Reviews for Bowers & Wilkins A5 AirPlay Wireless Music System

On the technical side, everything just worked. Very simple set up procedure—best AirPlay setup I've used so far, in fact. (I've set up 4 different AirPlay speakers.)

On the audio side, I can't imagine much better sound coming out of a similar size package. I am especially glad there isn't an artificially inflated bass or other gimmicks that make it sound big on the showroom but not so good at home. Instead, this simply delivers crisp audio without distortion.

As long as you aren't expecting a wide open stereo sound stage or to experience the kind of sound you'd get out of a larger system with dedicated speaker, receiver, and amp, you will be very pleased with this product.

It's so good I'm thinking about getting the MM-1 computer speakers, which this is apparently similar too.

I've tried several systems (10+) that are sold in the apple store and I can tell you from my experience this is the best sounding airplay speaker you can buy. I wish I could afford the A7, but still very happy with the A5 and quality sound.
Setup was a breeze, just download the APP and follow the instructions. There is also a MAC DMG version you can use to configure. Only a few times have I lost signal from an iOS device. I've never lost using my macbook pro. I've listened for hours and cannot express how great the sound is, clear and great bass. I plan on saving up to buy for another room in my house.
If you buy it you will not be disappointed.

I'm on my way to the store to return this product. I couldn't have been more disappointed with the setup - I worked at it for hours before I found the two key issues, 1) you can't have a special character in your password, 2) you have to have wireless g compatible network. So what do these things have in common, they aren't documented anywhere. You will be searching the web for hours like I did in order to find this stuff. The product is less than 6 months old and it doesn't have wireless n, how crazy is that. I live in an apartment with 30-40 wifi networks around me…there is too much competition on every channel for me to be using wireless g. So here is the suggestion that I got, get an airport express. I just paid $500 for this thing and now I should spend $100 to get it working and doesn't that go against the whole reason I purchased an airplay speaker?!?! So you might be wondering why I gave this two stars instead of one, well I thought it did have nice sound when I plugged it directly into my router…and besides who takes those guys seriously that post 1 or 5 stars. ;)

great when you can connect to it via wi-fi. Worked may be 2 hours out of the past 20 days. Luckily apple took it back.

Having previously purchased Bose systems in the past, I always wanted to try B&W
First product is the A5 - Looks and Sounds Amazing. Very easy to setup using the B&W App available from app store for FREE
True test of this system would come when i played (Edgar Winter Group-FRANKENSTEIN) Which exceeded my expectation, then second test (Phil Collins In the Air Tonight) felt like Phil's drum set was right beside me, awesome then tossed in a JOSH GROBAN and 3 out of 3 - this product is excellent! big sound from a small box and very clear sound at that...great product! for those audiophiles who might not want to spend $700+ on the A7 like me.

I originally purchased the Phillips Fidelio airplay speaker, It was constantly disconnecting, and cutting out while playing songs. Based on the other reviews, I thought it must be a hardware issue on my end.

Exchanged it and brought home the A5 - what a difference! Easy to set up, worked flawlessly immediately and the sound cannot be compared.

The A5 is completely worth the extra $$. The sound is much richer, and the base is a lot stronger - at full volume, I'm pretty sure my neighbours across the street can hear it, ha ha! Seriously though, this is the quality I wanted for my home - something that would sound like a great home system in my kitchen and livingroom for when I'm entertaining. The A5 definitely will fill this requirement.

For someone who knows very little about speakers and technology, I can hear a huge difference between this and the Phillips. I also listened to the Bose Airplay that's around $370, and the A5 sound is far superior to the Bose, too, in fact.

I would highly recommend it, and it's worth spending the extra $. You won't need anything else!

I like this speaker so much I have decided to use them throughout the house. Set-up is simple, as it seems to be with anything linked to Apple. I like that I can use the Remote App to control different zones and that I can move these around for different environments. The sound blew me away and I listen to music everyday so my experience has become pretty extensive over my 45+ years. Apple has a tremendous return policy so what can you lose - take on home and try it!!! I would be surprised if many come back!!!

I am so very disappointed in this product. I previously owned a Bose sound dock but, after hearing a friends B&W Zeplin Air I decided to purchase a B&W unit and bought the A7. Setup was difficult due to lack of detailed instructions. I eventually accomplished the setup and settled in to listen to the crystal clear sound from the speaker system. No disappointment here at all! It's a spectacular unit. However, after a day of working almost seamlessly, it now quits within ten minutes of starting. I have rebooted the speakers and checked the router without finding any problem. Both my iPhone and my wife's iPad experience the same problem and both of these devices are within 10 feet of the speaker system. I have scoured the internet for a solution and nothing comes up. The person who recently wrote that all these complaints are likely "user caused" has prompted me to submit this saga. It is one more example of the problem and is definitely NOT my fault. A perfect example of great speakers but poor wireless technology. I will be returning this speaker next week.

I'm a classically trained musician, 20 years violin, 10 years acoustic guitar, I consider myself to have a very good ear.

Bottom line, the a5 sound quality is so incredibly NOT worth $500, don't even bother. While it looks stunning, that's all you're going to get out of this box. I only had to listen to this in the store and go head to head, song for song, with the Bose Soundlink Air ($150 less) to declare the winner hands down. For all the B&W hoopla on their tweeter technology, the upper range of the A5 was just plain muffled, no articulation of treble tones. Base tones had absolutely no warmth or depth. I picked up on this even before i did the comparison, thinking maybe it was an in-store acoustic thing going on. But compare with the Bose and you get so much more with the latter.

I worry that all these tech heads are evaluating speakers based on ease of setup and AirPlay reliability, but have they all had their eardrums blown from Dr Dre beats headphones? Start with sound quality first, ladies and gentlemen, and that's where you'll quickly end with this speaker.

I brought home the Bose unit and could not be happier for the investment - great range and clarity for $350. If you have an obsession with black fabric and aluminum, buy the B&W. If you like to hear good music, turn to Bose - at least in this price range.