STEREO GUIDE verdict
The Audio Pro is one of the most versatile wireless speakers on the market, impressing with rich, powerful beats as well as Hi-Fi-quality sound and outstanding connectivity.
Pros
- Natural sound tuning with fine resolution
- Rich, powerful bass, adjustable via calibration
- Outstanding Streaming and User Experience
- Great user interface, compatible with multiple apps
Cons
- You can tell it's a single-speaker system
- A bit too wide for portable use
- The bass is a bit soft for certain genres of music
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Naturalness / transparency8.8
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Bass / Dynamics8.4
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Usability / Connectivity9.9
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Price/Performance9
When a company advertises a speaker as “wireless,” many potential buyers instinctively ask themselves: “Bluetooth or Wi-Fi?” and “Plugged in or battery-powered?” Why not have it all in one? That’s probably what the developers at the Scandinavian company Audio Pro were thinking when they designed the A15 W. If there’s one audio component that truly deserves to be called “versatile,” it’s this one.
The A15W has a built-in rechargeable battery that provides up to 19 hours of playback time; it’s an easy-to-connect Bluetooth speaker for on-the-go use, but can also be integrated into your home Wi-Fi network for indoor use. Not only does it offer remarkably broad compatibility with various streaming protocols, but it can also be integrated into several popular multi-room systems—from Apple Home to Google Home to WiiM Home—as the “W” in its name suggests.
The latter is likely to be the deciding factor for many. After all, the WiiM Home app is currently, in our view, the leading ecosystem from a technical standpoint; it also allows for the integration of a wide variety of devices into the streaming environment throughout the home. Other speakers that combine Bluetooth and Wi-Fi—such as the Sonos Move 2 or the JBL Charge 5 Wi-Fi—lack this flexibility.
Housing and Design
Audio Pro strikes an exemplary balance between indoor and outdoor use. The cozy, landscape-oriented design—fully covered in fabric with no sharp corners or edges—is likely to appeal to fans of understated Scandinavian design. It’s also available in subtle color options: black, dark gray, and light gray. At just over 28 centimeters, the A15 W is relatively wide, which probably makes it not the top choice for camping or carrying in a backpack. With an IPX2 rating, it offers only basic protection against light rain—though this is absolutely sufficient for typical use on a balcony, patio, or in the garden.
The top panel features an aluminum plate with a surprising number of control buttons and several LED indicators. Hidden behind it are features such as the six preset buttons, which allow for operation entirely without an app or smart devices. This is a feature that once made the Bose SoundTouch series a hit, before Bose disabled these capabilities. The A15 W thus also replaces the kitchen radio and the radio alarm clock in the bedroom.
We found an interesting detail regarding sustainability on the bottom of the A15 W: Behind a small, screw-mounted flap is the battery, which can also be replaced. While this probably won’t be necessary very often for a speaker that’s likely to be plugged in most of the time, the peace of mind that comes from knowing you can install a replacement part if the battery’s capacity starts to decline is probably worth a few extra euros to many users.
Although it doesn’t have a carrying strap, the A15W is easy to transport in practice: There’s a recessed handle on the back of the case that makes it easy to carry from one room to another.
Impressive Connectivity
It offers a wide range of connectivity options. On the go, the speaker functions like a traditional Bluetooth speaker and receives music wirelessly via Bluetooth 4.2 or, alternatively, through its analog jack input.
At home, however, this compact active speaker becomes a full-fledged network player. The A15 W supports a wide range of modern streaming protocols and multiroom systems, including Spotify Connect, Apple AirPlay 2, Google Cast, Tidal Connect, Roon, and Audio Pro Multiroom.
Anyone who listens to a lot of music via streaming services will find a wide range of options. The app provides access to streaming services such as Amazon Music, Deezer, and Qobuz, while Tidal and Spotify run via their own Connect protocols. Multiple compatible speakers can be grouped into a multi-room system; two A15 W speakers can be paired to form a true stereo pair. Integration with other Audio Pro models and components from the WiiM ecosystem is also supported. Users who operate the Audio Pro within the WiiM ecosystem gain access to additional playback options, such as the superbly designed WiiM Radio.
Chassis and Body
From a technical standpoint, the A15 W is more closely modeled after a classic active speaker than a typical Bluetooth speaker. A 4.5-inch woofer handles the low-frequency range, powered by its own 30-watt amplifier. It is supported by a bass-reflex system designed to deliver powerful bass and dynamic mids. The reflex tube ends inside the rear carrying recess, which even provides a degree of protection against rain in accordance with IPX2.
The high-frequency range is handled by a fabric dome tweeter with a separate 10-watt amplifier. Audio Pro expects this to deliver particularly transparent and balanced sound reproduction.
If you need more power, you can group multiple speakers together or combine two A15 W units to create a true stereo pair. In addition, you can even connect a wired subwoofer to fill larger rooms with deeper bass.
Equalizer and calibration features are also available for acoustic tuning, though these vary slightly from app to app. We liked the RoomFit calibration feature in the WiiM Home app best, which is why we ran the entire test using it.
With the WiiM app or without a smartphone?
One interesting feature of the A15 W is the six programmable preset buttons on the top panel. They can be linked to Internet radio stations, playlists, podcasts, or other sources.
This allows you to start playing music with just the press of a button—even without a smartphone or app. Especially in the kitchen, bedroom, or bathroom, this design often proves surprisingly practical in everyday life. In addition, there are tactile buttons for volume, playback, track skipping, and source selection. The LED indicators are also nicely designed; they show both the battery charge level and which input is currently active.
