Audio Pro C20 assessment: a wi-fi speaker that gives much more, and sounds even higher

Audio Pro C20: Two minute assessment

The Audio Pro C20 has lots of connectivity choices. As anybody accustomed to the class of greatest wi-fi audio system is aware of, a field of drivers that is capable of harness your own home’s Wi-Fi community can supply superior sound to that afforded by a Bluetooth connection, whether or not music is accessed through Google Cast, Apple’s AirPlay, ‘related’ companies comparable to Tidal Connect (which truly allows you to stream losslessly in 24-bit hi-res, the place AirPlay faucets out at 16-bit CD high quality) or a devoted multi-room app such because the Audio Pro Control app. And the Audio Pro C20 affords all of this. 

But simply rapidly, let’s clarify why Audio Pro’s newest wi-fi speaker is value your time from a technical perspective. First off, pinging music over Bluetooth from cellphone to speaker incurs compression. Wi-Fi’s increased bandwidth means you possibly can pay attention in (very) excessive decision, as much as 24-bit/192kHz. Now, a Wi-Fi enabled speaker accesses your chosen tunes from the web (or native drive related to it) reasonably than out of your cellphone itself – and if you happen to stroll into one other room or take a name, so long as you keep inside vary of your Wi-Fi router, the music retains taking part in.

Why clarify this within the intro to a product assessment? Because Audio Pro will get it. The Swedish firm’s been within the sport for 40 years and the agency will get that we wish a couple of open gate resulting in our music. Also, we now have loads of equipment we would wish to bodily join our shiny new speaker to, if potential (and thanks very a lot prematurely). So, on high of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth streaming, Audio Pro has added to the sizeable C20 a compelling array of ports on the again: an RCA in (for turntables with an RIAA amp), a phono MM in (for moving-magnet cartridge decks with no phono stage), an RCA sub out (if you happen to wished to attach a devoted subwoofer to it), a Toslink Optical in (for CD gamers or finances soundbars, say) and the arguably the largest draw of the lot – an HDMI ARC in, so it will possibly go straight into your TV and problem a number of the greatest soundbars. So lengthy because it’ll match beneath it with out obscuring the display screen, that’s. 

What it is advisable know is that this: this factor sounds implausible, providing readability, depth, pleasure and finesse, even at increased volumes. The management app is simple to navigate and corrals all your chosen music streaming companies – however in fact, you can go into every app in your cellphone and click on the little Google forged or AirPlay icon to see the C20 prepared to attach.

Audio Pro calls the C20 the entire answer for music and TV and it is laborious to argue. It’s additionally laborious to think about a house inside, coloration scheme or decor type that the Audio Pro C20 could not be pals with – and the grille can stay on or simply be whipped off, if you happen to choose to see its three gifted drivers.

The steel high plate provides an additional contact of sophistication and the buttons click on properly, in a construct that feels each reverent to conventional methods and but strikingly fashionable. 

The proven fact that it comes from an extended line of hits means it does not come low-cost although. I’ve written odes to Audio Pro’s lovely audio system and I helped assessment the marginally smaller Audio Pro Addon C10 MkII for TechRadar’s sister web site, What Hi-Fi?, so I can personally vouch the five-star ranking there (and the a number of awards it subsequently gained), though I concern these seemingly did not do a lot to maintain costs low. 

In abstract, it is stylish, it is distinctive and it is (just about) the entire bundle. Why just about? If you wished a 3.5mm in on your headphones (or 4.4mm, 6.35mm, or XLR), you will not discover it – you’d should go the the FiiO R9 for that. The C20 is for the enjoyment of shared music. And what an expertise that’s. 

Audio Pro C20 assessment: Price and launch date

• Unveiled January 8, 2024, transport from March 2024
• $550 / £450 / €550 (round AU$820)

The Audio Pro C20 is out there for pre-order now, and ships from March 2024. In the US, it prices $550 and within the UK, it will set you again £450, hardly a mere sum, no matter whistles and bells it sports activities. 

That mentioned, the competitors right here is not way more reasonably priced. Yes, the Q Acoustics M40 HD is (wonderful and) a music system squirrelled right into a set of audio system, however so far as wi-fi connectivity goes, it is a Bluetooth just one. Then, there’s the implausible FiiO R9, with all the connectivity and hi-res wi-fi streaming smarts you can want for, so long as you may present your individual audio system or headphones. 

