Martin Lévay We all know the Sony brand. But how do audio products from Sony fare in 2013? We'll discuss AirPlay audio docks from the 2012 lineup and select ones from 2013.
AirPlay from Sony
Twenty years ago, the Walkman for audio cassettes had autoreverse, skipping an empty space on the tape, jumping to the next track, and no matter how I turned the cassette in the player, it could distinguish side A and B. Really comfortable and useful functions. I also adored that Walkman because it had better sound on headphones than most people had on their home hi-fi tower. I haven't followed much of Sony's output for the past ten years, so when I got my hands on iPod and iPad products, I was looking forward to finding a treasure and enjoying something good and enjoyable.
Such nonsense...
The guys at Sony were incredibly unlucky. For a year, maybe two, Sony was preparing a new collection of audio docks for iPods, and Apple surprised them with a new Lightning connector. I only got my hands on the 2012 series after the launch of the iPhone 5, so all those beautiful and new audio docks fell into the "obsolete" category right from the start. And therefore expensive. That price was not justifiable because the product did not support the latest connector on iPhones and iPods. At terrible prices, they wanted to sell products that went out of fashion a month after being put on sale. But worst of all, none of those audio docks were "hitters". Nothing exceptional, nothing special, nothing beautiful, nothing incredible, nothing above average. Just usually Sony. I don't mean that in a bad way, Sony still delivers a decent above standard, but compared to the top products on the market it was so bland. At the same price, the XA900 did not perform better than the Zeppelin, comparable portable models did not perform better than those from JBL. What Sony products had in addition was wireless AirPlay via WiFi or via Bluetooth. Bluetooth does not bring as much comfort as AirPlay over Wi-Fi, so the option to choose WiFi or BT is a relief, but we pay extra even if we don't really need it.
2012 models
As I unpacked them from the display box at our store, I tried them on one by one. However, what was my surprise when I was not surprised. None played better than I expected. I don't mean it in a bad way, after all, comparing "regular electronics" with high-end products from Bose or Bowers & Wilkins is not entirely fair, but when they are already next to each other on the shelf, it tempts one. So I listened to them more thoroughly. The inconvenient thing is that this product line is at the end of its life and you can't buy the entire range. What's nice about it - if you can get them, they are at a reduced price and can appeal to someone who will match the interior and have an excellent price-performance ratio. But those who are demanding will go elsewhere and pay extra. I'm sorry, life sucks and Sony loses points.
2013 models
Since the launch of the 2012 series, there has of course been a correction in the form of the new 2013 models, which already have Lightning connector support, selected ones work via Wi-Fi or Ethernet, so there is definitely a shift in this regard. Of the new ones, I have heard only two models in passing, I admit that they play decently, the processing and appearance correspond to the standard we are used to at Sony, so again nothing significant, no designer fads like AeroSkull or Libratone.
Sony RDP-V20iP
Beautiful and round V20iP. What is that name? Only after a while did I realize that there might be a mistake on my part. Thanks to the iPad, Zeppelin and MacBook type labels, I got used to labeling them with those meaningless codes like iPhone5110, iPhone6110, iPhone7110 and so on. It's 2012, I shook my head in disbelief. Who cares about four versions of one product distinguished by an identification code and some missing or remaining functionality in the equipment? In the meantime, I was able to connect the power and slide the iPhone 4 into the dock. After exploring the buttons for a while, I realized that the round audio dock from Sony has a battery in it and decent sound. It doesn't stand out in terms of performance, but I like the construction, which fulfills its purpose and plays nicely in the space, without encountering "deaf" places. The sound corresponds to the size, it's not too strong, but you can hear the highs, mids and bass in a nice balance. As a backdrop for a room, bathroom or office, it seems like a great choice. When I wanted to take the JBL into the bathroom, I had to deal with removable rechargeable batteries that wouldn't charge when plugged in. With Sony, it's more convenient, they play via a power adapter, and then I disconnect them for an hour or five and use them on the battery. Overall, the SONY RDP-V20iP is good, the processing and appearance correspond to the company standard, i.e. nice and nicely processed. At the time when they were priced at around 3 CZK, it was expensive, but the sale price of around 000 crowns seems fair to me, and if you can get the SONY RDP-V20iP even cheaper, it is certainly an interesting purchase for iPhone 4/4S owners. Mind you, it doesn't have AirPlay, but with the remote, the iPhone can be in the 30-pin dock and play music. Except for the price, I didn't find anything that bothered me or bothered me, I liked the red and black version.
