into an auxiliary input via Sonos’s
Line-In Adapter (or Combo Adapter) and you can directly connect any turntable with a built-in phono preamp with an RCA-to-3.5mm audio cable – like this outstanding Rega. This deck sounds brilliant and your vinyl can also be streamed to Sonos
speakers around the house.
$849, rega.co.uk
SPEAKER SYSTEM 5
KEF LSX II
If you want an all-in-one streaming system that can deliver true hi-fi stereo sound in two boxes each the size of a toaster (and let’s be honest, why wouldn’t you?), these musical maestros are
excellent examples of just that. Wi-Fi streaming is bolstered by an HDMI input for TV playback, and they can be grouped with Audio Pro speakers via Cast or AirPlay.
$1,935, kef.com WIRELESS SPEAKER 6
AUDIO PRO ADDON
C10 MKII Scandinavian sweetheart Audio Pro is an established Sonos rival with a Smörgåsbord of wireless speakers to its name, the best of the bunch being the C10 MKII. This mains-powered speaker offers Wi-Fi streaming, Bluetooth and wired connections, and offers multi-room via Google Cast and AirPlay 2 as well as its own app.
$529, audiopro.com WIRELESS SPEAKER 7
AUDIO PRO A15
You perhaps desire good sound quality and streaming versatility in a speaker to go. The portable A15 is an ideal secondary speaker suitable for bathrooms, gardens
and beyond, what with its IPX2-rated water resistance and 11-hour battery life, plus Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and a 3.5mm input. Shortlisted for the T3 Awards, so
you know it’s a good ’un.
$549, audiopro.com WIRELESS SPEAKER 8
AUDIO PRO DRUMFIRE II Audio Pro leaves us no choice but to bang the drum for its biggest family member too, which kicks out a sound louder
and more sophisticated than most single-box speakers can. If you can accommodate its 68cm
height and 37cm width, it will do right by your lossless library, while offering the streaming skills
of its more modest siblings.