AirPlay speakers have been losing ground to cheaper Bluetooth boxes, but NOCS looks set to win it back with its stylish NS2 Air Monitors v2.

1

Wireless options

Connect your music via Bluetooth, AirPlay or Spotify Connect. Phew

2

Sound everywhere

Got more NS2s? Stream music to them all at once with AirPlay’s multiple speaker setting – party!

3

Colour choices

Not happy with black or white? Then choose from

green, orange, red...

Direct connection? Fair play, AirPlay

While an obviously beneficial way to connect devices wirelessly, thanks to things like improved streaming sound quality, one of the biggest drawbacks about AirPlay is that devices need to be connected to a wireless network in order for them to communicate. Seems daft, and irksome, but thankfully Apple has seen the light – in iOS 8, AirPlaycompatible devices can connect directly to each other; essentially what Bluetooth does, then. This is a boon if, for example, you have friends visiting who want to quickly stream some music from their iPhone or iPad on your AirPlay sound system, and vice versa.

While the first NS2 monitors were Bluetooth only, version two comes with the advantages of AirPlay: stable wireless streaming from a Mac or iOS device over a bigger range without audio compression. Connection is simple thanks to the free NOCS app, or alternatively there’s Bluetooth with Apt-X for a decent wireless connection with non-Apple products.

Spotify Connect enables you to connect your smartphone to the speakers over Wi-Fi and press play on your Spotify app, and provided you hold a ‘premium’ Spotify account the music keeps playing while you use your phone for other apps and calls. You can also control it from other devices running the app.

The lack of audio compression in AirPlay is a good audio starting point, and between the soft dome tweeter and Kevlar woofer there’s plenty of subtle treble detail, mid-range expression and bass warmth. Basslines are tight and snappy and reach reasonably low, suiting beat-driven music. The tweeter is revealing without ever being splashy or shrill.

Considering their size, these speakers have a lot to offer. They aren’t for filling large rooms with sound, but they can go pretty loud without distorting, and have a feature set that includes all of the key wireless technologies. €400, nocs.se Love Rock-solid AirPlay streaming. Useful Spotify connection. Great design and build Hate No remote control. No optical input. No NFC T3 Says It doesn’t look like much speaker for your money, but these smart little boxes are the perfect blend of wireless convenience and great design