Give stylish sound to every home! IRiver LS150 speaker review
Hello Giktayms! The iRiver company is known to almost everyone who at one time wanted to get a portable audio player. Founded at the end of the last century by Samsung immigrants, it made a name for itself on MP3 players, which used to be seen on the streets no less than iPhones are now (admit, did you have an airver?). However, the manufacturer decided not to stop there, in addition, the technologies have taken a noticeable step forward over 10 years, and tried his hand at the wireless speaker market. As it turned out, not in vain.
If you plunge into history for a moment, iRiver found recognition among buyers thanks to the iMP-100 CD-MP3 player. The same iPod still existed in the form of plans and design drawings, and the “king” of the audio player market continued to release new models. Only iRiver was able to make the students happy to buy a player for many at that time money player with 256 MB of internal memory, powered by a single AA battery.
Soon, however, iRiver could not stand the competition from the side of young producers, but if in most cases this means bankruptcy or takeover of the company, then the phrase “everything that is done is for the better” was more appropriate than ever, since this was an occasion for the manufacturer switch to the development of Hi-End equipment - now under the now familiar Astell & Kern brand. Our today's hero - the LS150 (Live Stream) column, cannot be called premium in price, since it fits into the budget of up to 10 thousand rubles, which by no means makes it a weak competitor in comparison with models of other eminent brands worth from 20 to 30 thousand rubles.
Yes, you have to be prepared for that kind of money that you won’t get the sound level of large stationary audio systems, but having tested the LS150 in the field, we can safely say that this is one of the best devices of its kind in terms of price and quality. Especially since the wireless sound in the speakers is far from its wired “brother”, and only some manufacturers are gradually able to achieve high-quality sound via Bluetooth, and such solutions cost a lot. What iRiver really did not lose in the LS150 is the design - here it is beyond praise (perhaps because the inscription “Powered by Astell & Kern” flaunts behind, these guys know a lot about design).
The column reached Russia at the end of last year, and by now has been studied far and wide by portable audio enthusiasts. It is time for us to see what iRiver holds the brand in and what details could be paid more attention to.
The box is decorated stylishly, beautifully and has a convenient carrying handle. Inside, in addition to the most neatly wrapped speaker, there is an instruction with the necessary documentation, and in a separate box there is a 3.5 mm cable for listening to the LS150 “in wired mode”, a power supply and ... an FM antenna. Yes, iRiver decided to give the column a bit of “vintage”, but more on that later.
By the way, with the help of a small life hack you can find out in which year and month the column was produced. The numbers from 7 to 10 in the serial number of the device indicate the year and month of manufacture, respectively: for example, if it is 1701, then the column was produced in January 2017. It is not entirely clear in which cases this may come in handy, so it is rather a purely scientific interest.
We are not going to listen to the radio yet, so for now we will postpone all the accessories, including the power supply, and see how the iRiver designers tried to look at the appearance of the device.
At the beginning of the review there was a small spoiler, which is all right with the design of the LS150 . The column is made in strict rectangular shape and looks minimalistic, which allows it to look great both in the Scandinavian and in a more classic interior. Frankly speaking, from afar the column is similar to a radio from the 80s, and this has its own trick. In many respects, the similarity is achieved due to the presence of two rotary knobs located on the front panel in the lower right corner. One of them is responsible for switching between playback modes (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, FM, wired), and the other is used to adjust the volume.
When the column is turned on, the indicators on the handles glow with a pleasant orange light. The ride is smooth, despite the fact that the buttons feel massive.
The volume has a scale of 30 points, and this is enough so that everyone can find a comfortable level for themselves. Most listeners will probably stop between 10 and 15 points, hardcore lovers, of course, will immediately unscrew to the maximum and will be pleasantly surprised that even at this volume level the speaker does not emit an unpleasant crack and has a minimum of sound artifacts (if connected via Bluetooth, with AUX this is not at all). For owners of smartphones, they have provided the use of a speaker as a headset (there is a built-in microphone), and if the device still has NFC, you can quickly pair it with the LS150 .
A small display is hidden on the left side of the column, which again shows orange symbols. For example, it will notify you of the selected menu function (BT, Wi-Fi, etc.) or the frequency of the radio station. At the same time, the screen does not light constantly, but goes out 15 seconds after the selected values are displayed, therefore it performs an information function rather.
