Audio Pro Addon C5A Multi-Room Speaker - Coal Black

I did a lot of research to find a good speaker for my husband’s birthday and ultimately landed on the Audio Pro C5. It’s a WiFi wireless speaker (but still requires AC power, as it’s not a portable one). This is part of Audio Pro’s multi-room speaker collection, which allows you to sync up all your audio systems across your house through your WiFi, rather than with cables. Once connected to the WiFi it offers flawless playback through Spotify Connect, with excellent sound quality. For an all-in-one system the bass is phenomenal, even without an additional subwoofer, and the mids and high tones are clear and crisp too. The sound is very well balanced and it’s a delight to listen to. I bought this in the grey colour, with brown leather handle and brushed brass ... MoreI did a lot of research to find a good speaker for my husband’s birthday and ultimately landed on the Audio Pro C5. It’s a WiFi wireless speaker (but still requires AC power, as it’s not a portable one). This is part of Audio Pro’s multi-room speaker collection, which allows you to sync up all your audio systems across your house through your WiFi, rather than with cables. Once connected to the WiFi it offers flawless playback through Spotify Connect, with excellent sound quality. For an all-in-one system the bass is phenomenal, even without an additional subwoofer, and the mids and high tones are clear and crisp too. The sound is very well balanced and it’s a delight to listen to. I bought this in the grey colour, with brown leather handle and brushed brass buttons. It looks amazing. I also love that even though it’s not a portable speaker, it’s still easy to move throughout the house. It’s a great piece of Swedish engineering. It’s also easy to connect via Bluetooth, Aux, or RCA, but I find Wi-Fi is the best as it doesn’t drain device batteries or require an additional cable. Highly recommend to anyone looking for an affordable speaker that’s different from the main stream brands.

Awesome sound but limited app integration.

First off, the AP Addon C5 sounds AWESOME. It fills a large room with a balanced punch, even for such a small package. Vocals are clear, mids defined and the bass is solid. The app has extremely limited integration with 3rd party apps, so there's no YouTube or BBC Sounds audio over WIFI I'm afraid. However, where the C5 solves that is by having bluetooth connectivity (as well as RCA and 3.5MM aux inputs) so you can listen to whatever you so wish. It's a little fiddly, but once you're used to it: not a problem.I approached Audio Pro with caution - I was desperate for it to be a better package than Sonos so figured I'd give it a try and if bitterly disappointed I'd chop it in for the, personally less desirable, competition. However, I was pleased with the overall ... MoreFirst off, the AP Addon C5 sounds AWESOME. It fills a large room with a balanced punch, even for such a small package. Vocals are clear, mids defined and the bass is solid. The app has extremely limited integration with 3rd party apps, so there's no YouTube or BBC Sounds audio over WIFI I'm afraid. However, where the C5 solves that is by having bluetooth connectivity (as well as RCA and 3.5MM aux inputs) so you can listen to whatever you so wish. It's a little fiddly, but once you're used to it: not a problem.I approached Audio Pro with caution - I was desperate for it to be a better package than Sonos so figured I'd give it a try and if bitterly disappointed I'd chop it in for the, personally less desirable, competition. However, I was pleased with the overall package here and not only will I be keeping this speaker, I will build an Audio Pro system around it.When the app gets an upgrade, I'm any niggles I may have will be resolved, then I'll have the perfect package as no matter the app, the sound is tremendous. Therefore, 4 stars for me!