As a rule, however, control is likely to be handled via a streaming app, or the A15W will be integrated into a multiroom setup. Despite its powerful performance and many well-designed features, the WiiM Home app struck us as a surprisingly intuitive solution.
It not only allows you to set up and group zones in a multiroom environment, but also serves as a remote control and source selector for the Audio Pro. In addition to providing access to various streaming services that do not offer the Connect protocol (or are not compatible with it), the app also includes several Internet radio tuners.
Setting Up and Streaming a Practice
The WiiM Home app recognized the A15 W as a compatible device right away, and after entering the Wi-Fi password, a firmware update was immediately available and installed quickly and smoothly.
One of the WiiM Home app’s particular strengths is its sound customization options. After an initial sound check (see below), we opted for the microphone calibration feature called RoomFit, which does an excellent job of guiding the user through the calibration process using a smartphone. For audio professionals, there’s also an additional parametric equalizer for fine-tuning that leaves nothing to be desired. It’s a bit confusing, though: Both can be found in different parts of the app—one in the Play menu and the other in the device setup—but they can also be used in combination.
When the A15 W was plugged into the power outlet, the standby function worked well: both a Bluetooth connection and an AirPlay 2 stream woke the speaker up, while with Google Cast, streams occasionally failed to start. The Wi-Fi connection also worked while running on battery power, though it’s important to note that there is no true standby mode in this case. You must press the power button for a few seconds; the Audio Pro then takes some time to reestablish the connection to the local network and acknowledges this with a beep. Only then does it reappear as an AirPlay or Google Cast zone.
Sound Test: Audio Pro A15 W
After just a few measures during the first listening test in the living room, it was clear: The A15 W sounds on a whole different level than its unassuming and elegant enclosure would suggest. It projected the drums and electric bass in jazz and rock tracks—such as Marcus Miller’s “People Make The World Go Round”—into the room with such vigor and impact that it felt as though a large-scale sound system were at work. The bass drum sounds were a touch too full-bodied, which with electronic beats can sometimes veer into being overpowering and muddy. But it still had plenty of dynamic range and power.
For vocals, such as on Peter Gabriel’s brilliant single “What Lies Ahead,” it delivered astonishing audiophile-level detail, though with a good dose of exaggerated brilliance. For indoor use, we tried adjusting the equalizer slightly in the WiiM app, reducing both the lower bass and the brilliance range by 4 kHz. Tamed in this way, the A15 W proved to be an all-around speaker with hi-fi qualities that didn’t shy away from either complex classical music or poorly recorded rock classics.
Ready for the Room
Of course, it works even better with the RoomFit calibration, which is available via the settings page in the WiiM app. After a bit of fiddling with the smartphone’s microphone—which was used to take various measurements—the app generated a correction curve for the Audio Pro A15W. After that, the sound was barely recognizable: the slightly brash brilliance had given way to a balanced, almost warm vocal reproduction. The bass still sounded rich—a little soft and full-bodied in some beats—but not piercing or boomy.
The only downside: the fact that it’s a pure mono speaker was particularly noticeable when listening to rock, jazz, and classical music. Although some online stores mention “360-degree sound,” the A15W didn’t even attempt to create artificial spatiality or width. That makes perfect sense in terms of dynamics and the sharp, punchy sound. If you want to enjoy true hi-fi sound with it, you’ll need to buy two units and pair them as a stereo pair in the app.
Outdoors, however, the picture changed again: Here, naturally, the mono sound wasn’t a negative factor, and the calculated EQ curve was deactivated once more. The Audio Pro’s tendency to render bass a bit richer and add a touch more brilliance to vocals proved to be an advantage, especially when used in the garden or in the park; on the patio and balcony, however, it sounded a little too forward. In addition to its ability to cut through well even at a listening distance of a few meters, we particularly liked the powerful and rich bass. When adjusting the volume, however, you need to exercise some caution, because, naturally, such a compact speaker has power limitations and tends to distort slightly during low-frequency pulses.
Conclusion and Alternatives: Audio Pro A15 W
There are relatively few battery-powered multiroom speakers on the market that can be used off your own Wi-Fi network. The Audio Pro, in turn, holds a special place among these. It is one of the few of its kind that supports all major protocols, is compatible with the WiiM Home app, and can be integrated into a WiiM multiroom setup. Backed by this powerful software, it even outperforms the well-equipped competition from Sonos, Denon, and others in terms of usability, connectivity, and versatility.
In terms of sound quality, it’s among the best in its class. It can deliver both rich bass and powerful party sounds in the backyard, as well as balanced vocals and natural timbres in the living room. The only minor criticisms: the slightly soft bass, and—when used indoors—the fact that, despite its wide enclosure, it’s a mono speaker. Here, the slightly more expensive Sonos Move 2 goes a step further, offering at least a hint of stereo sound and slightly drier bass.
More alternatives in our STEREO GUIDE Hi-Fi Top Picks list
Technical Specifications: Audio Pro A15 W
- Manufacturer’s suggested retail price: 400 euros
- Dimensions (W x H x D): 28.5 x 20.5 x 13.7 cm
- Weight: 2.1 kg
- Special Features: Stereo pairing, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, up to 19 hours of battery life, 3.5-mm jack, subwoofer output, multi-room capable, WiiM Home compatible, IPX2 water resistance
- More at www.audiotra.de