On the top panel of the device, the manufacturer located all the control buttons for switching between menu items, answering a call, setting up a wireless connection, including NFC. The buttons are touch-sensitive, but they work with enviable accuracy, although it takes a couple of days to get used to it. The case itself is made of plastic with a matte soft-touch surface - this not only makes the speaker pleasant to the touch, but also minimizes the possibility of fingerprints. Four rubberized legs do not allow the device to slide on the surface, so you can put the column even on a smooth lacquer table.
At the back you can find the AUX linear input for connecting a sound source via cable (it is also used to connect an FM antenna), a power connector and one USB port, which, contrary to popular belief, is used not to play music from a flash drive, but to charge mobile devices - the same iPhone or Android smartphone. An unusual solution, but at the same time useful.
The three-way speaker system is equipped with 5 speakers - 2 high-frequency, 2 mid-frequency, one subwoofer and one passive radiator. The LS150's clear emphasis is on bass: specifically to amplify low frequencies, iRiver utilized Ultra Bass Boost technology - even at low volume levels, the bass “knocks” as it should.
An important advantage is 24bit / 192 kHz support to satisfy the most demanding audiophiles. Not without working with NAS, you can also comfortably listen to music from a computer via DLNA network. But most importantly, of course - support for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and AirPlay. It’s very convenient, for example, to connect the LS150 to the TV using AUX, and if necessary, use AirPlay (you need an iPhone, iPad or other device from Apple) or Bluetooth if you need to make friends with Android devices to transmit sound. Perhaps this is one of the main advantages of the device - several connection options to choose from, while many manufacturers offer only Bluetooth for audio transmission.
Among the supported formats, the most common are declared, including Hi-Res - MP3, WMA, WAV, ALAC, AAC, APE, OGG and FLAC. The range of supported frequencies is from 50 to 20,000 Hz, and the sampling frequency is 8 kHz ~ 192 kHz (8/16/24 bits per sample). Sound transmission via Bluetooth is best avoided if possible: the standard is a bit outdated (2.1), therefore the reception range is less than 10 meters.
Modern "bells and whistles" are also enough. The speaker is conveniently controlled using the iRiver Live Stream application - it can be used to connect several LS150s via a wireless network (yes, it couldn’t do without a multiroom), for example, to configure simultaneous playback of a track or separately transmit right and left channel signals to two LS150s and receive stereo sound.
The presence of FM-radio in such a device in 2017 is a surprise, because in the era of streaming services and Hi-Res audio, most listen to radio stations except in the car. At the same time, some carry their habits home or at work, and for them, it seems, they put in a kit a special flexible antenna that connects to the AUX port. It can be placed behind the column so that the wires will not be visible, and enjoy your favorite radio stations. The reception in the apartment is very good. The device supports automatic and manual station search in the FM band between 88.0 and 108.0 MHz. By the way, you can also listen to the radio without an antenna, you only need to place the device closer to the windows.
As for the playback quality, then via Bluetooth, of course, it is noticeably lower than with AUX, so it is better to choose AirPlay for wireless audio transmission. In general, tracks of various genres go with a bang, but best of all, the column opens with hip-hop and other compositions saturated with bass. The LS150 volume turned out to be enough to accommodate 30-35 square meters - if you want to cover an even larger area, you will already need to configure a multi-room with several columns. But it alone sounds worthy: nevertheless, Ultra Bass Boost technology and five speakers with a passive emitter give their way.
It feels like it’s clear that Astell & Kern engineers still had their hand in the sound quality of the speaker. Yes, this is not stationary acoustics, and loses to some similar models from famous brands, but it costs LS150 2-3 times cheaper. Here we return to the question of price / quality - according to this criterion there are no questions to the device.
Of course, you cannot name this column completely portable - it is necessary that it is constantly connected to the network, and for some this may be a drawback, since you won’t take it with you to nature or hike. However, moving from one room to another or to the kitchen is easy, an incomplete 3 kg allows even a fragile girl to do this.
Even if you don’t know the cost of the iRiver LS150 , you can determine it attractive for you to buy, because the speaker has an interesting stylish design and produces rich sound with powerful bass. If you want, you can find the flaws (and we did it), but the speaker clearly deserves attention for its money, especially since it meets most of the criteria: the appearance is original, the sound is clear and without wires. Well, almost without.
If you plunge into history for a moment, iRiver found recognition among buyers thanks to the iMP-100 CD-MP3 player. The same iPod still existed in the form of plans and design drawings, and the “king” of the audio player market continued to release new models. Only iRiver was able to make the students happy to buy a player for many at that time money player with 256 MB of internal memory, powered by a single AA battery.
