Bluesound is a model that goals to go face to face with Sonos, and customarily does so with nice success. Very similar to that firm, Bluesound’s product lineup consists of a variety of wi-fi audio system, soundbars, and subwoofers, together with amplifiers that can be utilized to carry wi-fi streaming to any previous audio system.
The newest wi-fi speaker to reach from Bluesound is the Pulse M ($449 / £449 / €549 / round AU$700), which at first look appears to be like like a considerably beefier Sonos One. Much like that mannequin, the Pulse M is a compact standalone speaker with high-res streaming functionality that may be paired wirelessly with a second Pulse M for stereo listening, It may also be mated with a wi-fi subwoofer for prolonged bass, or used as a encompass speaker in a full 5.1 system with one of many firm’s soundbars.
Specs-wise, the Pulse M seems to have extra occurring than the Sonos One, which presently sits on the prime of our record of the greatest wi-fi audio system . Except for being barely bigger at 6.7 x eight x 5.9 inches (W x H x D), Bluesound’s considerably cylindrical new speaker has a extra intricate “Omni-Hybrid” design that mates a 5.25-inch woofer with a pair of 0.75-inch tweeters which are offset from one another at a 45-degree angle.
The Pulse M’s design additionally incorporates an acoustic reflector that serves to radiate high-frequency sound in a 360-degree sample. The intention right here is to ship a large, immersive presentation from a single speaker, with an 80-watt DSP “sensible” amplifier working to observe efficiency in actual time to reinforce dynamic vary and cut back distortion.
Past all that, the Pulse M, which is on the market in a satin white or black end with an identical cloth grille, is managed by the corporate’s wonderful BluOS app and might stream music from a variety of providers by way of Wi-Fi, Ethernet, or AirPlay 2. MQA decoding is onboard to deal with high-res audio from Tidal, and there’s additionally two-way aptX HD Bluetooth assist.
Hardwired inputs are in depth for a compact wi-fi speaker: together with Ethernet USB type-A ports, the Pulse M has a mixture optical digital and analog audio enter, and there’s additionally a 3.5mm output for connecting wired headphones to luxuriate in high-res audio goodness.
Evaluation: Greater than One
With its progressive 360 diploma sound-spreading design, the Pulse M appears maybe much less excited about taking over the Sonos One than the Sonos 5 , one other high-ranking mannequin on our greatest wi-fi audio system record. Identical as with the Pulse M, that Sonos mannequin is designed to ship a large soundstage and to fill the room with as a lot high-quality audio as potential from a fairly compact package deal.
One other factor that the Pulse M and the Sonos 5 share in widespread is an absence of onboard microphones for voice management: you need to use Siri, Google, or Alexa instructions to function the Pulse M, however you’ll want to make use of outboard {hardware} – an Amazon Echo Dot speaker , for example – to make that occur.
The Pulse M is priced fairly a bit decrease than the Sonos 5 ($549 / £499 / AU$799), making it a extra interesting possibility for an all-in-one speaker, at the least from a price standpoint. However the massive query stays of whether or not or not it supplies a sufficiently beefy efficiency enhance over the extra reasonably priced Sonos One ($219 / £199 / AU$319) to justify the value soar.
There’s just one technique to discover that out, and it’s a hands-on evaluate of the Pulse M, which we hope to offer within the close to future. Till that occurs, try our greatest wi-fi speaker information to examine different choices, and in addition our Black Friday 2022 information, which options many different nice audio and video product offers.
