Libratone Lounge Speaker with AirPlay Technology

Reviews for Libratone Lounge Speaker with AirPlay Technology

Customer Reviews and Ratings

3.5 out of 5 stars

Based on 8 reviews

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Brilliant!

    • Written by from london

    10 of 12 people found this useful

    The libratone Lounge is the only genuinely high end
    AirPlay speaker available and it is absolutely awesome. So much so that I bought 2!

    The sound quality is really good. I can only compare the sound directly to my pro audio recording system (genelec 8040a's + fireface audio interface) and although the quality isn't quite as high as that (it would be unreasonable to expect it to be as it is at a significantly lower price) the sound stage is much better. At higher volumes you can fill a large room. For lower volumes, I found that two units sounded much better in my lounge (9m by 5m). The airplay audio is in perfect sync between them.

    The sound is balanced but you do not get the big thump at the bottom end, so if your main listening is hip hop you may wish to look elsewhere. I like the bass - it's refined and clear, and let's me listen at higher volumes without annoying the neighbours. The mid range is very good and the high end is fantastic - not exaggerated but just really crystal.

    I had some issues with regular dropouts to start with but they have been resolved with the latest software. I rarely get dropouts now. Connection is fast - after you hit play, the music plays within 3 seconds or so. Pausing and volume changes are almost instant.

    It's hard to review the Lounge without reviewing AirPlay too. There are limitations on the AirPlay system (that you don't have with Sonos) but that is Apple's fault not Libratone's - for example you can only stream to one speaker from an iDevice yet you can stream to as many as you like from iTunes. But on the plus side when using an iDevice you can use intelligent music apps like groove to get better mixes of your songs. And like everything Apple, it looks great and just works.

    I highly, highly recommend this. Yes you can get a more expensive separates hi-fi system that will sound even better, and you can connect some device to get AirPlay working with it, but it will be a mess of wires and ugly. This is beautiful, simple and sounds fantastic to me - and I am generally very picky when it comes to sound quality.

    Was this useful? Brilliant!

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Libratone sounds great!

    • Written by from Plano

    11 of 13 people found this useful

    I received my speaker today and it is beautiful. It looks very high end.

    It sounds even better. Set up was a breeze, just follow the included instructions. Signal strength reads is 66% for Wifi signal but works just fine. I also hooked it up to my HDTV and holy cow does it make my old 5.1 system seem boring. There is no need for a receiver and big speakers when you have Libratone Lounge.

    My only complaint is that the Libratone app (downloaded from app store on iPhone 5) leaves a lot to be desired. They need to add volume control for +/- buttons on iPhone, using the sliding volume control on iPhone is touchy. They also need to release codes to cable companies to control the volume for digital output on your cable remote... This will have to be a must!!! They haven't been in the USA for very long, I hope they catch on and listen to our recommendations.

    Everything advertised about this speaker is true. Beautiful, easy to set-up, and sounds great. I love that AirPlay overrides TV sound.

    If you can, get one, I highly recommend it!

    Was this useful? Libratone sounds great!

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  • 2.0 out of 5 stars

    The answer to my music needs......or not!

    • Written by from Atlanta

    19 of 20 people found this useful

    This is a review I wish I did not have to write. Last holiday season I gave my wife 3 Libratone speakers. She has been wanting whole house quality music for years and we have gone as far as having companies come to the house to price systems. The numbers were always crazy so Libratone seemed like the perfect solution.

    The units are aesthetically beautiful and amazingly easy to set up. The sound is also very good (probably not for an audiofile but for the other 99% of us seeking great sound this fits the bill).

    Now the other shoe..........I cannot get the darn speakers to stay connected. The sound constantly drops out for between 5 seconds and a minute and then magically re-appears. I have worked with Libratone through email and have been through their software update etc, no change.

    If they could fix this problem then it is a 5 star product but until then.......stay away

    Was this useful? The answer to my music needs......or not!

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Great Sound, Great Functionality

    • Written by from Tiburon

    19 of 20 people found this useful

    Having now enjoyed the Libratone Lounge for a couple of weeks, I must say it has fully lived up to my expectations.
    I have not experienced any connection drop problems, like with some other AirPlay products, and the App that controls the sound style and room optimization is great.
    As a companion for my TV the sound is a zillion times better than from TV speakers, and really eliminates the need for surround speakers unless you are very demanding.
    I have really only one suggestion for improvement, and that would be an option to control the volume on the box directly, if your iPhone or iPad is not within reach.

    Was this useful? Great Sound, Great Functionality

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  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Utterly disapointing

    • Written by from New York

    52 of 70 people found this useful

    This speaker is pathetic. It has a nice design and nothing more. It looses AirPlay connection virtually every time I stop playing music. And I have a Zeppelin Air much further from my router that never looses connection.

    I bought this Libratone Lounge from DWR last December. Its initial setup is extremely easy but that’s it. Virtually ever time I stopped playing music it would loose AirPlay connection. Bringing it back would require not just a couple of clicks on iTunes but literally turning the Libratone OFF and ON and waiting for it to reconnect to my computer or any other AirPlay device. I have an internet connection stable and strong enough to keep my Zeppelin Air perfectly connected for months. Last January I emailed the manufacturer and they promptly emailed me back saying it could be an issue with my internet connection (an argument easily refuted by the amazing Zeppelin Air connection I have) and saying that a Libratone software update coming in mid-February could fix the issue. (Another reviewer got a mid-January timeframe as an answer.)

    We are almost in mid-May. If in the next couple of weeks they don’t release an update fixing the issue, I’m just going to return the speaker to the manufacturer and buy another Zeppelin Air for less than half of the price of my Libratone Lounge.

    Was this useful? Utterly disapointing

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Looks great, sounds better

    • Written by from Toronto

    60 of 72 people found this useful

    I saw this in the Apple Store Fifth Avenue in NYC. The wool grille made everyone want to touch it. As a house present for Christmas my wife thought it was all about my preferences for how powerful it is, not just how good it looks. But since she is addicted to her iPhone and iPad, she now loves how she just clicks to AirPlay whatever she is hearing or watching and this speaker just fills the room. I like that is has optical audio for my HDTV sound effects, and I also like that you can replace the wool grille with another cover should you want to freshen up the look in a room, down the road.

    Was this useful? Looks great, sounds better

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  • 2.0 out of 5 stars

    Review after 2 months

    • Written by from calgary

    74 of 98 people found this useful

    Now that I'm used to this speaker, it is lacking in some important areas.

    If you listen to vocals or Jazz it's pretty decent, but any other genre even simple stuff makes this speaker seem challenged.

    There is too much music that sounds like soup spilt on a hot stove element to make it worth the money, plus it has a very annoying habit of cutting out even if the wifi is at max signal strength.
    Maybe there will be some type of update to fix this.

    Was this useful? Review after 2 months

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  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    At last..

    • Written by from calgary

    79 of 94 people found this useful

    Very nice, UPS did their best to get road rash all over the outer carton and I was bit concerned
    At first glance.

    The packaging is almost bombproof, when I finally got it opened I thought the Italian wool was pretty wrinkled but that turned out to be yet another protective wrap that was encased in heavy flexible styrofoam stuff.

    It sounds great, the whole room setup seems overrated to me because I can't hear a big difference, could just be me though.

    Aside from sounding great even though Wifi hiccups occasionally, what I thought was a really nice feature is that you can preview songs on iTunes and use it for games or anything with sound. Ikaossilator sounds awesome but it lags abit.

    I give it 4 thumbs up.

    Was this useful? At last..

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