Soon, however, iRiver could not stand the competition from the side of young producers, but if in most cases this means bankruptcy or takeover of the company, then the phrase “everything that is done is for the better” was more appropriate than ever, since this was an occasion for the manufacturer switch to the development of Hi-End equipment - now under the now familiar Astell & Kern brand. Our today's hero - the LS150 (Live Stream) column, cannot be called premium in price, since it fits into the budget of up to 10 thousand rubles, which by no means makes it a weak competitor in comparison with models of other eminent brands worth from 20 to 30 thousand rubles.
Yes, you have to be prepared for that kind of money that you won’t get the sound level of large stationary audio systems, but having tested the LS150 in the field, we can safely say that this is one of the best devices of its kind in terms of price and quality. Especially since the wireless sound in the speakers is far from its wired “brother”, and only some manufacturers are gradually able to achieve high-quality sound via Bluetooth, and such solutions cost a lot. What iRiver really did not lose in the LS150 is the design - here it is beyond praise (perhaps because the inscription “Powered by Astell & Kern” flaunts behind, these guys know a lot about design).
The column reached Russia at the end of last year, and by now has been studied far and wide by portable audio enthusiasts. It is time for us to see what iRiver holds the brand in and what details could be paid more attention to.
Specifications
| Frequency range | 50 - 20.000 Hz |
| Frequency Range (FM) | 88.0 ~ 108.0 MHz |
| Speakers | 5 W x 2 (mid-range), 10 W x 1 (subwoofer) (1 ”tweeter x 2/2” mid-frequency x 2 / 3,5 ”subwoofer / passive radiator) |
| Sampling frequency | 8 kHz ~ 192 kHz (8/16/24 bits per sample) |
| Supported Formats | MP3, WMA, WAV, ALAC, AAC, APE, OGG, FLAC |
| Bluetooth | V2.1 + EDR |
| the Internet | Wi-Fi (802.11b / g / n), DLNA (UPnP), Airplay |
| Dimensions | 350 x 117 x 179 mm |
| Weight | 2.98 kg |
Equipment
The box is decorated stylishly, beautifully and has a convenient carrying handle. Inside, in addition to the most neatly wrapped speaker, there is an instruction with the necessary documentation, and in a separate box there is a 3.5 mm cable for listening to the LS150 “in wired mode”, a power supply and ... an FM antenna. Yes, iRiver decided to give the column a bit of “vintage”, but more on that later.
By the way, with the help of a small life hack you can find out in which year and month the column was produced. The numbers from 7 to 10 in the serial number of the device indicate the year and month of manufacture, respectively: for example, if it is 1701, then the column was produced in January 2017. It is not entirely clear in which cases this may come in handy, so it is rather a purely scientific interest.
We are not going to listen to the radio yet, so for now we will postpone all the accessories, including the power supply, and see how the iRiver designers tried to look at the appearance of the device.
Design
At the beginning of the review there was a small spoiler, which is all right with the design of the LS150 . The column is made in strict rectangular shape and looks minimalistic, which allows it to look great both in the Scandinavian and in a more classic interior. Frankly speaking, from afar the column is similar to a radio from the 80s, and this has its own trick. In many respects, the similarity is achieved due to the presence of two rotary knobs located on the front panel in the lower right corner. One of them is responsible for switching between playback modes (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, FM, wired), and the other is used to adjust the volume.
When the column is turned on, the indicators on the handles glow with a pleasant orange light. The ride is smooth, despite the fact that the buttons feel massive.
The volume has a scale of 30 points, and this is enough so that everyone can find a comfortable level for themselves. Most listeners will probably stop between 10 and 15 points, hardcore lovers, of course, will immediately unscrew to the maximum and will be pleasantly surprised that even at this volume level the speaker does not emit an unpleasant crack and has a minimum of sound artifacts (if connected via Bluetooth, with AUX this is not at all). For owners of smartphones, they have provided the use of a speaker as a headset (there is a built-in microphone), and if the device still has NFC, you can quickly pair it with the LS150 .
A small display is hidden on the left side of the column, which again shows orange symbols. For example, it will notify you of the selected menu function (BT, Wi-Fi, etc.) or the frequency of the radio station. At the same time, the screen does not light constantly, but goes out 15 seconds after the selected values are displayed, therefore it performs an information function rather.
