THE BOSE SOUNDLINK AIR APPLE AIRPLAY SYSTEM A FULL REVIEW BY DANE TRETHOWAN Apple Airplay systems have been with us for some time now and many models have made their appearance. I’ve been left feeling somewhat disappointed up until this point by the sound quality of what’s been available relative to the cost. The Bose Soundlink Air changes the balance here, yes you’re paying a fair amount for this system but you certainly get what you paid for and that’s quality sound in a medium-sized portable unit. I did indeed say portable as that’s what the Bose Soundlink Air is and can be used well away from an AC wall outlet so this unit is perfect for outdoor entertaining or for those days when you’re lazing in the sun listening to your favourite audio books etc. DESCRIPTION The Soundlink air measures 17.1CM high, 30.7CM wide and 10.3CM deep and weighs 2.1KG without the optional rechargeable battery pack so as you can see, this system is compact enough to pickup and put down just about anywhere. The front mainly consists of a wire mesh with a panel above made of plastic, various LED indicators are displayed here which show the status of the Soundlink air - if power has been applied, if the system is connected to a Wi-Fi network, if the firmware is updating and so on. - The sides and back are made out of hard glossy plastic, a handle can be found in the centre on the top at the back. On the right hand side are 2 depressions, these are actually volume “Up” and “Down” buttons and they are touch sensitive but at least you can’t trigger them by accident. On the rear on the left is a Micro USB socket for setup and 2 sockets on the right for Power and Line-in - the Soundlink Air can be switched between Airplay and Line-In mode. On the bottom are 5 rubber feet which are of ample size to hold the unit securely on a bench top or table, a recessed button can be found on the bottom left hand side which is used to either reset the system or to put the system into “Alternate Setup” mode. The system is powered by a large power supply that comes in the box or an optional Rechargeable battery pack which screws onto the back. The power supply - though it is large - incorporates a cord management system, the cord can be wound up into the supply and a rubber flange prevents the cord from unravelling so you only use the length of cord you require from the supply to the soundlink air depending on your needs. Like many power supplies these days the supply for the Soundlink Air is a multi voltage model and thus comes with various adapters to suit different power standards for different countries. SETUP Setup involves connecting the Soundlink Air system to a Wi-Fi network and Setup can be performed using 2 methods, the first and recommended method by Bose is to go to the Bose web site, download and install the Wi-Fi setup software and configure the Soundlink Air via the USB cable supplied using your computer. The second method involves holding down the recessed button on the bottom of the system for 5 seconds, this puts the system into “Alternate setup” mode and activates the systems wi-fi network. When the network is active you can use a web browser to configure the system in a similar way as you would configure a router, the Soundlink Air presents a HTML interface where you tell the system about the Wi-Fi network you wish it to connect to, click on the the “Connect” button in the Interface and the system establishes a connection. TESTING AND STREAMING Once the Soundlink Air was connected to my Network I had no problems whatever in streaming audio from various Airplay compatible devices and systems, I even tested an iPod Tough 4th generation which worked surprisingly well! - when I’ve tested the iPod Tough 4th generation device with other Airplay systems in the past I’ve found that the connection would dropout over time but this did not happen in my present testing with the Soundlink Air. - There can be a considerable delay between pressing a button and hearing the result on the Soundlink Air depending on the device or system you’re streaming from, the delay doesn’t indicate there’s a problem or fault, its an unfortunate characteristic of the Apple Airplay system and the delay isn’t usually all that long, for example if you stop a track playing which is streaming from the Airfoil software, there’ll be a delay of about 2 seconds. Sometimes when you change a track in iTunes, there will be a delay of around 5 seconds whilst the next track is loaded, these delays to me at least are a small sacrifice and small inconvenience given that you’re hearing your audio in a “lossless” digital environment. The Soundlink Air comes with a very nice remote control which sports only 8 buttons but 8 buttons are certainly enough to drive your Airplay sessions, as well as track forward and back you have volume up/down, pause, mute and power on/off buttons at your disposal. CONCLUSIONS The audio out of this system has to be heard to be believed but - if you have a Bose system of some kine already - then you won’t have to stretch your imagination to far to realise what I’m talking about when I speak of “unbelievable audio”. Volume can go very loud indeed so be warned! loud volume doesn’t lead to audio distortion on this device, this unit performs well in a small crowded area. I’m somewhat puzzled as to why Bose gives the user two modes of “Setup”, I would have thought that the “Wi-Fi Setup” or the “Alternative Setup” method as the manual refers to it would have more than sufficed, the main “Setup” method whereby software needs to be downloaded and installed just seems to add extra complication to the task at hand. I bought the option rechargeable battery pack for with my system and I’m truly glad I did, I now have great sound in my back yard and full control over it. The Bose manual claims that battery life is around 3 hours when the system is at maximum volume? Well I’m just not game enough to try that as I value my ears but I can tell you that I’ve managed 10 hours out of the battery pack at around 30% volume, no complaints there given the audio quality. Some interesting features are provided which may help those without vision, the system beeps when power is applied - whether from the battery pack or mains power - and a higher pitched series of beeps sound when the system has found and connected to a wi-fi network. I found a feature not mentioned in the Soundlink Air User Guide, its not necessary for the system to be connected to a home Wi-fi network for the user to enjoy it, you can connect the Soundlink Air to your IOS devices Wi-Fi network anywhere and enjoy your music library streamed to your Soundlink air, just put the Soundlink air into “Setup” mode by holding down the recessed button on the bottom for 5 seconds, select the “Soundlink” Wi-Fi network in setup on your iOS device and “Airplay” is ready at your command. This system is extremely good value for money in my view and I’d be very surprised if anyone was disappointed by what they hear come out of this thing. Bose here in Australia offer a 90 day trial period, if you’re not happy with the unit after 90 days then Bose will come and collect the system from you so check with your Bose web site for your particular country or region. There are plenty of videos which show you how the Soundlink Air works on the web site so you may wish to refer to these whilst considering your purchase. Price of the Bose Soundlink Air system in Australia is $450.00 .
********** Dane Trethowan Skype: grtdane12 Phone US (213) 438-9741 Phone U.K. 01245 79 0598 Phone Australia (03) 9005 8589 Mobile: +61400494862 Fax +61397437954 <--- Mac Access At Mac Access Dot Net ---> To reply to this post, please address your message to [email protected] You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Mac-Access forum at either the list's own dedicated web archive: <http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/mac-access/index.html> or at the public Mail Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/>. Subscribe to the list's RSS feed from: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.xml> As the Mac Access Dot Net administrators, we do our very best to ensure that the Mac-Access E-Mal list remains malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free. However, this should in no way replace your own security strategy. We assume neither liability nor responsibility should something unpredictable happen. Please remember to update your membership preferences periodically by visiting the list website at: <http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/mac-access/options/>
