Bowers & Wilkins A7

Bottom line

The Bowers & Wilkins A7 ranks highly among experts boasting an impressive range of clarity, as well as a powerful, room-filling sound. It doesn't have the most graceful design, but the A7 won't stick out like a sore thumb either. For the audiophile who's also an Apple iOS user, it's a powerhouse system. The A7 uses Wi-Fi (via Apple Airplay), not Bluetooth like many other iPod docks. If you prefer to use Bluetooth, the Soundfreaq Sound Platform 2 (Est. $150) is a good alternative.

Ease of use

Slightly laborious Airplay setup; simple controls. While the A7 is generally easily to use, the initial setup takes time. WhatHiFi's reviewer walks through the steps of setting up the wireless network to connect to the unit. Edward Chester at TrustedReviews.com explains that powering up the A7 creates its own Wi-Fi network, which is accessible once you reboot your mobile device. The controls on the unit itself are basic; simply a power button and volume up/down buttons. Tim Gideon of PCMag.com says that the remote's oval shape can be "awkward" to operate, and that the lack of full menu navigation seems slightly strange for a device with such a high retail price.

Appearance

Slightly blocky, but unassuming design. The A7's design presents a very simplistic look without a lot of extra bells and whistles, but it fits the mold of the typical Bowers & Wilkins design. As Edward Chester at TrustedReviews.com points out, the basic design means it can fit just about anywhere. But at over 14 inches wide, and weighing in at just under 13 pounds, there will be some limitations on where it can realistically fit.

Performance

Rich, full sound and plenty of volume. Reviewers put the A7 through a range of different musical tests to try out the mid, high and low end of its capacity, and across the board it performs impressively. In the WhatHifi review, the editor notes that the bass range is much more impressive than the earlier Bowers & Wilkins model, the Zeppelin Air, despite possessing the same audio drivers.

PCMag.com's Tim Gideon tries out a few dancier songs, as well as some classical tunes, "revealing a crisp sound, but not one that is overly bright." He notes however, that a slight drawback for the true audiophile could be the built-in DSP (digital signal processor). It's designed to keep the speaker from overdriving and potentially blowing, but as Gideon notes, it cuts off some of the lower end (bass). Also worth noting, the A7 only supports Airplay and not Bluetooth, which presents a problem for the non-Apple users, though you can also plug in a device using the headphone port.