STREAMING, wireless, active, multi-room… these are all part of the hi-fi and music enjoyment process now, and Audioengine has never been one to be left behind. The company’s active compact speakers have won wide acclaim, and expanding on the range is the A1-MR multi-room system which is touted as “the perfect home audio upgrade, bringing high-fidelity music streaming into rooms around your home.”
“Using the Audioengine Control app, connect A1-MR speakers to your WiFi network and instantly stream from your favourite music service or direct from your music library using your phone, tablet, or computer,” goes the press literature.
“Together with our companion app and your home network, the A1-MR creates a new way for you to discover and interact with the music you want to hear. Easily stream from any WiFi-connected device on any streaming app, and experience fully immersive, true stereo sound in any room. It’s the difference between listening to music and hearing all of it.”
The Audioengine Control app supports up to 12 zones in range of your home Wi-Fi network, allowing seamless, audio synchronisation all around. You’ll, of course, need to add additional A1-MR speakers to rooms around the house for multi-room sound, stereo pairing, and multi-user capabilities.
Importantly, “Audioengine systems do not have microphones and won’t listen in on your conversations. We won’t invade your space or your privacy. If you’re making a move to multi-room, the A1-MR is the smart choice, without being a smart speaker.”
Each speaker features a 70mm aramid fibre woofer and 20mm silk-dome tweeter, covering a frequency range of 65Hz to 2kHz. The onboard Class D amplifier is capable of 30 watts of peak power per channel (15W RMS). Apart from the WiFI capabilities, there’s a 3.5mm stereo mini-jack input as well as a LFE variable out for subwoofer hook-up. The cabinets are MDF, finished in grey and with tuned front-port slots.
Each speaker measures 152 x 102 x 13.3mm; the left active unit weighs 1.kg and the right passive one is a lighter 1.1kg.
The A1-MR starts off as a two-speaker setup for stereo sound right out of the box. Once set up, you can access Internet radio, podcasts, audiobooks, and various music services (Amazon Music, Spotify, TIDAL, Qobuz, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, Napster and more) via your smart phone (iOS or Android phone) and stream them to the speakers.
Once you set up multiple pairs, you can synchronise the same musical programme across rooms or play different stuff in various zones of your home.
The A1-MR is shipping now from Audioengine’s Amazon store, and is also available direct from the site site or from more than 400 authorised worldwide resellers. The retail price is US$229 a pair.
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