Martin Lévay Libratone is a Danish quick ferment from Copenhagen. I don't know their story, I don't know that they have world-class designers, and apparently they haven't developed any revolutionary technologies. What are the chances of a company founded in 2011 contacting us in 2013? Can they compete with Bose, Bowers & Wilkins or JBL products?
For me, Libratone is a company without a history. And that's what it looks like. They think they'll make it up to girly design, marketing, and chubby sales commissions. But they won't think of me. The sound is decent (same or better than Sony), but nothing special. With all due respect, Libratone Zipp and Live caught my attention as products Sony. Decent, but there is no cut at the official prices. Yes, they are relatively expensive. Both models. Zipp and Live have AirPlay over Wi-Fi, even do without a router, thanks to PlayDirect technology. But let's take a closer look.
Italian wool
The manufacturer boasts on its website that it used genuine Italian wool. As if anyone cares… even though they do. Girls! That I didn't think of it before. Libratone make speaker systems to match the interior. We guys don't really care, but many times I've heard from women the words "this doesn't belong in my living room" and "your wires and cables are everywhere". And at that moment it dawned on me that all the other manufacturers use black, silver and at most white for their speakers. So when the living room is green, the kitchen is red, or the bedroom is blue, Libratone Live or Zipp will sit there like an ass on a pot. Because only Libratone, Jawbone and Jarre make one model with multiple colors. Libratone in three, Jarre in eleven and in Jawbone you can choose a color combination. So if your roommate hates black, wood, plastic and metal, you can get the Libratone Zipp or Live, which come in three colors of Italian wool.
Quality
Balanced volume in the entire frequency range, bass, middle and highs sound as they should, so you won't offend even the most demanding listener if they don't demand "correct" stereo resolution. The sound fills the entire room nicely and the instruments that are originally placed in the right or left sound channel in the recording are not lost. The treble sounds just right, that is, they are accurate, neither too much nor too little. Low tones are a healthy average among the best, there are better and worse ones on the market, so it corresponds to the price and the technology used.
Libratone Zipp
Hmm, decent sound. That was my first reaction. Right after that I found out that it works even with the built-in battery. Such a sound and portable? Um, ok, and how much does it cost? Almost twelve thousand? For that money I can have a Bose SoundDock Portable or an A5 from B&W. Comparison? Both the A5 and SoundDock Portable play the same or better. Sure, the A5 doesn't run on a battery, it doesn't have Bluetooth, but it simply plays better for the same money, and also via Wi-Fi. With all due respect, JBL's OnBeat Rumble costs under eight grand and plays just as well and rather louder. By that I mean that if the Libratone Zipp cost under ten thousand crowns, I would be thrilled. On the other hand, the Libratone Zipp includes a total of three replaceable colored covers, nicely done, so that explains the higher price.
Libratone Live
Without a battery, but with a carrying handle. Transferring between rooms means just disconnecting from the socket, transferring to another room or cottage and plugging into the socket. Of course, Libratone Live remembers previously paired devices via Bluetooth, so getting it up and running in another room or on the porch is simple. On the other hand, I was interested in the fact that the sound is not much. I had to search for a while, but both models seemed to have "obscured heights". But very little. It wasn't until further investigation that I was able to unzip the fabric that covers the speakers and I think the thickness and material of the cover is not breathable enough to let through the softest highs (twangy highs). If there are more trebles with Sony, there are just enough of them with both Libratone loudspeakers, which means that the sound has gained in accuracy, but it is not as pleasant.
Libratone Lounge
For thirty thousand crowns, Libratone offers one of the most interesting AirPlay speaker systems on the market. Unfortunately, I did not hear it, but I expect very decent sound and very low consumption in standby mode, less than 1 watt, which is among the lowest in other categories as well. Better in terms of sound is the roughly twice as expensive B&W Panorama 2. If you want something unobtrusive for a TV with more or less the best sound on the market, have the Panorama 2 demonstrated in a store.
Frequency and attenuation
If we look at a classical speaker as an electronic component, we will find that bass speakers have a large displacement of the membrane. The center speakers vibrate less and are still loud enough. And with tweeters, you'll see that you won't even see their oscillations, as the diaphragm swing is low. There is no visible vibration, yet there is a shrill tinkle in the highs. And if you put an obstacle in the way of the three speakers in the form of a canvas, then the following will happen: the sound with a large swing (bass) will pass, the mids will be a little less penetrating, and the highs will be noticeably muffled. It's like hearing someone talking under the covers. You hear slurping, but speech intelligibility is limited. And it's similar with speaker covers, more or less any material that covers the speaker reduces the transmission of sound in higher frequencies.