Sony RDP-M15iP
Slightly stronger in performance than the RDP-V20iP (oh, the names), also with a battery and a retractable dock. For the original price exceeding three thousand crowns, it was really expensive, somehow it didn't suit me. The sound seemed so flat, dull, without dynamics. Sure, it's a device from the lower price range, but still, I didn't like the sound, it lacked a bit of treble and a lot of bass. On the other hand, the device is very compact, pleasantly slim in depth and packs well into a travel bag. But it's great for movie sound, it certainly plays louder than the iPhone, the battery life of around 6 hours should be enough for two longer movies. So I was disappointed at the original price, but now, in the resale (price around two thousand crowns), it is an interesting choice as a portable audio for an iPod or an older iPhone with a 30-pin connector, such a kitchen audio.
Sony XA900
The Sony XA700 and Sony XA900 are very similar in terms of features, both use AirPlay via WiFi or Bluetooth, but you probably won't find the lower model anymore, while the higher model is still on sale from the original fifteen for a reduced twelve thousand crowns. If you have a television set or other electronics from a Japanese manufacturer in your home, the Sony XA900 is definitely an interesting addition. I liked the sound, it was maybe a little too tinny in the highs, but I didn't mind, it was a nice pleasant tinny. But I will mention the bass. No problems at medium volume, the decent sound of bass lines did not interfere with rock songs, it sounded good. At higher volumes, however, I registered that the bass stopped being clear and distinct. It wasn't amplifier distortion, but it sounded like the enclosure wasn't stiff enough and the speaker diaphragm was vibrating it, or it was due to poorly tuned radiators (passive weights on the diaphragms). The frequencies of the enclosure and the frequencies of the speaker itself began to interfere with each other - there was interference. Sure, you won't care about tuc tuc dance music, but it won't be comfortable for music with an emphasis on the quality of bass lines. And this is where the quality of the construction of the sound box, in which the speaker is installed, was revealed.
Normally I would wave my hand at it, but when you have two speakers for fifteen thousand next to each other, the difference was simply noticeable. The Zeppelin always sounds clean and clear throughout the volume range, that's the work of the DSP sound processor in a well-tuned enclosure (the cabinet that houses the speaker itself). In such a comparison, the Zeppelin certainly sounded better, but it couldn't charge the iPad, which the XA900 can handle. The other thing in Sony's favor was their mobile app, which shows the clock on the display and controls the equalizer when connected via WiFi or Bluetooth. So for me, at a price of just over ten thousand crowns, the XA900 is interesting for owners of an iPad with a 30-pin connector. But even so, it seems to me that a fair price would be around nine thousand, over ten is too much in my opinion. Even so, I would rather consider the JBL Extreme with Bluetooth or the more comfortable B&W A5 with AirPlay over Wi-Fi.
SRS-BTX500
Unfortunately, I didn't manage to get to all the new models, but I've already seen models with Wi-Fi and a Lightning connector in the menu, so mission accomplished. I left out the cheapest ones (under two thousand crowns) and the ones with a CD drive - I ended up with two: the SRS-BTX300 and the higher SRS-BTX500. So I only listened briefly to the SRS-BTX500, it has a decent sound in the bass, which I did not expect from such a conservative-looking device. As with the XA900, passive radiators are used, which is why the bass sounds so powerful. I was impressed by the decent stereo resolution even when listening at an angle, either it's a coincidence or the creators worked a lot on it and it was intentional. If so, it worked, sounds good.
