A high-tech tea cosy you can turn up to 11

YoYo (L) £350

ONE of the more baffling new trends in electronics is how speakers are increasingly starting to look like knitted tea cosies.

In the case of Cambridge Audio’s YoYo (L) it’s even more confusing.

The machine (clad in comfy-looking fabric from British weavers) is meant to sit near your TV, so there’s a genuine temptation to stretch your feet out and put them on top. But it’s really a hefty piece of hi-fi gear – although it’s difficult at first to work out what it actually is.

Cambridge describes it as a ‘home audio hub’ – no, I had no idea either – but basically it’s a midway point between a wireless Bluetooth speaker and a soundbar for your flatscreen.

Unlike most soundbars, it’s not the size of a draught excluder, and unlike most Bluetooth speakers, it doesn’t sound absolutely horrible.

This alone gives it a reason to exist.

Cambridge has ensured you can connect pretty much anything with minimal effort, with an HDMI port to talk to your TV, Spotify Connect and Chromecast built in (which means you can play music via wi-fi without having to pair via Bluetooth). It’s far easier to set up than a machine this high-tech has any right to be.

Obviously it won’t match a ‘proper’ cinema sound system, but there are full-range drivers and subwoofers mounted front and side, so it can summon a level of muscle most standalone speakers could never match.

Sadly, I rarely have the heart to turn it up to 11, as the comfy look has ensured that my cat is almost always to be found asleep on top.