Sonus Faber and Naim additionally supply comparable options – see the Naim Mu-so Qb, a 2019 launch which does not boast an HDMI ARC enter, assist, or the Sonus Faber Omnia, which does – however whereas the previous is now out there for comparable cash to the C20, the latter is much more costly… 

Audio Pro C20 assessment: Specs

Audio Pro C20 assessment: Features

• Built in RIAA amplifier
• Google Cast, Apple AirPlay and Audio Pro’s personal multi-room audio choice
• HDMI ARC

By including a phono stage to its newest masterwork, Audio Pro C20 could be plugged straight into your devoid-of-phono turntable (so long as it sports activities a shifting magnet cartridge), permitting you to easily energy it on, choose ‘phono’ on the Audio Pro’s high plate, decrease that needle and get into the groove. Got one of many greatest turntables with an RIAA amp inbuilt? That’s OK too, there is a separate RCA line in for you too. 

Of course, that is Audio Pro, so the brand new C20 additionally options the profitable multi-room choice triumvirate that the corporate launched with the 2021-release Addon C10 MkII: AirPlay 2, Google Cast, plus its personal multi-room audio functionality. You additionally get Tidal Connect, Spotify Connect, Bluetooth (v5.0) and HDMI ARC – so you possibly can hook it straight as much as your TV. 

Thanks to a mix of those this stuff, it’s also possible to re-stream music (together with vinyl out of your turntable) to different Audio Pro audio system you might have collected from its A, C, or D-series, in a wi-fi multi-room system round your own home (and you do not even have to start out making holes in your partitions).

The C20 additionally affords the choice of connecting an exterior subwoofer through its sub-out (the corporate would direct you to its personal Audio Pro SW-5 or SW10) enabling you to reinforce the C20’s bass efficiency even additional, do you have to want – though I did not discover this essential. 

Finally, two C20’s could be set-up as a stereo pair utilizing the Audio Pro app, and even through Apple Airplay 2. I believe you may agree, that is lots of choices. If you desire a 3.5mm headphone jack, you will not discover it… however do you actually? 

Features rating: 5/5

Audio Pro C20 assessment: Sound high quality

• Clarity, neutrality and element in spades
• Ample bass clout with out muddying the soundstage
• Not an omnidirectional answer

Simply put, the Audio Pro C20 sounds excellent certainly, whether or not bodily hooked as much as your TV or turntable, or when commanded to play music by your cellphone. You may anticipate having to make a compromise when shopping for a jack-of-all-trades field – a minor hit on sound in return for one thing that works with every thing – however not so right here. 

Coheed and Cambria’s In Keeping Secrets of the Silent Earth: 3 accessed on Tidal Connect is a raucous proggy album and the C20 by no means shies away from any of it, serving indomitable power throughout the frequencies in a cohesive however rigorously regimented combine. 

Given delicate string progressions comparable to Joni Mitchell’s A Case of You, Mitchell’s textured vocal soars above her dynamically agile and three-dimensional Appalachian dulcimer (and James Taylor’s emotive acoustic guitar) the place every musical passage is given sufficient house to have the mandatory influence the observe. 

When dealing with TV content material, the C20 is a straightforward (simple!) step up from something my Sony TV’s audio system can do, opening out the sound and providing that additional ounce of element by means of intakes of breath and clacks of high-heeled sneakers on cobbles in Shetland. 

It’s not a Dolby Atmos answer, in fact, and the sound is not significantly omnidirectional (owing to the C20’s design), however there is a large soundstage right here nonetheless. 

However I listened to it throughout the course of my testing, the C20 continued to thrill and entertain with its myriad connectivity perks, ease of use and gifted audio chops. 

Sound high quality rating: 5/5

Audio Pro C20: Design

• 2x 30W and 1x 130W digital class D amplifiers
• Removable grille
• Choice of three finishes

The Audio Pro C20 is out there in Soft Satin White, Stylish Grey or Classic Black. The woven cloth entrance is fastened to the C20 by magnets and could be simply eliminated, giving the choice of two very totally different seems, relying in your favored aesthetic. 

I wish to take off the grille off to raised hear (and observe) Audio Pro’s iconic eyes-and-nose type driver configuration, as seen within the model’s beloved T3+, C5 MkII and C10 MkII, for starters. Here, you get two 30W and one 130W Digital Class D amplifiers, powering the C20’s twin 1-inch tweeters and a 6.5-inch woofer.

