Mu-so Qb Gen 2
A bulging box of abilities, Naim’s Mu-so Qb is the smaller brother of the main Mu-so — roughly a 21cm cube — offering exactly the same streaming abilities plus one minijack input, one optical and a USB slot for sticks and drives. Note, however, there’s no HDMI input on the Qb.
As with the Gen 2 Mu-so there are new colours for the optional grilles you can order should black not be to your liking: Olive, Terracotta (pictured) and Peacock. You now also get a remote control included, which we reckon to be a major benefit for when the app isn’t to hand, though of course there’s also that magnificent knob on the top, upgraded to the Gen 2’s 15 different touch zones, offered contextually depending on what’s happening.
Sonically it’s obviously smaller in size of sound than the Mu-so, but still a wonder for its dimensions, though we found it came over rather weedy in free space, so that despite the ability to tune it for positioning we’d recommend having it near a wall or corner. Find the right home for the Naim Qb, and you won’t be disappointed in its sound, while the app, the remote and its useful inputs all score further points.