Martin Lévay In addition to the A5 AirPlay, the sound engineers at Bowers & Wilkins also produced the legendary Original Nautilus speakers. If you want to have an Original Nautilus speaker system at home, you have to sell the house, both cars, the wife and all the children. Then you have to sell the same thing again to buy an amplifier, player and some necessary cable. Yes, the guys who can make speakers for a living room for a million crowns were very kind to us and made a B&W A5 AirPlay for us.
Let's start with MM1
It is very important. Instead of the A5, I will first describe the previous speaker MM1, multimedia stereo speakers for the computer. The name MM1 is completely meaningless, except for people who know that: in two boxes of plastic and metal there are a total of 4 amplifiers of 20 watts each, and there are 4 of the best speakers that they made in B & W and fit into this size. Its size is a little bigger than a half-liter beer can, so at first glance, the "ememe" is deceiving with its body. But only until you listen to them.
First listen to MM1
When I took the relatively heavy speaker out of the shipping box, I didn't know what was in store for me. Speakers in an aluminum frame... This will be an unnecessarily overpriced style, I thought. I've seen loads of multimedia speakers. But there weren't any in aluminum yet. One piece is heavier because it has an amp in it, the other is lighter so it won't sit and have the right weight to support the speaker properly and play clean and accurate bass, I thought. I didn't connect that it was made by the same people who made Nautilus, I just didn't think about it. I played Jackson, then Dream Theater. After the first seconds of the music, only one thought sounded in my head: it plays like my studio girls. It plays like studio monitors! After all, it is not possible for some computer speakers to play as studio monitors!
Price per MM1
How much the hell does it cost? After some searching I found the price. Bowers & Wilkins MM1 costs fifteen thousand crowns. In that case, everything is fine. If you could get a sound like that for under ten thousand, I'd probably be upset that I don't have it at home yet. Fifteen grand is exactly how it plays. I've seen (and heard) a lot, but the MM1's play incredible. Clean, clear, with good stereo resolution, you can make out the space in the recording, the mids and highs are perfect. Bass? Bass is a chapter in itself. If you put the MM1 next to an iMac, you probably won't find a better speaker, it can only be compared with the Bose Studio Monitor at a price of ten thousand. Bose play just as well, they just don't have as much power, but they are much smaller. Choose between them? Both the Bose Computer Music Monitor and the Bowers & Wilkins MM1 are on the same level, it's like Jagr playing against Jagr. Nobody wins.
Time washed it all away
Computer speakers are no longer popular, because connecting an iPhone or iPad to them meant barbarically connecting them via the headphone output. It would be correct to take the signal (line out) from the 30-pin connector of the iPhone or iPad connector, where the maximum quality (dynamics) of the recording is preserved, and connect it to the input of the amplifier. But who would want to search for and always carry an audio cable for the iPhone with them. The second option is to send audio via AirPlay. And that's why Bowers & Wilkins A5 AirPlay and A7 AirPlay were born. And we are interested in you now.
A5 AirPlay
They are similar in size and play just as well as the MM1. Just unbelievable. Of course, here again we find DSP that beautifies the sound, but again we don't care, because it is again in favor of the resulting sound. In terms of volume and processing, it looks as if we combined the MM1 into one piece. And with that connection, we got a few centimeters of volume, with which DSP really got away with it. Again I will repeat myself and again I don't care - the sound is incredible.
Appearance and use of the A5
They handle well, even though the speaker is cloth covered here, the cloth covered plastic grille is solid and you don't feel like you could crush it with normal handling. It can be seen that everything is subject to longevity, simply a decoration of the work table for at least ten years. Unobtrusive buttons can be found on the right side, where there is only the volume control. The single multi-color LED can be found on the metal strip on the left side when viewed from the front. It's really tiny and lights up or flashes different colors as needed, just like the Zeppelin Air, see the manual for details. There is a non-slip material underneath, some kind of rubber, it doesn't smell like rubber, but it holds well on a smooth surface, so the speaker does not travel around the cabinet even at high volumes. Subjectively, the A5 is louder than the Bose SoundDock, AeroSkull and Sony XA700, which are, however, logically at a lower price.