On the top panel of the device, the manufacturer located all the control buttons for switching between menu items, answering a call, setting up a wireless connection, including NFC. The buttons are touch-sensitive, but they work with enviable accuracy, although it takes a couple of days to get used to it. The case itself is made of plastic with a matte soft-touch surface - this not only makes the speaker pleasant to the touch, but also minimizes the possibility of fingerprints. Four rubberized legs do not allow the device to slide on the surface, so you can put the column even on a smooth lacquer table.
At the back you can find the AUX linear input for connecting a sound source via cable (it is also used to connect an FM antenna), a power connector and one USB port, which, contrary to popular belief, is used not to play music from a flash drive, but to charge mobile devices - the same iPhone or Android smartphone. An unusual solution, but at the same time useful.
Technology and Sound
The three-way speaker system is equipped with 5 speakers - 2 high-frequency, 2 mid-frequency, one subwoofer and one passive radiator. The LS150's clear emphasis is on bass: specifically to amplify low frequencies, iRiver utilized Ultra Bass Boost technology - even at low volume levels, the bass “knocks” as it should.
An important advantage is 24bit / 192 kHz support to satisfy the most demanding audiophiles. Not without working with NAS, you can also comfortably listen to music from a computer via DLNA network. But most importantly, of course - support for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and AirPlay. It’s very convenient, for example, to connect the LS150 to the TV using AUX, and if necessary, use AirPlay (you need an iPhone, iPad or other device from Apple) or Bluetooth if you need to make friends with Android devices to transmit sound. Perhaps this is one of the main advantages of the device - several connection options to choose from, while many manufacturers offer only Bluetooth for audio transmission.
Among the supported formats, the most common are declared, including Hi-Res - MP3, WMA, WAV, ALAC, AAC, APE, OGG and FLAC. The range of supported frequencies is from 50 to 20,000 Hz, and the sampling frequency is 8 kHz ~ 192 kHz (8/16/24 bits per sample). Sound transmission via Bluetooth is best avoided if possible: the standard is a bit outdated (2.1), therefore the reception range is less than 10 meters.
Modern "bells and whistles" are also enough. The speaker is conveniently controlled using the iRiver Live Stream application - it can be used to connect several LS150s via a wireless network (yes, it couldn’t do without a multiroom), for example, to configure simultaneous playback of a track or separately transmit right and left channel signals to two LS150s and receive stereo sound.
The presence of FM-radio in such a device in 2017 is a surprise, because in the era of streaming services and Hi-Res audio, most listen to radio stations except in the car. At the same time, some carry their habits home or at work, and for them, it seems, they put in a kit a special flexible antenna that connects to the AUX port. It can be placed behind the column so that the wires will not be visible, and enjoy your favorite radio stations. The reception in the apartment is very good. The device supports automatic and manual station search in the FM band between 88.0 and 108.0 MHz. By the way, you can also listen to the radio without an antenna, you only need to place the device closer to the windows.
As for the playback quality, then via Bluetooth, of course, it is noticeably lower than with AUX, so it is better to choose AirPlay for wireless audio transmission. In general, tracks of various genres go with a bang, but best of all, the column opens with hip-hop and other compositions saturated with bass. The LS150 volume turned out to be enough to accommodate 30-35 square meters - if you want to cover an even larger area, you will already need to configure a multi-room with several columns. But it alone sounds worthy: nevertheless, Ultra Bass Boost technology and five speakers with a passive emitter give their way.
It feels like it’s clear that Astell & Kern engineers still had their hand in the sound quality of the speaker. Yes, this is not stationary acoustics, and loses to some similar models from famous brands, but it costs LS150 2-3 times cheaper. Here we return to the question of price / quality - according to this criterion there are no questions to the device.
Of course, you cannot name this column completely portable - it is necessary that it is constantly connected to the network, and for some this may be a drawback, since you won’t take it with you to nature or hike. However, moving from one room to another or to the kitchen is easy, an incomplete 3 kg allows even a fragile girl to do this.
Style, price and sound
Even if you don’t know the cost of the iRiver LS150 , you can determine it attractive for you to buy, because the speaker has an interesting stylish design and produces rich sound with powerful bass. If you want, you can find the flaws (and we did it), but the speaker clearly deserves attention for its money, especially since it meets most of the criteria: the appearance is original, the sound is clear and without wires. Well, almost without.