Souped-up specs, built-in Chromecast, and new controls
Audiophiles, rejoice. Naim Audio’s Mu-so Qb 2nd Generation has arrived, marking a refresh of one of the best-sounding Wi-Fi speakers around.
A smaller sibling to Naim’s larger Mu-so – one of our current favorite multi-room and AirPlay 2 speakers – the Qb keeps things much more compact. That also means it’s cheaper than the larger Mu-so, but at £749 (about a £200 price hike from the first generation) it’s still very much a “premium” choice.
Buyers guide: Best wireless and multi-room speakers
The Qb keeps its iconic wave styling but brings three new customizable grill color options (Olive, Terracotta or Peacock), an illuminated volume dial that lights up as you reach for it, and 15 touch-sensitive buttons for on-device control. There’s also a new remote control for quick adjustments, plus the app has had a refresh too.
But what’s really changed though is under the hood. All new Focal-designed speaker drivers promise 300W of music power, and a new DSP offers 13 times the processing power than before.
The British hi-fi manufacturer is also adding the ability to stream your music in high-resolution quality via UPnP, or select from existing services such as internet radio, AirPlay2, Spotify Connect, Tidal, or the new, built-in Chromecast.
The Mu-so Qb keeps all its flexible connectivity options – stream over Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or Ethernet, a USB input supports playback from USB drives, and an optical input lets you connect your TV.
Multi-room playback works with any Naim networked products, including first generation Mu-so and Mu-so Qb. You can also multi-room with other AirPlay 2-compatible wireless speakers or other Chromecast devices. There’s still no Alexa support, but you can plug an Echo Dot into its 3.5mm jack for voice control.
The 2nd Generation Mu-so Qb will be available on 2 Sept.