Back panel
On the reverse side of the A5 you will find three connectors. Ethernet for connecting to a local network, input from a power adapter and, of course, a 3,5mm audio jack. There's also a bass reflex hole on the back that you can put your finger in while carrying, you won't ruin anything. The bass reflex opening is basically based on the Original Nautilus, it resembles the shape of a snail shell. The larger A7 model also has a USB port, which again does not act as a sound card and is only used for syncing with iTunes via USB to a computer.
And a little about A7 AirPlay
The equipment of the amplifiers and speakers is the same as that of the Zeppelin Air. Four times 25W plus one 50W bass. A7 is more compact after all, Zeppelin needs more space, as I wrote before. I can't compare the sound between the A7 and the Zeppelin Air, they are both from the same workshop of crazy people obsessed with the best possible sound. I would probably choose based on the space, the A7 AirPlay seems more compact.
A bit of theory
If you want to achieve ideal sound reflection inside the enclosure, the sound from the speaker inside the speaker cabinet should not be reflected at all. In the past, this was solved by padding with cotton wool or similar cushioning material. The best results could be achieved with an infinitely long tube, at the end of which would be an ideal speaker. Experiments in practice have shown that with a length of tube-sound box of around 4 meters and with a gradually narrowing profile, the sound is still close to the ideal. But who would want four-meter speaker systems at home... That's why the sound engineers at B&W tested and tried and invented and came up with an interesting solution. When the four-meter speaker tube is twisted into the shape of a snail shell, sound reflections still do not return to the diaphragm, thereby not interfering with its production of quality sound. So when this baffle shape is made of the right material, you're still the closest you'll ever get to the ideal principle of a speaker baffle. And this is exactly what the creators did with the Original Nautilus, thanks to the hard work and demandingness, the price climbs to a million for a pair of speakers. I am writing about this because this snail shell principle is used in the bass reflex tubes of all Zeppelins as well as the A5 and A7. By this I want to remind you that a quality speaker and a quality amplifier are not what determine the price of the speaker and the quality of the sound. All paid for by decades of work by the best people in the business.
When shopping
When you go to buy the A5 for twelve thousand, take the twenty thousand with you and let the A7 AirPlay be demonstrated. There is one more amplifier and one more decent bass speaker. When you hear the A7 in action, the twenty thousand will be damn well worth it. If the sound of the A5 is great, then the A7 is mega-great. Both are a great choice, A5 for personal listening in the room, A7 when I want to show off to the neighbors.
What to say in conclusion?
I'm not going to play objective and write it out loud. As much as I like the sound of the Zeppelin Air, I have the utmost respect for the designers, so I consider the A5 and A7 to be even better. The best. The best AirPlay speaker on the market. If I wanted to invest twelve or twenty thousand in AirPlay speakers, the A5 or A7 are my heart's content. JBL, SONY, Libratone and others, they all produce very good sound for a few crowns. But if you want a tip, go for A5 or A7. It's that moment where you think "I'll add a grand and have more of that". A7 is a model where there is nothing to pay extra for.
We discussed these living room audio accessories one by one:
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I'm currently thinking about iPhone and Mac reviews, so these breakdowns come in handy, thanks for them.
I want to ask, is it possible to send sound to the A5 and A7 via Airplay, can I also connect my old iPod Classic via a USB cable? Or is there any way to connect a turntable to these speakers? How?
Thanks for the response.
I will allow myself to partially answer the last question, because I dealt with it too. I own a B&W Zeppelin Air, so very similar tech. The turntable has a standard audio cinch (male) output, and the speaker can be connected to the audio-in jack via a cinch (female)-jack (male) reduction. It also depends on which record player you intend to use from the point of view of the preamplifier, or with or without him. If without, like me – Reloop RP-4000 M3D, you will still need a dedicated preamplifier. This is an investment of about 2 thousand, I used this one from Pro-Ject: http://www.project-audio.com/main.php?prod=phonoboxmm
I have a Pro-Ject gramec, so I had to buy a pre-amplifier separately, because the portable cannot drive the built-in amplifier with the parameters for the line input.
The preamplifier is like an el. kits from 500 CZK, but you need to buy an ugly plastic box and a power transformer, so 2000 CZK for a nicer one and a professional solution is not that much, I recommend doing it the same as Radek, to whom I thank him for his contribution to the matter.
