Reviews for Philips Fidelio SoundRing Portable Speaker with AirPlay

Bought this sound box with my wife 2 weeks ago. And it has been in use ever since by everyone in the house, streaming their audio from iPods, iPad, PC, etc.

Great sound, very nice design, and box - or better mention ring - can be easily picked up and put everywhere for convenience of listening. Everyone who sees it, loves it.

It has one really good feature. The sound is dispersed through the room evenly and fully. It really fills the room because of the multi-directional setup of the drivers.

However, it took about 20 minutes to setup through my phone. It required me to turn off my 3G. It seemed very messy.

For $299, I expected a decent bass response - there is literally nothing. The mids and highs are clear, but it has a very flat sound.

For $300, pick yourself up a Big Jambox - you'll be much happier.

It works very well and very good to transport inside the house. I haven't been facing problems with iPad and iPod touch. I recommend because the sound is excellent, furthermore the design is amazing.

First off, do not use this product if you rely on your Wifi network for fast transfers. It is a Wifi G device, and it will slow down your wireless N network. If you have an old router around, set it up as a separate network and put the sound ring on that. This way you will protect your N network from the slow down.

Beyond this, playback drops when connected to iphones, ipads, ipods regularly, in all network configurations that I have tried including the latest airport extreme. Also, the product stops responding to the network after sitting idle for a while, and must be rebooted, rendering it a serious pain to use.

If I don't see a firmware update soon, I think it might be time to write an article about the absurdity of Philips polished support videos being contrasted against the lack of the very features and support that they present. I bet Gizmodo would like to have something like that to run.

I've had this for a little over a month and had very few issues with airplay.

I use it regularly with my iPhone 4S and an old 3GS and have few issues with connectivity. I also use Airfoil to stream spotify from my Macbook Pro. I use a regular modem, but my family has used Airplay (and its predecessor) since 2006.

It sound pretty good but is not for dance parties. The bass is pretty weak but the rest of the sound is pretty good. I also really like that the unit is portable.

Contradictory to the description on the Apple store website, these speakers do not work with the iphone 4S. In fact, after going through all the steps to hook them up & having the music repeatedly drop out, I checked the Philips support page which answers my question:
(Copied directly from their frequently asked questions) We are aware of a playback issue with the iPhone 4S and AirPlay enabled speakers. We are currently looking into resolving this issue together with Apple. We will communicate immediately when a solution is available. Alternatively please use other products to enjoy AirPlay streaming.

Overall I've been happy with this speaker. The setup was relatively easy and it hasn't lost connection with my network yet. I'll say that the sound is OK - don't expect anything amazing - however for my small room (approx. 20' x 15') it does a fine job. The real benefit is the portability. I love being able to pick this up from its charging station and bring it into another room. I've moved it all over my house and it hasn't lost the connection to my network yet. Well worth the money if you need a small wireless portable speaker solution.

Looks great. Sounds great.
Airplay constantly drops out when playing from iPad 1, iPad 2, and all iPhone's. It will drop several times during one song, extremely frustrating to the point it is unusable for iPad & iPhones which is why this was purchased.
Very odd behavior considering Airplay works flawlessly from MacPro, iMac and MacBook Pro on same Wifi network as the iPads & iPhones.

I have been waiting for this product for months as I saw it at CES and thought it would be a good fit for my needs. The setup using an iPhone/iPod was super easy and the QuickStart guide does an adequate job of guiding the user through it. The only potential issue for a lot of people will be the IP address that Philips instructs the user to use as it's commonly used by a number of devices and if they are not turned off (modems, etc.), the setup link will not come up.

The sound is as to be expected for such a small unit. Not bad at all and light years beyond what was possible a decade ago but still, "there's no replacement for displacement" we always used to say.

I'm just thrilled to have a rechargeable, portable, Airplayable solution that doesn't look like a dogs breakfast. Bravo Philips for the whole Fidelio line.