Bluesound is a brand that aims to take on Sonos, and usually does so with great success. Much like that company, the Bluesound product line consists of a range of wireless speakers, soundbars and subwoofers, as well as amplifiers that can be used to bring wireless streaming to any location. what an old speaker.
The latest wireless speaker to arrive from Bluesound is the Pulse M ($449 / £449 / €549 / around AU$700), which at first glance looks like a slightly beefier Sonos One. Similar to this model, the Pulse M is a compact stand-alone speaker with Hi-Res streaming capability that can be paired wirelessly with a second Pulse M for stereo listening. It can also be paired with a wireless subwoofer for extended bass, or used as a surround speaker in a full 5.1 system with one of the company’s soundbars.
In terms of specs, the Pulse M seems to have more going on than the Sonos One, which currently sits at the top of our list of best wireless speakers. As well as being slightly larger at 6.7 x 8 x 5.9 inches (W x H x D), Bluesound’s new, somewhat cylindrical speaker has a more complex “Omni-Hybrid” design that combines a 5.25 inch woofer to a pair of 0.75 inch tweeters which are offset from each other at a 45 degree angle.
The Pulse M design also incorporates an acoustic reflector which is used to emit high frequency sound in a 360 degree pattern. The goal here is to deliver a wide, immersive presentation from a single speaker, with an 80-watt DSP “intelligent” amplifier working to monitor performance in real time to improve dynamic range and reduce distortion.
Beyond all that, the Pulse M, which comes in a satin white or black finish with a matching fabric grille, is controlled by the company’s excellent BluOS app and can stream music from a wide range of services over Wi-Fi, Ethernet, or AirPlay 2. MQA decoding is built-in to handle Tidal’s Hi-Res Audio, and there’s also two-way aptX HD Bluetooth support.
Wired inputs are expanded for a compact wireless speaker: with USB Type-A Ethernet ports, the Pulse M has a combination of optical digital and analog audio input, and there’s also a 3. 5mm to connect wired headphones to enjoy Hi-Res Audio. goodness.
Analysis: more than one
With its innovative 360-degree sound delivery design, the Pulse M may seem less interested in taking on the Sonos One than the Sonos Five, another high-end model on our list of the best wireless speakers. As with the Pulse M, this Sonos model is designed to deliver a wide soundstage and to fill the room with as much high-quality audio as possible from a reasonably compact package.
Another thing the Pulse M and Sonos Five share in common is the lack of built-in microphones for voice control: you can use Siri, Google, or Alexa commands to operate the Pulse M, but you’ll need to use external hardware – an Amazon Echo Dot speaker, for example – to make that happen.
The Pulse M is priced a little lower than the Sonos Five ($549 / £499 / AU$799), making it a more attractive option for an all-in-one speaker, at least from the perspective of cost view. But the big question remains whether or not it provides a powerful enough performance boost over the more affordable Sonos One ($219 / £199 / AU$319) to justify the price hike.
There’s only one way to find out, and that’s a hands-on review of the Pulse M, which we hope to provide in the near future. In the meantime, check out our best wireless speaker guide to learn more about other options, as well as our black friday 2022 guide, which features many more great audio and video product offerings.
#Bluesounds #wireless #speaker #supercharged #Sonos