ACTIVE SPEAKERS

All-in-one wireless speaker systems are the height of practicality. Our group test features three at £1000-£1500, from Dali, KEF and Q Acoustics

Think of a hi-fi system and the image you conjure first is very likely to be that of a pair of speakers connected to an amplifier connected to a source or two – perhaps even the set-up you have at home. But, as you’ll know, audio systems no longer require a vast array of boxes and cables as many bid to become more convenient to house and use.

Back in the day, that same drive for convenience led to the infamous ‘music system’ – an all-in-one product that, more often than not, set light to any real attempt to achieve good sound quality. And usually had separate speakers anyway. But it’s all different these days.

The peak of such practicality right now is demonstrated by all-in-one wireless stereo speakers: a pair of hi-fi speakers, with amplification built into the cabinet walls, making them active speakers, and wireless streaming modules and physical connections (for adding additional sources such as a record player or CD player). The modules and connections are either integrated as well or housed in a small box that wirelessly transmits music to the speakers. This type of set-up is growing rapidly in number.

Not only do such systems make life a lot easier for those for whom space is limited, they also supply a level of sound quality that is frequently as good as, if not better than, an equivalently priced system made up of separate components.

The three systems we’ve picked out to test here illustrate the various routes you can take to get the all-in-one streaming speakers that are best for you.

The What Hi-fi? Award winning KEF LSX is among the finest examples of this all-in-one hi-fi system concept we’ve come across, but those smart-looking cabinets aren’t alone in their promise to offer the best balance between convenience and performance.

In the following pages, they take on the all-new, similarly executed Dali Oberon 1 C, which looks to all intents and purposes like a conventional stereo speaker; and, by contrast, the futuristic-looking Q Acoustics Q Active 200, which employs a radical Bmr-driver solution to sound reproduction within a strikingly minimalist cabinet. So which best fulfills its promise? We’ve had a good listen to each of them and have made our choice.