Excellent sound quality, couple of anomalies

We have had a Audio Pro T3 for a few years as a portable and love sound and build quality. Bought the C5A to replace Sonos Play 5 (1st edition) as fallen out of love with Sonos - don't threaten to make my speakers redundant if I trade them in when I have five of them, especially when the new ones still don't have Bluetooth.C5A build quality excellent as always, sound quality excellent as always.Only thing Audio Pro could improve on is the volume control button. The steps are too big a change, particularly on the app (mainly an issue when we're going to bed and want it on quietly but audibly). On the app there is a slider bar which gives slightly more control on the full screen "what's playing page" and that is an acceptable workaround.Only other gripe is that ... MoreWe have had a Audio Pro T3 for a few years as a portable and love sound and build quality. Bought the C5A to replace Sonos Play 5 (1st edition) as fallen out of love with Sonos - don't threaten to make my speakers redundant if I trade them in when I have five of them, especially when the new ones still don't have Bluetooth.C5A build quality excellent as always, sound quality excellent as always.Only thing Audio Pro could improve on is the volume control button. The steps are too big a change, particularly on the app (mainly an issue when we're going to bed and want it on quietly but audibly). On the app there is a slider bar which gives slightly more control on the full screen "what's playing page" and that is an acceptable workaround.Only other gripe is that with BBC falling out with TuneIn the only way to get Radio 2, Radio 4, or 5 Live Sport is using the built-in Alexa and this can be hit or miss. On initial switch-on quite often we have to ask Alexa to play an alternative, say Virgin Radio, before then asking Alexa for Radio 2. I don't believe it's an Audio Pro issue as the response after the Alexa request is "BBC Sounds" but then silence. If you go to another channel first Alexa seems to find BBC radio channels straight away on a second request, slightly cumbersome.THIS WOULD BE A MAJOR ISSUE WITH A C5 AS WITHOUT ALEXA I DON'T THINK YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO PLAY BBC NATIONAL RADIO CHANNELS - so glad I got the C5AAudio Pro app has provided me with everything else we need other than the above. It's got alarm clock functionality which will come on to one of the presets (you can't preset a BBC channel as it comes through Alexa), it's got a sleep function.Spotify links up well, Amazon Music can easily be accessed through Alexa voice commands.So I'm definitely recommended it as a beautiful, well built speaker and none of the above issues are detracting from our decision to purchase. If we knew all of the above we'd still buy it as it offers Bluetooth (so we can get stuff from BBC Sounds not released as podcasts elsewhere - something you can't do with Sonos), wifi to get TuneIn and good links to Spotify and Amazon Music. If none of those links work well you can always jump to Bluetooth and run the apps off your phone.Audio Pro provided really quick (less than 24 hours) e-mail support when I asked them about the above issue. I've concentrated on the niggles as other than those it's a fantastic bit of kit and there's little point in just telling you how great Audio Pro is as that's there reputation.

Great product, great price

I did a lot of research to find a good speaker for my husband’s birthday and ultimately landed on the Audio Pro C5. It’s a WiFi wireless speaker (but still requires AC power, as it’s not a portable one). This is part of Audio Pro’s multi-room speaker collection, which allows you to sync up all your audio systems across your house through your WiFi, rather than with cables. I opted for the C5 vs C10, as other reviews online said this was better for small-medium sized rooms, where the C10 for larger rooms. More on this in a mo.Once connected to the WiFi it offers flawless playback through Spotify Connect, with excellent sound quality. For an all-in-one system the bass is phenomenal, even without an additional subwoofer, and the mids and high tones are clear and ... MoreI did a lot of research to find a good speaker for my husband’s birthday and ultimately landed on the Audio Pro C5. It’s a WiFi wireless speaker (but still requires AC power, as it’s not a portable one). This is part of Audio Pro’s multi-room speaker collection, which allows you to sync up all your audio systems across your house through your WiFi, rather than with cables. I opted for the C5 vs C10, as other reviews online said this was better for small-medium sized rooms, where the C10 for larger rooms. More on this in a mo.Once connected to the WiFi it offers flawless playback through Spotify Connect, with excellent sound quality. For an all-in-one system the bass is phenomenal, even without an additional subwoofer, and the mids and high tones are clear and crisp too. The sound is very well balanced and it’s a delight to listen to. As for volume, this speaker packs a punch for its size. On the first night after purchasing, I was listening to hip hop in the kitchen, and my husband came downstairs to tell me it was so loud and had enough bass that he thought it was a car outside. Oops! Note this was a case of me cranking it, not a fault to the speaker. Had I bought the C10, I think we’d have had far too much speaker for our space.I bought this in the grey colour, with brown leather handle and brushed brass buttons. It looks amazing. I also love that even though it’s not a ‘portable’ speaker, it’s still easy to move throughout the house. And if we were to have a garden party, we could always run an extension lead outside. It’s a great piece of Swedish engineering.It’s also easy to connect via Bluetooth, Aux, or RCA, but I find Wi-Fi is the best as it doesn’t drain device batteries or require an additional cable.Highly recommend to anyone looking for an affordable speaker that’s different from the main stream brands.Richer Sounds definitely had the best price and the free shipping was prompt and safely delivered. Have had no problems since purchasing and the gift was very well received!

Great speakers

I initially bought an Addon C10 MkII and it was great. I thereafter bought another Addon C10 and a C5 for the full multiroom experience. The sound is great for speakers of that size. The app for multiroom does drop off sometimes and you have to reinstall the individual speaker. However this is relatively quick to do. These are replacements to my Sonos which has a better app and doesn't drop speakers ever. Audio pro is lower in price for the same performance and improved functionality with Bluetooth, so I'm still happy. So overall 4 stars for Audio Pro Addon range since one star dropped because of the app.

