WiFi speakers are designed for home or business use. You have a choice of stand-alone units, as well as as modular speakers that can collectively provide audio for your whole home (multiroom systems). Select models also include Bluetooth, so you can connect your mobile phone or tablet directly, for example, when your friends arrive for a party.
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WiFi Speaker Performance
The watts indicator specifies only the power of the built-in amplifier in the WiFi speaker (the maximum volume is given in decibels (dB)). In addition, many manufacturers measure amplifier performance under different conditions, so 20W RMS can often be better than 200W PMPO. Instead of just comparing the biggest performance numbers, it is advisable to also look at the size of the speaker, the driver membranes, and how much the speaker even weighs. The grouping below should therefore be used as a reference only.
- Up to 10W - extra compact WiFi speakers; due to their small size, you shouldn’t expect them to amaze you with deep bass.
- 10 to 40W - WiFi speakers starting with about 20W RMS offer rich audio with a wide frequency range. If you are not an outright audiophile, you should find them wholly satisfactory.
- More than 40W - can take care of the music for an entire party and boast strong and deep bass.
Streaming Content with WiFi Speakers
- Online music services (Spotify, Deezer, Tidal etc.) - allow you to listen to extensive music libraries of all genres without having to save data to the local storage.
- AirPlay - for playing music from your home network or Apple Music using Apple devices (via WiFi or even Bluetooth).
- Google Cast - play music from your home network (phone/tablet/PC, etc.) and the Internet without any complicated setups (over WiFi).
- DLNA - playback from home network (Windows computers and NAS storage) via WiFi or cable.
- Android apps - play content from Android smartphones and tablets.
Radio Stations
- AM and FM with RDS - - classic analogue radio. RDS enhances standard FM radio reception by providing extra info about the played track, radio station, etc.
- DAB/DAB+ - modern digital broadcasting with easy program selection, accompanying multimedia data, and extensive program offerings.
- Internet radios (vTuner) - you can listen to thousands of Internet radios with maximum comfort and in higher quality compared to DAB/DAB+.
Stream/USB Playback Formats
- Lossy compression - the files take up little space, but at a lower bitrate you may hear somewhat reduced reproduction quality. These formats include MP3, WMA, OGG Vorbis, or AAC.
- Lossless - takes up more space but maintains the quality of the source recording. These include FLAC, ALAC (Apple Lossless), APE, and WMA Lossless.
- Modulation (LPCM/DSD) - digital audio signal encoding. Support for both formats ensures that you will be able to play all available sources.
WiFI Speaker Connectivity
- WiFi/LAN (RJ-45) - play content from the Internet or your home or corporate network (from NAS storage, computers, and smart devices such as mobile phones/tablets).
- Line input/AUX (3.5mm jack) - wired connection to any audio source with headphones or line output (PC, smartphone, MP3 player, etc.).
- Line input/AUX (2x RCA/Cinch) - performs the same function as the 3.5mm input jack. However, it requires two connectors for stereo reproduction instead of one multipole jack.
- USB - for direct digital connection of your iPhone/iPad and music playback from flash drives or external drives. Some WiFi speakers can also charge a connected phone or tablet via USB.
- Headphone output (3.5mm jack) - connect wired headphones to the speaker.
- Card slot (SD/microSD) - play music from a Secure Digital memory card, usually in MP3 or WMA format.
WiFi Speaker Expansion Features
- Smartphone/tablet control - operate all functions directly from your phone or tablet display.
- Display - makes the speaker easier to operate and lets you choose functions directly on the device.
