Samsung Wireless Audio-360 R1 Review - Quality Omnidirectional Sound
Recently, we saw the rise of audio devices with wireless capability that sounds great. Enter, Samsung Wireless Audio-360 R1, a cylindrical shaped speaker that promises real "omnidirectional" sound on a not that high price tag.
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| Omnidirection sound in a small package anyone? |
Samsung designed this device to look stylish, be compact enough to fit spaces easily, and be controlled effortlessly via WiFi or Bluetooth. Will this be the stylish small home speaker we've all been waiting for? Let's check it out!
Disclaimer: This Wireless Audio-360 R1 was borrowed from Samsung Philippines to conduct this uncolored review.
Samsung Wireless Audio-360 R1 Specs
Drivers: 1 Inch Dome Tweeter, 3.6 Inch Woofer
Connectivity: WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, micro USB
Compatibility: Windows, Mac, Android
Dimensions: 233.93 x 121.92 x 121 x 92
Weight: 500 g
Price: PHP 4,990
Unboxing / Accessories
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| Important things inside |
There's nothing much to write about on Samsung's packaging this time. All you get are the charger, the speakers, and paper documentations. I do hope that Samsung adds a cloth cover to prevent dust from coming in when not in use.
Build Quality / Design
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| Proper rubber stoppers and where you'll insert the power cord below |
The speaker is made out of mostly plastic exterior that's tough enough. The materials used are far from premium, but Samsung's finish are well refined. There are proper rubber stoppers below, the power cable is thick yet flexible, and there are no annoying sharp edge all over.
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| Touch sensitive surface for controls on top |
Checking its design, the speaker has a stylish yet tall cylindrical form factor to distribute sound in 360 degrees. It can easily blend with your furniture design due to its minimalist appeal.
The Samsung Wireless Audio-360 R1 has a beautiful minimalist design!
On top, there's a touch-sensitive surface for gesture controls. You can either swipe in either directions for skipping tracks, press volume up / down, and tap to play / pause. The mode button is designed to connect to Samsung TVs, WiFi, and Bluetooth. It is fairly easy to use and understand as well.
Features
Like what we stated in the spec-sheet, this is a fully wireless speaker that can be connected via Bluetooth or WiFi. There's also an option to pair it with your Samsung TV at home. It can also be liked and controlled via Samsung's Multiroom app. You'll also find 10 streaming services like Spotify and etc. inside this app.
At the Multiroom app, connecting the R1 with other R1 speakers in your home is possible. Unfortunately, we failed to check if that feature works as we only have one R1 at hand. It's just a bit confusing to use at first as there's a bit of a learning curve.
In general, the R1 has a close to balanced sound with slightly bass emphasis. Speaking of lows, it has the ability to produce acceptable bass levels with good type of punch and speed. Its sub-bass is either a tad lacking or uncontrolled at times especially on bass heavy club music though.
Midrange sounds clean and clear most of the time. Though it won't sound as full compared with other more expensive monitor, level of detail and separation of tunes are acceptable. Microdetails on some tracks are present as well, good especially for a wireless device. Highs are present together with some hiss and peaks that could be fatiguing.
Where this speaker truly shines is in the soundstage department. This small speaker Bdelivered real omnidirectional sound that's very open and wide. Listening to live recorded concerts are very enjoyable.
Loudness level are great too. It sounded clean up to around 80% volume. There's some distortion on max volume though.
Note: WiFi mode has the ability to stream HiFi audio, Bluetooth mode sounds decent as well.
At the Multiroom app, connecting the R1 with other R1 speakers in your home is possible. Unfortunately, we failed to check if that feature works as we only have one R1 at hand. It's just a bit confusing to use at first as there's a bit of a learning curve.
Sound Quality
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| 360 sound! |
In general, the R1 has a close to balanced sound with slightly bass emphasis. Speaking of lows, it has the ability to produce acceptable bass levels with good type of punch and speed. Its sub-bass is either a tad lacking or uncontrolled at times especially on bass heavy club music though.
Midrange sounds clean and clear most of the time. Though it won't sound as full compared with other more expensive monitor, level of detail and separation of tunes are acceptable. Microdetails on some tracks are present as well, good especially for a wireless device. Highs are present together with some hiss and peaks that could be fatiguing.
Where this speaker truly shines is in the soundstage department. This small speaker Bdelivered real omnidirectional sound that's very open and wide. Listening to live recorded concerts are very enjoyable.
Loudness level are great too. It sounded clean up to around 80% volume. There's some distortion on max volume though.
Note: WiFi mode has the ability to stream HiFi audio, Bluetooth mode sounds decent as well.
Pros - Minimalist look, real omnidirectional sound, sounds decent for the price, stable wireless connection, easy to use
Cons - Not portable, hissing and distortion on max volume, no 3.5 mm headphone slot
Verdict
The Samsung Wireless Audio-360 R1 is a must check if you are looking for a wireless home audio solution that's minimalist and sounds decent for the price. In particular, we find its ease of use and HiFi audio on WiFi support very enjoyable.
Build / Design - 4
Features - 3.5
Sound - 4
Average - 3.83 / 5
Build / Design - 4
Features - 3.5
Sound - 4
Average - 3.83 / 5
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