LibratoneZIPP 2 Smart Wireless Speaker (with Alexa built-in, AirPlay 2, MultiRoom, 360 ° Sound, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Spotify Connect, 12 hrs Rechargeable Battery) - Cranberry Red

I already have two other libratone products which I am very satisfied with, but this speaker is just brilliant:I has a very premium feel and qualitiy to it and as always, Libratone does an excellent job in combining stylish design with useful functions and technical features.As there are a range of reviews on various aspects of the speaker, I only want to go into the things which I found to be most strinking:+ sound quality: the preset audio is very neutral and clear, not as bass-accentuated as many perople prefer(if you like some more bass, you can adjust the equalizer accordingly; I suggest to switch to "rock the house" for a fuller and bassier sound); and the 360° sound aspect is really nice, because the sound (in terms of volume) is much more equally distributed over the whole room+ Connectivity: for me, it's not only the manifold of options (spotify connect and Airplay via WiFi, Bluetooth and 3.5mm), but the ease with which you can swap: I can listen to spotify with one device over WiFi, then use a 2nd device to stream music via bluetooth instead and then change the music manually on the speaker to one of my preset favourites. you can also control the input, incl. the 3.5mm, over the app, so you dont have to unplug or re-pair anything. really nice!+ Control: Relates to the above. It is just neatly solved that you can control everything on the speaker itself. With the "favourite" function (allows you to save up to 5 playlists /radio stations) and especially with Alexa, it even serves as a good old-fashioned radio and you do not need ANY additional device to play music and control it. A nice aspect for less technology-adept people, I am very seriously considering of getting the ZIPP for my parents (in their 60s) because the basic functions are so easy to use and intuitiveo App: The best thing about it: you dont have to use it if you dont like it =) everything can be done without it, it isjust needed for some basic settings; however, I personally like the app and find it still easy to use and clea enough ​o Portability: Everyone who thinks this is heavy know this: Using it as a portable bluetooth box is not its prime function, but rather a nice extra (I find the ZIPP light enough to carry, though, and wouldnt mind taking it with me on the go; both the handle and the speaker itself have a nice grip to them). The ZIPP is a WIFI speaker with an integrated battery. This allows you to extend your smart home setup to a barbecue in the garden or wherever your WiFi-signal takes you without being constraint by power plugs.... Battery life is as stated, on 30-40% volume maybe even bexond the 12 hrso AirPlay support: well, I am an android user and still like the speaker, but I am a bit jealous of my wife who has an iPhone: airplay enables you to stream any sound from your phone to the speaker in a breeze, even if you are using an app without integrated support (e.g. if you are watching a video in google chrome or use the netflix app, you can still stream the audio over WiFi/Airplay instead of having to use bluetooth)All in all, highly recommended!Sorry for the extensive review, that was me trying to keep it short....

This product is sadly riddled with a lot of issues that make it unfit to be used in a normal daily routine - the technology state reminds more of a carnival attraction that is nice on the surface but has no common application to be integrated into everyday live. Here are some of the issues that are a dealbreaker for me:Noise whilst in stand-by: The speaker emmits an audible static noise. Even though it is not as bad as the one coming from the UE Megablast (the Libratone's one is softer and more uniform, so easier to blend out) it is still very much audible in quet spaces, or if you want to fall asleep with the unit in the same room (not directly next to your head). But the static is not the worst part of it. If the speaker is left in stand-by for a while, it develops a nasty and quite room-piercing coil hum that can clearly be heard across the room even when it is not completely silent.Stand-By: The speaker constantly provides power to the drivers. So even in stand-by the static the speaker emmits is omnipresent. You can clearly hear that the speaker is "there". It is not only the microphones that stay active to wake the device up, but also the drivers. But weaking it up with your voice needs to happen within a very specific time-window. Because after a while in standby (can be voice avtivated) it fully switches off, and you need to manually activate it at the device (not even the phone app can wake it up then). So yeah, not really suitable for daily use.Alexa: I don't know how Alexa has been integrated (or not) into this device from a technical standpoint, but it seems that the assistant is living in its own bubble disconnected from the device itself, instanced away from other opperations. Alexa can't tell you what the battery life of the speaker is (she has no access to that information), she can only perform stand-alone alexa tasks, like tell you a joke or give you the weather forcast. The only cross connection alexa is able to perform is lower and increase the volume. She cannot skip to the next song you are currently playing, and she cannot launch e.g. Spotify. She tells you she is launching it, but then nothing happens. If you ask her to "play musik" she ask you what you want to play, you answer, and she ask you the same again - ad infinity. If you ask her to skip to the next song whilst you are running a playlist via your phone (spotify connect or airplay makes no difference) she doesn't know that music is already playing, and asks what you would like to listen next - and the same endless loop as above occurs. Special bonus glitch: as soon as alexa fails to understand a command, she does this deep double beep to indicate she failed to understand. From that moment on, you can no longer control the volume of the device (either via her or via buttons or phone input) until you do a hard reset on the device's power button.Power connection: Please note that this device does not come with a standard power-usb supply but uses a propriatary connection. So you will always need to carry the original charger with you and can only use this to charge up the device - whcih is quite bulky to carry-on with you, instead of using your multi-usb chargin cable you normally have with you for your phone and other devices. This is more of a convenicence issue than a deal-breaker, but nontheless limiting day to day integration - it is just not thought through."It is just not thought through" is the entire common denomitor for this device. It may playback a nice soundscape, but that is about it. Noone thought of how to integrate the device into everyday use, into alexa, into spaces of silence when not in use, and into a mobile lifestyle with other devices. You will get an expensive not-so-smart speaker with very little hands-free use that you can charge when you have the charger close-by. I will return mine as soon as possible.How audio-engineers can look at a device like this and say: "Yes we are proud to ship this" is beyond me.

I bought this to replace a bose soundlink 2.Pros- Incredible sound- Can easily go loud enough to fill a room- Looks nice- Wifi and bluetooth means you can stream from your phone or have it as a standalone player- Aux input- Great battery life - can play music for a whole day without chargingCons- Proprietary charger- Slight hiss when idle- Audio delay over bluetooth and aux means you can't use it as a speaker for a musical instrument- Alexa integration was awkward to set up, could improve with software updates?Haven't tried multi-speakerI'm not an audiophileApp is okay, I guess..

Although a little confusing to set up with Alexa eventually sorted it and worth it. after setting everything up had an issue when trying to use the power button to turn off the speaker as it thought I wanted to go into setup mode again but I think that's user error. Sounds great and the Bass is loud takes a bit of time to get to know how the top button lights up with different icons but you get it - eventually.All in all great Bluetooth portable speaker - maybe instructions could be a bit better. used it a few times from first charge App could be better and it would be great to wake up the speaker with alexa using the name I gave it but not worked that one out yet. It came in packed a white material bag when taking out of the box, it would be great if that was made out of a better material with a zipper or string pull to keep charger and cables in - something for Libratone to consider maybe but hey they wont read this will they.