Ian's review of Audio Pro Addon C5-A Wireless Voice-Controlled Speaker - Black

Pros: main pro is the sound quality. it's the best bluetooth speaker I have, which includes some good ones from Ultimate Ears. it works pretty seamlessly with online streaming services, which sound good on it, as well as a whole range of Alexa services. I like the boxy retro design.Cons: it's a bit pricey. the main reservation I've had is that the bluetooth connection isn't as strong or stable as the UE speakers: it needs to be in the right place, and quite close, to stream from desktop and iPad. but sound quality makes it my most used bluetooth speaker.

Nightmare to set up and keep working

I bought two Addon C5s. They are only suitable for someone who likes a lot of complicated tech and spending hours and hours on set ups and updating and reinstalling. I'd prefer wired speakers that are plug and play – no apps, no software updates and subsequent loss of function. They were set up to work with iPad and Windows laptop. They stopped working with anything but \I could get them going again on the iPad. They now don't work with the Windows laptop, and I have made several attempts , googling, using the Addon website but nothing works for me. Whatever I try I cannot get the connection restored. The software appears to have vanished. I find Addon’s website a nightmare and there are unhappy reviewers complaining about the website and the software. They don't ... MoreI bought two Addon C5s. They are only suitable for someone who likes a lot of complicated tech and spending hours and hours on set ups and updating and reinstalling. I'd prefer wired speakers that are plug and play – no apps, no software updates and subsequent loss of function. They were set up to work with iPad and Windows laptop. They stopped working with anything but \I could get them going again on the iPad. They now don't work with the Windows laptop, and I have made several attempts , googling, using the Addon website but nothing works for me. Whatever I try I cannot get the connection restored. The software appears to have vanished. I find Addon’s website a nightmare and there are unhappy reviewers complaining about the website and the software. They don't have any customer service you can speak to. Email communication with Addon has been a waste of time for me because I can’t understand what they are saying and basically their reply seemed to be a brush-off . Richer Sounds say they'll charge £99 to come out and check over my equipment and try to identify the problems. For me, these 2 speakers have been a waste of money . I also never managed to get them connected to my Windows PC.

Patrick's review of AUDIO PRO Addon C5-A Wireless Voice-Controlled Speaker - White

Pros: Good quality sound. The Alxavoice control is good BUT ….(see improvement points)Cons: The book of words is really bad. Why can’t languages be in separate discreet sections? Set -up,as a result, was not user friendly. I’m still not getting what I want, and what I know these speakers are capable of. A great product let down by poor communication.

Perfect size, excellent hifi sound and feature-set

I’ve had the C5 for nearly two weeks. I have it in my bedroom streaming music from Spotify, BBC Sounds, Qobuz. I only wanted it as a standalone one-off speaker and I’m perfectly happy how the app helped me install it. The sound is excellent, but as I live in a ground floor flat, I have very close neighbours and haven’t had a chance to properly put it through its paces! I have enjoyed using all 4 presets too.Although I bought on line, it was only after I was given a demonstration at my local Richer Sounds store in Lichfield. That convinced me.

Unexpected but very welcome

I wanted an internet radio and something that would play music from our DNLA server at home so I ordered a Roberts i94 naturally because that’s what everyone seems to be recommending for the job. When it arrived, I was immediately underwhelmed by the sound and the clumsy interface on the unit so after struggling with it for a few days, I sent it back to the retailer. I called my local RIcher Sounds in Cardiff and Andy there recommended the Addon C5 which I had previously dismissed as its name suggested it was an Addon to something else.. He assured me that it would do all of this but as I couldn’t see anything on the controls that suggested that it could, I doubted that it would. Nevertheless, I ordered the speaker and it arrived the next day.Initial impression ... MoreI wanted an internet radio and something that would play music from our DNLA server at home so I ordered a Roberts i94 naturally because that’s what everyone seems to be recommending for the job. When it arrived, I was immediately underwhelmed by the sound and the clumsy interface on the unit so after struggling with it for a few days, I sent it back to the retailer. I called my local RIcher Sounds in Cardiff and Andy there recommended the Addon C5 which I had previously dismissed as its name suggested it was an Addon to something else.. He assured me that it would do all of this but as I couldn’t see anything on the controls that suggested that it could, I doubted that it would. Nevertheless, I ordered the speaker and it arrived the next day.Initial impression was that the quality was 100% - I ordered the grey one with the Brass controls and it looked stunning! I installed the app and it detected the speaker immediately. It also recognised the DLNA server and added it immediately. I was able to browse the library and play songs within a few seconds with zero fuss. The sound was just amazing. I can honestly say that I was not expecting anything so small to sound so good but it was knock-your-socks-off good! The app is a pleasure to use and it allowed me to customise pretty much everything the way I wanted it.I am very, very happy with this speaker. It just sounds excellent whatever you play through it and the app just works. Love it!