A speaker for the ultimate muso

Wireless speakers are everywhere in stores. They come in many sizes, for different purposes and at different price ranges. Some have one feature, some have many. Here is one that is full of features and hopes you can fit them into your deep pockets.

If you absolutely love your music, love to identify the subtleties of each instrument in every song and love to sit back, look outside and just listen to your favourite tunes (like this guy above) then this speaker is made for people like you.

Naim is not a company that is very well known in Australia but in Europe they have been around for a very long time. Their name is well known for high-end audio. This is one of their cheapest products in the range. Their most expensive product comes in at over $200,000. Yes, that is for an amplifier.

The one we tested is the Mu-so. Aptly named too. This speaker has a rather large feature list, it can be used as a wifi speaker, controlled via an app on your smartphone, it has Spotify Connect, AirPlay, can be used as a bluetooth speaker, can be directly connected via 3.5mm, optical, or even a USB drive. It has more features than most. One of the handy things is that it has a infrared remote too so it doesn’t need to be a complicated affair to use. The app is also really nice, you can kick off your music with very little effort and you’re quickly enjoying great music.

The Mu-so itself produces amazing sound. I don’t consider myself as a music snob or an audiophile. But I have tested a large range of speakers and this is the best sounding speaker I’ve heard. The bass is solid but not overbearing, the treble is crisp but not harsh and those mid-tones connect perfectly. I played a wide range of music through the Mu-so and was constantly lost in the sound.

The design of the Mu-so is probably the most unique. It is a 13kg unit and sits on a clear base, the unit itself looks as though it was one large piece of steel carved to be used as a speaker. On the back is a gorgeous grill and on top is a wonderful dial for turning up the volume as well as most controls for modes and play/pause etc. The dial is illuminated and it feels great to turn it up literally rather than pushing a + symbol button. Naim has won numerous awards for their design in this speaker and we couldn’t agree more. It is just beautiful.

Plenty of positives to this speaker but now for the minor negatives. It is a feature rich speaker, techies will love that. If we however gave this speaker to someone who was not very technical then we think this may be a little complicated for them to use. With all the modes and controls it can become confusing to use. The only other negative and this primarily related to the person writing is that this speaker will cost $1,699 to own. Not something EFTM can readily afford!

We feel this speaker is for the house that has a modern, Rolex catalogue worthy style. It should be the centrepiece of a room which you comfortably sit around with a beautiful glass of wine while admiring an ocean view.