Bluesound is a brand that wants to take on Sonos, and often does so with great success. Like that company, the Bluesound product line consists of a range of wireless speakers, soundbars, and subwoofers, as well as amplifiers that can be used to take wireless streaming anywhere.
The latest wireless speaker to come from Bluesound is the Pulse M ($449 / £449 / £549 / around AU$700), which at first glance looks like a slightly beefier Sonos One. Similar to this model, the Pulse M is a compact stand-alone speaker with Hi-Res streaming capability that can be wirelessly paired with a second Pulse M for stereo listening. It can also be paired with a wireless subwoofer for extended bass, or used as a surround speaker in a full 5.1 system with one of the company's soundbars.
In terms of specs, the Pulse M seems to have more going for it than the Sonos One, which currently tops our list of the best wireless speakers. In addition to being slightly larger at 6,7 x 8 x 5,9 inches (W x H x D), Bluesound's new somewhat cylindrical speaker has a more complex "Omni-Hybrid" design that combines a 5,25-inch woofer, 0,75-inch with a pair of 45-inch tweeters. They are offset from each other at an angle of XNUMX degrees.
The Pulse M design also incorporates an acoustic reflector that is used to emit high-frequency sound in a 360-degree pattern. The goal here is to deliver a wide, immersive presentation from a single speaker, with an 80-watt DSP "smart" amplifier working to monitor performance in real time to improve dynamic range and reduce distortion.
Beyond all that, the Pulse M, which comes in either a satin white or black finish with a matching fabric grille, is controlled by the company's excellent BluOS app and can stream music from a wide range of services via Wi-Fi, Ethernet or AirPlay. 2. MQA decoding is onboard to handle Tidal's Hi-Res Audio, and there's also two-way Bluetooth aptX HD support.
Wired inputs expand for a compact wireless speaker: With USB Type-A Ethernet ports, the Pulse M has a combination of optical digital and analog audio input, and there's also a 3,5mm to connect wired headphone jack to enjoy hi-res audio. goodness.
Analysis: more than one
With its innovative 360-degree sound diffusion design, the Pulse M seems less interested in taking on the Sonos One than the Sonos Five, another high-ranking model on our list of the best wireless speakers. As with the Pulse M, this Sonos model is designed to deliver a wide soundstage and fill the room with as much high-quality audio as possible from a reasonably compact package.
Another thing the Pulse M and Sonos Five have in common is the lack of built-in microphones for voice control – you can use Siri, Google or Alexa commands to operate the Pulse M, but you'll need to use external hardware, a speaker. Amazon Echo Dot, for example, to make that happen.
The Pulse M is priced slightly lower than the Sonos Five ($549 / £499 / AU$799), making it a more attractive option for an all-in-one speaker, at least from a cost perspective. But the big question remains whether or not it provides a powerful enough performance boost over the more affordable Sonos One ($219 / £199 / AU$319) to justify the price increase.
There's only one way to find out, and that's with a hands-on review of the Pulse M, which we hope to offer in the near future. In the meantime, check out our best wireless speaker guide to learn more about other options, as well as our Black Friday 2022 guide, which has plenty of other great deals on audio and video products.