Only due to the fact that the manufacturers focus on the maximum acoustic permeability of the material, speaker systems with a thin black covering fabric sound so-so. But when you use a woolen coat instead of a pantyhose-style covering, which is the case with the Libratone, you have to tune the electronics to play more treble to eliminate the loss of the Italian wool acoustic filter. And here I acknowledge the work of the sound engineers, the sound in the entire spectrum sounds good. Nothing crazy, but compared to the high end, it's a decent average. So praise for the sound, I didn't find anything unpleasant, nothing that would put me off.
Construction
Of course, I was tempted, so when something called Zipp, I couldn't resist: I unzipped the zipper, which is used to change the covers. Plastic structure that houses the electronics and speakers; that's what I expected, all covered in Italian wool. But we wonder why it plays so well. Hmm, the tweeters in the Live are not classic, but a special construction of ribbon tweeters (ribbon tweeter), below them the center and one bass turned vertically, just like the Aerosystem One from Jarre Technologies, which plays bass into the floor. So both Live and Zipp correspond to the classic description of two channels and a subwoofer, referred to as 2.1. The Zipp is a two-way and the Live is a three-way speaker system.
Electronics
Libratones wouldn't survive a minute without a digital sound processor, so just to check: yes, there is a DSP. And it works well. We can tell when we take off the Italian wool cover and the highs sound louder than they should. This confirms two facts: firstly, that the Italian wool dampens the treble, and secondly, that someone solved it and added the treble in the DSP so that it passes through the Italian wool coating. And this gives us another insight: when we remove the Italian wool cover, it plays more of the treble than it should. But it's only a matter of time, that kind of pleasantness from the Sony production, nothing objectionable, the highs just sound pleasant, although a little imprecise for detailers. But after a while, I returned the cover, the sound was a leap more pleasant/natural for quiet, relaxed listening.
záver
What to say in conclusion? The Libratones, although quick leavers, are clearly not complete amateurs. The Libratone Zipp is at least an interesting alternative to the Bose SoundDock Portable, which puts Libratone products alongside proven brands. Personally, I will be keeping an eye on their other ventures, such as the Libratone Loop, which has only been on the market for a few days and has yet to reach me, but it looks like an interesting product if you want something colorful in your interior. I can't say anything against the Libratone, decent sound in a pleasant appearance, albeit for more money, but with more options. At first glance, an overpriced design thing, but the quality is simply there, so even the most demanding listeners will shake their heads that it plays so well. Go to a store and have a demo of Live and Zipp, or Loop if in stock.
We discussed these living room audio accessories one by one:
[related-posts]
I went to look at the A5 and A7 in the store on your recommendation from the previous articles, but the salesman kept showing me the Libratone Live standing next to it in some ugly gray unpleasant wave... :)) I just want to give my first view on the matter. It's also logical, if I like the beautiful design of the B&W A7, then I can't like something like "Italian wool". But of course it's just a matter of taste... :-)
And as another criticism I have to mention that it has no entry at the back. Not that it's necessary, but for the money... it might come in handy sometimes. At least jack if he was there…
I do not evaluate the sound, it cannot be evaluated in the store.
PS: As soon as I left the store with my wife, she leaned towards me and said "I hope you don't want it, Libraton, do you?" :.-)) I was immediately pleased that we have the same taste... I would recommend the stores to highlight the differences between these repro and exhibit only other colors... green, yellow, red... gray look like covered with an old carpet.
I will correct them, that there is definitely an input from the small 3,5 audio jack, for both A5 and A7. I don't recall finding a 3,5mm audio jack input anywhere, I think all portable, computer and AirPlay speakers on the market have this line input (AUX).
Sound evaluation in the store is a problem, but in the evening the fans are turned off and it is relatively quiet in which you can already see how it is playing. But most people probably don't have that opportunity, I admit. So will Santa bring the A7? :-)
We'll save the A7 purchase for later. We are just building a house in which it will fit! :-) The 3,5 mm jack is missing from the Libratone Live, not from the A5 or A7, I must have spelled it wrong. I wrote this as a downside to the Libratone…
All Libratone products Zipp, Live, Loop and Lounge naturally have a 3.5mm jack. In addition to Loop, I have all 3 at home and I can't praise it enough.