There’s a new supersonic multiroom family on the block: Verity Burns kits out her home to see if Dynaudio Music can knock noisy neighbour Sonos off its perch

TWO WEEKS WITH DYNAUDIO MUSIC

from £449 / stuff.tv/Dynaudio

• DAY 01

If you haven’t got music in every room of your house yet, what exactly have you been doing with your spare cash, hmm? Not to worry, though – there’s a new multiroom system vying for your attention, and it’s from Danish hi-filords Dynaudio.

Four speakers make up the Dynaudio Music system, ranging from the portable Music 1 – ideal for your kitchen or bedroom – to the larger-than-life Music 7 that can handle your TV sound. They look good, offer more connectivity than their Sonos rivals, and have serious audio know-how stacked behind them. But is that enough to tear potential buyers away from Sonos? I’ve invited all four speakers of the family for a stay at my house to find out.

The Dynaudio range has a striking design that oozes Nordic cool. Unlike the understated, minimalist lines of Sonos, these speakers have been designed to stand out – and certainly do in my living room with their angled edges. Around the edges there’s a metal band that holds the speakers’ controls for volume, playback and six presets that can be set via the app. Is the design likely to divide opinion? Perhaps. They certainly make a statement, so they won’t be to everyone’s taste. I think they look blimmin’ lovely, though.

Connectivity varies depending on which speaker you go for. Of course, all of them are tooled up with Wi-Fi for music playback, and they have Bluetooth and support for AirPlay too. As far as physical connections go, all four offer 3.5mm inputs and a USB port for device charging, while the Music 5 and Music 7 also offer an optical input, with the addition of an HDMI ARC input on the 7.

The speakers come ready to go in setup mode out of the box, and the app walks you through getting them online. I’m using an iPhone, and the process couldn’t be simpler. Once they’re hooked up there are a few firmware updates to download; I’ll leave them to do that overnight.

This is a superb multiroom system that offers plenty to love for anyone who’s looking for a stylish Sonos alternative

The range

Music 1 (£449)

1x 1in tweeter,

1x 4in woofer

Music 3 (£575)

2x 1in tweeters,

1x 5in woofer

Music 5 (£699)

2x 1in tweeters,

2x 3in mid-range,

1x 5in woofer

Music 7 (£875)

2x 1in tweeters,

2x 3in mid-range,

2x 5in woofers

DAY 02

It’s only the second day in, and I’ve found a crippling flaw: there’s no Spotify! Tidal is, for now, the only streaming service supported in the Dynaudio app, so if you don’t subscribe to Jay-Z’s hi-res service, the app’s going to look pretty bare with just radio stations. You at least get a nine-month free trial of Tidal with Dynaudio speakers, but not having support for the world’s biggest streaming service still feels very restrictive.

That said, I can still stream from Spotify, Apple Music or another service of choice via Bluetooth or AirPlay to listen to music on any of the speakers – I just have to jump backwards and forwards between apps constantly. Urgh.

DAY 06

The Dynaudio Music app does look lovely. The homescreen is nicely laid out, with the Dynaudio Music Now customised playlist at the top, your favourite artists below that, and a selection of your saved Tidal playlists and recommended radio stations further down. It’s clean, clear and easy to navigate.

Unfortunately, the user journey hasn’t been so well considered. For example, there’s no way to add to a queue and you can’t fast-forward through a track if you’re eager to get to the drop. Most annoyingly of all, though, there’s no easy way to add or take out speakers from a group. You have to delete a group and start again from scratch.

DAY 10

All of these speakers sound great. There’s a rich, full-bodied sound here with plenty of punch, and it’s fair to say there’s an impressive rumble to the bass in each unit. Thankfully it’s not flabby or overpowering, but instead weighty and authoritative.

As for dynamics, the family stretches its legs with impressive skill. Play something that requires a bit of gusto and even the little Music 1 will get right behind it. You can push these speakers to neighbour-bothering levels before you’ll get any hint of resistance, and the spread of sound even in large rooms is superb.

DAY 14

This is a superb multiroom system that offers plenty to love for anyone who’s looking for a stylish Sonos alternative. But it still has a way to go in terms of functionality and usability… particularly with prices that start at over £400 for the smallest speaker.

STUFF SAYS

As gorgeous to look at as it is to listen to; only the app lets Dynaudio Music down ★★★★☆