At 41cm throughout,19.6cm excessive and 22cm deep (and weighing in at 6.2kg, which roughly the identical as a gallon of paint), the C20 is a considerable factor and whereas it suits below my wall-mounted TV simply effective, these considering of utilizing it as a soundbar will want to consider that peak. 

My ‘Stylish Grey’ pattern is simply that. The gold-tone high plate (with solo LEDs to indicate which supply you are utilizing in addition to lights across the six preset buttons) additionally helps and whereas the gold accent on the grille is gone (as seen on the C10 MkII) I do not miss it. Do I miss Audio Pro’s wonderful rock ‘n’ roll leather-based deal with? A bit, however I additionally concede that this is not  proposition will not be meant to be particularly transportable. 

It’s all the time been laborious to search out fault with Audio Pro’s construct high quality, and the C20 isn’t any exception. 

Design rating: 4.5/5

Audio Pro C20 assessment: Usability and setup

• Simple, app-guided setup
• App can deal with your music – or not
• No equipped distant

After powering the speaker on (in case it must be talked about, the C20 must be plugged in to energy always), you are rapidly guided to the Audio Pro companion app, which is able to add the C20 to your Wi-FI community and usually do the remainder. During my time with it, it neither crashed nor tripped up even momentarily. 

On the app, the ‘Browse’ tab (which seeks to maintain your music multi function place) will open Apple Music natively by means of ‘open on Apple Music’ if utilizing an iOS machine, however third-party streaming companies (comparable to Tidal) would require you to login once more if going this route. You also can choose the C20’s supply right here, whether or not that is Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, phono, line in (I hooked it as much as the FiiO R9 earlier than setting it up and it did a implausible job), optical or TV. 

The central ‘Device’ tab within the app is supposed to organise your audio system reasonably than your music, so right here you possibly can title your speaker, (both the mannequin, or its placement in your house, comparable to ‘kitchen’) and with the C20 there is a three-band EQ tab for bass, treble and subwoofer out. 

The third and closing ‘Settings’ tab mainly allows you to select which companies are displayed on ‘Browse’, in addition to an FAQ part and particulars on the app model you are working. 

Audio Pro hasn’t equipped a devoted distant management within the field (though if you happen to’re utilizing the HDMI ARC to your TV, you possibly can simply use your TV’s distant for quantity) and truthfully, I do not miss it, as a result of the app does the heavy lifting – or in fact, you need to use the premium high plate. 

Usability and setup rating: 5/5 

Audio Pro C20: Value

Obviously, if you do not have the expendable earnings to afford such a speaker, it does not matter how good it’s – you will not be shopping for it. 

That mentioned, Sonus Faber will give you one thing with the same spec sheet that is double the value, whereas Naim has an older choice that gives much less when it comes to connectivity, however sounds wonderful, for comparable cash (see beneath for a comparability of those merchandise). 

My recommendation? You is not going to be upset with the sound-per-pound worth right here. 

Value rating: 4.5/5 

Audio Pro C20 assessment: Should you purchase it?

Buy it if…

Don’t purchase it if…

Audio Pro C20: Also take into account

Audio Pro C20 assessment: How I examined

• Tested throughout seven days 
• Used as a TV soundbar, wi-fi speaker, wired to the FiiO R9, wired to a turntable and as a Wi-Fi and Bluetooth speaker
• Listened to quite a lot of music; watched three episodes of an action-packed TV present

When testing the Audio Pro C20, the one connection I didn’t use was the subwoofer out – as a result of truthfully, I actually like Audio Pro’s tuning inside its audio system and by no means felt the necessity to attempt to increase the low finish. 

The analogue inputs accommodated each pre-amplified and non-amplified turntables, the digital optical was used for a CD participant, the road in for FiiO R9 (as a supply machine), my TV was hooked as much as it… and, in fact, Bluetooth and my house Wi-Fi community had been useful for utilizing it with my iPhone. 

And then it is the standard: listening to plenty of acquainted music from my reference playlist, (in addition to three episodes of Shetland on TV, which I’m actually into and extremely suggest – sure, I do know I’m late to that exact social gathering) at quite a lot of quantity ranges, throughout my testing. 

As a quick apart, I eliminated the grilles throughout my testing – it is what I all the time do at any time when potential. Why? The fewer bodily obstructions between you and your music, the higher… 

• First reviewed March 2024
• Read extra about how we check