Pro-Ject are masters of gramophones as far as I remember, perhaps they are the guys who left Tesla and when they got rid of incompetent bosses, they did it the best way possible... world champions through grammes. They have great gramophones for up to ten thousand, of course they also make other accessories such as preamplifiers and other crazy things.
Attention, the USB in the A7 is not used for audio input, it is for connecting the computer, when the A7 acts as an external sound card. You cannot connect a grammer with USB or an iPod classic via USB to USB. The A7 has input via a 3,5 mm audio jack or via AirPlay.
Classic can be barbarically via the headphone output using a classic cable with a 3,5 mm audio jack. But if the iPod classic is in the Dock, then the Dock has a line output from the back, different from the headphone output. This is the best solution for class A7 devices, the sound will be cleaner, with better dynamics, without clipping by the headphone amplifier. Classic cannot be connected via USB, so nothing.
How is the connection to the TV? Is it possible to send the sound from the TV through the cable? Thanks
I would also be interested in that, will someone more technically proficient than me answer? Thanks!
I was also interested and it is also described directly in the manuals:
Auxiliary Input
If you wish to listen to an external analogue or digital
audio source, connect it to A7 Aux input socket
using either an analogue cable terminated with a
mini-jack plug or a digital cable terminated with
and mini-TosLink optical plug. A7 will automatically
identify the type of cable used and configure it
Aux input socket properly.
That is either classic analog 3.5mm AUX or optical toslink cable from TV to A7 ;o) (A5 only has analog 3.5mm input)
I also had the opportunity to compare several different pieces and I have to agree - the A7 is the best of them all. The A5 plays very nice and the price of the A7 will seem too much to you, but as soon as you try to let it go, it will turn your pockets inside out and you will not regret it at all.
Maybe a stupid question, but I have to ask because I'm very interested in the A7 :-)
I don't have internet, WiFi or I have to log in to WiFi every time (shared slow WiFi).
Does Airplay work without WiFi? (Mac or iPhone + A7 speakers)
Can an iPod Classic be connected via USB and will the sound quality be the same?
Thanks for the response.
It is still possible to buy a WiFi router for five hundred, set it so that it does not report errors, and then connect to it, even without connecting to the net. But then iPhone/iPad will be without internet when I play music via AirPlay, it's not very comfortable, but better than headphone output.
The A7 is in "connect and set me up" mode from the factory, it can play when connected, but no internet on the iOS device. And after some update it can stop working at any time, but yes, most of the time (e.g. with JBL) it works. Applies to WiFi models, not a problem with Bluetooth. After connecting to the router later, AirPlay still works, and the Internet for iOS devices will also start.
I have to admit that I have never been much of a fan of speakers, but I recently bought a car that coincidentally had a Bumester audio system. After a few days of use, I found myself preferring to drive a longer way home to listen to music, because the experience was completely different from what I was used to. So it was decided that it would be best to buy something similar for the house. The preliminary choice fell on the A5, but just for fun I tried to play the A7 in the store and it just turned my pockets upside down (as someone said here) and I ended up taking the A7 mic. I have to say that I have never regretted those 20k and my amateur feeling is that it is still a bit better to listen to than the 1000W and 16 speaker system in the car. So if you have the money, buy an A7 and you will never look for something better.
Thanks Martin for a great series! I plan to equip the whole house with the Airplay system, I don't want any cabling and I hope for quality sound. There are many to choose from and I am honestly considering the A7. But I can think of another solution as well. Why not buy some high-quality and powerful racks and also buy an AirPlay router from Apple for 2500,- and connect it to them. Would I get more music for the same or lower price? Or is it stupid? I would quite welcome this comparison. Does anyone have an answer to this? Thank you very much.
For people who want to buy an A5 for quiet listening, for example, there is a PC on the table, I would like to point out that the A5 has more obscured heights compared to the A7 and compared to the Zeppelin Air. Personally, I was very disappointed, and I am going to exchange the product for an A7, even though only an A5 would be enough for me. (I have had a zeppelin air at home for 2 years).
The faulty upper band, which is more obscured, can be artificially added to the equalizer in the iPhone or Ipad, but if you also stream with the iTunes player, it will sound different there again... For the price of 499 euros, this is a non-negligible fact that disappointed me and I didn't read about it anywhere in the review, so I bought it this week on a recommendation... This is my observation...