Verdict
Mu - so 2 is a bigger upgrade on the original Mu - so than it first appears
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Several long time ago , a premium wireless speaker was something that cost over £ 200 and did n’t fall to pieces inside six months .
Then Naim whipped the covers offMu - soand demonstrated that thewireless speakercould be a desirable piece of proper , unquestionable hi - fi . Ever since , other mark have competed for just a sliver of Mu - so ’s believability and profitability .
After five twelvemonth of the Mu - so , a refreshed , reinvigorated and reimagined Mu - so was probably overdue . And so here it is : the Mu - so 2nd propagation by Naim .
Refreshed ? Yes . Reinvigorated ? Most definitely . Reimagined ? Well , sort of .
Design
In some ways , revamping a mathematical product to the tune of 95 % of its parts , upping the price by a hefty percentage , but making such minimal changes to its overall visual aspect that only a forensic scientist could tell them aside , is an super sheer move . It speaks of authority . It speaks of a belief that the original Mu - so is such an iconic while of industrial design that it ’s nigh - on perfect .
The world of consumer electronics seldom cogitate that direction , however . Naim has demonstrably invest a lot of time , campaign and money into transforming the Mu - so into the Mu - so 2 – so I ’d have think it might have made a little more of a visual program line about all the problem .
There ’s no dubiety the Mu - so 2 depend like a fine-looking , purposeful and premium slice of equipment . But regardless of the changes that have perish on under the skin , would you be glad to yield a lumpy insurance premium to corrupt a new and improved example that look virtually superposable to the old one ? I ’m not trusted I would .
To be fairish , the Mu - so 2 invention is a little different to the old Mu - so in some ways . The cabinet has been reengineered to deliver an additional 13 % internal volume , while the internal bracing and baffle board modeling have been redesigned to aid rigidity and control internal vibrations . The heatsinks that die hard along the whole of the Mu - so 2 ’s rear gore are more compact than those of its predecessor .
That contoured speaker grille is all - new , too , although the design legal brief would appear to have insisted on it looking very much like the sure-enough one . Naim has spent a long clock time determine on the case of acoustical material fitted to Mu - so 2 . It ’s finish in grey / black as standard , with some other , more merry refinement ( peacock , olive and terracotta ) available at a cost ( £ 50 , which seems a bit close ) . Should n’t a £ 1300 loudspeaker system come with the customer ’s choice of grille coloring material ?
One area where there ’s absolutely no question about the Mu - so 2 aping the master is build quality . This feels every bit the premium item its price tatter suggests – and , from the burnished aluminium wrapping the top and side to the pleasingly weighted glide of the bad control wheel , there ’s no controversy with the means the Mu - so 2 is establish and finish .
Features
Here ’s where the Mu - so 2 pop out to meaningfully deviate from the unit it replaced .
sit beneath that identikit grille are six number one wood , redesigned in collaborationism with Naim ’s baby company , Gallic loudspeaker specialist Focal . Two silk - dome tweeters , two doped - paper mid - range drivers ( with tuned mass damper technology derived from Focal ’s high - close offering ) and two “ racetrack ” basso drivers make up the array , with low - end reinforcing stimulus from a basso reflexive port that vents at the bottom of the storage locker .
Each number one wood is powered by 75 W of Class D amplification . That ’s a aggregate of 450 W , which is n’t a issue to be sniffle at .
The amplification module also let in the digital - to - analogue spiritual rebirth circuitry , in an arrangement Naim refers to as direct digital amplification . The native DAC solvent is 24 - bit/88.2kHz , although the Mu - so 2 is capable of downscaling filing cabinet of up to 24 - bit/384kHz via UPnP or wired / wireless internet joining , and 24 - bit/96kHz via its digital optical input . It can’thandle MQA files , however , which is a compassion – that Tidal Masters subscription is going to go to waste somewhat .
As well as Wi - Fi , Ethernet and optical , the Naim ’s connectivity extends to Bluetooth 4.2 , USB , parallel via a 3.5 mm input andHDMI eARCsocket , make the Mu - so 2 a realistic proposition as astereo soundbar , too .
It ’s Roon Ready , and hasApple AirPlay 2,Spotify Connect , Tidal , Chromecast and vTuner internet radio set mix and ready to go . This add up to a ) legion source possibilities ; and b)multi - room functionalityusing either the Apple Home , Google Home or Naim app along with other compatible , networked product .
extend the whole show is a brand name - unexampled digital signal processor . It ’s able to process 2000 million instructions per second , which sounds an awful lot , especially when compared to the original Mu - so ’s suddenly rather humdrum 150 million per second .
Too often , fundamental interaction with electronics is an rethink . That emphatically is n’t the case where the Mu - so 2 is concerned .
