(clicking)
(snap)
(bass monotone)
- In a previous video, you may remember
that some time ago, me and Gary reviewed
the Life Audio Bluetooth ceiling speaker
and we were blown away by its simplicity to install
and connect, and also that the simplicity
covered up an absolute powerhouse
of a wireless ceiling speaker.
Well Life Audio haven't sat back
and stopped trying to improve their product.
They've taken an already brilliant product
and added some new features that really
take it up a notch.
And they've also added extra support
for installers and customers, alike.
So what changed?
Well the major upgrade is in the form of Bluetooth 5.0
which was just released at the end of 2019
and represents a significant improvement
to the Bluetooth 4.0 or 4.2 standard
that most audio equipment used, in some cases,
for about 10 years.
So this really is at the cutting edge
of wireless technology, now.
But what does this actually mean for the speaker?
Well first of all, the range has been massively increased,
actually tripled.
The old Bluetooth standard gave an operating range
of about 10 meters.
Now obviously, this would reduce a little bit
when applied in a real-life, indoor setting
but Bluetooth 5.0 takes you up to a 30 meter range.
Once again, maybe a little bit less than that
when applied inside.
What this means is that now you can easily
leave a room with your mobile device connected
to a speaker and not lose the connection
or interrupt the playback.
Now couple this with the inclusion of an APTX chip
and you've got a whole new world
of improved connection options.
Now it's possible at the mention of an APTX chip
doesn't stir you to giddy heights of excitement
because like me, before the video started,
you didn't have a clue what that is.
It's what's called a low latency chip,
so now we're going a little bit closer
to understanding what it means.
You may have noticed that sometimes if you connect
a TV or similar to a wireless speaker, there seems to be
a little bit of a gap between the words being spoken
on the screen and the audio coming out of the speaker.
And even a small lag can be very noticeable.
But the inclusion of this chip in the speaker
effectively eliminates that lag, giving you
a perfectly synchronized audio video experience.
Now it's not just the hardware that's been improved,
Life Audio have also produced an app
that aims to meet the same ideals as their speakers
in that it's clever and powerful, but simple to operate.
From here, you can rename each speaker so they're
easy to identify and makes it much easier to make sure
the audio comes out the right places.
You can add a password which makes them perfect
for hotel or apartment projects,
or perhaps if you don't get on with the neighbors,
or you can set the speaker up so that it works
with Amazon Alexa or Google Home for a voice control
setup for a kitchen or a bedroom, for example.
Now I think this is a brilliant idea
because it can make you feel like you live
in an IMAN house.
One of the things that's great about Life Audio
is that they're not just making great products
that are easy to install and operate,
they're trying to improve the all-round experience
for their customers and installers.
With that in mind, they've set up their
Pro Installer Program.
It's free for installers to join, so all you've got to do
is take part in a 45-minute webinar
and then your name will go into their
Pro Installer database, which means that you'll have
a pin stuck in a map on their Website,
making it easier for end-users to find you
and take up your services for install.
The idea is that it makes it a lot easier
for end-users to connect to suppliers and to installers,
and of course here, at eFIXX, we love creating connections.
Being part of the Pro Installer Program also means
that you'll be kept up to date with new product
as they're created and released, and also
opens up the possibility of gettin' involved
with beta testing which is really exciting
to be able to make a contribution to developing technology.
But strip it all right back to basics and you've simply got
a fantastic product here, that's been actively engineered
to be easy to install, connect, and operate.
Because it's an all-in-one system,
it makes ceiling speakers easy.
It's a bit like fitting a down light; just add power.
The amplifier is built directly into the speaker
which means that this ceiling speaker is as wireless
as this technology can be.
All you need to power it up is a 230-volt connection
via a 3-amp fuse which may be in the supplied power lead
and plug top, or through a fused connection unit,
so this could simply be taken from a local lighting circuit.
The speaker just fits through the cutout in the ceiling
and the fixing lugs are tightened up
via these screws, and you're pretty much ready to go.
But don't make the mistake of thinking that this simplicity
comes at the cost of adaptability.
There's additional inputs on the back of here
that can be used to connect up to fixed equipment
like your beloved old school turntable or similar.
The volume of this input can also be controlled
via the app from the comfort of your armchair.
It will also connect via Bluetooth to your Alexa
or Google Home enabled devices.
You can also cap the volume of the speaker to 50%
for installs in, say, hotel rooms,
apartment blocks, or kids' bedrooms.
An environmental equalizer is on the front of the speaker.
This either adds or removes three decibels from the tweeter.
So let's say, for example, you had a high-vaulted ceiling,
you'd set this to plus three decibels
to project the vocals further or alternatively,
if you have a fully tall bathroom where the sound waves
bounce around the room, you can take the edge off
by setting to minus three decibels.
The speaker delivers great sound quality at low level
in the evening and when you turn the volume up to max,
there's just no distortion, at all.
The sound that this speaker delivers
is very high quality audio.
So let's have a listen to that audio.
Now obviously, it's tricky to get the quality of that
over in a video like this 'cause you're gonna hear
your speakers rather than this speaker here,
and also we want to avoid any copyright infringement issues
so we'll play something random from YouTube, here.
So let's play this video.
Let's give this a go.
(clicking)
(snap)
(bass steady tone)
The bass sounds great, doesn't it?
- [Same Speaker Pre-Recorded] In a previous video,
you may remember that some time ago me and Gary
reviewed the Life Audio Bluetooth ceiling speaker
and we were blown away by its simplicity to install.
- That's the start of this video.
It's like YouTube inception.
Each Bluetooth ceiling speaker can power one passive speaker
which is ideal for larger rooms.
As a general guide, you need one speaker
for every 4 x 4 meters of floor space.
There's also a stereo mono switch, so you can
set the audio output to stereo when used in a single room
or to mono when used in a bedroom and on suite setup.
So it will still sound great with the door shut
between those two rooms with the left and right channels
available in both rooms.
It's even possible to link up to six Life Audio
Bluetooth speakers together, via some simple hard wiring.
Now bear in mind that the Bluetooth version of this speaker
is really a single room solution or even
with just a couple of easy tweaks to the settings,
a suitable application for say, a hotel room,
an on-suite bathroom, as we've said.
But if you're really looking for a multi-room solution
for a whole house experience, then you'd be looking
at the wifi version of this speaker.
Watch out for this is a future video.
Now quality is just shot through this product
with it's Kevlar woofer and that's the same stuff
that they make bullet-proof vests out of,
and its titanium tweeter, that's the same stuff
that they use on spacecraft,
and all the little tweaks that make life easier
on the installer.
My personal favorite example of this is the grill
that sits on the front, here.
Sometimes this type of thing can be incredibly difficult
to get on and off, either clipping in place
or twisting and trying to get tabs to line up.
There's always that worry that something's gonna snap
as it comes off.
But this grill fits on here via magnets.
(snapping)
So simple, so well thought out, and so effective,
and doesn't that just neatly sum up
the Life Audio Bluetooth speaker?
It's really simple, it's really well thought out
and it's really, really effective.
Thank you very much for watching.
(clicking)
(snap)
(bass monotone)