záver
With products from Bose, B&W, Jarre, JBL and others, it can be seen that manufacturers have adapted to the design and use of Apple products. Sony tunes their new products to their own smartphones and tablets, so it just "doesn't feel right" to me with the iPhone. This may also be the source of my strange feeling about Sony products in this area of audio docks. If the Japanese see Apple as their smartphone competitor, then there's really no reason for Apple products to do anything that would make Apple users sit on their ass. And I think that just as I'm uncomfortable with Sony audio docks and don't know what to think about them, Sony Xperia owners will be thrilled because the current Sony audio docks match their phones in materials, colors, finishes and more and tablets. So, apart from the complaint that they are unnecessarily expensive, I have to remind you that most of the products from the current offer find their satisfied users thanks to built-in batteries and simple connection via Bluetooth in cheaper smartphones. We will probably be hearing about products with the Sony logo for a few more years, because there is no reason to leave the home portable audio market. But you'd better go to specialized Sony stores, take a look for yourself, you might be interested in something that I missed, because I spent much less time on Sony products than other manufacturers in this series.
We discussed these living room audio accessories one by one:
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what do you say about STR-DN1040 or 840? yes, it is a receiver and not an airplay speaker, but it seems to me to be the best equipped in the given price category (which I find quite interesting..)
Receivers are going out of fashion, they are too cumbersome at a time when we solve everything wirelessly. Few people have the time to sit down and listen to quality music for an hour sitting in an acoustically ideal room with ideal equipment. I was fooling around with it too, but my point in my series was that these magnificent receivers and column boxes take up too much space to just leave it to iron.
In addition, if you connect the wrong speakers to any quality receiver with the wrong cable, there was no point in investing in it and there is nothing to write about, because everyone would have to buy the same amplifier sets and connect them with the same cables, which does not happen in reality. Regarding receivers with AirPlay, I think that the "many-wired" boxes will end soon, most average receivers can be nicely replaced by, for example, BOWERS & WILKINS Panorama 2. That's cool :-)
Of course, it's still a group of people who will prefer an "old school" audio set, but if your wife won't let you, you'd rather nod to something more compact from B&W, where you won't suffer from the sound.
As for what I could hear with AirPlay, the Allroom Air One from Audiopro won in full, excellent sound, beautiful design in the case and a lot of connection options, including AirPlay Direct. I know a company from Sweden. Fully comparable to the best B&W and even cheaper. That's in the case of a single repro box.
In the case of stereo repro and true hi-fi sound with Air Play on a table or in a smaller room, definitely the KEF X300A wireless, of course, it's a bit of a different price category, here for about 27000...
Well, the small speakers are also excellent Bose SoundLinkMini for 5200. Great sound for such a small speaker in a large pocket.
That's my tip:0)
Thanks a lot for the tips, the KEF X300A looks like regular studio equipment with non-studio connectors, but as I already wrote: a lot has changed, old traditions are disappearing and new standards and procedures are appearing. Until recently, the lack of a balanced input would have been inexcusable, but since the speaker also acts as a sound card, it looks like a great solution for a home studio, when I can fully edit on a MacBook Pro and I already have a high-quality external sound source as part of the studio speaker system. The price roughly corresponds to better models, so I like it for work, but I probably wouldn't buy it for regular listening.
I didn't get my hands on Audiopro, I wanted to write mainly about models that can be bought in a supermarket. The things that move in the limelight of high-end studios are often in a different category, I just like that B&W and others bring this class of sound, relatively painlessly, into ordinary homes.
I myself have a Sony RDP-XA900iP, I don't know if it's the same one you write about, but it definitely has AirPlay via WIFI. My iPhone plays all the time and I have BT turned off, as well as music and sounds from NTB.
Yes, you are right, I played with it a year and a half ago, I was fixed that it has WiFi, but when I wanted to check, on SONY's website it says that it has Bluetooth and none of the manufacturers put both technologies in one device, which confused me and I couldn't find it in stores to verify. It's a stupid mistake, I'm sorry and I'll fix it, and thank you for your understanding.