We fancy ourselves renaissance gentlemen. Our interests vary. They span the spectrum from gardening to gadgets, baking to basketball. But, as intellectually diverse as we may (or may not) be, we tend to obsess. At any given time, we’re fascinated by something. Right now, it’s sound.
Wireless speakers exist in a crowded market. Lots of brands. Lots of models. Lots of price points. Rarely does a unit aesthetically amaze us. That was until we stumbled upon the Wren Sound V5. We revere good design, and the V5 is exquisite. It’s clean. It’s real. It doesn’t try too hard to get noticed.
Music delights us. We want it to saturate our home. When we were young, we understood louder to be better. With maturity has come appreciation for range, depth and precision. The V5 is functionally simple yet truly powerful. It fills a room with sound while preserving its fidelity. It produces smooth, rich, clear, layered notes. The bass is substantial but does not overwhelm.
We sampled the V5 with AirPlay. It connected to our wireless network, and we could stream directly from our iPhone. AirPlay delivers higher audio quality and better range than Bluetooth. In theory, AirPlay is a stellar feature. In practice, it performed inconsistently. Sometimes, the connection between iPhone and V5 dropped. Sometimes, our iPhone didn’t recognize the V5. It might not have been the V5’s fault. And, we only occasionally had problems. But, at $399, we expect near perfection from the V5, and our nearby Apple TV works without hiccup.
Looks-wise and sound-wise, the V5 ranks as our favorite standalone speaker. Perfect, though, it is not.