The Naim ascendance bike is one of the finest interface in the whole of consumer electronics - world . For the Mu - so 2 it ’s been given extra functionality ( there are a total of 15 touch - sensitive controls , all awakened by a proximity sensor ) and light around its edge . disregarding , it remain the smooth - scrolling , gloriously engineered and weightily sophisticated control everyone commemorate ( and loves ) from the original Mu - so . It ’s a tactile treat .
Nevertheless , the appeal of getting up to employ a physical ascendence – even one as sweet as this – is lost finally . So , thankfully , you ’re also capable to use the bundled remote control French telephone ( it does n’t sense as expensive at it should , pay the toll of the mathematical product it ’s controlling , but it has all the functionality you require ) or the Naim ascendency app . The latter is n’t 100 % reliable – more 99.5 % – but it ’s clear , logical and more unchanging than any number of competition I could bring up .
Sound Quality
In some ways , the way Mu - so 2 sound is very reminiscent of the manakin it replaces . In other ways , it ’s quite an improvement . However , this is n’t the first thing you ’ll notice about the Mu - so 2 . The first affair the Mu - so 2 is groovy to show is just how tacky it is .
Did I mention 450 watts ? Give the Mu - so 2 the bean and it sounds every single one of them – it ’s implacably , fiercely loud .
A 24 - bit/96kHz single file of Underworld ’s Barbara Barbara , We confront a Shining Future is first downsampled by the Naim and then serve up in a unusually self-asserting manner . It digs deep , hits hard and remain utterly control throughout – and it does n’t change its tonic stress , even as the volume is dial round towards antisocial .
The list of wireless speakers that become fluster , or shouty , or ill - organised , the louder you heed is quite retentive – but the Mu - so 2 is n’t on that list . tantalize the mass controller up does baffle the three - dimensionality of the soundstage a slight , but tonally the Naim simply get louder . Basically it dares you to keep hear at increasingly penalise story . I opine it ’s safe to say your resolution will give out before the Naim ’s does .
It ’s no one - trick trot , though . Lower the volume and convert the stress with a Tidal Masters Indian file of Stevie Wonder ’s He ’s Misstra Know - It - All ( tragically squeeze down to a bare 16 - bit/44.1kHz , the same as the CD combining weight ) and the Mu - so 2 give a elaborated , poised and thoroughly enjoyable chronicle of itself . The voices in the mid - mountain range are handled dexterously , loaded with the finest details that give a vocal true character , and the entropy both above and below is integrated into a completely convincing whole .
In every meaningful respect – dynamism , low - frequency presence , high - end attack , you name it – the Mu - so 2 advance on the original Mu - so just a little . It has more than enough insight to make the complexness of Grandaddy ’s He ’s Simple , He ’s Dumb , He ’s the Pilot easy to understand and follow , and it has enough ascendence to keep Gogo Penguin ’s Raven just the right side of abandoned . Plus , of course , it ’s up to of play at levels you wo n’t countenance for long .
In purely audio terms , downsides are few . Despite its considerable 63 cm width , it does n’t have the outright spaciousness to its intro that ’s ideal , and the stage can get a small cramped at bulk . In every other deference , though , the Mu - so 2 make good on its promise of improving on what was already an extremely competitive machine .
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Should you buy it?
The Naim is n’t just a wireless speaker , with its HDMI eARC connexion you’re able to also use as substitute to a soundbar with its stereo sound . That is can go particularly trashy as well as plenty of oomph makes this deserving consider as a multi - purpose speaker .
Everything that ’s transfer with the Mu - so 2 has taken office in its interior , so if you were hoping for more of a visual revamp over the original , you ’re croak to be a lilliputian disappointed .
Final Thoughts
If you ’re prosperous enough to have comfortably more than a grand to drop on a wireless loudspeaker system , the Mu - so 2 postulate to be very near the top of your shortlist . Just do n’t go wait its visual command to be anything like as startling as its audio instruction .
If it ’s drama you ’re after , Devialet ’s £ 1290Phantom Reactor 900has it in spade . It ’s a more visually contain speaker than anything else on the grocery – and that ’s doubly the case once it start up making euphony . It ca n’t quite fit the Naim ’s spaciousness of phone , and everything it does it seems to do in a hurry , but its aboriginal 24 - bit/192kHz DAC puts it in the lead of Mu - so 2 – on newspaper , at least .
Trusted Score
How we test
We try out every wireless speaker we review good over an extended menstruation of fourth dimension . We use industry stock examination to equate features properly . We ’ll always tell you what we see . We never , ever , take money to review a production .
Find out more about how we test in ourethics insurance .
FAQs
There ’s presently no MQA livelihood planned for the Naim Mu - so 2 medicine organisation .
Full Specs
