Alexa’s found another new home, this time in a portable 360° speaker with the emphasis on hi-fi quality

Cover versions Your options for the Zipp 2’s fabric jacket are red, black, grey or this bang-on-trend ‘pine green’. Just don’t call it teal.

£279 / stuff.tv/Zipp2

■ There are now more wireless speakers with Alexa voice control than there are ants in the world, but this Libratone promises a winning blend of portability and 360° of Danish hi-fi tone.

■ Let’s be clear: the Zipp 2 is a music machine with added Alexa, not an AI butler with added tunes. It doesn’t want to sit in the kitchen giving you weather updates while you grate cheese; it wants to party.

■ Connect to your home Wi-Fi for direct streaming from Spotify Connect, Amazon Music, Tidal or TuneIn internet radio. AirPlay 2 means you can use the Zipp 2 to talk to Siri and control your Apple HomeKit, as well as connecting up to 10 speakers wirelessly for stereo and multiroom music. Or, of course, you could use this as a standard Bluetooth speaker, like what the ancient peoples of November 2018 used to have.

■ All those fancy features count for nothing if a speaker makes your music sound like three cows having a farting contest. But that’s not a problem for the Zipp 2. There’s a nice clean thump in the bass, a reasonably spacious midrange and plenty of crispy detail at the top. It’s not as beefy as a Sonos One, but it’s more hi-fi.

■ Alexa’s listening via six far-field mics, and they work well. Make your request at conversation level, from the far side of the room, while the speaker is playing Fugazi at full blast, and she’ll still hear you.

Tech specs

Drivers 4in woofer, 1in tweeter, 2x 4in passive radiators Connectivity Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB-C, jack Battery life Up to 12hrs Dimensions 261x122x122mm, 1.5kg

I’m too vexy

The physical dial on top of the speaker is annoyingly vague, and you’re better off using voice control – or the app – to turn the volume up or down. The app is basic but covers the essentials without fuss.

Bright said Fred

There are two ways to adjust the sound in the app – ‘voicing’ EQ presets and more subtle ‘room settings’ – but both become less and less effectual at higher volumes. They’re handy options, but not miracle workers.

STUFF SAYS A classy little hi-fi speaker that’s smart in more ways than one

A canny compromise between power and portability

Richard Purvis

The Zipp 2 looks pretty good, works pretty well, and sounds pretty tidy considering its compact and portable form. There does seem to be a bit of a gap in the smart speaker market between party animals like the UE Megablast and serious mains-powered units like the Marshall Stanmore II Voice; and while we have a few quibbles with Libratone’s user interface, the Zipp 2 might well have that mid-range market zipped up.